Chapter 4

I put on my makeup, layering concealer over my swollen eyes and dark circles until I looked human again.

I slipped into my sharpest power suit, strapped on my four-inch heels, and became her again—Sandra Phillips, Marketing Director. Flawless.

But I knew the truth. Underneath that crisp blazer was a heart held together with tape and resentment.

When I pulled into the company parking lot, I saw him.

Garrett.

He stood by the entrance, wearing a wrinkled shirt, his hair a mess, dark circles deeper than mine.

He looked like he'd been there all night.

The moment he spotted my car, he rushed over and blocked my path.

"Sandra, thank God. I've been calling you all night. Why won't you pick up?" His voice was hoarse and desperate.

I slipped on my sunglasses, hiding everything, and walked past him without a word.

"I don't know you."

My voice was ice.

He grabbed my arm. "Sandra, listen to me—it's not what you think! Mom and Dad didn't mean to—"

"Let go."

I yanked my arm free.

People were staring—colleagues filing into the building, slowing down to watch the spectacle.

"Is that the marketing director? Who's that guy?"

"Looks like her brother. Must be family drama."

"Yikes. She always seems so put-together. Guess it's all an act."

Their whispers cut into me like knives.

I turned to the security guard at the front desk. "This man is harassing me. I don't know him. Please escort him out."

The guard hesitated, glancing between us. "Sir, I'll have to ask you to leave. If you don't, we'll have to call the police."

Garrett panicked. He tried to follow me toward the elevator.

"Sandra! You don't understand! The reason they didn't give you a key is—"

The glass doors slid shut, cutting him off.

Inside the elevator, a few colleagues stood in the corner, murmuring.

"She's so cold. She said she doesn't even know her own brother."

"They must've had a huge fight. Who drags family drama to work like this?"

I locked my eyes on the glowing floor numbers, feeling my insides hollow out one piece at a time.

Back in my office, I collapsed into my leather chair and let out a long, shaky breath.

My phone buzzed.

A text from an unknown number. One image.

I opened it.

It was a family photo.

Mom, Dad, Garrett, Vanessa, Allen, Jessica, and Maria—all gathered in the living room of the new house, grinning at the camera like the perfect happy family.

Except I wasn't in it.

No—wait! I was in it!

There was a gap between my parents. An unnatural, obvious gap—the kind left behind when someone gets Photoshopped out.

And in my place?

A potted plant. A big monstera.

The phone slipped from my hands and clattered onto the desk.

I couldn't breathe.

I covered my mouth, bit down on my knuckles to keep from screaming.

So that was it. I wasn't even worth keeping in a family photo.

They replaced me with... a stupid potted plant.

My chest caved in.

In that moment, I gave up completely.