Chapter 171 The Name She Could Not Remember

Chapter 171 The Name She Could Not Remember
Chapter 172 – The Name She Could Not Remember

Aria could not take her eyes off the photograph.

Her fingers tightened around its edges as though letting go would somehow erase the faces staring back at her. The little girl in the picture was unmistakably her. The same curious eyes. The same small birthmark near her wrist. Yet the two adults standing beside her felt like strangers.

Daniel watched the color drain from her face.

"What do you remember?" he asked quietly.

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to search beyond the fragments she had always trusted. A playground. Rain against a window. A woman singing softly. The memories arrived in broken pieces, disconnected and blurred.

Then...

A voice.

Someone calling a name.

Not Aria.

Her eyes flew open.

"I heard something."

Daniel stepped closer.

"What name?"

She pressed a hand against her temple as a sharp pain shot through her head. The harder she tried to remember, the stronger the pain became.

"I... I can't..."

The stranger lowered his gaze.

"They knew this would happen."

Daniel turned toward him.

"Who are 'they'?"

"The people who buried her past."

The words echoed across the silent courtyard.

Daniel's expression hardened. "You're going to stop speaking in riddles."

"I'm trying to keep her alive."

Before Daniel could respond, every light along the outer security fence flickered at once.

The guards instinctively reached for their weapons.

One of the technicians shouted from inside the control room.

"We've lost camera feeds!"

Daniel looked toward the building.

"All of them?"

"Every external camera just went offline."

A heavy silence followed.

The stranger looked toward the darkened security monitors through the glass entrance.

"They found me."

Aria felt another sharp stab behind her eyes.

This time, the voice returned.

Faint.

Broken.

Almost like a whisper carried across years of silence.

"...don't forget who you are..."

She gasped and staggered backward.

Daniel caught her before she fell.

"Aria!"

She clutched his arm, breathing hard.

"I heard it again."

"What did it say?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"It said... don't forget who you are."

The stranger closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"They're too late."

Daniel looked sharply at him.

"What does that mean?"

The man opened his eyes again, but before he could answer, a deafening explosion shook the front gates.

The ground trembled beneath their feet.

Glass shattered across the entrance hall.

Smoke poured through the twisted steel as alarms screamed throughout the entire facility.

Daniel immediately pulled Aria behind him.

One terrifying thought crossed his mind.

Whoever wanted the truth buried had finally arrived.