Chapter 103: Fragments of Memory
Chapter 103: Fragments of Memory
(Marcus Blackwood’s POV)
Victoria Blackwood’s silence stretched between us like a chasm. I could see the conflict in her eyes, the way she weighed her words carefully
“Marcus,” she finally said, her voice heavy with reluctance. “Some things are better left forgotten.”
“But I need to know” I pressed, leaning forward in the uncomfortable hospital chair. “Something happened to me, didn’t it? Something significant enough that everyone was forbidden to speak of it.”
Victoria sighed deeply, her shoulders sagging with the weight of years of secrecy. She moved to sit beside me in the sterile corridor, her presence both comforting and unsettling.
“You were eight years old,” she began quietly. “It was a k********g incident that nearly destroyed our family.”
The words hit me like physical blows. Eight years old. The age when most of my early memories became hazy and fragmented.
“Every time you tried to remember what happened, you would suffer terrible headaches, Victoria continued. “The trauma was so severe that it was affecting your health, your ability to function normally.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the familiar pressure building behind my temples. Even now, trying to grasp those memories felt like reaching through thick fog.
“Elder Margaret was desperate to help you,” Victoria explained. “She found a Master Healer who specialized in memory work. The healing ritual was… extensive.”
“They erased my memories,” I said flatly.
“They helped you forget the trauma,” Victoria corrected gently. “And Elder Margaret made it cle was ever to speak of it again. She wanted to protect you from reliving that pain.”
I struggled with the fragmented images surfacing in my mind. Darkness. Fear. And something else – a presence that had felt safe in the midst of terror
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The sound of footsteps interrupted my thoughts. A doctor in surgical scrubs approached us, his expression professional but tired.
“I’m looking for the family member of Sophia Rivers,” he announced.
I stood immediately. “That’s me.”
Before I could explain the complexity of our relationship, Victoria interjected smoothly. “We’re distant
cousins. I’m her mother figure since her parents aren’t available.”
The doctor nodded, accepting the explanation without question. “Miss Rivers is out of danger. She lost a significant amount of blood, but we were able to stabilize her condition. She’ll need rest and monitoring.”
Relief flooded through me, followed immediately by confusion about why I cared so much.
After the doctor left, Victoria turned to me with sharp eyes. “Marcus, you have a mate. Why are you so concerned about this woman?”
Chapter 101 Fragment
I remained silent, unable to articulate the tangled emotions in my chest
“Elena would understand,” I finally said, though the words felt hollow even to me.
Victoria scoffed, her expression incredulous. “No she–wolf could understand her mate being devoted to another female. Unless she doesn’t love him at all.”
The words hit me like a physical blow. After Victoria left, I clenched my fists, her observation echoing in my
mind
Did Elena truly love me? I had always assumed that since she was my fated mate, she belonged to me by
right. But belonging and loving were different things entirely.
The thought of Elena loving someone else sent a chill through our mate bond. The possibility that her heart
belonged elsewhere made my chest tighten with an emotion I didn’t want to name.
Hours passed before I was allowed to see Sophia. She lay pale against the white hospital sheets, but her
eyes brightened when she saw me.
“Marcus,” she whispered, her voice weak but filled with relief.
“You’re awake,” I said, moving closer to her bedside. “How are you feeling?”
“Why did you
u save me?” Sophia asked, tears gathering in her eyes. “You both see me as a sinner now.”
I studied her face, searching for answers I couldn’t quite grasp. “If you were truly innocent, you wouldn’t have
tried to kill yourself.”
Sophia choked back a sob. “Everyone at the hospital is calling me a mistress who killed Elena’s parents. I was jealous of her, yes, but I never wanted to harm anyone.”
“Don’t do this again, I warned her firmly. “You have Oliver to think about.”
“Oliver has no future with a mother like me.” Sophia lamented, her voice breaking.
I started to leave, but her hand shot out, grasping my wrist with surprising strength
“Please don’t leave me alone,” she begged. “I’m scared. I keep having nightmares about the kidnapping.”
The word stopped me cold. I stood perfectly still, my mother’s words echoing in my mind. In the depths of my fragmented memories, there was a vague figure – someone who had been there during those dark moments.
Could that figure have been Sophia?
After a long silence, I carefully removed her hand from my wrist. “Contact the Elite Guards if you need
anything”
“You don’t seem as happy as I expected, Sophia said quietly. “Don’t you want me to be the one who saved.
you?
I said nothing and left the room.
Outside the hospital, my phone rang. Amber Stone’s name flashed on the screen.
“Alpha, we found Heidi Cross,” she reported efficiently
Instead of returning to Moonhaven Estate, I decided to handle this matter immediately. Heidi Cross had been hiding and squandering money, but she had secretly returned to the Northern Territory to seek help from her
brother Harold Thornfield.
F101 Fragments o
I found them in a private room at an upscale hotel. Heidi was wrapped in scarves and sunglasses, clearly afraid of being recognized by other pack members.
When Harold Thornfield entered, Heidi removed her disquise and greeted her brother desperately.
“You fool!” Harold scolded her harshly. “You and your husband have caused nothing but trouble You almost
cost me my position as Director of the Northern Territory Revenue Authority
“He’s my mate,” Heidi defended weakly.
“We disowned him when he went to jail,” Harold retorted coldly. “I won’t lose face for the family or hinder my re–election because of his stupidity.”
Amber Stone entered the room, and Harold quickly left, abandoning his sister.
“You’re betraying me too, Heidi accused, her voice breaking.
I stepped into the room, my presence immediately commanding attention. “Heidi.”
She looked embarrassed, caught in her pathetic attempt at hiding.
“Are you willing to come back after hiding for so long?” I asked sarcastically.
“I was just on vacation,” she lied weakly.
“Connor Walsh confessed everything.” I revealed calmly. “He’ll spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.”
Heidi trembled, knowing the torture Connor had endured at my hands. She had accepted Sophia’s arrangement to leave the Northern Territory, hoping the matter would fade away.
Fear made her face go pale. “Please, I-”
“I won’t treat you like Connor,” I assured her. “But you might lose your freedom like your husband.”
Heidi was anxious, not knowing what to say.
“Tell me the truth, and I won’t make things difficult for you,” I promised.
“I was forced by Sophia,” Heidi revealed desperately. “She promised to help my husband if I helped her 1 thought I had your approval since you seemed to favor her.”
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