Chapter 6: The Memory I Was Forced To Forget
The words left Vanessa’s mouth before she could stop them.
“She wasn’t supposed to remember that.””
Nobody moved.
Nobody even breathed.
But I did.
I heard my own heartbeat.
Loud.
Fast.
Like my body knew something my mind had spent years trying to bury.
Dad slowly turned toward Vanessa.
“What did you just say?””
Vanessa looked terrified.
“I didn’t mean—”
“No.””
Dad’s voice was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
“You meant exactly what you said.””
She shook her head.
“Marcus, it’s not what you think.””
“Then tell me what it is.””
She couldn’t.
That was the problem.
For the first time, Vanessa didn’t have an explanation ready.
No excuse.
No story.
No way to make me feel like I was wrong.
Dad looked at me.
“Nia.””
I looked down.
The memory was coming back.
Not all at once.
Pieces.
Broken pieces.
A wet road.
Headlights.
My mother’s voice.
And Vanessa.
I wrapped my arms around myself.
“I don’t remember everything.””
Dad immediately softened.
“That’s okay.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I need to.””
I had spent years afraid of the truth.
But the truth had already found me.
Daniel stood quietly near the door.
He looked like he had been waiting for this moment.
“You were young,” he said.
I looked at him.
“You knew?””
He hesitated.
“Yes.””
My stomach tightened.
“How?””
Daniel looked at Dad.
“Because Elena told me.””
Dad’s expression changed.
“When?””
“Before the accident.””
The word made the room colder.
Dad looked away.
Like hearing it again hurt.
“She knew Nia saw something.””
“What did she see?”” he asked.
Daniel looked at me.
“That’s why you need to tell it.””
I closed my eyes.
And suddenly I was seven years old again.
Sitting in the back seat.
My mother driving.
The rain tapping against the window.
I remembered being tired.
I remembered holding my stuffed rabbit.
I remembered my mother talking on the phone.
Her voice was different.
Scared.
Not angry.
Scared.
“She’s going to ruin everything.””
That was what she said.
I didn’t know who she was talking about.
I only knew my mother sounded afraid.
Then another memory came.
A car behind us.
Following.
My mother looking in the mirror.
Her hand tightening around the steering wheel.
Then Vanessa.
Standing outside the car after the crash.
The rain.
The broken glass.
Her face.
I opened my eyes.
“I saw her.””
Dad leaned closer.
“Who?””
“Vanessa.””
The room went silent.
I continued.
“She wasn’t in the car.””
Vanessa whispered:
“Nia.””
I looked at her.
“You were standing there.””
Her face changed.
“You don’t understand.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“But I remember.””
Dad stepped between us.
“Let her speak.””
I swallowed.
“She came to the car.””
The memory became clearer.
“She opened the door.””
Dad looked confused.
“Why?””
I shook my head.
“I don’t know.””
“What happened next?””
I closed my eyes.
I heard the rain again.
“I heard my mom say…”
My voice cracked.
“She said, ‘Why did you follow me?’”
Dad froze.
Daniel looked down.
Vanessa covered her mouth.
I continued.
“She said something else.””
“What?””
I looked at Vanessa.
“She said, ‘I thought you wanted my daughter.’”
The room went completely still.
Dad’s face changed.
“What does that mean?””
Vanessa started crying.
“I can explain.””
Dad turned toward her.
“Explain what?””
She didn’t answer.
Because there was too much.
Too many secrets.
Too many years.
Finally, she whispered:
“I was jealous.””
Nobody spoke.
“I was jealous of Elena.””
She wiped her tears.
“She had everything.””
Daniel looked away.
“You had a sister who loved you.””
Vanessa’s voice became sharper.
“You don’t know what it was like.””
“I know exactly what it was like.””
“No, you don’t.””
She looked at him.
“Everyone loved Elena.””
Dad interrupted.
“This is not about your childhood.””
Vanessa looked at him.
“It became about my childhood when Elena decided she was better than me.””
My hands curled into fists.
My mother was gone.
And Vanessa was still trying to make herself the victim.
Dad seemed to realize the same thing.
“What happened that night?””
Vanessa looked down.
“I followed Elena because I wanted answers.””
“About what?””
“About you.””
Dad frowned.
“Me?””
She nodded.
“She told me she had proof.””
“Proof of what?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“That I had been lying.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“Elena discovered Vanessa had been researching your family before she met you.””
Dad went still.
“Why?””
Vanessa didn’t answer.
Daniel did.
“Because she wanted to replace Elena.””
The words hit me.
Replace.
I looked at Dad.
He looked sick.
“No.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“No, that’s not true.””
Daniel looked at her.
“Isn’t it?””
“I never wanted her dead.””
The sentence landed harder than anything else.
Because it confirmed the one thing nobody had said.
Dad’s voice became dangerously calm.
“Who said anything about wanting her dead?””
Vanessa froze.
Her face drained.
She realized what she had just admitted.
I saw it.
Dad saw it.
Everyone saw it.
Vanessa quickly shook her head.
“I mean—I didn’t want anything bad to happen.””
Dad stared.
“Then why were you at the accident?””
Silence.
Finally, Vanessa whispered:
“Because Elena called me.””
Daniel looked shocked.
“She called you?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Minutes before.””
Dad frowned.
“Why?””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“She wanted to meet.””
“About what?””
“She said she was going to tell Marcus everything.””
Dad looked at her.
“And you went there.””
“Yes.””
“Then what happened?””
Vanessa’s breathing became uneven.
“I argued with her.””
My heart stopped.
“You argued with my mother?””
“Yes.””
“What did you say?””
Vanessa looked at me.
“I told her she had no idea what she was doing.””
Dad stepped closer.
“Then?””
“She left.””
“And?””
Vanessa’s voice broke.
“And the car crashed.””
Nobody spoke.
I stared at her.
“You left her there?””
Tears filled Vanessa’s eyes.
“I was scared.””
Dad looked devastated.
“You left my wife.””
“I thought someone else would come.””
“But you didn’t call?””
Silence.
The answer was clear.
Dad stepped back.
The betrayal on his face was something I would never forget.
Then Daniel quietly spoke.
“There’s something else.””
Everyone looked at him.
He reached into the folder.
“This is the police report.””
Dad took it.
His eyes moved across the page.
Then stopped.
“What?””
Daniel looked at Vanessa.
“The accident was investigated.””
Dad looked confused.
“They said it was an accident.””
“Yes.””
“Then what’s the problem?””
Daniel pointed to the bottom.
“Someone removed a witness statement.””
Dad’s face changed.
“Whose?””
Daniel looked at me.
“Yours.””
My heart dropped.
“My statement?””
Daniel nodded.
“You told the police you saw Vanessa at the scene.””
Dad looked at Vanessa.
“But I was never told.””
“No,” Daniel said.
“You weren’t.””
The room felt like it was spinning.
Someone had erased my memory.
Someone had erased my words.
Someone had made me believe I was just a child who didn’t understand.
Dad turned toward Vanessa.
“Who removed it?””
Vanessa said nothing.
Dad raised his voice.
“Who removed my daughter’s statement?””
And then, from the hallway, a voice answered.
A voice none of us expected.
“I did.””
Everyone turned.
Caleb stood there.
His face was pale.
His eyes full of guilt.
Dad stared.
“Caleb?””
He looked at me.
“I’m sorry, Nia.””
My heart sank.
“What did you do?””
He swallowed.
“I was the one who found the report.””
Nobody moved.
“I was the one who hid it.””
Dad stepped toward him.
“Why?””
Caleb looked at his mother.
Then back at me.
“Because she told me if I didn’t…”
May you like
His voice broke.
“She said she would make sure Nia never had a family again.””
