Tony POV The envelope Sarah had left on my desk felt like it was burning a hole through the wood. For three hours, I'd stared at it, afraid to open it, afraid to confirm what I already suspected in my heart. But not knowing was killing me slowly, eating away at my sanity like acid.Finally, I ripped it open with shaking hands.The first document was a DNA analysis report. My blood ran cold as I read the results. According to the lab, there was a 99.7% probability that Lily Morrison was related to me. The second paper was a hospital bracelet, yellowed with age, labeled "Anna Stark." The third was a birth certificate, and the fourth was a death certificate from three years ago.Everything pointed to the impossible truth that Sarah had been telling me. Lily was Anna. My daughter was alive.But as I studied the documents more carefully, something nagged at me. The DNA report looked professional, but the lab name was unfamiliar. The hospital bracelet looked authentic, but the plastic seem
Sarah POV I smiled as I spread the hospital records across Alex's coffee table like a dealer laying out cards. Each document was a weapon, each signature a bullet in my carefully loaded gun. Alex sat across from me, his dark eyes scanning the papers with the intensity of a hawk spotting prey."Jesus Christ, Sarah." His voice was barely above a whisper. "This is impossible.""Is it?" I leaned back in my chair, savoring the moment. "Look at the blood work. Look at the dental records. Look at the DNA match I had run privately." I tapped the most damning document with one perfectly manicured nail. "Lily Morrison is Anna Stark. Tony's supposedly dead daughter."Alex's face had gone pale. He picked up the DNA report, his hands trembling slightly. "But she died in the fire. We all went to the funeral.""Closed casket, remember? Very convenient." I stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the city lights. "Someone switched the bodies. Someone wanted Anna to disappear.""Who would do
Sarah POV I smiled as I spread the hospital records across Alex's coffee table like a dealer laying out cards. Each document was a weapon, each signature a bullet in my carefully loaded gun. Alex sat across from me, his dark eyes scanning the papers with the intensity of a hawk spotting prey. "Jesus Christ, Sarah." His voice was barely above a whisper. "This is impossible." "Is it?" I leaned back in my chair, savoring the moment. "Look at the blood work. Look at the dental records. Look at the DNA match I had run privately." I tapped the most damning document with one perfectly manicured nail. "Lily Morrison is Anna Stark. Tony's supposedly dead daughter." Alex's face had gone pale. He picked up the DNA report, his hands trembling slightly. "But she died in the fire. We all went to the funeral." "Closed casket, remember? Very convenient." I stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the city lights. "Someone switched the bodies. Someone wanted Anna to disappear."
Lily POV I woke up with Tony's voice echoing in my ears, the phantom sound of him calling me "Anna" making my skin crawl with an uncomfortable familiarity. The dream had been so vivid, so real, that for a moment I couldn't tell where the nightmare ended and reality began. In the dream, we'd been in the garden again, but this time when he'd reached for my hands, he'd whispered "Anna" against my lips like a prayer. I'd felt myself responding, melting into him, before the wrongness of it all crashed over me like ice water. I sat up in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs. The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting everything in a golden glow that should have been peaceful but instead felt oppressive. Something was wrong. Something had always been wrong, but I was only now beginning to see the cracks in my perfect sanctuary. The shower did nothing to wash away the unease clinging to my skin. As I dressed, I caught myself in the mirror and froze. My reflection l
Tony POV The phone rang at exactly 7:23 AM, piercing through the morning quiet like a blade. I knew it was Sarah before I even looked at the caller ID. Her timing was always impeccable, always when I was at my most vulnerable. "Tony." Her voice was silk wrapped around steel. "We need to talk." I gripped the receiver tighter, watching Lily through the kitchen window as she tended to her small herb garden. The morning sun caught the copper highlights in her hair, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. "I have nothing to say to you, Sarah." "Oh, but I have plenty to say to you." She laughed, a sound that used to make my heart race but now made my stomach turn. "Especially about your little houseguest. Such a sweet girl, Lily. So innocent. So trusting." My blood ran cold. "Stay away from her." "Or what? You'll call the police? Tell them what, exactly? That you're harboring a woman who doesn't remember her own name?" Sarah's voice dropped to a whisper. "A woman who might b
Sarah's POV The champagne glass in my hand felt like it might shatter from the force of my grip. I stood at the floor-to-ceiling windows of Alex's downtown apartment, watching the city lights blur through my tears of rage. On the coffee table behind me, tabloid magazines were spread out like evidence at a crime scene. "Stark Foundation Announces Revolutionary Mental Health Initiative," read one headline. "Tony Stark and Wife Lily Make a Power Couple Debut," declared another. But it was the photos that made my blood boil, Tony looking at Lily like she was the most precious thing in the world, his hand protectively placed on her back as they walked into the charity gala. "Sarah, you're scaring me," Alex said from the couch, his voice slurred from too much whiskey. "You've been staring out that window for twenty minutes." I turned to face him, and I saw him flinch at whatever he saw in my expression. Good. He should be scared. "Look at these pictures, Alex," I said, my voice dea