CHAPTER 51

The Choice

I stare at the device in Julian's hand, my pulse pounding like a war drum in my ears. It's small, unassuming—just a sleek silver disk no larger than my palm—but the weight of what it holds presses against my chest like a stone. My past. My erased memories. The truth.

Julian's expression is unreadable, but his grip on the device is tight, fingers curled around it like a lifeline. Or a weapon.

"This is it, Nathan," he says, voice smooth but edged with something I can't quite name. "Everything you lost. Everything they took from you."

Riley stands to my right, her breath hitching. I don't need to look at her to know she's struggling. I feel it in the way she shifts her weight, in the slight tremor in the air between us.

"Nathan, you don't have to do this," she says softly.

I swallow hard. The weight of the choice presses down on me.

My entire life has been a puzzle with missing pieces, a story half-told. I remember waking up in that cold, sterile room with no past, no identity beyond the name they told me was mine. I remember the empty spaces in my mind, the way certain places, certain faces, felt familiar without explanation. I remember the flashes of something—someone—whispering at the edges of my consciousness, always just out of reach.

Now, the answers are right in front of me.

But Riley's fear is real.

I turn my head slightly, catching the way her eyes dart from the device to my face. She's not just afraid of what I'll remember. She's afraid of what it will do to me.

I grip my hands into fists, trying to steady myself. "I deserve to know," I say, my voice hoarse. "I can't keep living like this—not knowing who I was, what they did to me."

Julian's lips twitch into something like a smirk, though there's no humor in it. "That's the right call."

Riley's fingers brush my wrist, the lightest touch, but it sends a jolt through me. "And what if it changes everything?" she asks. "What if you're not the same after this?"

I exhale sharply. "Then at least I'll finally know why."

Her jaw clenches. I see the war in her eyes, the way her body shifts between wanting to protect me and wanting to respect my choice. She's the only person who's ever truly been in my corner, and the idea of losing that—it guts me.

Julian steps closer, holding out the device. "It's simple. One press of a button, and it all comes flooding back."

I hesitate.

"What's the catch?" I ask. Because there's always a catch.

Julian chuckles, tilting his head. "Smart. But the only catch is whether or not you can handle the truth once you have it."

A chill runs down my spine.

Because that's the real question, isn't it?

What if the truth destroys me?

I glance at Riley, searching her face for something—anything—to anchor me.

"I won't leave," she says, as if reading my thoughts. "No matter what happens, I won't leave you."

Something in my chest cracks open.

I nod, steeling myself. "Then let's do this."

Julian grins, flipping the device over in his palm before handing it to me.

The metal is cold against my skin.

I take a breath, fingers tightening around it. My heart hammers so hard I swear it's going to break free from my ribcage.

Then, just as I'm about to press the button—

The door behind us slams open.

Riley gasps, Julian tenses, and I spin around, instincts firing on high.

Two figures step in. One man, one woman. Both dressed in black, their eyes sharp, assessing.

I don't recognize them. But something inside me—something deep and primal—does.

"Nathan," the man says, voice as smooth as ice. "Step away from that device."

My grip tightens. "Who the hell are you?"

The woman steps forward, eyes locking onto mine. "You don't remember us, but we remember you."

A shiver runs through me. The way she says it—like a promise, like a threat—sends every nerve in my body into overdrive.

Julian moves to my side, his expression darkening. "You're too late," he says. "He's made his choice."

The man exhales, shaking his head like I'm some stubborn child. "You don't understand," he says. "If you unlock those memories, you'll be signing your own death warrant."

Riley tenses beside me. "What?"

The woman tilts her head. "Do you really think they erased your past just to punish you?" Her eyes flick to Julian. "Or do you think maybe they were protecting you from something you shouldn't have known?"

I feel my pulse in my throat.

Julian scoffs. "Don't listen to them, Nathan. They're just trying to manipulate you."

My stomach twists.

Someone is lying.

Someone is telling the truth.

But I don't know who.

I glance at Riley again, and this time, there's no steadying force in her expression. Just raw, open fear.

I look at the device in my hand.

The weight of the choice crashes down like a tidal wave.

Julian wants me to remember.

Riley doesn't want me to get hurt.

These strangers claim the truth could kill me.

I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff, staring into a void I can't see the bottom of.

Then, before I can second-guess myself—

I press the button.

A sharp, searing pain shoots through my skull.

I gasp, staggering back as images explode in my mind.

Voices. Laughter. Screams.

Flashes of faces, some familiar, some terrifying.

And then—

One image burns itself into my brain, more vivid than the rest.

A room. White walls. A chair.

And me—strapped down, wires attached to my temples.

A voice echoes in my skull. Cold. Detached.

"We have to wipe him. If he remembers, he'll destroy everything."

My own voice—raw, desperate.

"No—please—don't—"

The world tilts. My knees buckle.

Riley's hands catch me as I drop. "Nathan!"

I barely hear her.

Because suddenly, I know.

I know why they erased me.

I know what they were trying to hide.

And worst of all—

I know who I really am.

The truth is a knife, slicing straight through my soul.

And as my vision goes dark, as my body collapses under the weight of it—

One final thought echoes in my mind.

They should have killed me when they had the chance.