Emma’s eyelids fluttered open to the glare of hospital lights. The scent of antiseptic filled her nose, and the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor was heard in her ears.

Her head throbbed and she could feel a loud pounding in her head and her body felt like it had been through a war.

“Where…?” She muttered, her voice hoarse and barely audible.

“Mommy.”

The familiar voice pulled her fully awake, turning her head, she saw her twins, Jason and Anna huddled beside her, tears streaked their small faces as they clung to her arms, their tiny hands trembling.

“Mommy, you’re awake.” Anna cried, burying her face in Emma’s shoulder.

“Baby, don’t cry baby. Mummy's right here, I'm here with you baby.” Emma whispered, forcing herself to sit up despite the sharp pain radiating through her body. She wrapped an arm around each child, holding them close.

Her gaze shifted to the far corner of the room, where a tall, imposing figure stood silently, Jeff, her ex-husband, what was he doing here? Why was he here?

The sight of him sent a jolt of unease through her.

His face was etched with worry, his usually pristine suit wrinkled, and dark circles marred his sharp features, he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“Jeff,” Emma said, her voice sharper than she intended, “What are you doing here?”

His jaw tightened, and he stepped closer, his movements cautious, “You don’t remember?”

Emma shook her head, wincing as the motion sent another wave of pain through her skull.

She noticed Jeff frown his face, before he opened his mouth to ask her, “What's the last thing you remember?”

Emma's eyes darted across the room before she opened her mouth to talk, “The last thing I remember is…”

Her voice trailed off as fragmented images flashed through her mind, her pregnancy, the divorce, leaving New York, raising her twins, coming back to New York and meeting Jeff again.

“The last thing I remember is getting the email about you buying my apartment building, storming to your office and you telling me we're moving in with you.” She honestly answered Jeff's question. 

She saw a look of panic flash across Jeff's eyes, it left as quickly as it appeared but Emma still caught it. 

“Where am I? What happened?” She demanded, her tone rising.

Jeff hesitated, his expression conflicted, “You’re in the hospital and you’ve been unconscious for two weeks.”

“How did I get here? What happened?” 

"You really don’t remember huh?"

“Remember what Jeff?” Emma let out a loud outburst, snapping at Jeff. 

“You were involved in an accident as you left my office that day Emma.” 

“And accident? How so?” 

“We don't know but we suspect you might have been targeted and that you were hit on purpose.” Jeff explained to her. 

Emma racked her brain wondering who could be responsible for this? She had been in New York for less than a month, so who could she have possibly pissed off in such little time that would hurt her like this? 

She tried to think but the answers were not forthcoming. 

"I have my men tracking whoever it is that's responsible for this but for your safety and the safety of your kids, you have to move in with me." He said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Her stomach churned on hearing the news, she had fought tooth and nail to maintain her independence after their bitter divorce, and now he was dragging her back into his orbit, but why?

On the other hand, she weighed her options too. 

Someone was targeting her for some reason and the last place she wanted to be right now was around Jeff but she knew if he said she would be safe around him, then she would be very safe. 

Emma knew Jeff would use all of his resources to protect her and Jason and Anna too. 

"Mommy, you scared us.” Jason's little voice said from beside her, cutting through her thoughts, his small voice shaking.

Tears pricked her eyes as she hugged them both, her heart aching at the thought of what they must have gone through.

"I’m so sorry my loves." She whispered, kissing their foreheads.

Jeff cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him, "I’ll get the doctor.” He said, turning toward the door.

"Wait." Her voice stopped him in his tracks.

He turned back, his expression guarded.

"Why are you here?" She asked him again almost like she was waiting for him to say something she wanted to hear.

His jaw tightened again, and for a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer, but then he said, "Because you needed me."

Before she could respond, he walked out of the room.

The doctor arrived moments later, she was a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a clipboard. She checked her vitals, asked a series of questions, and explained that she’d suffered a mild concussion and some bruising but would make a full recovery.

"You were in an accident." The doctor started. 

"Yes, I was told.” She echoed, her brow furrowing.

"Your car was hit at a red light and the impact was so great, your car rolled four times and you must have hit your head then, it’s a miracle you survived really."

Her stomach twisted as she tried to recall the accident, but her mind was blank.

"Was anyone else…?" Her voice broke, unable to finish the question.

The doctor shook her head, "No, you were alone in the car. Do you remember anything at all?"

She shook her head, frustration bubbling up inside her.

"It’s normal for memories to be foggy after a traumatic event," the doctor assured her, "They may come back in time."

After the doctor left, the room felt suffocating, Jason and Anna had been taken to the playroom, leaving her alone with Jeff. 

"Something doesn't feel right.” Emma suddenly muttered out. 

“What doesn't feel right?” Jeff asked her, wanting to know more about what was going on in her head.

"I feel like I'm missing something.” She said, still racking her brainn before looking up at Jeff.

“Are you sure I was out for two weeks?” She asked again wanting to get to the bottom of whatever was going on. 

Jeff leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, "I told you, you were in an accident, you hurt pretty badly and you were brought to the hospital to get treatment. If you had arrived a little later, you could have died, the doctor confirmed it.” Jeff explained again. 

Jeff looked into her eyes and saw agreement settling in her eyes, she really believed him, she really had no memories of what had really happened. 

The last thing Emma said she remembered happened over four months ago, so what that meant was four months worth of her memories had been lost. 

In reality, she had only been unconscious for two days. 

She was this close to victory had it not been that explosion on the woods. That explosion turned things around in Jeff's favour and he took advantage of it.

He got to her, wiped out her entire team, choosing to spare only Emma and Mrs Williams, he knew Mrs Williams would still be very useful to him in the nearest future, that was why he kept her alive. 

When Jeff took Emma, he had no plan whatsoever, he wasn't thinking, he thought to himself, worse case scenario, he would have to threaten Emma but it felt like ladyluck uck was on his side when she woke up and didn't remember anything.

Hethought to himself, if Emma doesn't remember anything, he was going to keep it that way. 

The last four months never happened, Sam never came back to her life, she never found out about The Collective, none of that simply ever happened. 

He was just her ex-husband, trying to win over his wife back. 

Later that evening, as the twins slept beside Emma again, she found herself replaying Jeff's words. The idea of someone stalking her and even hurting her was terrifying, but what scared her more was the realization that she had no idea who it could be.

She was jolted out of her thoughts by a sharp knock on the door and Jeff stepped in, his expression tense.

"What is it?" She asked, sitting up straighter.

"There’s something you need to see." He said, holding up his phone.

He handed it to her, and her stomach dropped as she read the message on the screen;×"You can’t hide her forever. I’ll find her."

Her hands trembled as she handed the phone back, "Who sent that?"

Jeff's jaw clenched, "I don’t know, the number’s untraceable."

Fear coiled in her chest like a snake, "What do we do?"

"We stay together," he said firmly, “Until we figure out who’s behind this, I’m not letting you out of my sight."

She wanted to argue, to assert her independence, but the weight of the situation was too much. For now, she had no choice but to trust him.

As he sat down in the chair beside her bed, she realized that their estranged past didn’t matter as much as their shared future. Whatever had happened between them, they were in this together now.