Chapter 6: The Truth Olivia Left Behind
Everything happened at once.
The officer moved toward me.
Daniel stepped forward.
Thomas grabbed my arm.
And Dave, my manager, shouted:
"Everyone get away from the doors!""
The customers screamed.
Nobody understood what was happening.
Neither did I.
A normal night shift had turned into something that felt like a nightmare.
"Who are they?"" I whispered.
Thomas pulled me toward the back hallway.
"Not police.""
I looked over my shoulder.
"But they have badges.""
"Fake.""
My heart raced.
"How do you know?""
"Because real officers don't call people targets.""
The word echoed in my head.
Target.
I had become a target.
I never asked for this.
I never wanted any of it.
I just wanted to help an old man buy soup.
Daniel followed us.
"You need to see what Olivia left.""
Thomas looked at him.
"Now?""
"Especially now.""
We rushed into the storage room.
The door closed behind us.
For a moment, all we could hear was our breathing.
Dave stood beside us, pale.
"I don't know what is happening, but I am definitely underpaid for this.""
Under different circumstances, I might have laughed.
But I couldn't.
Daniel plugged the flash drive into the store computer.
A folder appeared.
One file.
Only one.
The name was:
EMILY PARKER.
I stared.
"Why would she name it that?""
Nobody answered.
Daniel opened it.
A video appeared.
My heart stopped.
Olivia Whitaker appeared on the screen.
She looked younger.
Happy.
Alive.
She sat at a desk surrounded by papers.
"If you're watching this," she said, "then something happened.""
I covered my mouth.
Her voice.
The same voice from my broken memory.
Thomas stepped closer.
"Olivia.""
His daughter smiled sadly at the camera.
"Dad, if you found this, I'm sorry.""
Thomas looked like someone had punched him.
"You weren't supposed to find this yet.""
Olivia continued.
"I need you to understand something.""
She looked directly into the camera.
"Everything I discovered started with one person.""
A pause.
Then:
"Emily Parker.""
I felt everyone looking at me.
Olivia continued.
"Six years ago, Emily saved my life.""
My eyes filled with tears.
I remembered.
The rain.
The road.
The girl.
The fear.
But not everything.
"She found me when nobody else did.""
Olivia's voice shook.
"She stayed with me until the ambulance arrived.""
Thomas covered his mouth.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
The video continued.
"I wanted to.""
Olivia looked away.
"But I discovered something worse.""
The room became silent.
"Emily wasn't the only person who was attacked that night.""
I frowned.
"What?""
Olivia looked back at the camera.
"The people who attacked me were looking for information.""
She held up a folder.
"Information about my father's company.""
Thomas whispered:
"No...""
Olivia nodded in the video.
"They weren't trying to hurt me because of money.""
She leaned closer.
"They were trying to stop me from finding the person destroying Dad's company.""
Daniel looked at Thomas.
"Keep watching.""
Olivia continued.
"I traced the corruption back.""
She opened the folder.
"And I found the person responsible.""
My heart pounded.
"Who?""
The video froze.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then Olivia's voice returned.
But this time, it was quieter.
"Emily, if you are watching this, there is something you need to know.""
I stepped closer.
"Something nobody else can know.""
Her eyes looked directly into mine.
"The person who betrayed my father...""
A pause.
"The person who ordered the attack...""
Another pause.
"Is someone you already know.""
I felt cold.
Someone I knew?
Who?
Olivia continued.
"I couldn't tell you because they were watching you.""
The screen flickered.
Then she said the words that changed everything.
"Emily, the person you trust most is the reason I disappeared.""
The video ended.
Nobody spoke.
My hands were shaking.
The person I trusted most.
Images flashed through my mind.
My family.
My friends.
My coworkers.
Everyone I loved.
Everyone I believed in.
Thomas looked at me.
"Emily.""
I couldn't answer.
Because one question was screaming inside my head.
Who could it be?
Then my phone started ringing.
Everyone looked down.
Unknown number.
Nobody moved.
Then the message appeared.
One sentence.
May you like
Only one.
*Stop searching for Olivia, or the next person who disappears will be you.*
