Chapter 2

When I returned to the apartment, Chloe was standing in the living room.

Two police officers sat on the sofa, taking notes.

Chloe looked up at me, her eyes filled with unfamiliar wariness.

I stood at the door without moving.

The officer spoke first. "Are you Aria?"

"Yes, I'm her sister, Aria."

The officers spread photocopies of our IDs and household registration on the coffee table, exchanging glances.

"Ladies, is there some misunderstanding? You are indeed biological sisters. It's written clearly here."

The younger officer tried to mediate.

But Chloe wouldn't listen. She stubbornly insisted I was a stranger who'd broken into her home.

"There's no misunderstanding. I just don't know her. Take her away!"

The officers had no choice. They quietly told me, "Why don't you stay somewhere else tonight? Wait until her emotions stabilize, and if that doesn't work, contact your parents."

I sat on the stairwell steps, my mind in chaos.

I didn't dare go far. I found a budget hotel nearby.

I called my mom.

She seemed to be playing cards.

I kept it brief, not mentioning the prank notes, just saying Chloe didn't seem to recognize me.

Mom sighed.

She said, "Aria, is your sister still angry with you?"

I didn't understand. "Angry about what?"

Mom said, "About Zachary."

"You forced her to break up with him, made her block him. Chloe hasn't been quite right since then."

Zachary was Chloe's boyfriend of three years.

Three months ago, Chloe caught him with another girl. They were being intimate.

Chloe called me, crying so hard she couldn't form a complete sentence.

I told her to break up immediately, block him, leave no way back.

"She might have mentally linked you to that painful period, so she doesn't want to remember you at all."

I hung up, my mind a tangled mess.

Was this really a psychological issue?

I searched online for a well-reviewed counseling center.

The doctor listened and nodded.

"Your sister has amnesia specifically about you, correct?"

"Yes."

"This is called dissociative amnesia, a form of selective memory suppression."

"Her brain isn't damaged, and the memories exist intact. Her psychological defense mechanism has simply sealed off that part, preventing her from accessing it. She hasn't truly forgotten."

I was silent for a moment.

"Can she remember again?"

"Yes." The doctor spoke with certainty, no hesitation.

"But she needs a trigger point, something to give that sealed memory an outlet."

He paused.

"Was the starting point of your sister's amnesia the trauma within that relationship, or how it was handled after the breakup?"

"I don't know."

"Then you need to find out."

He picked up his pen again.

"You could try finding her ex-boyfriend. If that relationship can reach true closure in a meaningful sense, it might be a breakthrough."

"If your sister is willing, she could also come here so we can talk."