Chapter 61: Stolen Memories...

Adrian's POV

“What you should be asking, Adrian, is why both your memories were erased,” the masked man said.

“Well, I'm glad you know what questions to answer. So start talking.” I reached for the gun I had grabbed from the injured body of one of Styles's men, but the man simply chuckled.

He raised his hands in mock surrender, which meant he could see me clearly.

“There would be no need for weapons here, Adrian. I do plan to answer your questions,” he replied calmly. “But I think you should watch this first.”

He stepped back into the shadows and turned the projector back on. This time, a different video played on the screen.

It was another video of Raven and me inside the facility, but this time, someone was lying on the side. A child, but his body seemed to have been cropped out of the footage.

I could be seen crying and struggling, begging them not to take Raven, but the other child simply lay there on the floor, unmoving.

This made me curious.

Who was that child?

Suddenly, a woman entered the room, shifting my attention from the child to her.

Raven's mother?!

My eyes widened.

She knelt in front of me, running her hand through my hair. A soft smile rested on her face.

“I am so sorry, Adrian,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “But if I let you remember this, you wouldn't stop trying to find Raven, and they would keep coming for you.”

Then she signaled the doctor to inject me. I watched myself spasm a couple of times before I passed out.

The projector cut off.

I scoffed, turning to the man, who was now standing in the same position he had been in earlier.

“Is this some kind of joke or something?” I hissed, and he shook his head.

“I wouldn't bring you here just to play a prank on you, Adrian. I know you don't remember me, but give me some credit.”

“Really?” I growled. “Then tell me why Raven's mother would order my memories erased, only to hire me later as her personal guard?”

The man shrugged.

“I have no idea, Adrian. I am just a man, not some kind of seer,” he replied sarcastically.

I simply stared at him, my face expressionless.

The masked man sighed.

“Look, Adrian. I might not know why Rebecca was so complicated or why she hired you, but I do know one thing.”

“She never wanted to hurt you. All she ever wanted was to protect you and Raven,” he said softly, and I couldn't help but ponder his words.

All this time, I had thought Raven's mother was a victim in all of this, but now, it looked like she might have been the mastermind behind everything.

The only reason she would have felt the need to protect me was if she had done something that hadn't gone the way she intended.

I think finding Raven's mother might just be the answer to all my questions.

The man slid a file across the table toward me. It stopped directly in front of me.

Bold letters were printed across the front:

Subject R-01

Subject R-02

I looked toward the direction where the man stood.

“I'm sure you must be curious about what those mean.”

I said nothing.

“Well, what are you waiting for? Open them.”

He commanded, and I slowly opened the first file.

It contained a picture of little Raven and another one of her as a grown woman.

Then I opened the second one.

It contained two pictures of me—one as a child and one as an adult.

I frowned, turning to the man.

“Why are there two pictures of me and only one of Raven?”

The man remained silent for a moment before answering.

“Because you are Subject R-02, not R-01,” he said in an almost obvious tone.

I nodded slowly.

“So what does this mean? And why were we labeled like this?”

“You will understand in due time,” he said.

I didn't bother questioning him further. I already knew I wouldn't be getting any real answers anyway.

“So why were we made test subjects?” I asked, looking in his direction. “Why us?”

The man didn't answer immediately. Instead, he said, “The people looking for Raven are powerful. They aren't all connected, but they have one goal—to possess her.”

\---

Raven's POV

I paced around the room.

I couldn't bring myself to relax.

Dael's behavior earlier, when I mentioned Adrian, was so suspicious.

Did he know Adrian before now?

Why did he seem like he had a personal vendetta against Adrian?

Feeling useless, I decided to continue searching the room. Who knew? I might find something much more useful and self-explanatory.

I began searching through the boxes and documents scattered across the table until I came across another photograph.

It was wedged between two files, as if someone had intentionally hidden it.

The photograph contained two children. One was Adrian, and the other had his face cropped out.

But I recognized him immediately.

It was me.

The picture itself told me nothing. Frustrated, I turned it over.

Written in small red ink on the back were the words:

Aster Project—Primary Pair.

Beneath that, written in smaller letters, were the words:

Separation Failed.

My curiosity only deepened.

“What does this mean?” I muttered to myself.

Just then, the lights came on, and I immediately spun around.

Someone was standing in the doorway, but the hallway was dark, and the light from the room wasn't bright enough to illuminate where he stood.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

Why would anyone stand in a hallway watching me?

“Dael?” I called out.

\---------

Adrian's POV

“So, how do I know them?” I asked, confused.

“I have no idea, Adrian. This is all the advice I have for you today.”

I clenched my jaw as I turned to leave, the files in my hand.

“Wait, Adrian!” the man called.

I sharply turned toward him.

“You better make it snappy because I'm thoroughly pissed right now,” I snapped.

The man simply chuckled, pointing toward the projector.

I turned to it.

A picture of Raven, her mother, Drew, and another man appeared on the screen. They stood outside the facility.

But they weren't the only ones there.

There was also a young boy standing nearby.

His back was turned, but I could feel a strange familiarity coming from him.

Something about him seemed to call to me.

Like I knew him...

But I couldn't remember who he was.

Suddenly, the projector went blank.

“You know, Adrian, Raven's mother wasn't the only one protecting you all this time.”

Then he turned around and walked away.

I stood there, staring after him.

Now what the hell does that even mean?