Chapter 3 – Three Years Ago
Chapter 3 – Three Years Ago
The laboratory envelope sat unopened on Adrian Harrison's desk.
Forty-eight hours.
That was how long the DNA results would take.
Forty-eight hours of questions.
Forty-eight hours of wondering whether grief had finally driven him insane.
Anna—who looked exactly like Sophia—remained in the guest house under Dr. Brooks' care. Emma refused to leave her side for more than a few minutes, insisting on eating breakfast, reading picture books, and even taking her afternoon nap beside the woman everyone still believed was only a housekeeper.
Victoria watched it all with a smile that never reached her eyes.
She knew time was running out.
Because if Anna remembered...
Everything would collapse.
Three Years Earlier
Three years ago, the Harrison family had looked completely different.
Laughter filled the mansion almost every evening.
Sophia Harrison loved music.
Whenever Adrian came home from work, she would sit at the grand piano in the living room while little Emma danced barefoot across the polished floor.
"Again!"
The one-year-old would clap excitedly.
Sophia laughed.
"Your daddy just walked through the door."
Emma turned around and squealed.
"Dada!"
She stumbled across the room on tiny legs.
Adrian barely had time to set down his briefcase before scooping her into his arms.
"There she is."
"My favorite little princess."
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
"Only favorite?"
Adrian crossed the room and kissed his wife.
"My favorite girl."
Emma giggled.
"No kiss!"
Sophia laughed harder.
"She's jealous."
Life wasn't perfect.
Adrian worked too much.
Board meetings often stretched late into the evening.
Business trips happened almost every month.
But whenever he came home...
Home still felt complete.
Sophia had a way of making even ordinary moments unforgettable.
Their Promise
On the evening of their sixth wedding anniversary, Adrian surprised Sophia with a private dinner on the terrace overlooking the ocean.
Candles flickered in the summer breeze.
Soft violin music drifted through hidden speakers.
Sophia smiled as Adrian fastened a silver bracelet around her wrist.
Forget-me-not flowers crafted from blue sapphires sparkled beneath the moonlight.
"It's beautiful."
He turned the clasp.
Hidden beneath it were tiny engraved words.
Forever Yours — A
Tears filled Sophia's eyes.
"You'll spoil me."
He shook his head.
"Never."
She wrapped her arms around him.
"I don't need jewelry."
"I just need you."
Adrian smiled.
"You've already got me."
"For life."
Neither of them knew how painfully those words would be tested.
Victoria Enters the Picture
Victoria Langford had first entered their lives as the Harrison Foundation's public relations director.
She was intelligent.
Elegant.
Efficient.
Sophia genuinely liked her.
"You work too hard," Sophia teased one afternoon while bringing coffee into Adrian's office.
Victoria laughed politely.
"Mr. Harrison expects perfection."
Sophia smiled.
"So do I."
The three of them often attended charity events together.
Victoria appeared loyal.
Respectful.
Professional.
She remembered birthdays.
Organized fundraisers.
Sent flowers whenever someone fell ill.
Even Emma adored her.
Looking back...
Adrian would later realize something chilling.
Victoria had never forced her way into their lives.
She had patiently earned everyone's trust.
The Yacht Trip
Two months before the tragedy, Sophia suggested a family vacation.
"No meetings."
"No investors."
"No phones."
Adrian laughed.
"That sounds impossible."
"It sounds healthy."
Emma clapped.
"Boat!"
Sophia smiled.
"Yes, sweetheart."
"A boat."
Adrian finally agreed.
A weekend aboard their private yacht.
Just the three of them.
At the last minute, however, a major overseas acquisition demanded Adrian's personal attention.
"I'll fly in tomorrow."
Sophia pretended not to be disappointed.
"You promise?"
"I promise."
He kissed her forehead.
"You and Emma go ahead."
"I'll join you Saturday morning."
She nodded.
"We'll wait for you."
It became the last promise they ever made to each other.
The Explosion
At 2:17 a.m., Adrian's phone rang.
He answered immediately.
"Harrison."
The voice on the other end sounded panicked.
"Sir..."
"This is the Coast Guard."
He sat upright.
"What's happened?"
"Your yacht..."
"There was an explosion approximately eight miles offshore."
Everything after that became a blur.
Helicopters.
Police sirens.
Searchlights sweeping across dark waves.
Smoke rising into the night sky.
Pieces of shattered wood floating on black water.
Adrian refused to believe it.
"Where's my wife?"
No one answered.
"Where's my daughter?"
A rescue diver finally approached.
"We found the child."
Adrian's knees nearly gave out.
Emma survived.
Wrapped in a life jacket.
Terrified.
Crying.
But alive.
Sophia...
Was nowhere.
No Body
The search continued for six days.
Divers covered miles of ocean.
Helicopters scanned the coastline.
Rescue boats worked day and night.
Nothing.
On the seventh day, authorities recovered partial human remains caught among rocks several miles from the explosion.
The condition made visual identification impossible.
DNA testing was ordered immediately.
Three days later, Detective Alan Pierce arrived at the Harrison mansion.
"We're sorry."
"The laboratory confirmed a match."
Adrian stared blankly.
"So..."
"It's her?"
The detective nodded solemnly.
"We believe Mrs. Harrison died instantly."
Adrian never asked to see the report.
He couldn't.
The pain was already unbearable.
He accepted the official conclusion.
He signed the paperwork.
Held the funeral.
Buried an empty casket.
And spent the next three years believing the love of his life had been taken by a terrible accident.
The Woman Who Comforted Him
During those dark months, Victoria rarely left the mansion.
She organized funeral arrangements.
Answered reporters.
Shielded Adrian from endless business demands.
She even cared for Emma whenever Adrian couldn't stop crying long enough to function.
Friends praised her loyalty.
"You're lucky to have someone like Victoria."
Adrian believed them.
At first.
She never pressured him.
Never mentioned romance.
Never crossed any obvious line.
Instead...
She simply remained there.
Day after day.
Month after month.
Until grief slowly became dependence.
Then companionship.
Then something everyone assumed would eventually become love.
Back to the Present
A sharp headache pulled Anna out of another fragmented memory.
She sat upright in the guest bedroom, breathing heavily.
A nurse hurried over.
"Are you alright?"
Anna looked around in confusion.
"I saw the ocean."
"The ocean?"
"There was fire."
Her hands began shaking.
"And..."
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"A little girl."
The nurse smiled gently.
"You've been thinking about Miss Emma."
Anna shook her head.
"No."
"It felt..."
She pressed a trembling hand against her heart.
"It felt like she belonged to me."
Dr. Brooks' Concern
Later that afternoon, Dr. Brooks spoke privately with Adrian.
"Her memories are returning."
Adrian immediately stood.
"How much?"
"Not enough."
"But the fragments are becoming more frequent."
"Is that good?"
"It can be."
The doctor hesitated.
"Or dangerous."
Adrian frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Traumatic memories don't always return gently."
"They often arrive all at once."
"And when they do..."
"They can completely overwhelm the patient."
Adrian looked toward the guest house.
"I don't care how long it takes."
"I just want the truth."
The Funeral Photograph
That evening, Emma wandered into the mansion library while everyone else was occupied.
She loved exploring old shelves.
Looking at colorful books.
Opening drawers she wasn't supposed to touch.
Inside one antique cabinet she found a dusty photo album.
Curious, she climbed onto a chair and opened it.
The first page showed a funeral.
People dressed in black.
Flowers everywhere.
Then she frowned.
There was Daddy.
There was Grandpa.
There was Aunt Claire.
But something looked strange.
She studied the photograph closely.
Then ran downstairs.
"Daddy!"
Adrian looked up from the living room.
"What is it?"
Emma held up the photograph.
"Why didn't Mommy come to her own funeral?"
The question stopped him cold.
He took the album from her.
It was the official photograph taken after Sophia's memorial service.
Everyone stood beside the empty casket.
Everyone...
Except one person.
Victoria.
Adrian frowned.
He had never noticed before.
"Where was Victoria that day?"
Emma innocently shrugged.
"I don't know."
But someone else did.
Standing silently in the hallway, watching the scene unfold, Victoria felt every drop of blood drain from her face.
Because she remembered exactly where she had been during the funeral.
She hadn't been mourning Sophia.
She had been meeting a man at a secluded marina.
The same man who had looked at her and said,
"If anyone ever discovers what really happened on that yacht..."
"...we're both dead."
Victoria slowly backed away before anyone noticed the panic in her eyes.
Upstairs, hidden inside the guest house, Anna suddenly gasped awake from another terrifying memory.
She whispered two words into the darkness.
May you like
"They pushed..."
Then everything went black again.
