CHAPTER 1

Dahlia’s POV

“Denise is gone!”

The scream ripped through my sleep like a sharp blade. My eyes flew open and my heart started pounding so hard it hurt. For a moment, I didn’t understand anything. The room was still dark, the weak morning light barely slipping through the curtains. Everything was quiet except for the sound of my breathing.

Then I heard it again. Mum’s voice.

I threw the blanket off me and jumped out of bed. The floor was cold under my bare feet, and I shivered as I hurried to the door. My hands were shaking so bad I could hardly grab the handle. The sound had come from across the hallway—Denise’s room. My twin sister’s room.

I rushed out, nearly tripping on the edge of the rug. My nightdress brushed against my legs as I ran, my hair messy and my eyes still blurry with sleep. But fear kept me moving. Something deep inside me already knew—something was very, very wrong.

When I pushed open Denise’s door, I stopped dead.

Mum was sitting on Denise’s bed, clutching a piece of paper in her hand. Her hair had fallen loose from its bun, and her face was wet with tears. She was shaking all over, whispering something under her breath that didn’t make sense. She looked… broken, like a piece of her had just been ripped away.

Father was pacing across the room like he couldn’t stand still. His face was red and furious, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. Each step he took made the floor creak. He looked ready to explode.

“Mum? Dad? What’s going on?” My voice came out small and shaky. I already felt like I didn’t want to hear the answer.

Mum looked up at me, her eyes wide and full of panic. Her lips trembled before she managed to speak. “It’s your sister, Dahlia,” she said in a broken voice. “Denise… she’s gone. She ran away.”

I blinked, not really understanding. The words didn’t make sense. “Gone?” I whispered. “What do you mean gone? She wouldn’t just leave.”

Mum’s hand trembled as she held out the crumpled piece of paper. “She left this,” she said, her voice cracking. “She said she couldn’t go through with the wedding. She said she couldn’t marry him.” Her voice broke completely as she pressed the letter against her chest. “Oh, God… what has she done?”

The air in the room suddenly felt heavy, like it was pressing down on me. The wedding. Mr. Romano. My stomach twisted so hard it felt like I might throw up. Denise had run away. On her wedding day.

Father stopped pacing. Then, without warning, he slammed his fist into the wall with a loud bang that made me jump. “That stupid girl!” he shouted, his voice echoing through the whole house. “Does she even know what she’s done? Does she know what this means for us?” His face was full of fury and fear all at once.

Mum started sobbing again, her whole body shaking as she buried her face in her hands. “He’ll kill us,” she whispered between cries. “Romano will kill us all. He said if Denise doesn’t marry him today, we won’t live to see tomorrow.”

Her words hit me like a slap. I couldn’t breathe. My chest tightened until it hurt, and the room spun for a second. I reached for the wall just to steady myself. Denise… my sister, my twin. We shared everything—our faces, our secrets, our dreams.

And now she was gone. Gone, leaving me behind to face a man everyone feared.

Leaving me to face Luca Romano.

Father spun toward me so fast I froze. His eyes were sharp, wild almost. “Find her, Dahlia,” he barked. His voice was cold, like he’d already made up his mind. “You know what Romano’s like. He won’t care whose head he takes off first. If we don’t bring her back before sundown, we’re finished.”

The words hit me like a punch to the chest. My arms wrapped around myself without thinking, and my throat burned with words I couldn’t say. I wanted to scream. I wanted to ask why Denise had done this, why we had to be the ones paying for it. But nothing came out.

The room was heavy with silence. Only Mum’s sobs and Father’s footsteps filled it, and my own heartbeat was loud enough to hurt. Everything felt smaller—the walls, the air, even me. Denise was gone. And time was slipping away.

Then Mum looked up suddenly. Her eyes were swollen and red, her face streaked with tears. There was something desperate in her stare, something that made my stomach twist. Her lips trembled, and when she spoke, her voice came out thin and shaking.

“You’ll take her place, Dahlia,” she said. “You’ll marry Luca Romano.”

For a moment, I couldn’t even process the words. My mind just went blank. Then they sank in all at once, cold and sharp.

“What?” I whispered. My knees went weak.

Mum stood from the bed, clutching Denise’s letter like it was the only thing holding her together. “It’s the only way,” she said, almost breaking apart. “Romano can’t know she’s gone. If he does, he’ll kill us all. But you—you can take her place. You’re twins.”

I shook my head, stepping back until I hit the wall. “No. He’ll know. He’ll see it’s not her.”

Father stopped pacing. He turned slowly, his face tight and hard. “He won’t,” he said, voice like steel. “You’re identical. Put on her dress, do your hair, and smile. He won’t look twice.”

My stomach twisted painfully. Yes, we looked alike. Same hair, same eyes, same face. But we weren’t the same. Denise was the one people noticed—the one everyone loved. She was fearless and full of life. I was the quiet one. The extra. The one in the background.

Tears filled my eyes. “He’ll know,” I said softly. “He’ll know I’m not her.”

Mum reached for me, her hands shaking. Her touch was cold and desperate. “Please, Dahlia,” she begged. “If you don’t do this, we’re dead. Don’t you understand? He’ll kill us all. You’re our only chance.”

Her words hit me over and over. My chest hurt, my legs felt weak. I wanted to cry, to shout that it wasn’t fair, that I couldn’t be her. But when I looked at them—at the fear in Mum’s eyes and the anger burning in Father’s—I knew there was no choice.

So I said nothing. I just stood there, silent.

Because they didn’t know.

They didn’t know I’d seen Denise leave.