Erasure

My fiancé vanished on a covert mission four years ago. I never gave up looking for him. In my past life, when I finally tracked him down, he had assumed a new identity and was living a quiet life with the bar owner who had saved him. I ripped open his past, forcing her to step aside. To protect him, she was stabbed to death in an alley by his old enemies. Later, he dug up every skeleton in my family’s closet and personally handed the files over to the district attorney. I knelt in front of him, begging him to spare my father. He leaned down, his voice chillingly soft: "Weren't you the expert at exposing people's scars?" "This time, it's the Vance family's turn to be stripped bare." When I opened my eyes again, my informant had just handed me a new photo of him. In the picture, he was lighting a cigarette for her, his eyes filled with a tenderness I hadn't seen in years. I closed the file folder. "Burn this lead. We're done." 1 "Maya, how can you just drop this?" On the other end of the line, Julian’s mother’s voice was sharp enough to pierce my eardrums. I pushed the file back into my safe, my tone flat. "Mrs. Hayes, it’s been four years. The search and rescue teams called it off three times. The task force closed the case twice. I’ve done everything I could." "Everything?" She scoffed. "Your father can reopen a customs case with one phone call. Your brother can pull classified border files with a snap of his fingers. And you're telling me you’ve done everything?" "Mrs. Hayes, the Vance family is not your personal bloodhound." "Excuse me? Say that again." I lowered my eyes, staring at the photo of the man lighting a cigarette for Chloe. The glow of the flame illuminated the sharp angles of his face. He looked so much like Julian, yet not like him at all. "I said, I’m done looking." Dead silence fell over the line. When she spoke again, her voice wavered with tears. "Maya, I know you’re hurt, but Julian is your fiancé." "He’s alive. You should be happy." "He has amnesia. You should be the one to bring him home." I asked softly, "Bring him home to do what?" She was stunned. I answered for her. "Bring him home so I can re-educate him on who he is? Tell him who he used to love? Remind him who he owes four years of his life to?" "How did you become so callous?" "I’ve always been like this, Mrs. Hayes. You just never minded it before." Her breathing grew heavier. "Are you upset because there's another woman with him?" I let out a quiet laugh but didn't say anything. She seized on that laugh like it was hard evidence. "I knew it. You’re still throwing your spoiled heiress tantrums." "She saved his life. She’s stayed by his side for four years. What right do you have to be jealous?" I flipped the photo over. On the back, my informant had scribbled: Bar owner, Chloe. Claims to be Leo's partner. Leo. Julian’s new name. "I'm not jealous." "You're lying." "Mrs. Hayes, if I were jealous, I would drive to that bar right now and slap his real ID across that woman's face." Her voice caught in her throat. I continued, "I’m choosing not to interfere, and yet you’re still unhappy?" "You know he’s alive, but you’re keeping it from the family. You’re trying to kill me." "I will mail the photos to you." "You’re not going there yourself?" "No." "Aren't you afraid Julian will hate you?" I looked up at the framed engagement photo on the wall. In it, Julian was fixing my veil, his eyes brimming with love. In my past life, he used those exact same eyes to watch me beg on my knees. It's the Vance family's turn, he had said. My fingernails dug into my palms, but my voice remained steady. "Whether he hates me or not is entirely up to him." Mrs. Hayes finally lost her temper. "Maya Vance, your parents raised you to be a cold-blooded monster." "If you want to break the engagement, fine." "But you will reimburse the Hayes family for every cent we spent searching for him." I paused. "Mrs. Hayes, the Vance family covered almost all of those expenses." "But my family lost a son! We lost a life!" "You can't just wash your hands of this the second you find him. You can't leave my son with some trashy bartender!" I rubbed my temples. "Do you want me to find him, or do you want me to steal him back?" "I want you to bring him home." "What if he doesn't want to come back?" "Why wouldn't he? He’s just sick." In my past life, I thought the exact same thing. I stubbornly believed he had just forgotten me. I thought that once his memory returned, he would come back to me. But when his memories came flooding back, our engagement wasn't the first thing on his mind. It was Chloe dragging him out of a mangled wreck in a torrential downpour. It was Chloe giving him the name 'Leo'. It was Chloe taking a knife that was meant for him. I didn't want to prove that I was there first anymore. What good was being first? Mrs. Hayes suddenly softened her tone. "Maya, please. I’m begging you." "He used to listen to you more than anyone." "One word from you is worth a hundred from us." My eyes flicked to my phone as a text from an unknown number popped up. [Ms. Vance, I heard you’ve been looking for Leo for four years.] [I’m Chloe.] [We should talk.] The next message was a photo. It showed Julian asleep on a narrow cot behind a bar counter. Around his wrist was the braided red string bracelet I had made for him. In my past life, Chloe had snipped that bracelet off and thrown it in the trash. This time, it was still there. A voice memo followed. Her voice was sickeningly sweet. "Ms. Vance, he can't live without me now." "If you really love him, don't scare him." "People with amnesia are incredibly fragile. What if you trigger a memory and it drives him insane? Can you carry that guilt?" Through the phone receiver, Mrs. Hayes demanded, "Who are you texting?" I didn't answer. Chloe sent another text. [Tonight, 9 PM. The Pier Alley. Neon Rose Bar.] [Come alone. Don't bring his family.] [I don't want to make things difficult for Leo.] I stared at the name 'Leo', a phantom taste of copper rising in my throat. In my past life, she had invited me the exact same way. After that night, I barged into her life like a madwoman and dragged Julian out from behind that bar. I thought I had won. Only later did I realize that was the beginning of my true nightmare. Mrs. Hayes shouted, "Maya, answer me!" I placed the phone face down on my desk. "Mrs. Hayes, I will courier the photos and the address to you." "The Hayes family can decide what to do next." "You're really abandoning him?" "Yes." Mrs. Hayes sobbed, "You have no heart." I smiled to myself. The people with hearts died first in my last life. Before she hung up, she delivered one final warning. "Maya Vance, if you refuse to bring him home today, don't come crying to me when he comes back on his own." I looked at the last photo Chloe had sent. Julian was awake, glaring into the camera. His eyes were cold and guarded, like a feral animal staring down an intruder. Beneath the photo, Chloe had typed: [He asked me who Maya Vance is.] A knock came at the door. "Miss," the butler said. "Mrs. Hayes is here. She’s kneeling at the front gate and refusing to leave." I locked my phone screen. My voice sounded detached, even to my own ears. "Let her kneel." 2 "Maya! Open the door! I know you’re in there!" Mrs. Hayes had been pounding on the gates all night. I sat in the living room. My father pushed a cup of hot tea toward me. "If you don't want to see her, I'll have security escort her home." I shook my head. "She won't leave." My older brother, Liam, scoffed. "Of course she won't. If she kneels at our gate today, tomorrow she gets to play the victim and say the Vances left her son to rot." My mother frowned. "Liam, don't speak like that." "Mom, am I wrong?" Liam handed me an iPad. A local gossip forum was already blowing up. [Wealthy Heiress Abandons Missing Hero Fiancé After Finding Him; Hero's Mother Begs on Knees in the Dead of Night.] The attached photo was of Mrs. Hayes kneeling at our gate. The angle was deliberately chosen to highlight her vulnerability, capturing every gray hair at her temples perfectly. I glanced at it and couldn't help but laugh. My mother looked at me with aching concern. "Maya, stop laughing. It hurts to watch." I handed the iPad back to my brother. "Chloe posted this." Liam paused. "How do you know?" "In my past li—" I caught myself before the words slipped out, my nails biting into my palms. "She's moving too fast. It has to be her." My father studied my face for a moment. "You had a nightmare last night." I murmured, "Dad, I'm fine." "When you broke your arm as a kid, you said you were fine too." "I really was fine that time." "You cried so loud the whole hospital heard you. That's what you call fine?" My mother let out a tearful chuckle. Suddenly, Mrs. Hayes's wails echoed from the gate. "Maya! I'm begging you! I'll kowtow to you!" "Just go see him! Don't let that woman brainwash him!" "He's my only son!" My mother couldn't take it anymore. "Maybe you should just go clear the air with her?" I looked at my mother. "Mom, there's no clearing the air." "Why not?" "Because she doesn't want answers. She wants to corner me into doing her dirty work." Liam's face darkened. "I'll go handle her." I stopped him. "Don't touch her, Liam." "She's dragging our family's name through the mud, and you want me to do nothing?" "Provoking you is exactly what she wants." In my past life, Liam had gone out to force Mrs. Hayes to leave. The video was maliciously edited to make it look like Vance family bodyguards were assaulting a fallen hero's grieving mother. When Julian regained his identity, he watched that video three times. He had said, "The Vance family is so arrogant. They don't even flinch when stepping on someone's face." Those words were burned into my memory until the day I died. Seeing my expression, Liam's voice softened. "Maya, what exactly are you afraid of?" I wanted to say: I'm afraid of you dying. But the words wouldn't form. I just said, "I'm afraid of Julian coming back." The living room fell silent. My father didn't speak for a long time. "Didn't you spend the last four years tearing the world apart looking for him?" I gripped my teacup. The rising steam stung my eyes. "I'm tired of looking." My mother whispered, "Maya, you didn't say that before." She was right. Before, I said I would find him dead or alive. Before, I said Julian promised to spend every birthday with me, and he wouldn't break that promise. Before, I watched the security footage of the day he disappeared a thousand times, until all I saw when I closed my eyes was that exploding car. But no one warned me that obsession could turn into a blade. The doorbell finally stopped ringing. The butler walked in, looking grim. "Miss, the press is outside." Liam grabbed his jacket. "Is she insane?" The butler added quietly, "There's also a woman live-streaming." I opened my phone and quickly found Chloe's stream. She was wearing a simple white sundress, standing outside my gates, clutching a battered Zippo lighter in her hands. In the video, she was crying beautifully. "I'm not here to steal him away." "I just want to tell Ms. Vance that Leo is doing fine." "He wakes up screaming from nightmares. He shakes when he hears sirens. He can't afford to be traumatized by his past again." The live chat was scrolling frantically. [She's so sweet.] [Can the rich girl just leave the amnesiac guy alone?] [Four years and she couldn't find him, but the second someone else saves him, she loses her mind. Typical.] [The Vance estate is terrifying. Look at all those guards.] Chloe bowed to the camera. "Ms. Vance, please don't force him." "If you absolutely must take him back, I will leave." "But if he loses me... he will die." Liam let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Who does she think she is? An oxygen tank?" "Don't go out there," my father said sternly. I stood up. My mother grabbed my hand. "Maya." I patted her hand gently. "She set the stage. If I don't make an appearance, she'll put on a show until dawn." Liam lowered his voice. "What are you going to say?" "I'm going to announce that the engagement is off." "Right now?" "Right now." As the massive gates swung open, the camera flashes were blinding. Chloe immediately turned to me, her eyes perfectly rimmed with red. "Ms. Vance. You finally came out." She held out the lighter. "Leo asked me to hold onto this. He said looking at it gives him a migraine." I didn't take it. "Then keep it out of my sight." Chloe froze, clearly not expecting that response. "You don't even want to look at it?" "No." She bit her lip, the tears falling right on cue. "Are you still blaming me, Ms. Vance?" "I don't blame you." "Then why won't you go see him?" The cameras were shoved practically into my face. Mrs. Hayes was sobbing on the ground beside her. "Maya, you can't be this cruel." I looked directly into the lenses. "I, Maya Vance, am officially breaking my engagement with Julian Hayes, effective immediately." The crowd erupted. A gleam of triumph flashed in Chloe's eyes before she expertly masked it. "Ms. Vance, don't make rash decisions out of spite." "It's not spite." "But Leo..." "Whether his name is Leo or Julian, it has nothing to do with me anymore." Mrs. Hayes lunged forward and grabbed the hem of my coat. "How can you say that in front of all these people?!" I looked down at her. "Mrs. Hayes, didn't you warn me that if I didn't go get him, I'd regret it?" She froze. I gently pulled my coat from her grip. "Then let me regret it." Chloe suddenly stepped in front of Mrs. Hayes, playing the role of the protective, dutiful daughter-in-law. "Ms. Vance, Mama Hayes is in poor health. Please don't agitate her." I gave her a flat look. "You're calling her 'Mama' pretty naturally now, aren't you?" Her face went pale. The live chat was losing its mind. [Rich girl is so toxic.] [Omg why is she bullying the woman who saved his life?] [Don't worry Chloe, Leo will protect you.] Speak of the devil. A phone started ringing. Seeing the caller ID, Chloe immediately put it on speaker. A man's low, gravelly voice came through. "Chloe? Where are you?" My blood ran ice cold in that instant. I hadn't heard that voice in four years. Even filtered through a speaker, it cut me to the bone. Chloe looked at me with tearful eyes, but her tone was sickeningly soft. "Leo, I'm at Ms. Vance's house. She says she doesn't want you anymore." Silence hung on the line for two seconds. Then, he spoke coldly. "Good." Chloe’s tears spilled over, looking like she had just won a prize. She held the phone out to me. "Ms. Vance. He wants to talk to you." I didn't take it. Julian’s voice echoed again. "Maya Vance, right?" I stared at the phone. My throat felt like it was filled with broken glass. "Yes." "Stop having people investigate me." "Okay." "And stay away from Chloe." "Okay." He seemed surprised by how quickly I agreed. His tone grew colder. "I don't know you, and I don't want to know you." I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "I know." He paused. "You'd better." I didn't say anything else. Chloe ended the livestream, unable to hide her smugness. She leaned in close to me, her voice dropping to a whisper. "See, Ms. Vance? He only listens to me now." I lowered my eyes. Her smile grew sweeter. "So bow out gracefully. Don't make this ugly." I looked back up at her. "Keep a tight leash on him, Chloe." "What?" I spoke slowly. "Don't let him go." 3 "Ms. Vance, if you make your breakup announcement too cold, people will think you're heartless." Chloe sat across from me in my living room, sliding a document across the coffee table. She was dressed very plainly today, but the cuffs of her blouse were embroidered with tiny white lisianthus flowers—her namesake. She kept touching the embroidery as she spoke, a subtle reminder to everyone of her pure, innocent persona. I didn't even glance at the document. "Who let you in?" Mrs. Hayes, sitting next to her with puffy eyes, spoke up. "I brought her." I looked at Mrs. Hayes. "This is the Vance residence." "I know." Mrs. Hayes choked out a sob. "Maya, Chloe is a good girl." Chloe immediately lowered her head. "Mama Hayes, you don't need to defend me. Ms. Vance looks down on girls from small towns like me." Liam let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "You're pretty quick with the victim routine." Chloe looked at him timidly. "Mr. Vance, I just want to protect Leo." "Protect him? All the way into my living room?" She opened the document and pushed it closer to me. "Ms. Vance, I'd like you to sign this voluntary severance declaration." I skimmed it. It was drafted beautifully. It stated that I voluntarily acknowledged no legal or factual marital ties with Julian Hayes, that I would voluntarily cease all search efforts, and that I would voluntarily refrain from interfering in Leo's life under the guise of being his fiancée. The last clause was the most interesting. Should any past actions or enemies of the Vance family endanger Leo, the Vance family assumes full legal and financial responsibility. I slid the paper back to her. "Who taught you how to write this?" Chloe bit her lip. "A lawyer." "What kind of hack lawyer would write garbage like this?" Mrs. Hayes intervened anxiously. "Maya, it's just a formality." "Mrs. Hayes, do you even know what this last clause means?" "I don't understand legal talk." "It means if anything happens to Julian in the future, they can pin the blame entirely on my family." Mrs. Hayes's face changed. Chloe's eyes instantly filled with tears. "Ms. Vance, how can you assume the worst of people?" I stared at her. "You're not a bad person. You're just incredibly skilled at writing people into a trap." She whispered, "I didn't have much schooling. I don't understand the complex games rich people play." "You don't understand high society, but you sure understand liability waivers," Liam sneered. Chloe looked pitifully at Mrs. Hayes. Mrs. Hayes immediately shielded her. "Liam, you're a grown man. Stop bullying a young girl." Liam looked ready to throw his coffee cup at the wall. I put a hand on his arm. "Liam. Let it go." A flash of triumph crossed Chloe's eyes. She had won this round. She spoke softly, "Actually, Ms. Vance, I came here today for another reason." "Speak." "Leo has been having terrible nightmares these past few years, and his health isn't great. He refused to go to the major hospitals because he was terrified of being tracked down. I had to borrow a lot of money to take care of him." Mrs. Hayes immediately jumped in. "Maya, the Hayes family will pay her back." Chloe shook her head. "Mama Hayes, I'm not here to ask for money." With that, she placed another sheet of paper on the table. It was an itemized list. Medical bills, bar renovation costs, psychological counseling fees. The total was $3.7 million. I pointed at one specific line item. "Custom low-frequency sound system, $160,000. Is this a medical expense too?" Chloe blushed. "Leo couldn't sleep. Listening to white noise helped him." "A $160,000 white noise machine?" Liam mocked. "Does it grant him enlightenment?" Mrs. Hayes looked at the list, clearly embarrassed. "Chloe, these expenses..." Chloe's tears fell on cue. "Mama Hayes, I swear I didn't want any money." "But Leo told me yesterday that he didn't want to owe Ms. Vance anything." "He said if Ms. Vance feels her four-year search was too expensive, we can reimburse her." A sharp pain pierced my chest. "He said that?" Chloe nodded. "He said people like you demand tenfold for every cent you give." "He has amnesia!" Mrs. Hayes rushed to defend him. "He doesn't know what he's saying!" I looked directly into Chloe's eyes. She didn't look away. This woman's greatest weapon wasn't playing the victim. It was knowing exactly which words would cut the deepest. In my past life, after she died, Julian listened to every single voice memo on her phone. She had recorded something remarkably similar. She said, "Leo, Ms. Vance spent so much money on you. I'm so scared she's going to use it to control you later." Julian replied, "Let her try." Back then, I naively thought "let her try" meant he was defending me. I only realized later that it was sheer disgust. I picked up a pen. Liam grabbed my hand. "Are you crazy?" My mother also looked alarmed. "Maya, don't sign that." I looked at the declaration. "Cross out the last two clauses." Chloe froze. "What?" "I'll sign the severance agreement. I won't look for him, and I won't see him." "But the Vance family is not taking the fall for him, and we are certainly not paying your tab." She pursed her lips in an exaggerated pout. "Ms. Vance, Leo will think you're being petty." "He can think whatever he wants." Mrs. Hayes suddenly interjected. "Maya, just sign the whole thing." I looked up. "Mrs. Hayes?" She avoided my gaze. "Julian only trusts Chloe right now. Just humor her for a bit. Don't agitate him." Liam exploded. "You want my sister to foot the bill for your son's 'savior'?!" "What else am I supposed to do?!" Mrs. Hayes sobbed. "My son won't even speak to me!" "So you bully my sister instead?" "Your family has money and power! What is three million dollars to you?!" My mother was shaking with rage. But suddenly, I wasn't angry anymore. I realized some people don't need a grand revelation to show their true colors. The second their own interests are threatened, they show exactly who they are. Chloe nudged the pen closer to me. "Ms. Vance, maybe you should just sign it." "See? Nobody wants this to get ugly." I picked up the pen and violently struck through the final two clauses. Chloe's smile vanished. I signed my name. "Is this graceful enough for you?" She stared at the crossed-out lines. "Ms. Vance, it's going to be very hard for me to explain this to Leo." I set the pen down. "That sounds like a 'you' problem." Her expression shifted. Suddenly, she pulled out her phone. "Leo? She signed it. But she said your debts are my problem." On the other end of the line, Julian’s voice was heavy. "Put her on the phone." I didn't take it. Chloe put it on speaker.