I couldn't stop staring at the message.
ASK MAYA WHY SHE LIED ABOUT KNOWING ELENA.
My hands were shaking.
"No," I whispered.
Malik stood beside me.
"Lina."
"She wouldn't."
"You don't know that."
I turned toward him.
"She is my best friend."
"And that's exactly why this hurts."
I looked away.
I didn't want to believe it.
Maya had been there through everything. She knew my fears, my secrets, my dreams. When I had felt alone, she had been the person I called.
How could someone like that be connected to the worst night of my life?
Dominic walked toward the open doorway.
"We need to find her."
Adrian nodded.
"Before whoever is behind this does."
We rushed outside.
But Maya was gone.
There was no sign of her.
No footsteps.
No car.
Nothing.
"She couldn't have disappeared that quickly," I said.
Dominic looked around.
"There must be another exit."
We searched the area.
Nothing.
Then Malik noticed something beside the warehouse.
A small black bag.
He picked it up.
"Lina."
I walked over.
He opened it.
Inside were several photographs.
I recognized Maya immediately.
She was standing beside an older woman.
Elena.
My stomach tightened.
"That's her."
Adrian took one of the photographs.
His face became pale.
"This was taken recently."
"How do you know?"
"Because Elena was supposed to be dead."
I looked at him.
"Then she's alive."
"Yes."
"And Maya knew."
"Yes."
My heart sank.
I sat on the broken concrete step.
"Why would she lie to me?"
Nobody answered.
Then Dominic pulled another photograph from the bag.
This one was different.
It showed Maya and me as children.
I stared at it.
"When was this taken?"
Malik looked closely.
"Years before I met you again."
I frowned.
"Where?"
Dominic turned the photograph over.
There was a date.
And beneath it, a location.
ELENA'S HOUSE.
My breathing stopped.
"I was there?"
Malik nodded.
"You knew Elena as a child."
"I don't remember her."
"That's because your mother made sure you wouldn't."
I looked at Adrian.
"Why?"
"Because Elena was dangerous."
I shook my head.
"Then why was Maya there with me?"
No one knew.
Until Dominic noticed something else.
There was writing on the back of the photograph.
A sentence.
THE TWO GIRLS MUST NEVER REMEMBER.
I felt a chill move through me.
"Two girls?"
Dominic looked at me.
"You and Maya."
My eyes widened.
"What does Maya have to do with my memories?"
Before anyone could answer, my phone rang.
Maya.
I stared at the screen.
Malik whispered,
"Don't answer."
I did anyway.
"Maya?"
There was silence.
Then her voice.
"Lina."
I closed my eyes.
"Where are you?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because they're watching me."
"Who?"
"I don't know anymore."
I swallowed.
"Did you know Elena?"
Silence.
"Maya."
"Yes."
The word broke my heart.
"How long?"
"Since we were children."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I promised your mother."
"My mother?"
"Yes."
"What did she ask you to do?"
Maya began crying.
"She told me to protect you."
"By lying to me?"
"I didn't know how else to protect you."
"You could have told me the truth!"
"I was afraid!"
Her voice cracked.
"Afraid of what?"
"Of losing you."
I closed my eyes.
"You already lost me."
"No."
Her voice became desperate.
"Please don't say that."
"Then tell me everything."
She remained silent.
"Maya."
"I wasn't supposed to be your friend."
I froze.
"What?"
"I was supposed to watch you."
My heart shattered.
"Watch me?"
"Yes."
"For who?"
She began crying harder.
"For Elena."
I couldn't speak.
Malik took the phone from my hand.
"Maya, where is Elena?"
There was a pause.
Then she whispered,
"She found you again."
The call ended.
I stared at Malik.
"What does that mean?"
He handed the phone back.
"It means Elena knows you're alive."
A cold fear spread through me.
Then another thought entered my mind.
"Why did Maya say she was supposed to watch me?"
Dominic looked at the photographs.
"Because someone wanted to know whether your memories were coming back."
"And now they are."
"Yes."
I stood.
"Then we need to find Maya."
Adrian nodded.
"We will."
We returned to my mother's house.
I needed answers.
Real ones.
Not pieces.
Not secrets.
Not half-truths.
My mother had disappeared, but her bedroom still contained clues.
Dominic searched the drawers while Malik checked the wardrobe.
Adrian stood near the window.
I noticed him staring at the bracelet on my wrist.
"You know something else."
He looked at me.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because every time you see this bracelet, you look afraid."
He sighed.
"Your bracelet belonged to your father."
I froze.
"My father?"
"Yes."
I touched it.
"He gave it to you before the attack."
"Why?"
"Because he knew something was coming."
"What happened to him?"
Adrian looked away.
"He disappeared."
"Did he die?"
"We never found his body."
My heart raced.
"So he could still be alive?"
"Yes."
The room suddenly felt colder.
My father.
Elena.
Maya.
Malik.
Dominic.
Adrian.
Everyone seemed connected to a life I couldn't remember.
Then Dominic shouted from the other room.
"Guys!"
We rushed toward him.
He was standing beside an old desk.
In his hand was a small notebook.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Your mother's diary."
I took it from him.
The first few pages contained ordinary things.
Appointments.
Shopping lists.
Names.
Then I found a page dated several years ago.
My mother's handwriting became shaky.
Elena came back today.
I continued reading.
She says she regrets everything. I don't believe her. She asked about Lina. She wanted to know whether Lina remembers the night.
My hands trembled.
Another page.
Maya has been watching Lina. I hate asking a child to carry such a burden, but I don't know who else I can trust.
I stopped.
Maya wasn't originally spying on me for Elena.
My mother had asked her to protect me.
But then why had Maya admitted she was supposed to watch me for Elena?
I turned another page.
My heart stopped.
If Elena ever gets to Lina, the truth about the fourth person will finally come out.
I looked at Malik.
"What fourth person?"
He stared at the diary.
"I don't know."
I turned the page.
There was only one sentence.
The fourth person was someone Lina loved.
My stomach dropped.
Someone I loved.
Someone from my childhood.
Someone who had been there the night I was attacked.
Someone who knew exactly what happened.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
YOU'RE GETTING CLOSE.
Another followed.
ASK MALIK WHO THE FOURTH PERSON WAS.
I slowly looked at him.
He had gone completely still.
"Malik?"
He didn't answer.
"Who was the fourth person?"
His eyes met mine.
And for the first time since I had known him…
I saw genuine fear.
"Lina," he whispered.
"I can't tell you."
My heart sank.
"Why?"
He looked toward Adrian.
Then Dominic.
Finally, back at me.
"Because the fourth person…"
He paused.
"…was my brother."