The line beeps and goes dead. Goose bumps erupt all over my skin and I rub my arms to ward away the chill that has suddenly shrouded me.

He exhales. “You sent me this voice message just before your accident. Do you know you took my name just before you fainted? That’s how the police knew to get in touch with me.”

“And this,” I ask, handing Gabe his phone back, “Is this it? Or is there more?”

He shakes his head in the negative.

The message replays itself in my mind.  Someone is threatening to destroy the Kittridge line and I have a hunch who it is. My words repeat in my head but no matter how hard I think, I can’t recall uttering these words. I force myself to remember and pain shoots up my head with a blinding whiteness and I immediately stop searching for answers.

I rub my head, willing the pain to subside. “Fuck! It can’t be a coincidence, my accident and theirs. Something sinister is going on, Gabe. But I can’t remember what I knew. It’s just a big blank.” The last sentence comes out with more force than intended.

“Take it easy, Damien. Don’t stress yourself right now. Do you want me to contact the police?” Gabe asks.

“NO!” I yell and his forehead wrinkles.

“Gabe, my father and brother were destroying my family legacy. I remember their dealings in the illegal trade of blood diamonds and precious jewels, and this is from five years ago. I can only imagine what terrible deeds they must have done in the past five years in the name of Annette & Co. to make them richer, and I don’t remember any of it. Annette & Co. is one of the oldest jewelry houses in the world and they were destroying its foundation. It’s my legacy now and I will do anything to protect it. If we involve the police, it will all come out; God knows what they’ll unearth. I can’t afford the scandal, especially not at this time when I don’t have any control over my memories. We have to keep it quiet, Gabe.”

“Then that’s what we will do,” Gabe concurs.

One question however raises its head and I voice it aloud. “Who do you think I wanted you to protect?”

Gabe’s brows draw together. “What?”

“My last words on the voice message to you, before it disconnected. I asked you to promise me to protect someone. Who do you think it was?”

He searches my face and just as he opens his mouth to reply, his cell phone rings. He stares at the screen and says, “Sorry, I’ll be right back.”