Chapter 4: A Face You Almost Remember
Selena stared at the empty bottom of her wine glass, but her mind wasn't on the drink.
It was still standing by that window.
Still locked in that voice.
She didn't know what it was—something in the way he said those words.
"Have you ever been erased?"
Like it wasn't a question. Like it was a scar.
Julian had gone to bed half an hour ago. She said she'd join him.
She didn't.
Instead, she sat alone in the lounge, phone in hand, searching.
Daniel Knight.
She typed the name slowly, like it might trigger something.
LinkedIn. Business articles. Some vague finance mentions. Nothing else.
No social media. No real past. No photos before two years ago.
That alone was odd.
Everyone had a digital footprint. Everyone.
Except ghosts.
She frowned and stared out the window again, city lights twinkling beneath her like stars trying too hard. She wasn't paranoid.
But she wasn't stupid either.
Something about that man unsettled her.
Not his smile. Not his money.
His silence.
It felt... known.
Across the city, Adrian stood in his apartment, the file folder still open.
Julian Ward's record. Every scandal swept under private rugs. Every bribe, every woman, every backdoor deal.
Selena Hayes. Assistant-turned-lover-turned-traitor.
He paused on her photo again.
Not the new Selena. Not the polished diamond at Julian's side.
The old one.
Eyes softer. Lips unsure. The girl who once held his hand when the whole world wanted him guilty.
The same girl who walked away before the verdict.
He wasn't here to punish her yet.
Not yet.
First, he wanted her to remember.
It hurts more that way.
He closed the folder, picked up his phone, and typed one message.
The next morning, Selena sat at the conference room table as if she hadn't spent all night scrolling, thinking, guessing.
Julian was in form. Sharp suit, louder voice. Talking about controlling media deals, pitching timelines.
Selena nodded at all the right moments. Took notes. Smiled where required.
But inside, her brain kept flashing images.
The dinner table.
Adrian's face.
The way he'd said her name.
"Miss Hayes."
Formal. Controlled. But... intimate.
Like someone reciting a lie they'd memorized too well.
Her phone buzzed once.
A message from an unknown number.
"Nice view from your balcony last night."
She froze.
No name. No photo. Just that one line.
She looked up immediately. Outside the glass wall of the building, traffic moved like nothing mattered. Inside, her pulse skipped.
Julian was still talking.
She quietly slipped the phone into her bag, excused herself to the restroom, and walked out. Her heels hit the marble with practiced grace, but her heart was no longer in sync.
Who sent that?
She wasn't being watched. She couldn't be.
Except… she could.
Inside the ladies' room, she locked the stall and pulled out her phone again. Re-read the message.
It didn't say her name.
Didn't reference anything exact.
But the timing? Too perfect.
It has to be him.
Daniel Knight.
But why? Why send something like that?
Unless…
Unless he wasn't just new. He was from before.
Her chest tightened.
No.
Impossible.
She would've remembered.
Wouldn't she?
Later that day, she met her personal assistant in the hallway. "Ava," she said calmly, "Can you find me everything on Daniel Knight? Real estate, investments, PR, anything unusual. And keep it discreet."
Ava blinked. "Is something wrong, ma'am?"
"No," Selena smiled. "I just don't like blanks in business."
That night, she couldn't sleep again.
She stood by the same window.
Same skyline.
Same silence.
And this time, she wasn't drinking.
She was remembering.
Not clearly. Not fully.
Just… flashes.
A different room. A courtroom hallway. A hand brushing hers. A voice saying, "You believe me, right?"
Then… nothing.
She rubbed her arms. Why couldn't she place it?
Why did it feel like her brain was skipping a memory it didn't want her to see?
Across the city, Adrian watched his phone vibrate.
One word: "Read."
She saw it.
He closed his eyes for a second, then opened them slowly.
Let her feel it.
Let her wonder.
Let the past start knocking.
[To Be Continued...]