LOGINChloe’s POVI sat there, staring at the ICU door, when the weight of something I had been carrying pressed too hard against my chest.I couldn’t keep it in anymore.“Jake…” I called softly.He turned immediately, he looked tired already, his eyes tired, bloodshot, but even in the midst of it all, it was alert. Tyler followed his gaze to me, sensing the shift in my voice.“There’s something I didn’t tell you,” I said.Both of them stiffened.Jake moved closer. “What is it?”I swallowed. My fingers trembled as I clenched them together. “Before Tyler called me. Before I even knew Zoe had been shot.”Their faces hardened. Tyler was fully facing me now. “My phone rang,” I continued. “It was Zoe’s phone actually, I picked it up thinking it was her or one of you.”Jake’s jaw tightened. “And?”“And it was him,” I whispered. “Don K.”The name dropped between us like a loaded gun.“He said… he said I thought I could fool him by sending my sister instead of myself. He said today might be a luck
Chloe’s POVI don’t know if it’s just me, but, Hospitals have a way of freezing time.The clock on the wall kept ticking, but nothing moved inside me. Every second stretched, thin and fragile, like it could snap if I breathed too hard. Zoe lay behind that glass door, suspended between life and death, and all I could do was sit there and wait.Wait.I hated waiting.Jake sat beside me, silent. His hand rested on his knee, clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Tyler paced the hallway like a caged animal, running a hand through his hair over and over again. Mira had finally fallen asleep in the servant’s arms, exhaustion winning over fear.I watched them all, but my mind was elsewhere.On Zoe.On Don K.On the voice that had spoken to me through the phone like he owned my fear.Today might be a lucky day. Tomorrow won’t be.I hugged myself, suddenly cold.“She shouldn’t have gone,” I whispered.Jake turned to me immediately. “Don’t do that.”My lips trembled. “She took a bullet me
Chloe’s POVFour hours I want able to reach any one. Pain doesn’t always scream.Sometimes it sits quietly in your chest, heavy and suffocating, refusing to let you breathe.I knew something was wrong long before the phone rang.Every call I made went unanswered. Jake. Tyler. The servant. Even Zoe’s phone, I meant my phone she was holding, the one we switched, it was dead silent. At first, I told myself it was normal. That things were just… delayed. That negotiations take time. That Zoe knew what she was doing.But a mother’s heart doesn’t lie.The house felt wrong.Too quiet. Too still.I paced the living room, Mira’s small jacket clenched in my hands, I have held it I case I was asked to come get her, I knew she would be cold or something, my pulse racing with every second that passed. The baby started crying upstairs, sharp and restless, like he could feel the fracture in the air.“Please,” I whispered to no one. “Please let them be okay.”Then the phone rang.Zoe’s phone.My breat
Zoe’s POVI walked out of the house wearing Chloe’s face.Not literally, but close enough.The mirror had agreed with us. The makeup hid my scar perfectly. The hair, the dress, the posture, everything screamed Chloe. Anyone looking wouldn’t question it twice. That was the whole point.This wasn’t our first switching places, and definitely might not be our last.Before I left, I handed Chloe my phone, and she gave me hers. Of course we knew each others password now. “Don’t call Jake until I’m gone,” I reminded her softly, praying everything goes as planned. Her eyes were shiny, scared. “Please be safe. And if anything goes wrong, come back.”“I will,” I said, even though something in my chest twisted when I said it. “I promise.”The servant slipped out first, just as planned. Five minutes later, I followed. I had patiently waited till five minutes. The drive to Morning Dew Café felt longer than it should have. My heart beat too loudly in my ears. I kept my face calm, my movements st
Chloe’s POVAfter pacing the room until my legs ached and my head felt like it was about to split open.Step. Turn. Step. Turn.Every second that passed felt stolen, stolen from Mira, from safety, from breath itself. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking, and no matter how many times I pressed them together, the fear refused to settle.“Think, Chloe,” I muttered to myself. “Just think.”Zoe had been quiet for a while, sitting on the edge of the bed, her elbows resting on her knees, her eyes fixed on the floor. Too quiet. That kind of silence that usually meant trouble, or brilliance.Then suddenly, she stood.“So he knows my face,” she said.I stopped pacing and looked at her. “What?”She turned fully toward me now, her eyes sharp, alive with something dangerous. “Clearly, we’re twins. Identical.”My heart skipped. “Zoe…”“But you’ve got that little scar from the trauma on your cheek,” I interrupted quickly, panic creeping into my voice. “He’d notice. He’s already suspicious.”Zoe rolled he
Chloe’s POVWe stared at each other for what felt like hours, even though the clock on the wall said only seconds were passing.My phone lay on the bed between Zoe and me, glowing softly like it carried a heartbeat of its own. The room felt too quiet, too tight, like the walls were slowly closing in.“Open it,” I whispered, even though my throat felt dry.Zoe hesitated. Her fingers hovered over the screen, then she picked the phone up like it might explode in her hands. Her eyes moved as she read, and I watched the color drain from her face.“What does it say?” I asked, my voice shaking.She swallowed hard before reading it out loud.“Young miss, come to the location…” Her voice faltered slightly. “I will call to let you know in thirty minutes. Come alone. Bring ten thousand dollars… or Mira is gone.”My heart slammed violently against my chest.“No,” I breathed. “No, no, no…”Ten thousand dollars.Alone.Or Mira was gone.I jumped up from the bed immediately, panic taking over my bod







