Chapter 5

"Mr. Shaw, we can't continue!"

One of the doctors shouted, "The damage to her brain and spine is too severe! The connection is becoming more unstable by the second. We can't extract any more memories!"

Daniel acted as though he hadn't heard a word.

By now, he realized that there seemed to be a reason behind everything I had done.

A reason that drove me to this point.

"Faith, what are you waiting for? Tell me."

He crouched down in front of me and asked with genuine seriousness.

But it was too late.

My brain had already suffered catastrophic damage.

Blood and saliva trickled from the corners of my mouth, and all I could offer him was a vacant, foolish smile.

The sight of me like that made Daniel reach out, intending to release me from the Memory Extraction System.

The doctors immediately stopped him.

"She's not going to survive!"

"Even if you take her off now, she'll die!"

"We should use the auxiliary extraction unit and drive the system at maximum power."

"At least... at least we might get the killer's identity!"

That final argument made Daniel hesitate.

His obsession with the truth overcame the last remnants of trust and love he still held for me.

He stood there in silence for a long time.

Then, at last, he retrieved the specialized extraction helmet designed for the Memory Extraction System.

Inside the helmet was a specially engineered steel spike nearly five inches long.

It was designed to bore directly through the skull and force a memory extraction at twice the normal power.

With trembling hands, Daniel lowered the helmet onto my head and activated it.

The spike punched through my skull and drove deep into my brain.

"Ugh..."

Blood-flecked foam spilled from my mouth as my entire body convulsed uncontrollably.

"While the spike is still holding! Maximum power!"

Under the overwhelming surge of electricity, I unexpectedly regained a fleeting moment of clarity.

With immense effort, I turned my eyes toward Daniel and forced out my final words.

"What I needed to do... is done. The rest...is up to you..."

The massive screen above erupted into fragmented flashes from different periods of my life: childhood, school, to the years after I met Daniel.

Countless memories flickered by in chaotic succession.

In the end, the images settled once more on the night of the murders.

Under Anne's desperate protection, I climbed out of the wardrobe and escaped through the window.

Using the drainpipe, I avoided the killer and made my way into the stairwell on the floor below.

The moment my feet touched the ground, I ran into my in-laws, who had been trying to reach us and were on their way upstairs.

"Faith?"

The instant Emily saw the state I was in, she pulled me into a hug, her face filled with concern.

"Oh my God, what happened? Where's Anne?"

I couldn't speak.

I wanted to grab them and get them out of there.

But my father-in-law, Jack, had already taken out his phone and was preparing to call the police.

Then I heard footsteps coming from the floor above.

The expression on my face slowly changed.

Without warning, I slapped the phone out of Emily's hand before she could make the call.

Before either of them could react, I shoved them both down the stairs.

My in-laws tumbled down the staircase.

They died on impact.

At that moment, a pair of black rain boots stained with blood appeared at the top of the stairs.

And I slowly lifted my head to look at their owner.

A collective gasp swept through the audience.

The killer I paid such a terrible price to protect...

The person whose identity I concealed no matter the cost...

Was actually...