Chapter 6: The Woman Before Claire
The name stared back at me.
*Amelia Carter.*
I whispered it.
“Amelia.””
The sound felt strange.
Not unfamiliar.
Strange.
Like hearing a song I had forgotten I knew.
Lily watched my face carefully.
“You recognize it.””
I looked up.
“No.””
But my voice betrayed me.
Because some part of me did.
Not as a memory.
As a feeling.
A shadow of something buried.
“Claire,” Lily said softly.
I hated hearing that name suddenly.
Not because it wasn’t mine.
Because I no longer knew if it was.
I closed the notebook.
“Where did you get this?””
“From your belongings.””
“My belongings?””
She nodded.
“After the accident.””
“What belongings?””
Lily hesitated.
“A bag.””
“What bag?””
“The one you had when you arrived at the hospital.””
My heartbeat increased.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me?””
She looked away.
“Because nobody knew what was inside.””
I opened the notebook again.
The handwriting was mine.
The thoughts were mine.
But I couldn’t remember writing any of it.
It felt like reading a letter from a stranger who had stolen my hand.
“What procedure?””
Lily shook her head.
“I don’t know.””
“Then why do you think it has something to do with me?””
“Because of this.””
She reached into the drawer and pulled out another piece of paper.
A medical document.
I scanned it.
At first, it looked ordinary.
Then I saw the words.
*Memory Restoration Trial.*
My stomach dropped.
“What is this?””
Lily sat down.
“The hospital found it after the accident.””
I looked at the paper.
“Found it where?””
“In your bag.””
I looked at Daniel.
“No.””
He wasn’t there.
I had forgotten he wasn’t with me.
For the first time, I was grateful.
I didn’t want his explanation.
Not yet.
I wanted the truth without his voice changing it.
“Tell me everything you know.””
Lily took a deep breath.
“Before Emily was born, I discovered Daniel was hiding something.””
My eyes narrowed.
“What?””
She looked down.
“I thought he was having an affair.””
A painful silence followed.
“But I was wrong.””
“What was he hiding?””
Lily looked at the notebook.
“You.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“He knew about Amelia.””
The name felt like a wound.
“Who is Amelia?””
Lily’s eyes met mine.
“I think that’s who you were.””
A cold feeling spread through my body.
“No.””
“You don’t remember your life before the accident.””
“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t Claire.””
Lily nodded.
“I know.””
She looked genuinely sad.
“But something happened.””
“What?””
“You weren’t supposed to be in that hospital.””
My breathing stopped.
“Why?””
“Because you weren’t a patient.””
I stared.
“What?””
Lily leaned forward.
“You came there looking for me.””
The room became silent.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“How do you know?””
“Because I found your old phone.””
My hands tightened.
“My phone?””
“It was damaged. Most of it was destroyed.””
She stood and grabbed another envelope.
Inside was a small broken phone.
“I recovered one message.””
She handed it to me.
The screen was cracked.
But one message remained.
A message sent from my number.
To Lily.
The date was the night Emily was born.
The message said:
*“I know what Daniel did. I’m coming to tell you the truth.””*
I felt dizzy.
“No.””
Lily watched me.
“You came to the hospital because you knew something.””
“What?””
“I don’t know.””
I looked at the notebook.
The sentence.
*Daniel can never know the truth about Emily.*
My hands shook.
“What if…”
I stopped.
“What if what?””
I couldn’t finish.
Because the thought was too terrifying.
What if I wasn’t the person I thought I was?
What if I hadn’t forgotten my life?
What if I had erased it?
I went home at sunset.
Daniel was waiting.
He knew.
Of course he knew.
The moment I walked through the door, he looked at my face.
“You found something.””
I didn’t answer.
I placed the notebook on the table.
His expression changed.
Slowly.
Like he had just seen a ghost.
“Where did you get that?””
“Lily.””
He looked away.
“What did she tell you?””
“That depends.””
“On what?””
“Whether you’re going to lie again.””
His face tightened.
“I never wanted to hurt you.””
“That’s not what I asked.””
Silence.
I opened the notebook.
“Who is Amelia Carter?””
Daniel didn’t move.
And that was enough.
“You know her.””
His eyes closed.
“Yes.””
The word felt like a knife.
“Who is she?””
He looked at me.
“You.””
I laughed.
A broken laugh.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“My name is Claire.””
“Now it is.””
The room went quiet.
“Daniel.””
He stepped closer.
“You need to understand something.””
“What?””
“You weren’t pretending.””
I stared at him.
“You really believed you were Claire.””
The way he said it made my skin crawl.
“Because I am.””
“Yes.””
He nodded.
“But you were Amelia before.””
I sat down.
My legs couldn’t hold me.
“Tell me.””
Daniel was silent.
“Tell me everything.””
He looked toward the window.
“When I met you, you were terrified.””
“Why?””
“You woke up in that hospital room and didn’t know anyone.””
My throat tightened.
“You said your name was Claire.””
“Why?””
“Because the nurse asked.””
I stared.
“That’s it?””
“That’s it.””
Daniel sat across from me.
“You had no memory of Amelia.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because we didn’t know.””
“Who is we?””
He looked away.
“Me and the doctors.””
A chill moved through me.
“The doctors knew?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because you weren’t just suffering from an injury.””
I waited.
“You had chosen it.””
My blood ran cold.
“Chosen what?””
“To forget.””
The words landed softly.
But they destroyed everything.
“No.””
Daniel nodded.
“You signed paperwork.””
“What paperwork?””
“The memory procedure.””
I looked at the notebook.
The sentence.
*If you are reading this, it means the procedure worked.*
My hands covered my mouth.
“Why would I do that?””
Daniel’s eyes filled with pain.
“I don’t know.””
“You’re lying.””
“No.””
“Then why?””
He whispered:
“Because the last thing you said before the procedure was that remembering would destroy everyone.””
I stared at him.
“Everyone?””
He nodded.
“You said especially Emily.””
My heart stopped.
I looked upstairs.
At my daughter’s room.
At the child I loved more than anything.
“What did I do?””
Daniel didn’t answer.
“What did I do?””
He stood.
“Claire…”
“No.””
My voice broke.
“What did I do to my own daughter?””
Daniel walked toward me.
“You didn’t hurt her.””
“How do you know?””
“Because I was there.””
“When?””
His expression changed.
“The night she was born.””
I froze.
“What happened that night?””
Daniel looked like he was fighting himself.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
A name appeared.
Lily.
He answered.
“Hello?””
A few seconds passed.
Then his face changed.
“What?””
I stood.
“What happened?””
Daniel looked at me.
His hand tightened around the phone.
“Lily says someone broke into her house.””
My stomach dropped.
“Is she okay?””
He didn’t answer.
Because he was staring at me.
Not with fear.
With confusion.
“She found something missing.””
“What?””
Daniel slowly lowered the phone.
“The notebook.””
I felt a chill.
“What?””
“The original notebook.””
I looked at the copy on the table.
“What do you mean?””
Daniel’s voice became barely audible.
“The one Lily had…”
He looked upstairs.
Toward Emily’s bedroom.
“Wasn’t the only one.””
My heart began pounding.
“How many were there?””
Daniel swallowed.
“Two.””
“Where’s the other one?””
He didn’t answer.
He didn’t have to.
Because from upstairs…
We heard Emily scream.
A scream so loud it cut through the entire house.
We ran.
Her bedroom door was open.
The camera was blinking.
The bed was empty.
The window was wide open.
And on Emily’s pillow was a notebook.
A small one.
With faded handwriting on the cover.
My handwriting.
The first page was already open.
May you like
Only one sentence was written.
*“Emily, if you are reading this, it means I failed to protect you.””*
