Chapter 4
Serena's POV
Then he silently brought me back to the car.
The sedan door slammed shut, instantly cutting off all outside sounds.
"Serena." My father's voice was unusually heavy. "It's time you knew the truth."
My heart began racing. Luca pulled out a thick folder from his briefcase, and in the car's dim light, I could see his hands trembling slightly.
"What are these?" My voice sounded foreign and fragile.
"Evidence," Luca said softly. "Evidence about you and Caleb Foster."
Photos slid out of the folder one by one. Pictures of me and Caleb together - at restaurants, in parks, in front of an apartment I couldn't remember at all. In the photos, I was smiling so brightly, clinging closely to that man. But I had no memory of any of it.
"This can't be..." I murmured.
"And these." My father handed me a stack of chat screenshots. The screen showed my name in conversations with Caleb.
Caleb: Come with me, let's live in Chicago
Serena: But my family...
Caleb: I love you, I need you
My hands began shaking.
"When we found you," Luca's voice started choking up, "you'd already lost your mind. Talking to thin air, even pointing guns at people who weren't there. You kept screaming a name - Elias - saying he'd betrayed you, saying someone was trying to kill you."
"No..." I shook my head. "This isn't real."
My father pulled out a tablet from another folder and opened a surveillance video. On screen, a woman in a hospital gown was frantically swinging her fists, screaming at an empty corner. That face, that figure - undoubtedly me.
I felt my stomach lurch.
"To help you forget that pain," my father's voice was almost pleading, "we did pay the doctors to make you completely forget that nightmare. We just wanted our daughter back."
"What about David?" I was practically shrieking. "Why lie to me? Why have someone impersonate David Cooper?"
My father and Luca exchanged glances, both showing flashes of pain.
"After you were discharged, to prevent relapses, we wanted to find you a perfect man closest to the Elias in your heart. You were still mumbling David Cooper's name then," my father's voice broke. "He does exist, and was the best candidate we could find. But when we contacted him and offered a high price, he was already engaged."
"We had to get Damian Kade to impersonate him," Luca picked up. "He agreed to act the part to get close to Valenti family resources. But I promise, as long as our family stands, he'll love you well. He'll become the Elias in your heart."
All three of us had real tears, real pain. I suddenly realized that perhaps I was this family's greatest burden.
"I'm sorry..." My voice was barely a whisper. "I shouldn't have made you worry."
"Serena," my father reached out to stroke my cheek, "you're our most precious daughter. We just want you healthy and happy."
"Give me some time," I closed my eyes. "Let me recover completely."
Over the next few days, the family's "care" for me reached unprecedented heights.
There was always a bodyguard stationed at my bedroom door, supposedly to "protect" me from outside stimulation. My phone was replaced with a new one containing only family contacts. Even my dates with Damian were accompanied by two "personal protection" officers.
"Serena," during one dinner date, Damian gently held my hand, "your family's excessive concern is an expression of love. We haven't stopped you these past days, we've been cooperating with your search for truth. Now that the truth is clear, you should let go of the past."
I stared into his eyes, trying to find the warmth of the Elias from my memories. But I only saw calculation and unnatural performance. Even knowing his true identity, I still couldn't accept this arranged love.
"I know," I said softly. "I'll try."
But in the quiet of night, I pulled out that worn music box and pearl necklace again. I thought, since I needed to completely resolve the past, I should investigate everything following these two clues.
I searched online for ways to recover memories through objects, and one suggestion caught my attention: sound. I immediately looked for the music box's switch, but no matter how I turned it, there was no sound. I'd tried many times and couldn't find the same model online.
Maybe I could ask Caleb - perhaps it was a gift from him.
At midnight, I lay back in bed and suddenly screamed.
My parents immediately rushed into the room.
"Another nightmare?" my mother asked anxiously.
"I dreamed of Caleb again," I sobbed. "I need to go to Chicago one last time to settle this completely. Otherwise I'll never get better."
My mother hesitated briefly. "Go ahead, Serena. Elias never existed anyway. Only after you find no clues yourself can you truly let go."
This trip to Chicago, both Damian and Luca accompanied me, claiming it was for "protection," but I knew they were there more to monitor me.
Outside Caleb's rundown apartment, I deliberately recalled those "betrayal" fragments, stirring up inner anger, then lunged at him demanding:
"Why did you deceive me? I would never have just easily gone with you."
Caleb looked at me and suddenly sneered: "You were hiding from your brother... When you came to Chicago with me, wasn't it to escape your family?"
My body stiffened. This statement contained crucial information: my "elopement" might have been to escape some family threat.
While Damian was outside smoking and Luca was taking a call, I quickly pulled out the music box:
"Caleb, did you give me this music box?"
He looked at it carefully and shook his head: "I've never seen that thing."
Just then, Luca strode over, eyeing us suspiciously:
"What are you talking about?"
I quickly hid the music box behind my back: "Nothing, just venting my anger."
Caleb suddenly laughed maniacally: "Looks like you really lost your memory... and seem to be hiding something from your brother. She came to ask if I bought her that music box."
His eyes deliberately indicated what I was hiding behind my back.
Luca's expression instantly turned dangerous.
"Come out," his voice was so cold it felt foreign. "We should go."
At a desolate spot in Chicago's outskirts, Luca had the driver stop. Damian and the bodyguards in the following car also stopped. He silently got out and opened my door, gesturing for me to exit. Outside was silent and empty, with only occasional car sounds from the distant highway.
I didn't dare move. We remained in this standoff.
"Take out the music box." He demanded while extending his hand.
I still didn't move.
Luca's movements suddenly became rough and vicious, all previous doting care instantly shattered. He yanked me from the car and snatched the music box from my hands. Seeing me stumble, he immediately resumed his "worried brother" expression, reaching out to steady me.
"Serena, don't make me worry..."
But I caught the flash of coldness in his eyes. He skillfully found a hidden button at the bottom of the music box and pressed it lightly. The lid popped open.
"What's so special about this music box," he stared at me, his voice sharp as a blade, "that you'd hide it from the family and come to Chicago twice to find Caleb?"
I realized my plan was about to be completely exposed.
