The Memory Wars

The Memory Wars
Isabella's POV

The gun was pointed at my heart.

Tony stood in Alex's doorway, his finger on the trigger. His eyes were cold and empty, like looking at a stranger.

"Step away from her," Tony said to Sofia and Alex. "Isabella Russo is under arrest."

"Tony, it's me," I whispered. "It's Isabella."

"I know exactly who you are," Tony replied. His voice sounded different. Robotic. "You killed my family."

My heart broke into a million pieces. "Tony, no. I love you. We love each other."

"Love?" Tony laughed, but it wasn't his real laugh. "You shot me. You left me to die."

"That's not what happened," Sofia said, stepping toward her brother. "Tony, you're being controlled."

"Stay back," Tony warned, pointing the gun at Sofia. "You're working with the enemy."

Alex put his hands up. "Tony, I'm dating your sister. You know me."

"I don't know any of you," Tony said. "Agent Chen told me the truth. You're all criminals."

Sarah's brainwashing had worked perfectly. Tony really believed I was his enemy.

"Tony, look at me," I said softly. "Really look at me. Don't you remember anything?"

"I remember you betraying my trust," Tony said. "I remember you shooting me."

"That never happened."

"It did happen," Tony insisted. "I have the scars to prove it."

I could see the pain in his eyes, even through the mind control. Sarah had used his real injury to convince him of a fake story.

"The scar is real," I said. "But Sarah shot you, not me. I pulled you out of the water. I saved your life."

"Lies," Tony said, but his hand was shaking slightly.

"Tony, please," Sofia begged. "I'm your sister. You've protected me your whole life. You wouldn't hurt me."

"You're not my sister," Tony said, but his voice cracked. "My sister is dead. You killed her."

That's when Alex made his move. He threw himself at Tony, trying to grab the gun.

They fought, crashing into furniture and breaking things. The gun went off twice, shooting holes in the ceiling.

"Run!" Alex yelled. "All of you, run!"

But I couldn't leave Tony. Even brainwashed, even dangerous, I couldn't abandon him.

"Tony, stop!" I screamed. "This isn't you!"

Tony pushed Alex away and pointed the gun at me again. But this time, something was different in his eyes.

"Isabella?" he said, like he was seeing me for the first time.

"Yes," I said quickly. "It's me. It's really me."

"You... you look familiar," Tony said, confused.

"I'm the woman you love," I said. "I'm carrying your baby."

Tony's face went white. "Baby?"

"We're going to have a child together," I said. "You and me. A family."

The gun lowered slightly. "I don't understand."

"Sarah erased your memories," Sofia explained. "She made you forget everyone you care about."

"That's impossible," Tony said, but he sounded uncertain.

I pulled out my phone and showed him a picture. It was from three weeks ago, before everything went wrong. Tony and I were laughing together, his arms around me.

"Do you remember this?" I asked.

Tony stared at the picture. "I... maybe..."

"You took me to dinner that night," I said. "You told me you loved me for the first time."

"No, that's not..." Tony started, then stopped. "Wait. I do remember something."

"What do you remember?" I asked hopefully.

"Kissing you," Tony said slowly. "In the rain. You were crying."

"Because your uncle betrayed us," I said. "But you held me and promised we'd get through it together."

More memories were coming back. I could see it in Tony's face.

"The safe house," he said. "We stayed in a cabin. You cooked for me."

"You hated my cooking," I said with a small smile. "But you ate it anyway."

Tony lowered the gun completely. "Isabella, what did they do to me?"

"They tried to make you forget," I said. "But love is stronger than their drugs."

That's when the front door exploded.

Men in black uniforms poured into the house, shouting and pointing weapons at us.

"Nobody move!" they yelled.

Vincent Senior's private army had found us.

"Tony, we have to go!" I grabbed his hand.

But Tony was still confused. "I don't know what's real anymore."

"I'm real," I said. "Our love is real. Trust me."

Gunshots rang out as Alex fought with the intruders. Sofia was screaming. Everything was chaos.

Tony looked at me, then at his sister, then at the armed men trying to capture us.

"They're the bad guys," he said suddenly. "I remember now. These are Vincent Senior's men."

"That's right," I said. "We have to fight them together."

Tony raised his gun and started shooting at the intruders. His training came back instantly, even though his memories were still mixed up.

"This way!" Sofia yelled, pointing to a back door.

We ran through the house as bullets flew around us. Behind us, I could hear Vincent Senior's men shouting orders.

"The girl is pregnant!" one of them yelled. "Don't hurt her!"

They wanted me alive. That was both good and bad news.

We made it to the backyard, but more men were waiting for us. We were surrounded again.

"Give up, Isabella," one of the soldiers said. "Vincent Senior just wants to talk."

"He wants to kill us," Tony said. His memories were coming back faster now.

"Not kill," the soldier replied. "Control."

That's when I realized something terrible. Vincent Senior didn't want me dead. He wanted me to have his baby and raise it to be his heir.

"Isabella," Tony said quietly. "Whatever happens, don't let them take you."

"I won't leave you," I said.

"You have to," Tony replied. "For our baby."

But it was too late to run. The soldiers were closing in from all sides.

"Tony," I said urgently. "Do you remember everything now?"

"Most of it," Tony said. "I remember loving you. I remember wanting to protect you. I remember..."

His eyes went wide. "I remember Vincent Senior is my grandfather too."

"What?"

"He's my father's father," Tony said. "Marco lied to me my whole life. Vincent Senior is family."

That explained why the mind control had worked so well. Vincent Senior knew exactly how to manipulate Tony because he knew Tony's family history.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "Family isn't about blood. It's about choice."

"You're right," Tony said. "And I choose you."

He kissed me quickly, then whispered in my ear. "When I say run, go to the left. There's a gap in their formation."

"What about you?"

"I'll hold them off."

"Tony, no."

"Isabella, our baby needs at least one parent to survive," Tony said. "Let it be you."

Before I could argue, Tony stood up and started shooting at the soldiers.

"Run!" he yelled.

I ran to the left, just like he said. There was a small gap between two soldiers, and I squeezed through it.

Behind me, I could hear Tony fighting. He was buying me time to escape.

I made it to the street and kept running. My heart was pounding and my legs were shaking, but I didn't stop.

After three blocks, I finally looked back.

Tony wasn't behind me.

I could hear sirens in the distance, but no gunshots. The fighting had stopped.

Either Tony had won, or...

My phone buzzed with a text message.

It was a video file from an unknown number.

I opened it and saw Tony on his knees in Alex's backyard. His hands were tied behind his back, and Vincent Senior was standing behind him.

"Hello, Isabella," Vincent Senior said to the camera. "I have something that belongs to you."

Tony looked up at the camera. His eyes were clear now. All his memories had returned.

"Isabella, don't come for me," Tony said. "Save our baby. Save yourself."

Vincent Senior put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "You have one hour to turn yourself in. Come alone to the address I'm sending you. If you don't show up..."

He pulled out a gun and put it to Tony's head.

"Your true love dies."

The video ended.

I was standing alone on an empty street, pregnant and terrified, with nowhere to run and no one to help me.

Vincent Senior had won.

He had Tony, he had our families, and now he was using all of them to force me into a trap.

My phone buzzed again with an address.

I had fifty-nine minutes to decide between saving Tony and protecting our unborn child.

But as I stared at the address, I realized something that made my blood freeze.

It was the same address where my mother had been murdered twenty-five years ago.

Vincent Senior wasn't just planning to capture me.

He was planning to kill me in the exact same place where he had killed my mother.