Chapter 3

Elena

The Blackwell mansion wasn't a home. It was like a symbol to money and misery, all marble floors and crystal chandeliers that probably cost more than my parents' funeral. Adrian's hand rested on my waist as we walked through the entrance, and I hated how much I wanted to lean into it. How much I needed something solid when everything else felt like quicksand.

"Smile," he murmured against my ear. "You're supposed to be happy."

"I'm supposed to be a lot of things I'm not."

His fingers pressed slightly harder. Warning or comfort, I couldn't tell. Maybe both.

The dining room was massive. The kind of space that made you feel small on purpose. A table stretched down the center, set for six with plates that looked too expensive to actually eat off. T

Just one man was seated and he looks like he's on his late 50's.

"Adrian." The man at the head of the table didn't stand. He just looked. Gray hair, sharp eyes, the kind of face that had forgotten how to smile decades ago. "You're late."

"Traffic." Adrian pulled out a chair for me. I sat because my legs weren't sure they'd hold me much longer.

"This is Elena," Adrian said. "My wife."

The word still sounded wrong. Foreign. Like trying on someone else's skin.

"Richard Blackwell." The older man's gaze moved over me the way someone might assess a used car.  For a moment his eyes held surprise but he quickly hid it so perfect that I thought it was just the fringes of my imagination.Looking for dents. Scratches. Reasons to negotiate the price down. "You're younger than I expected."

"I'm nineteen."

"Hmm." That was apparently all my age was worth. He turned to Adrian. "James and Maya are joining us. They're running late as well. Seems to be a family trait."

A woman in a black uniform appeared with wine. She poured without making eye contact, and I wondered how many uncomfortable dinners she'd served in this room. How many secrets she'd overheard while pretending to be invisible.

"So." Richard picked up his glass. "Tell me about yourself, Elena. Where did you go to university?"

"I didn't finish."

"Why not?"

"My parents died. I had to work."

"What kind of work?"

Adrian's jaw tightened. "Is this an interview?"

"I'm getting to know my daughter-in-law. Unless there's a reason I shouldn't ask questions."

The door opened before Adrian could answer and I was inwardly glad for that. Two people walked in, and the temperature in the room shifted. The man looked older than Adrian, maybe late twenties, with the same dark hair but harder features. Handsome in a polished way. The woman beside him was stunning. The kind of beauty that knew it value and used it like a weapon.

"Sorry we're late." The man smiled, and it was warm. Genuine. Nothing like his father's empty assessment. "Traffic was murder. I'm James."

He crossed to me, hand extended. I shook it. 

"And you must be Sophia . He said surprise displaying on his face.

"Sophia?" I asked him because I'm confused, who the hell is Sophia. Realizing his mistakes he quickly faked a smile that looks like an apology"You do look exactly like Sophia. I nearly thought you were a resurrected Sophia.Adrian's told us absolutely nothing about you, which means you're either incredibly boring or incredibly interesting. I'm betting on interesting."

"Oh I'm Elena "

"James," Adrian said. "Sit down."

"Always so tense, little brother." James sat, pulling out a chair for the woman. "This is Maya. My fiancée."

"Lovely to meet you." Maya's smile was all teeth. She looked at me the way a cat might look at a bird with a broken wing. "What a surprise this all is. We had no idea Adrian was even seeing anyone."

"It was fast," I said.

"How fast?"

"Maya." James's voice held a warning. "Let them breathe."

"I'm just curious. It's not every day Adrian brings home a wife. Especially after." She paused, and the pause felt deliberate. Calculated. "Well. After everything."

The servers returned with the first course. Some kind of soup that probably had a French name I couldn't pronounce. I picked up my spoon because it gave me something to do with my hands.

"How did you two meet?" Richard asked.

"At a bar," Adrian said.

"Romantic." James grinned. "Let me guess. You locked eyes across a crowded room. Instant connection. Couldn't resist."

"Something like that."

"And now you're married." Maya's eyes moved between us. "Just like that. How modern."

I tasted the soup. It was good. Too good. The kind of food that made you angry it was wasted on a meal this miserable.

"Adrian tells me you're getting married soon too," I said to James. Anything to shift attention away from us.

"Two months." James reached for Maya's hand. "Can't wait. Though we're doing it properly. Engagement, planning, the whole thing. Maya deserves that."

The implication hung in the air. I didn't deserve that. I deserved a drunken signature and a contract I barely remembered.

"Every couple is different," Adrian said.

"True." Richard set down his spoon. "Some marriages are about love. Others are about practicality. Which category would you say yours falls into, Adrian?"

Adrian's hand found mine under the table. His grip was tight. "Both."

"How convenient."

The main course arrived. Steak. Vegetables arranged like art. I cut into the meat because it was easier than looking at anyone.

"I have news," Richard said. "Since we're all here. All family."

Everyone looked up.

"I'm dying." He said it the way someone might mention the weather. Casual. Matter of fact. "Brain tumor. Two months. Maybe three if I'm unlucky."

Maya gasped. James went pale. Adrian's hand tightened on mine until it hurt.

"Jesus, Dad," James said. "When did you find out?"

"Two weeks ago."

"And you're just telling us now?"

"I'm telling you now." Richard cut into his steak. "The company needs to be settled. I've made my decision. The CEO position goes to whichever of my sons is married and can prove it's a real marriage. Not a business arrangement. Not a contract. Real."

He looked directly at Adrian.

"I'll be watching. Both of you. And at the end of two months, I'll decide who gets everything. Choose wisely how you spend your time."

Nobody spoke. The only sound was the clock ticking somewhere in another room.

I forced myself to eat. Forced myself to swallow. Forced myself not to run.

Then I saw it.

On the wall behind Richard's head. Massive. Ornate gold frame. A portrait of a woman in a blue dress. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Pale skin.

She looked exactly like me.

Not similar. Not kind of like me. Exactly. Like someone had painted my face onto a stranger's body.

My fork clattered against the plate.

Everyone turned.

"Who is that?" My voice came out wrong. Too high. Too sharp.

Richard followed my gaze. "Ah. That's Sophia. Adrian's first wife."

The room tilted.

"First wife?" I looked at Adrian. "You said you were married before. You didn't say."

I couldn't finish. Couldn't form words around the thing sitting in my throat like broken glass.

"Tragic accident," Richard continued. "Terrible business. She fell from their balcony. Such a loss."

"Fell," I repeated.

"Yes." Richard's eyes moved between me and the portrait. "She was quite beautiful. You have a similar look. Though I'm sure that's just coincidence."

Adrian's face was stone.

Maya stood abruptly. "I need to powder my nose. Elena, would you mind showing me where the bathroom is?"

"She doesn't know where it is," Adrian said.

"Then we'll find it together. Girl talk." Maya smiled. "You understand."

I stood because I didn't know what else to do. Because the walls were closing in and the woman in the portrait was staring at me with my own eyes and I needed to move or I'd shatter right there at the table.

Maya linked her arm through mine. Led me out of the dining room. Down a hallway. Past more paintings, more evidence of wealth that felt like a prison.

She pushed open a door. Bathroom. All marble and gold fixtures. She checked the stalls. Empty. Then she turned to me.

Her smile vanished.

"Accident?" she said. "Is that what he told you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Sophia didn't fall. Off their balcony. I was there that night. I saw the whole thing." Maya stepped closer. "And you look just like her. Exactly like her. That's not a coincidence. Whatever Adrian told you, whatever he promised, he's lying."

My back hit the counter.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you seem nice. And because Sophia seemed nice too,Before." Maya pulled out her lipstick. Started reapplying it like she hadn't just detonated a bomb. "Run while you can."