Chapter 1

The rain fell without mercy.

It battered the windshield of the black SUV as it sped down the deserted mountain road.

Thunder cracked across the sky, illuminating the darkness for a heartbeat before everything disappeared into the storm once again.

Inside the vehicle, Saria Ben squeezed the leather seat with shaking fingers.

“Slow down!” she cried, panic filling her voice. “Please, you’re driving too fast!”

The driver didn’t answer.

His hands remained tightly wrapped around the steering wheel.

His face was hidden beneath the shadow of the hood he wore.

Saria's heartbeat pounded painfully against her chest.

Something wasn’t right.

Nothing felt right.

She glanced toward the passenger window.

Endless cliffs stretched into darkness below.

One mistake, on a wrong turn

Can cause my life.

She swallowed hard.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

Silence.

Then the man laughed.

It wasn’t loud and angry

“You really don’t remember, do you?”

Fear rushed through her veins.

“What are you talking about?”

“You always believed people deserved second chances.”

Lightning flashed.

For the first time, she saw his smile reflected in the rearview mirror.

Cold and Empty.

Terrifying.

“I don’t.”

The SUV suddenly turned off.

Saria screamed.

The tires screeched across the wet road.

Everything happened too fast.

Metal twisted.

Glass exploded.

The vehicle crashed through the guardrail.

For one horrifying second, they were suspended in the air.

Darkness.

Beep, Beep, Beep.

The steady sound echoed through the room.

Saria slowly opened her eyes.

The ceiling above her was bright white.

The smell of disinfectant filled the air.

Hospital.

Her head thumped badly.

Every muscle in her body screamed as she tried to move.

“Miss don’t.”

A nurse hurried over.

“You’re awake.”

Saria blinked.

Her throat felt dry.

My head”

“You’ve been unconscious for five days.”

Five days?

The words barely registered.

“What happened?”

The nurse hesitated.

“You were in a car accident.”

Images flashed through Saria's mind.

Rain.

A hooded man.

The cliff and then nothing

She squeezed her eyes shut.

“It hurts.”

The nurse gently adjusted her pillow.

“The doctor will be here shortly.”

Before saria could ask another question, the door opened.

A tall man stepped inside.

Everything about him demanded attention.

His charcoal suit fit perfectly.

His black hair was neatly styled.

His sharp jawline and piercing gray eyes gave him the kind of presence that made an entire room fall silent.

He wasn’t simply handsome.

He looked powerful.

Like someone used to getting exactly what he wanted.

The moment their eyes met, relief flooded his face.

”Saria.”

His voice was deep and warm.

Almost… broken.

“You finally woke up.”

Saria stared.

She had never seen this man before.

Yet he looked at her as though she’d been his entire world.

“Who are you?”

His smile disappeared.

The silence that followed felt unbearably heavy.

“What did you say?”

“I…”

She frowned.

“I don’t know you.”

The doctor entered just then.

After a series of questions and simple memory tests, he sighed quietly.

“I’m afraid the accident caused temporary memory loss.”

The suited man’s face hardened.

“How long?”

“We can’t be certain.”

“It could take weeks.” or “Months.”

The doctor didn’t finish.

Saria watched the stranger carefully.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again.

When he looked at her this time, his expression had changed.

Determined.

“I’m Dan.”

He stepped closer.

“Dan Carter.”

The name meant nothing to her.

Then he spoke the words that turned her world upside down.

“I’m your husband.”

Her heart stopped.

“My… what?”

“You’ve been my wife for almost two years.”

Saria laughed nervously.

“No.”

“That’s impossible.”

“I would remember getting married.”

“You don’t remember anything.”

His voice wasn’t angry.

It was filled with sadness.

“You don’t even remember yourself.”

He reached into his jacket and removed a photograph.

It showed Saria standing beside Dan.

She was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress.

His arm rested around her waist.

Both of them wore wedding rings.

She looked…happy.

Saria’s hands began shaking.

“Is this…”“our wedding day.”

She couldn’t breathe.

It looked real.

Every detail looked real.

But she couldn’t remember any of it.

Not the dress, not the ceremony.

Not dan.

Nothing.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“I’m sorry.”

Dan gently wiped it away.

“You don’t have to apologize.”

“I’m going to help you remember.”

Before she could answer, the hospital room door burst open.

“No!”

A young man stormed inside.

His clothes were soaked from the rain.

His breathing was uneven.

His blue eyes locked onto Saria with unmistakable relief.

“Thank God…”

He rushed toward her bedside.

“You scared me to death.”

Saria instinctively leaned away.

“I’m sorry…”

“Who are you?”

The man’s smile froze.

“What?”

“I…”

She looked helplessly between him and Dan.

“I don’t know you.”

His face turned pale.

Then he looked at Dan.

“You told her.”

“I told her the truth,” Dan replied calmly.

“The truth?”

The newcomer laughed bitterly.

“The truth?”

He pointed at Dan with trembling fingers.

“You’re lying to her.”

The room became deathly silent.

The stranger turned back to Saria

“My name is Lucas Red.”

His voice softened.

“And don’t believe a single word he says.”

Saria’s pulse quickened.

Lucas took another step forward.

“Saria…”

“I’m the man you were planning to run away with.”

Everything around her seemed to stop.

Dan's expression darkened instantly.

“Get out.”

“No.”

Lucas refused to move.

“She deserves to know.”

“Know what?”

Saria whispered.

Lucas looked straight into her eyes.

“The night of your accident…”

“You weren’t trying to save your marriage.”

He paused just long enough for the tension to become unbearable.

“You were trying to escape it.”

Saria's breath caught in her throat.

She looked from Dan to Lucas…

One claimed to be her husband.

The other claimed she had been running away with him.

One of them was lying.

Or perhaps…

Both of them were.

Outside, thunder rolled across the sky once more.

Somewhere deep inside her fractured memories, a voice whispered:

Don’t trust either of them.