Chapter 54.

Alexa (Prudence)

I stare at Pier, unblinking. My words replay in my head. We just stare at each other.

“You just spoke of your family members in the present,” he says, voice cold, cautious. “But your file states you’re an orphan.”

My breath catches. I just stare.

“You just talked about having Barney’s Chocolates fresh from the store every morning. But how can you, when you’re from San Francisco and Barney’s is exclusive to New York?”

Hearing him say that, the air leaves my lungs all at once. I try to speak, but nothing comes out. We stare at each other in silence, and suddenly, it’s suffocating.

“Talk, Prudence. Are you, or are you not, an orphan?” His voice rises.

I stay quiet. He palms his face, turns away, hands on his neck. When he turns back, his eyes are hard.

“By any chance, are you from San Francisco?” He asks again.

I try. I really do. But I can’t bring myself to answer. There’s too much at stake. If I tell him the truth, that I’m Alexa, what if he believes I did it? That I