She succeeded in escaping the building with Vincent and arrived home safely without Rowel suspecting her movements
As as the day got darker, she wander about her room thinking seriously until she finally laid on her bed
Kelly didn't sleep that night, she was restless at some point due to the few things that happened
She woke up to found out that she actually fell asleep but she woke up and looked around in dismay
Even after Rowel left—calm, in control, like always—his presence lingered in the air like a storm cloud. The shattered glass was gone by morning, cleaned without a trace. The laptop? Missing.
He'd taken it while she slept.
But she didn't remember sleeping.
She didn't remember anything after his voice echoed in her room last night.
The journal had a new entry:
"They watched me while I slept. I smiled like I didn't know. But I did."
That wasn't me, Kelly thought. I didn't write that.
Or… had she? She stood up confused
The mansion felt different now. More eyes, more silence. She passed a maid in the hallway who bowed without meeting her gaze—then made a subtle sign across her chest, like a cross..or warning
Breakfast was served in the sunroom. The usual cup of jasmine tea awaited her.
Kelly didn't touch it.
Rowel entered ten minutes later, dressed in a black suit, crisp and unbothered. He didn't say a word at first. Just watched her.
"You've stopped drinking your tea," he said finally.
"I've developed a taste for water," she replied.
His lips curled in amusement. "You're becoming quite… aware."
She held his gaze. "Am I not supposed to be?"
There was a pause. Then, he leaned forward. "Awareness is dangerous when it's based on fear."
Kelly's fingers clenched around her fork. "And when it's based on truth?"
He didn't answer. Just reached into his blazer and dropped a small object on the table.
A pill.
"Take this," he said. "It'll help with the headaches."
She stared at it. "What's in it?"
"Relief."
She didn't move.
Rowel smiled, stood, and walked away without another word. The pill stayed there, taunting her, like a silent choice: obedience… or rebellion.
She just couldn't think straight any longer
By noon, her head began to pound, she felt a deep, thudding ache that made her vision blur. Withholding the pill was a mind game.
She retreated to the garden, searching for calm breeze but the air felt thick—like the world was closing in.
That's when Vincent found her.
Disguised as a groundskeeper, he passed her on the gravel path, pushing a wheelbarrow. Their eyes met briefly, and he dropped something near the rose bush.
She waited until he disappeared before retrieving it.
A small recorder.
She clicked play with shaking fingers.
"He's planning something tonight. I've hacked into the med log. There's an entry scheduled for 2:00 AM—deep memory override. Kelly, if he succeeds, you'll forget everything. Me, The journal, Yourself. You have less than 12 hours. Find Room 9C."
Her chest tightened.
The mansion didn't have numbered rooms. At least, not on this floor.
But what if…
She rushed inside, bypassing the guards with a fake smile. In her wing, there was a hallway she never explored—always locked, Until now.
Surprisingly, the door wasn't sealed.
She crept through, every creak of the floorboards sounding like thunder in her ears. There was dusty air, dim lights, old portraits lined the walls, their eyes seeming to follow her.
She reached a steel door at the end.
9C.
It was real.
Her hand trembled as she pushed it open.
The room inside was sterile and filled with medical equipment like a bed and monitor
And a weird chair, just the kind used for restraint.
Beside it stood a screen with footage playing.
Footage… of her.
Being wheeled into the room, screaming and begging so loud
And Rowel.
Who seemed calm and silent while injecting something into her neck.
Kelly stumbled back, bile rising in her throat. The room spun.
He erased me before and he'll do it again
She couldn't handle the sight of everything and just as she attempted to escape the room before she could turn around to run—only to collide into something solid.
Rowel.
He was already standing there without her noticing his presence
He blocked the doorway.
Expressionless.
"You weren't supposed to find this," he said.
Kelly backed away, heart pounding. "Why are you doing this to me?"
He stepped closer. "Because you asked me to."
She blinked. "What?"
Rowel reached into his pocket and held up a signed document. Her signature.
"By my own will, I agree to undergo memory suppression and remain under the care of Rowel Don until such time deemed safe."
Kelly's hands shook as she took it. The signature… was hers.
No mistake.
But she didn't remember.
"I don't understand," she whispered. "Why would I sign this?"
Rowel's voice was soft now. Too soft. "Because you were running from something worse."
"What could be worse than this?"
He looked her in the eye. "The truth."
"Mom?" Kelly's voice cracked.
Her mother stood in the doorway, dressed in muted hospital scrubs. Her face was thinner, older. Her eyes vacant. Not the warm woman Kelly remembered—this was a ghost.
Rowel didn't flinch.
"I didn't want you to find out like this," he said.
Kelly's legs buckled. She gripped the edge of the metal chair to stay upright.
"She's supposed to be dead," she whispered.
"No," Rowel said calmly. "She was supposed to be erased."
Kelly looked between them. "You lied to me."
He stepped closer. "I protected you."
"From what?" Her voice rose, shaking. "From her?"
Her mother spoke at last, but the words were disjointed. Robotic. "You promised… no more… pain…"
Rowel's jaw tightened. "She's in a delicate state. Years of trauma. The kind you asked me to wipe from your mind."
Kelly staggered back. "That's not possible. I'd never—"
"You would." Rowel pulled another document from his pocket—another recording. Her own voice played, weak and broken.
> "Erase it all. I don't want to remember the fire… my mother's screams… the blood… Please, Rowel. I'll do anything."
Kelly dropped the recorder. "No. No, I never—"
"You begged," he said. "You didn't just sign your mind away. You surrendered it."
Tears welled up in her eyes. Her mind was a battlefield now—half her memories stolen, the other half manipulated. Was she even Kelly anymore?
Her mother suddenly collapsed to her knees, clutching her head. "The fire… the fire… Make it stop!"
Kelly rushed to her, but Rowel grabbed her wrist.
"She's unstable."
"So am I!" Kelly snapped, wrenching free.
Her hands wrapped around her mother's. "I'm here. It's me, Mom. Kelly."
Something flickered in the woman's eyes.
Recognition.
"You... you were so small," she murmured. "Your father... he tried to—"
The door burst open.
Vincent rushed in
Out of breath and Bleeding profusely
"They're coming," he warned. "You need to choose, Kelly. Right now."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
But he didn't answer her—his eyes were locked on Rowel. "She remembers enough. Let her go."
Rowel didn't move. But something changed in his gaze—steel hardening.
"I said let her go," Vincent growled, pulling out a small device.
Rowel didn't even blink. "That trigger in your hand? Won't work."
Vincent froze.
Kelly's pulse spiked. "What is happening?"
Rowel stepped forward slowly. "You think this is a rescue, Kelly? It's not. Vincent wants you free because he needs what's still hidden in your head. And the moment you remember it, he'll disappear."
Vincent's jaw tensed. "He's lying."
Rowel turned to Kelly. "Do you feel saved? Or used?"
Kelly looked between them—her mother trembling, Vincent bleeding, Rowel remained cold as ice.
She didn't know who to trust.
But deep inside, she felt something shift. Something awaken.
Her memories… they weren't all gone. They were buried.
She clutched her mother's hand tighter. "I'm not leaving without her."
Rowel stepped aside, to her surprise. "Then go and see how far you get."
Vincent grabbed her elbow. "Now, Kelly."
They bolted down the hallway, her mother stumbling between them.
Sirens echoed through the walls. Lights flickered red as the Doors slammed shut behind them.
They reached the courtyard. The gate was open—just barely.
Kelly's heart thundered.
But just before crossing the threshold, she heard him.
Rowel's voice, echoing from a speaker.
"You can run, Kelly. But every night, you'll forget. And one day… you'll forget you ever ran."