CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 2
ROOM 17
Ethan did not sleep that night.
Neither did Sophie.
After Celeste and Richard finally left the house, Ethan locked every door.
Then he checked them again.
And again.
He activated every security camera.
He called the private security company that protected the estate and ordered them to place two guards outside the property.
But none of it made him feel safer.
Because the danger was no longer somewhere outside.
It was inside his memories.
He sat alone in the study at three in the morning, Anna's photograph lying on the desk in front of him.
The number 17 stared back at him.
He had spent three hours searching through every document in the house.
Hotel records.
Old business trips.
Travel receipts.
Credit-card statements.
Nothing.
No Room 17.
No Lisbon.
No explanation for why Anna had written the number.
The only thing he had found was an old passport.
His passport.
It expired three years ago.
Ethan opened it.
The pages were filled with entry and exit stamps.
New York.
London.
Paris.
Madrid.
Then—
Lisbon.
He stared at the stamp.
His fingers tightened around the passport.
The date was three years ago.
Two days before Anna's death.
Ethan closed his eyes.
He remembered being in New York.
He remembered a business meeting.
He remembered calling Anna that night.
He remembered telling her he would be home the following afternoon.
He remembered everything.
Or thought he did.
But the passport said something different.
He had been in Lisbon.
And according to the entry stamp, he had stayed there for thirty-six hours.
Ethan opened his laptop.
He searched his company travel records.
The trip didn't exist.
No flight reservation.
No hotel.
No expense report.
Nothing.
Someone had erased it.
Or he had.
His phone rang.
Ethan immediately answered.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice whispered:
"Don't search for Room 17."
Ethan stood.
"Who is this?"
"You found the passport."
"Who are you?"
The woman breathed heavily.
"Someone who knew Anna."
"Where are you?"
"That doesn't matter."
"It matters to me."
"You need to listen."
Ethan gripped the phone.
"What?"
"Room 17 wasn't a hotel room."
He frowned.
"Then what was it?"
Silence.
"Tell me."
The woman finally whispered:
"It was a safe place."
"For Anna?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
The line went dead.
Ethan stared at the screen.
He immediately called the number back.
Disconnected.
He sat down.
Then he noticed something.
The caller ID.
The number wasn't American.
It was Portuguese.
Ethan looked at the clock.
3:17 a.m.
His eyes moved to Anna's photograph.
He opened a search engine.
He typed:
Lisbon Room 17 Anna Carter
Nothing.
He tried again.
Lisbon safe house Room 17
Hundreds of results.
Hotels.
Apartments.
Hostels.
Nothing useful.
Then he remembered something.
A name.
A hotel Anna had mentioned years ago.
Not Lisbon.
Sintra.
A small hotel outside the city.
Anna had once told him she loved the place because it was quiet.
Ethan searched it.
The hotel still existed.
But there was something strange.
Its room numbers went from 15 to 18.
There was no Room 17.
Ethan leaned closer.
He searched old photographs.
The building had been renovated two years earlier.
The original floor plan showed seventeen rooms.
The new floor plan showed sixteen.
Room 17 had disappeared.
Ethan's pulse quickened.
He grabbed his passport.
Then his coat.
He walked toward the bedroom.
Sophie was awake.
She was sitting on the bed.
"Daddy?"
Ethan stopped.
"Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I heard you."
He walked over.
"I'm going somewhere."
"Where?"
"Portugal."
Sophie immediately shook her head.
"No."
Ethan sat beside her.
"I need to find something Mommy left."
"Is it dangerous?"
He didn't answer.
Sophie looked frightened.
"Mommy said you shouldn't go there."
Ethan froze.
"When did she say that?"
"Before."
"Before what?"
"The accident."
Ethan swallowed.
"What else did she say?"
Sophie looked down.
"She said Lisbon wasn't safe."
"Why?"
"Because the man lived there."
"What man?"
"I don't know."
"Did you see him?"
Sophie shook her head.
"Mommy said he was your friend."
Ethan stared.
"One of my friends?"
Sophie nodded.
"She said you trusted him."
Ethan's mind raced through every friend he had.
Executives.
Lawyers.
Business partners.
Childhood friends.
No one came immediately to mind.
Then he remembered Richard.
Richard had first entered his life through a business deal.
Three months before Anna's death.
Ethan had trusted him because Anna had seemed to trust him.
That realization hit hard.
Anna had never trusted Richard.
She had feared him.
So why had she allowed him into their lives?
Ethan stood.
"I'm coming back."
Sophie grabbed his hand.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"Before morning?"
Ethan hesitated.
Then smiled.
"Before morning."
It was a promise he would later wish he had never made.
By 8:30 a.m., Ethan was on a private flight to Lisbon.
He took only one person with him.
Marcus.
His head of security.
Marcus had worked for Ethan for nine years.
He was one of the few people Ethan still trusted.
Or thought he trusted.
During the flight, Ethan showed him the photograph.
"Find out what Room 17 means."
Marcus studied it.
"Do you think Anna wrote this?"
"Yes."
"Then we should assume it's real."
Ethan looked out the window.
"Everything she wrote is becoming real."
Marcus lowered his voice.
"What about Celeste?"
"I left her under surveillance."
"And Richard?"
"Same."
"Do you want me to have them arrested?"
Ethan shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because I need them to believe I still don't know everything."
Marcus nodded.
"What do you know?"
Ethan looked at him.
"Nothing."
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
"That's not true."
Ethan smiled bitterly.
"That's the problem."
Lisbon was colder than Ethan remembered.
That was the first thing he noticed.
The second was the feeling.
He had been here before.
Not recently.
But he knew the streets.
He knew which roads turned sharply.
He knew where the old hotel stood.
He knew where the nearest train station was.
Marcus noticed.
"You've been here."
Ethan shook his head.
"I don't remember."
They drove for another hour.
The hotel appeared behind a row of trees.
Small.
Elegant.
Old.
A place designed for people who wanted to disappear.
The manager was an elderly man named Paulo.
Ethan showed him Anna's photograph.
Paulo's face changed immediately.
"You know her."
Paulo stared at the picture.
"Yes."
"When?"
He looked at Ethan.
"Three years ago."
Ethan's heart jumped.
"What did she do here?"
Paulo hesitated.
"She stayed."
"For how long?"
"Five nights."
Ethan stared.
"Five?"
Paulo nodded.
"She was frightened."
"Of who?"
Paulo looked toward Marcus.
Then back at Ethan.
"Of someone who followed her."
"Who?"
"I don't know."
"Did she have a child?"
"No."
"Did she mention me?"
Paulo hesitated.
"Yes."
"What did she say?"
Paulo's expression became uncomfortable.
"She said her husband would come."
Ethan felt a strange pressure in his chest.
"When?"
"She didn't know."
"Did I come?"
Paulo looked directly at him.
"Yes."
Ethan froze.
"When?"
"Three years ago."
"Which day?"
"The night before she disappeared."
Ethan's mouth went dry.
"I wasn't here."
Paulo shook his head.
"You were."
"No."
"I remember you."
Ethan stepped closer.
"What did I do?"
Paulo frowned.
"You asked for Room 17."
Ethan's blood turned cold.
"What?"
"Room 17."
"I thought there was no Room 17."
Paulo gave him a strange look.
"There isn't now."
"What happened to it?"
"It was sealed."
"Why?"
"Anna asked us to."
Ethan stared.
"Why?"
Paulo didn't answer.
"Tell me."
"She said it was dangerous."
"Why?"
Paulo looked at Ethan.
"Because someone had hidden something inside."
Ethan's heart began pounding.
"What?"
"Documents."
"About Celeste?"
Paulo shook his head.
"About you."
Silence.
Ethan felt as though the floor had shifted beneath him.
"What kind of documents?"
"I never opened them."
"Who did?"
Paulo looked away.
"Your friend."
"Which friend?"
Paulo whispered:
"Richard."
Ethan closed his eyes.
Richard.
Again.
Always Richard.
"Where is Room 17?"
Paulo hesitated.
"Follow me."
They went downstairs.
Past the kitchen.
Past an old wine cellar.
Then through a narrow corridor Ethan hadn't noticed when he entered.
At the end was a brick wall.
Paulo touched a hidden latch.
Part of the wall moved.
Behind it was a staircase.
Marcus immediately reached for his weapon.
Ethan stared.
"How long has this been here?"
"Since the hotel was built."
They descended.
At the bottom was a metal door.
There was no number.
Only a small engraved symbol.
17.
Ethan stared at it.
His pulse was racing.
Paulo handed him a key.
"Anna left this."
Ethan looked at it.
"Why didn't you give it to me before?"
Paulo's expression was sad.
"She told me not to."
"Until when?"
"Until you came looking for Room 17."
Ethan inserted the key.
The lock turned.
The door opened.
The room was tiny.
No windows.
One table.
One chair.
One metal cabinet.
And a single surveillance monitor.
The monitor flickered on.
Ethan stepped inside.
The screen displayed a date.
Three years ago.
Then Anna appeared.
Alive.
Sitting in the chair.
Ethan stopped breathing.
"Anna."
Her eyes looked tired.
Her hair was disheveled.
There was a bruise along her cheek.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you're watching this, Ethan, then something went wrong."
Ethan moved closer.
Anna continued.
"I don't know whether you'll remember coming here."
Ethan froze.
She knew.
She knew he might forget.
"That's why I recorded this."
She took a breath.
"Celeste is not the person she claims to be."
Ethan looked at Marcus.
Marcus said nothing.
Anna continued.
"Richard is working with her."
Ethan clenched his jaw.
"They have been moving money through accounts connected to your company."
"Millions."
"They are planning to leave the country."
Ethan stared.
"With Sophie."
His heart stopped.
Anna looked terrified.
"But there is something worse."
The screen flickered.
Anna leaned closer.
"Someone inside Ethan's company is helping them."
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
Anna continued.
"Someone Ethan trusts."
The screen went black.
Then came another recording.
Anna was standing.
Her face was bruised again.
She was holding a folder.
"I found the proof."
She placed the folder on the table.
"Bank transfers."
"Flight records."
"Phone records."
"Photographs."
"Everything."
Ethan stared.
Then Anna said something that made his blood run cold.
"But the most important evidence isn't in this room."
She looked directly into the camera.
"It's inside Ethan's memory."
Ethan stopped breathing.
Anna continued.
"Someone has been making him forget."
Marcus looked at Ethan.
"What does she mean?"
Ethan couldn't answer.
Anna's voice became softer.
"If they erase enough of his memory, they can make him believe anything."
The video paused.
Then resumed.
Anna whispered:
"I made Ethan forget on purpose."
Ethan stepped backward.
"No."
Marcus looked at him.
"Sir?"
"No."
He stared at the screen.
Anna continued.
"I had no choice."
She wiped tears from her eyes.
"If Ethan remembers everything, they will know he remembers."
Ethan's head began pounding.
Images flashed through his mind.
A hospital.
White lights.
Anna crying.
A needle.
Someone holding his arm.
A voice saying:
"This will help you forget."
Ethan grabbed the table.
Marcus rushed toward him.
"Sir."
"I'm fine."
But he wasn't.
Anna continued.
"I need Ethan to believe the accident was his fault."
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Why?"
"Because that's the only way they'll stop watching him."
The screen flickered.
Anna looked toward the door.
Someone was outside.
She whispered:
"They're here."
Then she looked back at the camera.
"Ethan, if you're watching this..."
She smiled sadly.
"...I'm sorry."
The video ended.
The room went silent.
Ethan stood frozen.
Marcus finally spoke.
"She knew."
Ethan nodded.
"She knew everything."
He opened the metal cabinet.
Inside was a single folder.
On the cover:
PROJECT 17
Ethan opened it.
The first page contained photographs.
Celeste.
Richard.
Anna.
Ethan.
And several photographs of Sophie.
The second page contained bank transfers.
The third contained flight records.
The fourth contained medical records.
Ethan stopped at the fifth page.
It was a hospital document.
His name was printed across the top.
ETHAN CARTER
Diagnosis:
Traumatic memory disruption.
Treatment:
Experimental memory suppression protocol.
Date:
Three days after Anna's accident.
Ethan stared.
He had never remembered being in that hospital.
Marcus looked over his shoulder.
"Who signed the authorization?"
Ethan turned the page.
There were two signatures.
One belonged to a doctor.
The second belonged to a legal representative.
Ethan knew the name.
He had seen it thousands of times.
His own company lawyer.
The man who had handled Anna's estate.
The man who had told Ethan the accident was his fault.
The man who had convinced him to stop asking questions.
And beneath the signature was one handwritten note.
AUTHORIZED BY CELESTE VANCE.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
Celeste had authorized the procedure.
She had known about his memory loss.
She had known what Anna knew.
She had known exactly how vulnerable he was.
But there was one more page.
Ethan slowly turned it over.
A photograph fell onto the floor.
It showed Ethan leaving the hospital.
Three years ago.
He was wearing the same suit he had worn the night Anna died.
But there was something strange.
He wasn't alone.
A man was walking beside him.
Ethan stared.
He recognized the man.
It was Richard.
But Richard wasn't looking at Ethan.
He was looking at the camera.
And on the back of the photograph, Anna had written:
RICHARD WASN'T THE ONE WHO ERASED YOUR MEMORY.
Ethan's breathing stopped.
Marcus picked up the photograph.
"Then who was?"
Ethan turned it over.
There was another sentence.
One he had not seen before.
THE PERSON WHO DID IT IS THE PERSON YOU WILL TRUST WHEN YOU REMEMBER NOTHING.
Ethan stared at the words.
Then his phone rang.
It was Sophie.
He answered immediately.
"Sweetheart?"
Her voice was trembling.
"Daddy?"
"I'm here."
"I woke up."
"Are you okay?"
"I heard someone downstairs."
Ethan stood.
"Where are you?"
"In your bedroom."
"Lock the door."
"I did."
"Don't open it."
"Daddy..."
"What?"
"There is a woman outside."
Ethan's heart stopped.
"Who?"
Sophie began crying.
"She says she's Mommy."
Ethan looked at Marcus.
The phone almost slipped from his hand.
"What?"
Sophie whispered:
"Daddy..."
Then a woman's voice came through the phone.
Soft.
Familiar.
A voice Ethan had not heard in three years.
"Hello, Ethan."
His entire world stopped.
May you like
It was Anna.
And she was alive.
