Chapter 3 - He Could Not Remember Loving Her—But His Body Did
Julian denied everything.
Naturally.
He arrived at the mansion the next morning with three attorneys and an expression of offended innocence.
"Matteo, someone is framing me."
Matteo sat behind his desk.
Emily stood six feet away.
Daniel stood by the door.
"Why did I find your cuff link outside?"
"I have dozens."
"Then why was your private security badge also used to disable my cameras?"
Julian's smile faded.
"You're accusing me?"
"I'm asking questions."
"To your own partner?"
Matteo leaned back.
"I don't remember being your friend."
Julian stared at him.
"You really don't?"
"No."
Something flickered across Julian's face.
Anger.
Then concern.
"Memory can return in pieces."
"I know."
"We should keep things familiar."
Julian gestured around the room.
"This is your home. Your company. Your people."
Matteo's expression remained cold.
"And you?"
"I'm your family."
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Julian stopped.
Matteo looked toward Emily.
"She is."
Emily's breath caught.
Julian slowly turned toward her.
There was murder in his eyes for one second.
Then the expression disappeared.
Matteo saw it.
Daniel saw it.
Emily saw it.
None of them mentioned it.
After Julian left, Matteo told Daniel to investigate every transfer made by Voss Capital during the last eighteen months.
Then he turned to Emily.
"Where do I sleep?"
She blinked.
"Third floor."
"You'll stay on the second?"
"Yes."
"Good."
She started walking away.
"Emily."
She turned.
"Take the room across from mine."
She hesitated.
"Why?"
"Because I sleep badly when I don't know where you are."
She stared at him.
"You never said that before."
"I don't remember what I said before."
He looked at her quietly.
"But apparently some things remain."
That evening, Matteo woke screaming.
Emily heard it from across the hall.
She ran into his room.
He was sitting upright, breathing hard.
"What happened?"
He stared at her.
"Someone was drowning."
Emily froze.
"What?"
"I was on a dock."
He pressed both hands to his head.
"There was water."
"Matteo."
"A woman."
Her heart pounded.
"Who?"
He closed his eyes.
"I couldn't see her face."
Emily sat beside him.
"You don't have to force it."
He opened his eyes.
"I heard her screaming."
He looked at her.
Then suddenly his fingers curled around hers.
"She said something."
"What?"
"Don't let them take my daughter."
Emily went pale.
Matteo stared at her.
"Why would I dream about your sister?"
She had no answer.
The next day, Emily went to the hospital archives.
She found the file from seven years earlier.
Nora Carter had been born premature.
Her biological mother was listed as Emily Carter.
Her biological father was listed as unknown.
But the original paperwork had been amended.
Emily opened the sealed supplemental file.
The father field had been blacked out by legal order.
A second page contained one line.
DNA confirmation pending.
Emily's hands shook.
Someone had changed Nora's records.
She returned to the mansion.
Matteo was waiting.
"I need to ask you something."
He stood.
"What?"
"Do you have a child?"
His face hardened.
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"I would remember."
She almost cried.
"Would you?"
Silence.
Matteo stared at her.
Then he whispered.
"Did I have a daughter?"
Emily couldn't answer.
He walked toward her.
"Emily."
She stepped back.
"Seven years ago, my sister disappeared."
He stopped.
"Your sister?"
"Nora is actually my biological daughter."
The words tore out of her.
Matteo went still.
"Say that again."
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"Nora is my daughter."
His breathing changed.
"Who is the father?"
She looked at him.
He understood before she spoke.
"No."
Emily cried silently.
"I don't know."
He stared at her.
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"Because I was attacked after she was born. I lost parts of my memory too. When I woke up, the hospital told me my baby was dead."
Matteo's face went white.
"She wasn't."
"No."
"How did she survive?"
"Someone gave her to my aunt."
He took a step backward.
"And you?"
"I was threatened."
"By whom?"
"I don't know."
Matteo turned away.
He walked to the window.
Then something clicked inside him.
A flash.
A hospital corridor.
Emily crying.
A newborn wrapped in pink.
His own hands holding the child.
His voice whispering, "Nobody touches her."
He gasped.
Emily rushed forward.
"What did you see?"
"A baby."
His eyes filled.
"Your baby."
He looked at her.
"And I was there."
Emily covered her mouth.
Matteo's memories were returning.
Not fully.
Not safely.
But enough to prove one thing.
Their past was not employer and secretary.
It was something far more intimate.
Daniel entered.
"Sir, we found something."
Matteo looked up.
"What?"
Daniel placed a file on the desk.
"The original crash investigation has been tampered with."
"By whom?"
"We don't know."
Daniel opened the file.
"There was a second passenger in your car."
Emily's face went cold.
"Who?"
Daniel looked at her.
"According to the original witness statement, it was Emily Carter."
Matteo stared at her.
"Was I with you when the brakes failed?"
Emily shook her head.
"I wasn't in the car."
"Then why does the report say you were?"
"I don't know."
Daniel opened another page.
"The passenger's body was supposedly thrown from the vehicle."
Matteo's eyes hardened.
"No body was found."
Daniel nodded.
"Exactly."
Emily whispered, "Someone wanted the police to believe I died with him."
Matteo looked at her.
"Why?"
A phone rang.
Not his.
Emily's.
Unknown number.
She answered.
No one spoke.
Then a man's voice came through.
"Tell Matteo the truth before they find Nora."
Emily's blood turned cold.
"Who are you?"
The caller laughed.
"You already know."
The line went dead.
Matteo stood.
"Pack a bag."
Emily stared at him.
"Why?"
"We're finding your daughter."
May you like
He picked up his gun.
"And whoever has been lying to both of us."
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