chapter 18~ Where’s The Newspaper?

Without thinking I bolted. I shoved past people, weaving through the crowded market as I chased after him. He must have seen me coming because he turned sharply, slipping between stalls and vanishing behind a cart piled high with sacks of grain.

Not this time.

I picked up speed, ignoring the shouts of vendors as I pushed past them. The man was fast, but I was faster. I caught a glimpse of him turning down an alley, his hoodie pulled low over his face. My pulse pounded as I rounded the corner, a road stretched ahead, and the man in the hoodie was running fast. I pushed myself to go even faster, my heart pounding in my chest. Just as I was closing in, a sudden gust of wind whooshed past me. No-not wind. A person.

Liam.

He sped past me with astonishing speed, closing the distance in seconds. Then, with a single swift motion, he lunged at the man, tackling him to the ground. The hooded figure hit the pavement hard with a grunt, but before he could recover, Liam had him pinned against the nearest wall, his hand locked around the man's throat. By the time I reached them, I was breathless, panting from the chase.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my voice sharp, my breaths coming fast. The man-red-haired, bearded, probably in his thirties-looked at me with wide, fearful brown eyes. Liam's grip tightened slightly, making him gasp.

"Why do you keep watching me?" I pressed.

"Answer her." Liam ordered, his grip tightening.

"I... I don't know," the man stammered.

"Bullshit." My patience snapped."Don't make me wrap my hands around your throat myself, because trust me, my face will be the last thing you ever see." I yanked out the crumpled newspaper photo I had found inside the crate the same picture I had seen the first time I spotted him. I shoved it in his face.

"You put this picture in my crate deliberately. You've been watching me. That means you know who I am." I pointed to the image. "This is me. You wanted me to see it. Why?"

His expression flickered with something—hesitation, fear, guilt. "Why have you been watching me?" I demanded again.

"You don't remember, do you?" he asked, as if trying to confirm something.

"Remember what?"

"Me," he said. "You don't remember me."

"No, I don't. And should I?!

His shoulders slumped slightly. Relief.

He was relieved that I didn't remember

him. "Well, I don't," I said, voice hardening.

"But you'll make me remember, because you're not leaving here until tell me exactly who you are, how we're connected, and why you've been watching me. First, start with this picture. Where did you get it? Why did you want me to see it?"

"I... I saw it in a newspaper" he muttered. "I wanted to see how you'd react."

"Where's the newspaper?"

"I don't know."

"What was written on it before you tore my picture out?"

"I—I don't know."

"Oh, you're kidding me. My frustration boiled over, and I kicked him hard in the ribs. He let out a strangled groan. "What do you mean you don't know? You're telling me you didn't bother reading it? You just ripped it out and ran off to spy on me?"

"I swear, I don't know!" He turned to Liam as if pleading for mercy.

Liam exhaled sharply. "Shit," he muttered.

I frowned. "What?"

Liam looked at me grimly. "He can't read."

I blinked, processing that. "What?" I turned to the man, who averted his gaze, shame coloring his face.

"You can't read, can you?" Liam asked.

He shook his head. "I never learned," he admitted.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Frustration clawed at my chest. My only lead-my only real chance at getting answers-and this idiot had destroyed it without even knowing what it said.

"You said you wanted to see her reaction," Liam said, pulling the man onto a seat. "Why?"

" I just... felt guilty," he admitted under his breath.

"Guilty of what?" My eyes narrowed."You know what happened to me, don't you?"

He scoffed. "You should be thanking me, you know. And instead, you've got your man holding me down like some thug." Liam and I both spoke at the same time.

"He's not my man."

"I'm not her man."

Liam gave him a warning squeeze."Now answer the damn question. Why should she be thanking you?"

The man sighed. "I saw you that day," he finally said. "Inside my truck. You were bleeding, curled up like you were hiding from someone. I don't know how you got in, but you were there. I only noticed because I got out to take a piss and saw blood pooling at the back. When I checked, I found you-unconscious, covered in blood. You had a nasty wound on your head, like someone had bashed you real good. I panicked, okay? If the sheriff had searched my truck that night, l'd have been locked up for something I didn't do."

I swallowed hard. "What did you do?"

He licked his lips nervously. "I—I dragged you out. You woke up for a seconds, begged me to help you, but then you passed out again. I thought you were dead. So... I dumped you on a slope and left you there."

A cold chill ran down my spine."That explains it," I murmured.

Liam and the man both stared at me.

"Explains what?" Liam asked.

I clenched my fists. "You dumped me on the slope. I must've rolled down and hit my head even harder. You said I was already bleeding from my head, but I was still conscious enough to ask for help. That means my memory was intact. But rolling down that slope-hitting my head again—that's what wiped it."

The realization burned through me. If he had just left me on the road instead of throwing me down the slope, I wouldn't have lost my memory. I wouldn't be here struggling to figure out who I was.

"And you have the nerve to say I should thank you?" My fury exploded.

"You left me there to die!"

And now he had the audacity to say I should be thanking him? Before I could stop myself, I lunged at him, pure rage driving me forward.

Liam caught me mid-air. "Calm down he ordered.

I struggled against his grip. "Calm down? I should kill this bastard! And he had the nerve to stalk me after all that?"

"Yeah," Liam said, glaring at the man. "Why were you stalking her?"

The man hesitated. "I... I thought you were dead. Your face haunted me for years. When I saw you at the market, I thought you were a ghost. I just wanted to be sure you were real. And then... it was like the universe was punishing me. I found that newspaper in the dumpster."

"Where is it?" Liam asked.

The man shifted uncomfortably.

"What?"

"The thing you took from her," Liam said. "You're not just guilty about dumping her on the slope. You stole something too, didn't you?

"Oh no." My eyes widened.