Agnes… wait! I'm really sorry. Just hear me out, please!"
Martins' voice echoed behind me, but I didn't stop.
Not now. Not after everything.
Then Jessica ran past me and stood right in front of me, so close I could feel her breath.
"You think you've won?" she said coldly. "Just wait. Your death will be more miserable than your parents'."
Fury exploded inside me.
I slapped her hard.
"Don't you dare talk about my parents again!"
She staggered back, looking rough and tattered, then walked away in humiliation.
The cool night air hit my face as I stepped completely out of the mansion, my chest rising and falling heavily. For the first time in a long time, I felt… free.
But something didn't sit right.
"Agnes."
That voice again but softer this time.
I turned slowly.
It was Thompson for a moment I totally forgot that we went to the party together.
He stood a few steps behind me, his expression unreadable, yet his eyes held something I couldn't quite place… concern? Burden? Like a man carrying something heavy he needed to say.
"Are you okay?" he asked again.
That question.
That same question.
It hit me like a flash.
The bakery.
The quiet stranger.
The way he looked at me like he already knew me.
Everything rushed through my mind at once.
"I should be asking you that," I replied, folding my arms. "You seem overly concerned about me, Mr. Thompson."
He sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"There's something we need to talk about."
I let out a dry laugh.
"Of course… because I really want to know who you are."
"And if it's about what just happened in there, I'm really not interested"
"It's about your family."
My heart skipped.
Silence fell between us.
"What… about my family?" I asked carefully.
His gaze softened, but his voice remained firm.
"What do you remember about your parents?"
I frowned.
"My parents are dead."
That was the painful truth I had lived with.
The truth I was told.
A tragic accident.
No bodies recovered.
No closure.
Just… gone.
Thompson shook his head slowly, like he knew something I didn't.
"No, Agnes," he said quietly.
"That's what you were made to believe."
My breath caught in my throat.
"What are you talking about?" My voice came out sharper than I intended. "Who told you that? You don't know anything about my life..so don't act like you do."
"I know more than you think," he replied.
Anger flared in my chest.
"Then say it clearly instead of talking in riddles!"
He stepped closer.
"Your parents didn't die in an accident."
The world seemed to tilt.
"They were… silenced."
My ears rang.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. "That's not true. That can't be true."
"It is."
"Stop!" I snapped. "You don't get to rewrite my life because you feel sorry for me—and don't say what you're not sure of!"
"I was there."
That stopped me.
Everything went still.
"…what?"you where what?
"I was there the night it happened," Thompson said, his voice heavy. "Your father trusted me. We were business partners."
My mind raced.
"No… my father wasn't into anything big. We were just small business owners…"
"Struggling?" he finished. "Barely getting by?"
I nodded slowly.
"That's the story they left you with," he said. "But your father wasn't just an ordinary man. He owned shares… powerful shares… in a company people would kill for."
A cold chill ran down my spine.
"Which company? What do you mean people would kill for it?" I asked, my voice trembling.
He looked straight into my eyes.
"The same circle Martins is trying to enter. That I just cancelled his contract "
My heart dropped.
"This… this doesn't make sense," I muttered. "Why would anyone come after my parents?"
"Because your father refused to hand over what they wanted," Thompson said. "And when he wouldn't… they made sure they collected it with force and made him disappeared.to bury the truth forever "
Tears blurred my vision.
"And my mother?" I whispered.
His jaw tightened.
"She tried to protect you. She hid you before they came back."
My knees felt weak.
All my life, I thought it was an accident. I thought they died on their way home to celebrate my birthday.
So… Jessica was right.
"No… I would remember something… anything…"
"You were too young," he said gently. "And someone made sure you stayed that way."
"What does that mean?"
"You didn't just lose your parents, Agnes," he said slowly.
"You lost your memories too."
The words hit harder than anything else that night.
"No…" I stepped back. "That's impossible."
"Is it?" he asked quietly. "Have you never felt like something was missing? Like your past didn't fully belong to you?"
My silence answered him.
Because I had.
The gaps.
The emptiness.
The unanswered questions.
"…why are you telling me this now?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"I want to help you… protect you," he said. "Because they're back."
My head snapped up.
"Who?"
"The same people who destroyed your family," he said. "And this time… they know exactly who you are."
Fear crept in.
What else do they want?
I don't have anything… I don't even remember anything.
But something else followed.
Anger.
Cold. Burning anger.
"They took everything from me…" I said slowly.
"Yes."
I wiped my tears, my expression hardening.
"Then they made a mistake."
Thompson watched me closely.
"What do you mean?"
I lifted my head, my eyes blazing with a new fire.
"They should have made sure I stayed broken."
A slow, dangerous smile formed on my lips.
"Because now… I'm coming for the truth."
"And I promise I will help you and always be with you," Thompson said.
I paused, something clicking in my mind.
"Wait… Jessica mentioned my parents' death. Do you think she knows something? Or has anything to do with it?"
"And you said you were there ,did you see their faces? Do you have any evidence?"
"Calm down, Agnes," Thompson said.
"I was watching from afar. I couldn't get closer,I was scared. But I heard them talking. They were looking for a key… a key to open a particular safe."
My heart pounded.
"After they found the key… your father lost his life."
"And why are they after me now if they already got the key?" I asked.
He hesitated.
"Because later, they realized something…"
"What?"
"The safe has two locks," he said slowly. "Two different keys."
My breath hitched.
"And your parents are already dead," he continued.
Silence.
"So…" I whispered.
His eyes darkened.
"They're back to retrieve the second key."