I couldn't move.
I stared at the photograph lying on my bed.
Malik.
Dominic.
Adrian.
And the little girl standing behind them.
The same silver bracelet was wrapped around her tiny wrist.
The same bracelet I had worn for as long as I could remember.
My fingers trembled as I touched mine.
"This doesn't make sense," I whispered.
My best friend sat beside me, still staring at the photograph.
"Maybe it's not you."
I looked at her.
"Then why am I wearing the same bracelet?"
She didn't answer.
I picked up the photograph again.
The three men were standing close together, but something about their expressions bothered me.
They weren't smiling.
They looked frightened.
Almost as if they were waiting for something terrible to happen.
"Look at Malik," I said.
My friend leaned closer.
"What about him?"
"He's looking at the girl."
She examined the photograph.
She was right.
Malik wasn't looking at the camera.
He was looking directly at the little girl.
And the expression on his face wasn't romantic.
It was protective.
Like he knew her.
Like he was afraid for her.
"Lina," my friend whispered.
I looked at her.
"What?"
"What if Malik knew you before you met him?"
My heart sank.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I would remember."
"Would you?"
I froze.
She immediately regretted the question.
"I'm sorry."
"No."
I looked back at the photograph.
"Maybe you're right."
There was something missing from my memories.
Something important.
Something connected to Malik.
And perhaps to the other two men.
I suddenly remembered something from my childhood.
A dark room.
A woman's voice.
Someone crying.
And a boy telling me:
"Don't be afraid. I'll find you."
I squeezed my eyes shut.
The memory disappeared.
"Lina?"
I opened my eyes.
"I'm okay."
"You don't look okay."
"I remembered something."
"What?"
"I don't know."
The next morning, I went to school earlier than usual.
I didn't want to see Malik.
I didn't want to see Dominic.
And most importantly, I didn't want to see Adrian.
But apparently the universe had other plans.
Adrian was standing outside the classroom.
His eyes immediately found mine.
He studied my face.
Then his gaze dropped to my wrist.
The bracelet.
His expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
"You're wearing it," he said.
My heart stopped.
"What?"
He looked at my bracelet.
"That bracelet."
I stepped closer.
"You know it?"
He didn't answer.
"Mr. Cole?"
He looked away.
"Go to class."
"Do you know this bracelet?"
His jaw tightened.
"Lina."
"Answer me."
He looked directly into my eyes.
"Yes."
My heart pounded.
"How?"
Before he could answer, someone called his name.
We both turned.
Malik stood at the end of the hallway.
He looked at Adrian.
Adrian looked at Malik.
Something passed between them.
Something I couldn't understand.
Then Malik looked at my wrist.
His face went pale.
"Where did you get that?"
I stared at him.
"I've had it since I was a child."
He stopped breathing for a second.
Adrian looked at him sharply.
"Malik."
But Malik ignored him.
"Who gave it to you?"
"I don't remember."
He stepped closer.
"Lina, listen to me."
"What?"
"Take it off."
My stomach tightened.
"Why?"
"Just take it off."
"No."
His expression became desperate.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain!"
He looked toward Adrian.
Then back at me.
"I can't."
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course."
I walked past him.
"Lina!"
I didn't stop.
At lunch, I sat alone.
I didn't touch my food.
My mind kept replaying the photograph.
The bracelet.
Adrian's reaction.
Malik's fear.
Then someone sat across from me.
Dominic.
I looked up.
"Why are you here?"
"I need to talk to you."
"I don't want another secret."
"You deserve the truth."
That sentence made me stop.
He reached into his jacket and placed another photograph on the table.
I stared at it.
This one was different.
It showed the same three men.
But there was another person beside them.
A woman.
Her face was partially hidden.
And she was holding a little girl.
Me.
I knew it.
I didn't know how.
But I knew it.
"Who is she?"
Dominic looked at me.
"Your mother?"
I shook my head.
"No."
He lowered his voice.
"She was supposed to protect you."
"From what?"
"From us."
My heart pounded.
"What does that mean?"
Dominic looked around before speaking.
"Years ago, something happened."
"What?"
"You disappeared."
I stared at him.
"What?"
"You disappeared from our lives."
"Dominic, stop talking in riddles."
"I was young too, but I remember."
"What do you remember?"
He swallowed.
"I remember Malik searching everywhere for you."
My heart tightened.
"Why would he search for me?"
"Because he blamed himself."
"For what?"
Dominic didn't answer.
"Tell me!"
He looked directly into my eyes.
"You were supposed to die."
The world seemed to stop.
I couldn't breathe.
"What?"
"You weren't supposed to survive."
I stood abruptly.
"Who wanted me dead?"
Dominic looked toward the hallway.
His voice dropped to almost a whisper.
"The same person who is trying to finish what they started."
My blood ran cold.
"Who?"
He opened his mouth.
Then stopped.
His eyes widened.
I turned.
Someone was standing behind me.
Adrian.
His face was unreadable.
"Dominic," he said quietly.
Dominic stood.
"Adrian."
"You shouldn't have told her."
"I had to."
"You don't understand the consequences."
"I understand them perfectly."
I looked between them.
"What are you both talking about?"
Neither answered.
Then Malik appeared behind Adrian.
All three men stood there.
For the first time, I wasn't looking at them as three separate people.
I was looking at three men connected by one secret.
A secret about me.
A secret that began before I knew any of them.
And suddenly, the question wasn't who I would choose.
The question was whether any of them had ever truly loved me…
or whether they had all been protecting me from the same person.
I looked at Malik.
"Tell me the truth."
His eyes filled with something that looked like pain.
"I promised myself I would never let you remember."
"Remember what?"
He took a step toward me.
"The night you were assassinated."