Chapter 1 - The Fall

I remember the bridge now.

I remember the rain striking the windshield.

I remember my husband’s hand resting over mine as though he were trying to comfort me.

And I remember the exact moment I realized he had brought me there to kill me.

But when I opened my eyes at the bottom of the ravine, I remembered none of it.

Eight months before that night, I had been in a car accident.

I survived.

My eyesight did not.

At least, that was what I had been told.

My husband, Julian Reed, became my entire world after the accident.

He guided me through rooms.

Read documents aloud.

Handled my medication.

Managed my bank accounts.

Attended every doctor’s appointment.

Whenever I broke down, he held me and whispered the same thing.

“I’ll be your eyes until the day you can see again.”

I believed him.

I had loved Julian for seven years.

Why wouldn’t I?

The night he drove me to Blackwater Bridge, he told me we were going somewhere special.

“Where?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

I laughed bitterly.

“Poor choice of words.”

Julian squeezed my hand.

“Sorry.”

The car stopped.

Rain hammered the roof.

Julian helped me out.

Cold air touched my face.

I heard rushing water somewhere below.

“Julian?”

“I’m here.”

“Where are we?”

“The place where I proposed.”

My heart softened.

Blackwater Bridge.

Seven years earlier, Julian had brought me there beneath a summer sunset and asked me to marry him.

Now I could not see the river.

Or the mountains.

Or his face.

But I smiled.

“Why bring me here tonight?”

There was a pause.

Then Julian said:

“Because everything started here.”

His voice sounded different.

I remember that now.

At the time, I only felt confused.

He guided me toward the railing.

My fingers touched cold metal.

Then another voice came from behind us.

A woman.

“Did she sign everything?”

My body froze.

I knew that voice.

Celeste Morgan.

Julian’s executive assistant.

Our friend.

A woman who had spent countless evenings in our home.

“What is Celeste doing here?”

Silence.

I turned my head.

“Julian?”

Celeste gave a frustrated sigh.

“She heard me.”

My heart began pounding.

“Heard what?”

Julian grabbed my wrist.

Not gently.

“Julian, you’re hurting me.”

“I’m sorry, Amelia.”

The apology terrified me more than the grip.

“Why are you apologizing?”

Celeste answered.

“Because you made this much harder than it needed to be.”

I tried to pull away.

Julian tightened his hold.

“What is happening?”

My voice cracked.

Nobody answered.

Then fragments from the previous months suddenly returned to me.

Documents Julian had asked me to sign.

Shareholder authorizations.

Insurance papers.

Trust amendments.

He had always said they were routine.

I had signed because I could not read them.

Because I trusted him.

Because he was my husband.

“What did I sign?”

Julian said quietly:

“Enough.”

My blood turned cold.

I stepped backward.

His hand caught my shoulder.

“Julian…”

“I really did love you once.”

My breath stopped.

“Once?”

Celeste whispered:

“Do it.”

I screamed.

Julian pushed me.

My back struck the railing.

For half a second, I felt nothing beneath my feet.

Then I fell.

Rain.

Wind.

Darkness.

A branch ripped across my coat.

My head struck something hard.

Then freezing water swallowed me.

I remember trying to scream.

Water filled my mouth.

Then—

Nothing.

When consciousness returned, I could hear fire crackling.

I smelled wood smoke.

Someone was touching my forehead.

I panicked.

“Don’t!”

A man’s voice answered.

“You’re safe.”

I tried to move.

Pain exploded through my head.

“Where am I?”

“My cabin.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Elias Grant.”

I swallowed.

“Where’s Julian?”

The man paused.

“Who is Julian?”

I opened my mouth.

Then stopped.

I knew the name.

But I could not picture the person.

My breathing quickened.

“Who am I?”

Silence.

The man moved closer.

“What’s your name?”

I searched my mind.

There was nothing.

No childhood.

No home.

No family.

Not even my own face.

“I…”

My voice broke.

“I don’t know.”

That was how my second life began.

Blind.

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Broken.

And unable to remember the man who had tried to murder me.