For several seconds, I couldn’t speak.
The words echoed inside my head.
You were the one who opened the door.
I looked at Julian.
Then at Adrian.
—What door?
Julian didn’t answer immediately.
He looked at Adrian.
—You never told her?
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
—There was nothing to tell.
Julian gave a bitter laugh.
—That’s what you told yourself.
I stepped between them.
—Someone please explain.
Julian finally looked at me.
—Six years ago, your father discovered the archive beneath Blackwood Theater.
I glanced around the room.
—This archive?
—Yes.
—And the door?
—There was another one.
He pointed toward the floor.
—A door beneath this building.
Adrian shook his head.
—That’s impossible.
Julian looked at him.
—You were there.
Adrian went silent.
I stared at him.
—You remember?
He nodded slowly.
—Fragments.
—Like me.
—Yes.
Julian continued.
—Daniel found records connecting the Blackwoods to the organization.
He planned to take them to the police.
—But someone stopped him.
—Yes.
—Who?
Julian’s expression hardened.
—The person who knew Daniel best.
My heart sank.
—Who?
Julian looked at my mother.
She closed her eyes.
—Elena.
My mother.
I turned toward her.
—You?
She shook her head.
—No.
Julian continued.
—Not Elena.
He looked at me.
—You.
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
—Me?
—You opened the door.
I felt my throat tighten.
—Why would I do that?
—Because someone told you your father was inside.
I shook my head.
—I was thirteen.
—Exactly.
Julian’s voice softened.
—You trusted people.
Adrian stepped forward.
—Who told her?
Julian looked at him.
—Your father.
Adrian froze.
—No.
—He wanted the file.
—My father wouldn’t use a child.
Julian looked at him sadly.
—He didn’t know she was the key.
I frowned.
—The key to what?
Julian pointed toward the wall.
—The lower archive.
I remembered the silver key.
Martin had it.
The same key my father had hidden.
—Why was I the key?
Julian shook his head.
—Not you.
He pointed at the black mark printed on the old map.
—Your memory.
I didn’t understand.
—My memory?
—Daniel discovered that the organization had a system for hiding information.
He paused.
—They used people.
—People as storage?
Julian nodded.
—Certain memories were deliberately erased and hidden.
Adrian stared at him.
—That’s why she forgot.
—Yes.
I stepped back.
—My father erased my memories?
—He asked someone to help him.
—Who?
Julian looked at Evelyn.
She lowered her head.
—It was me.
My heart broke.
—You?
Evelyn’s eyes filled with tears.
—I was the one who helped Daniel make you forget.
I stared at her.
—Why didn’t you tell me?
—Because Daniel made me promise.
—Everyone keeps using him as an excuse.
My voice shook.
—He’s been dead for six years.
He can’t tell me why.
Evelyn stepped closer.
—Because he believed remembering would put you in danger.
—And forgetting didn’t?
She looked away.
—It kept you alive.
I laughed bitterly.
—You don’t know that.
Julian interrupted.
—Actually, she does.
Everyone looked at him.
—Because someone has been searching for Sophia ever since.
I felt cold.
—Who?
Julian didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked at Adrian.
—You know.
Adrian shook his head.
—No.
—Your father told you.
—He lied.
—Maybe.
Julian’s expression became serious.
—But he wasn’t lying about one thing.
—What?
—The person who caused Daniel’s death was trying to find Sophia.
I felt a chill.
—Why?
Julian looked at me.
—Because Daniel had hidden something inside your memories.
My breath stopped.
—What?
—The location of the real file.
I couldn’t speak.
Adrian looked at Julian.
—That’s why she was the seventh.
Julian nodded.
—Daniel knew nobody could force the location out of her if she didn’t know it herself.
I shook my head.
—So I don’t remember because my father hid the file inside my memory?
—Not exactly.
Julian stepped closer.
—He hid the clue.
I touched my forehead.
—Then why am I remembering now?
Julian looked toward the projector.
—Because someone is unlocking it.
Adrian’s expression changed.
—Who?
Julian looked directly at me.
—You.
I stared at him.
—I’m doing this?
—Your memories are returning on their own.
—Why now?
Julian glanced at Adrian.
—Because you’re close to the person connected to them.
I looked at Adrian.
He didn’t speak.
I didn’t know what frightened me more.
The idea that I had forgotten something terrible…
Or the possibility that Adrian was the reason I was remembering.
Suddenly, the projector turned on again.
My father’s face appeared.
This time, he looked directly at me.
—Sophia, if you’ve reached this part, then you’ve already remembered the door.
My heart tightened.
—Dad…
His voice continued.
—I’m sorry.
The recording paused.
Then: —The night I died, you didn’t open the door because you wanted to.
A tear slipped down my cheek.
—You opened it because someone you trusted told you to.
I looked at Adrian.
He shook his head.
—It wasn’t me.
The recording continued.
—And when the door opened, the person waiting on the other side wasn’t who you expected.
My father’s expression changed.
He looked frightened.
—Sophia, whoever tells you that they were protecting you that night…
The recording glitched.
His voice became distorted.
Then returned.
—…don’t believe them.
The screen went black.
Nobody moved.
I wiped my cheek.
—Who was waiting behind the door?
Julian looked at me.
—Your mother.
I turned.
My mother was crying.
—No.
—She was there.
My mother shook her head.
—Not like that.
—Then tell me.
She couldn’t.
I stepped toward her.
—Tell me what happened.
She looked at Adrian.
Then Julian.
Then finally me.
—I wasn’t supposed to be there.
—But you were.
—Yes.
—Why?
She took a breath.
—Because Daniel called me.
I stared at her.
—What did he say?
—He said he had found the person who had been betraying him.
—Who?
She looked at Adrian.
Then away.
—Martin.
I froze.
—Martin betrayed my father?
—Yes.
Julian shook his head.
—That’s not the whole story.
My mother looked at him.
—You don’t know everything.
—Neither do you.
Adrian stepped between them.
—Stop.
He looked at Julian.
—Tell us what happened.
Julian hesitated.
Then: —Martin didn’t betray Daniel.
Adrian frowned.
—Then who did?
Julian looked at me.
—Someone who wanted Daniel to believe Martin had betrayed him.
The room fell silent.
I understood.
—Someone framed him.
Julian nodded.
—Yes.
—Who?
He looked toward the projector.
—The person who had access to all the recordings.
I frowned.
—Who had access?
Julian’s eyes moved to the door.
—Evelyn.
Evelyn went pale.
—No.
Adrian stared at her.
—You?
—Julian, you don’t understand.
—Then explain.
Evelyn stepped back.
—I didn’t betray Daniel.
—But you erased Sophia’s memory.
—To protect her!
Julian’s voice hardened.
—Or to hide what you did?
I looked between them.
—What did she do?
Nobody answered.
I turned toward Evelyn.
—What did you do?
She covered her face.
Then whispered: —I opened the door.
My heart stopped.
—You opened it?
She nodded.
—Daniel had locked it.
—Then how did I open it?
—Because you had the key.
I remembered.
The silver key.
My father’s voice.
Don’t let anyone see it.
I looked at my hands.
—Where is the key now?
No one answered.
Then we heard footsteps upstairs.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was coming.
Adrian moved closer to me.
—We need to leave.
Julian shook his head.
—It’s too late.
The footsteps stopped above us.
Then a familiar voice echoed through the theater.
—Sophia?
I froze.
I knew that voice.
The same voice from the phone.
The same voice from the night my father died.
Adrian looked at me.
—Who is it?
I couldn’t answer.
The voice spoke again.
—Sophia, open the door.
My entire body went cold.
Because suddenly I remembered.
Not a fragment.
Not an image.
Everything.
The hallway.
The rain.
My father.
Adrian.
Evelyn.
The silver key.
And the person standing behind the door.
I whispered: —It’s him.
Adrian stared at me.
—Who?
I looked toward the staircase.
—The man who killed my father.
A shadow appeared at the top.
Then the man slowly walked into the light.
It was Daniel Bennett.
My father.
Alive.