Emma couldn’t move.

The words on the screen burned into her mind.

MEMORY RESTORATION COMPLETE.
SUBJECT 07 IS AWAKE.

She looked at the woman standing in front of her.

Her face.

Her voice.

Her eyes.

It was like looking into a mirror that knew all her secrets.

“Who are you?” Emma whispered.

The woman smiled sadly.

“You already know.”

Emma shook her head.

“No. I don’t.”

“Yes, you do.”

The woman touched her own chest.

“I am the Emma who never forgot.”

The room became silent.

Jonathan stood near the machine, his expression full of fear.

Emma noticed.

“You knew about her.”

Jonathan looked away.

“You were never supposed to meet her.”

Emma turned toward him.

“Why?”

Before Jonathan could answer, the woman spoke.

“Because he was afraid.”

Jonathan’s face hardened.

“Stop.”

The woman ignored him.

“He was afraid you would remember what you did.”

Emma’s heartbeat increased.

“What I did?”

The woman walked toward the old computer.

She typed something.

The screen changed.

A video file appeared.

PROJECT MEMORY — SUBJECT 07 FINAL SESSION

Emma stared.

“Final session?”

The woman pressed play.

The screen showed Emma.

But this time she wasn’t seventeen.

She was older.

Almost the same age she was now.

She was sitting in the same underground room.

Her face was covered in tears.

A younger Jonathan stood beside her.

Emma’s breath stopped.

Jonathan was younger.

But it was definitely him.

Future Emma spoke in the video.

“If anyone finds this recording, they need to know the truth.”

She looked directly into the camera.

“Lily was never the victim.”

Emma froze.

“What?”

The video continued.

“Everyone believes Lily disappeared because someone hurt her.”

A pause.

“But the truth is…”

Future Emma looked terrified.

“She discovered what we were doing.”

Jonathan in the video stepped forward.

“Emma, don’t do this.”

Future Emma looked at him.

“You promised me you would tell the truth.”

The younger Jonathan looked broken.

“I was trying to protect you.”

“No.”

Future Emma shook her head.

“You were protecting yourself.”

The video glitched.

Then another scene appeared.

A room.

A hospital bed.

Lily was lying there.

Alive.

Emma covered her mouth.

“No…”

The woman beside her whispered:

“Now you remember.”

Emma watched.

Lily opened her eyes.

A doctor stood beside her.

Doctor Marcus Vane.

The same man from the old recordings.

He spoke:

“Memory transfer successful.”

Young Emma stood outside the glass window.

Crying.

Lily looked confused.

“Where am I?”

Doctor Vane answered:

“You are safe.”

Then he looked toward Emma.

“But she isn’t.”

The video ended.

---

Emma stepped away from the screen.

Her mind was full of broken pieces.

Memories.

False memories.

Real memories.

She held her head.

“I don’t understand.”

The woman walked closer.

“Your memories were divided.”

“Divided?”

“Yes.”

“One part stayed with you.”

The woman pointed at herself.

“And one part became me.”

Emma looked at her.

“Why?”

“Because the human mind cannot survive certain truths.”

Jonathan finally spoke.

“Emma, listen.”

She turned toward him.

“No.”

Her voice was angry.

“You knew.”

Jonathan looked guilty.

“I knew pieces.”

“You knew Lily was alive.”

“Yes.”

“And you let me believe she was dead?”

“I was trying to keep you safe.”

Emma laughed bitterly.

“Everyone keeps saying that.”

Jonathan stepped closer.

“You don’t understand what happened.”

“Then explain.”

He remained silent.

That silence answered everything.

---

Suddenly, the basement lights flickered.

The screens turned black.

The woman looked toward the ceiling.

“They found us.”

Jonathan immediately grabbed Emma’s arm.

“We have to leave.”

Emma pulled away.

“No.”

Jonathan looked at her.

“Emma.”

“I want answers.”

“You won’t get them if you’re dead.”

A loud sound came from above.

A door opening.

Heavy footsteps.

Several people entered the room upstairs.

The woman whispered:

“The Memory Division.”

Emma frowned.

“The what?”

“The people who control forgotten memories.”

Jonathan looked at the exit.

“They’re here for her.”

Emma pointed at herself.

“Me?”

“No.”

The woman answered.

“They’re here for both of us.”

The basement door opened.

A man walked down the stairs.

He wore a dark suit.

Calm expression.

No weapon.

But somehow more dangerous than anyone Emma had seen.

Jonathan became pale.

“Marcus.”

Emma looked at him.

“Doctor Vane?”

The man smiled.

“Hello, Emma.”

She stared.

“You’re alive.”

Marcus smiled.

“Everyone keeps saying that.”

He looked at the woman beside Emma.

“And I see you found the missing piece.”

The woman stepped forward.

“You destroyed her life.”

Marcus shook his head.

“No.”

He looked at Emma.

“She asked me to.”

Emma froze.

“What?”

Marcus walked closer.

“You wanted to forget.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

He pointed toward the machine.

“You came to me because you couldn’t live with the truth.”

“What truth?”

Marcus smiled.

“The truth about Lily.”

Emma felt a sharp pain in her head.

Images appeared.

A room.

A storm.

Lily crying.

Emma screaming.

Jonathan holding a gun.

Emma closed her eyes.

“Stop.”

Marcus continued.

“You don’t remember because you begged us to remove it.”

The woman grabbed Emma’s hand.

“Don’t listen.”

Marcus laughed.

“Why?”

He looked at the woman.

“Because she only remembers the parts that make you feel innocent.”

Emma stared at her.

The woman became silent.

For the first time, she looked afraid.

Emma whispered:

“What happened that night?”

Nobody answered.

Then Marcus said:

“You killed Lily.”

The room became completely silent.

Emma felt like the world had stopped.

“No.”

Marcus smiled.

“You did.”

Jonathan shouted:

“Enough!”

Marcus looked at him.

“You still protect her?”

Jonathan stepped forward.

“She didn’t know.”

Marcus laughed.

“She always knew.”

Emma looked at Jonathan.

“Tell me.”

Jonathan looked broken.

“Emma…”

“Tell me!”

He closed his eyes.

“The night Lily disappeared…”

A pause.

“You were there.”

Emma felt tears forming.

“I know.”

“No.”

Jonathan looked at her.

“You weren’t just there.”

The lights went out.

A scream echoed from the basement.

When the lights returned—

Marcus was gone.

The door was open.

And on the floor was a photograph.

Emma picked it up.

It showed her standing beside Lily.

Both were covered in blood.

On the back was written:

THE FIRST LIE WAS THAT LILY DIED.

Emma stared.

Then her phone vibrated.

A new message.

From herself.

NOW YOU KNOW THE SECOND LIE.

Another message appeared.

YOU DIDN’T FORGET THE TRUTH.

A pause.

Then:

YOU CHOSE TO HIDE IT.

Emma looked at the woman who carried her memories.

The woman whispered:

“The memory is coming back.”

Emma closed her eyes.

And for the first time in ten years…

she remembered the night Lily disappeared.

But the memory was not of a murder.

It was something much worse.

Because Lily wasn’t running away from someone.

She was running away from Emma.

To Be Continued…