The first thing Eleanor remembered was the sound of rain.
Not the rain outside her bedroom window.
This rain was heavier.
Louder.
It struck against tall glass windows while thunder rolled somewhere in the distance.
Eleanor was small.
Very small.
She couldn't have been more than seven years old.
She was standing in a hallway she didn't recognize.
Her tiny hand was wrapped around the fingers of a woman.
A woman with soft perfume and a gentle voice.
Ellen Hale.
Eleanor couldn't see her face clearly, but she knew her.
She knew that voice.
"Don't be afraid, sweetheart."
Little Eleanor looked up.
"Why are they angry?"
Ellen looked toward a closed door.
"Because grown-ups sometimes make mistakes."
"Did Daddy make a mistake?"
Ellen's expression changed.
"Yes."
The memory shifted.
A door opened.
Mark Vance walked into the room.
He looked younger.
Angry.
Adrian followed behind him.
And standing several feet away was the woman wearing the silver mask.
Eleanor couldn't hear everything.
But she heard one sentence clearly.
"She cannot remember this."
The voice belonged to Adrian.
Ellen stepped in front of Eleanor.
"You promised."
Mark's voice was cold.
"We had no choice."
"There is always a choice."
"You don't understand what is at stake."
Ellen looked furious.
"I understand perfectly."
The little girl began crying.
Ellen immediately turned toward her.
"Eleanor."
She crouched down.
"Look at me."
The little girl wiped her tears.
"Everything will be okay."
"Are you going to leave?"
Ellen's expression broke.
She pulled Eleanor into her arms.
"No."
Then the memory disappeared.
---
Eleanor woke suddenly.
She sat upright in bed, breathing heavily.
Her heart was racing.
She looked around her bedroom.
Everything was normal.
The curtains.
The furniture.
The morning light.
But the memory felt real.
Too real.
She pressed her hands against her temples.
"Ellen…"
The name escaped her lips.
For several minutes, Eleanor remained still.
Then she reached for her phone.
She wanted to call Raven.
Her thumb hovered over Raven's name.
But something stopped her.
The memory.
Mark.
Adrian.
Ellen.
The masked woman.
And the words:
She cannot remember this.
Eleanor put the phone down.
She wasn't ready.
Not yet.
---
At Vance Capital, Eleanor spent the morning distracted.
She sat through three meetings without remembering half of what had been discussed.
Sebastian noticed immediately.
"You're somewhere else today."
Eleanor looked up.
"Sorry."
"Do you want to postpone the next meeting?"
"No."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
Then he placed a file on her desk.
"Your father requested these documents."
Eleanor frowned.
"My father?"
"Yes."
"When?"
"This morning."
She opened the file.
It contained old corporate records.
Nothing unusual.
Until she saw a date.
Five years ago.
The same year Ellen died.
Eleanor's stomach tightened.
She turned another page.
There was a property transaction involving Vance Capital and a Hale subsidiary.
Another page.
A payment.
Another.
A confidential agreement.
Then a name.
Ellen Hale.
Eleanor stopped.
"Sebastian."
"Yes?"
"Where did this file come from?"
"Your father's office."
Eleanor immediately closed it.
"Don't send anything else from him to me without telling me first."
Sebastian nodded.
"Understood."
After he left, Eleanor stared at the file.
Why was her father suddenly sending her records from the same period she was beginning to remember?
Was it a coincidence?
Or did Mark know her memories were returning?
---
Across the city, Raven was having a similar problem.
She hadn't slept much.
The photograph of Eleanor with Ellen remained on her desk.
Andrea stood across from her.
"We traced another transaction."
Raven looked up.
"Connected to Mark?"
"Yes."
"And Adrian?"
"Yes."
"What was it for?"
"We don't know."
Raven frowned.
"You keep telling me you don't know."
Andrea gave her a tired look.
"We're dealing with records that were deliberately buried."
Raven leaned back.
"Then unbury them."
Andrea nodded.
"There is something else."
"What?"
"We found a reference to Eleanor in one of Ellen's private files."
Raven froze.
"What kind of reference?"
"A protection agreement."
Raven stood.
"Protection from whom?"
"We don't know."
"Find out."
Andrea hesitated.
"Raven…"
"What?"
"You need to consider that Eleanor may know more than she realizes."
Raven's expression softened.
"I know."
"Then be careful."
Raven looked at the photograph.
"I will."
---
That evening, Eleanor returned home earlier than usual.
The house was quiet.
She entered through the side entrance and heard voices coming from the study.
Her father's voice.
Then Adrian's.
Eleanor stopped.
She wasn't trying to listen.
But then she heard her name.
"She is remembering."
Eleanor's heart stopped.
Adrian spoke.
"How much?"
"We don't know."
"Then you need to find out."
Eleanor covered her mouth.
Mark's voice became quieter.
"If she remembers what happened that night, Raven will eventually know everything."
Eleanor's blood ran cold.
"What happened that night?"
Adrian spoke again.
"The death of Ellen Hale."
Eleanor's breathing became shallow.
Mark sighed.
"We never intended for Eleanor to be involved."
"You brought her there."
"She was a child."
"And Ellen knew."
A long silence followed.
Then Mark said,
"Ellen made her choice."
Adrian replied,
"And we made ours."
Eleanor's eyes filled with tears.
She stepped backward.
Her foot accidentally hit a small table.
The sound echoed through the hallway.
The voices inside stopped.
Eleanor froze.
The study door opened.
Mark stepped out.
His face changed when he saw her.
"Eleanor."
She stared at him.
"What happened to Ellen?"
Mark said nothing.
"Dad."
"Go upstairs."
"No."
"Eleanor."
"What happened to her?"
Adrian appeared behind Mark.
His expression was unreadable.
Eleanor looked between them.
"You know."
Mark's jaw tightened.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain it!"
Her voice broke.
"What happened to Ellen?"
Neither men answered.
And their silence told her enough.
Eleanor turned and ran.
---
She locked herself in her bedroom.
Her hands were shaking.
She opened her phone.
Raven's name was still there.
She almost called.
Then the memory returned.
Ellen's face.
Her arms around Eleanor.
Her voice.
Don't be afraid, sweetheart.
Then Mark.
Adrian.
The masked woman.
And another voice.
A voice Eleanor couldn't identify.
"When Ellen is gone, the girl must forget."
Eleanor covered her ears.
"No."
She didn't want to remember anymore.
She didn't want to know.
Because every answer seemed to lead directly toward Raven.
And the more Eleanor remembered, the more she feared what the truth would do to her relationship with the woman she loved.
---
Raven's phone rang.
Eleanor.
Raven answered immediately.
"Eleanor?"
There was silence.
"Are you there?"
"Yes."
Eleanor's voice trembled.
"I need to ask you something."
"Anything."
"Do you believe my family had something to do with Ellen's death?"
Raven didn't answer immediately.
Eleanor closed her eyes.
That hesitation was enough.
"Raven?"
"I don't know."
"But you suspect them."
"Yes."
Eleanor's voice became quieter.
"I think I remember something."
Raven sat upright.
"What?"
"I heard my father and Adrian talking."
"About Ellen?"
"Yes."
Raven's heart began pounding.
"What did they say?"
"That I was there."
Raven froze.
"What?"
"They said I was there when it happened."
Raven's expression changed.
Eleanor continued.
"I was a child."
"I know."
"And I think someone made me forget."
Raven stood.
"Eleanor, listen to me."
"I don't know what to do."
"You don't have to do anything tonight."
"But what if—"
"I'm coming to you."
"No."
Raven stopped.
"Why?"
"Because I don't think you should."
"Eleanor."
"Please."
The call ended.
Raven stared at her phone.
She immediately called back.
No answer.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Andrea entered the office.
"Everything okay?"
Raven looked up.
"No."
"What happened?"
"Eleanor remembers something."
Andrea's expression changed.
"What?"
"She thinks she was present when Ellen died."
Andrea went silent.
Raven grabbed her coat.
"Where are you going?"
"To Eleanor."
"Raven—"
"I don't care what anyone says."
Andrea watched her leave.
---
Eleanor stood by her bedroom window.
She looked out at the city.
Her reflection stared back at her.
She whispered,
"I can't lose her."
Because somewhere deep inside, Eleanor knew the truth was coming.
And she was terrified that when it finally arrived, Raven would look at her differently.
She didn't know that Raven was already on her way.
She didn't know that Raven had no intention of letting her face the truth alone.
And she certainly didn't know that someone else had been watching the Vance estate all evening.
Across the street, inside a parked black car, a woman lowered a pair of binoculars.
The silver mask sat beside her.
Her phone rang.
She answered.
"She remembers."
A male voice replied,
"How much?"
The woman looked toward Eleanor's window.
"Enough to become dangerous."
"And Raven?"
The woman smiled.
"She'll never let Eleanor go."
A pause.
"Then we know exactly what to use against her."
The call ended.
The woman picked up the silver mask.
Before putting it on, she looked toward the Vance estate one last time.
"Poor little Eleanor."
Then she smiled.
"You should have forgotten."
To be continued…