Chapter two- The woman with my face

Chloe's POV

The silence after my question stretched until it felt heavy enough to crush the air between us.

Jeremiah stood so fast that the chair scraped hard against the floor. His face had gone tight. “We’re done here,” he said. “Don’t come back again."

I stayed seated. “Jeremiah—”

“I mean it.” His voice dropped lower. I could see the fear in his eyes that he tried and failed to hide. “If you know what’s good for you, stay away from Spencer McCartney. A man like that doesn’t take accusations lightly. You start pointing fingers at him, even if you’re wrong, and things can go very bad. People who push too hard against someone with his kind of power tend to regret it. You don’t want that kind of attention. You really don’t.”

He still wouldn’t admit that Spencer did it, but he was more afraid of Spencer McCartney than he was of me or of the truth.

“He had nothing to do with what happened to your mother,” he added, almost like he needed to say it one more time for himself. “Leave it alone.”

Then he turned and walked to the door. The guard opened it for him. He went through.

I sat there for another minute, hands flat on the table, trying to breathe past the disappointment. He wasn’t going to talk. Not today. Maybe not ever. The flicker I had seen when I said Spencer’s name was the closest I would get.

I stood up quietly and left the prison.

Outside, the air felt colder than it had that morning. I pulled out my phone and checked the time. I still had a little while before I needed to be back. Mom got scared when she was alone too long. I couldn’t leave her much longer.

But I wasn’t finished.

Jeremiah’s wife had the bridal store. If he wouldn’t speak, maybe she would. Maybe she could make him tell the truth. I typed the mall name on my map and ordered another taxi.

The mall was crowded when I arrived. Weekend shoppers everywhere, bags swinging, voices bouncing off the high ceiling. I didn’t know exactly which floor the bridal store was on. I needed to find it fast and get back to Mom. She hated being alone. Sometimes, she cried if I was gone too long.

I looked around for a directory and instead spotted the restroom sign. My bladder has been complaining since the prison. I couldn’t keep walking around like this.

I pushed into the ladies’ room. It was empty. I locked myself in a stall, finished quickly, and came out to the sinks. I washed my hands, then pulled my phone out again to check the store location.

That was when I heard the door open hard and someone rushed in.

A girl’s voice, shaky and low: “Someone help me. I can’t go back to him.”

She ran straight into me. My phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a sharp crack.

I looked at her, and the world stopped.

She had my face.

Not similar. Not close. Mine. The same shape of eyes. The same straight dark hair, same length, falling the same way. The same mouth. Same everything. Only she was dressed in clothes that looked too expensive.

She stared at me the same way I was staring at her.

For a second, neither of us moved. The air between us felt thin, like it had been sucked out of the room. My heart slammed once, hard enough that I felt it in my throat. I lifted a hand without thinking and touched my own cheek, needing the solid proof of skin under my fingers. Across from me, she did the exact same thing. Fingertips to her face. As if she, too, needed to make sure she was still there.

I took a step closer.

She took a step back.

The silence stretched until it hurt.

Then both of us spoke at the same time, the same words, the same stunned breath behind them.

“Why do you look like me?”

My heart was hammering so hard I could hear it in my ears. This was another human being standing in front of me wearing my exact face, and the terror of it was cold and immediate, flooding my chest, making my hands shake.

We stared at each other for a moment. It felt like looking into a mirror that had somehow learned how to breathe.

“My name is Chloe,” I managed.

“Chloe,” she repeated, voice soft with disbelief. “I’m Ruby.”

For a second neither of us moved. Then Ruby shook her head.

“I can’t believe this,” she whispered. “I can’t believe another person in the world looks exactly like me. Exactly. It’s… it’s not possible.”

I swallowed hard, still staring. “I don’t understand it either. I’ve never seen anyone who even came close. This is—” I gestured between us, helpless. “This is insane. We should take a photo. Right now. Otherwise no one else is ever going to believe it.”

Ruby’s hand shot out and grabbed mine. Her fingers were freezing.

“No—wait. Chloe, please.” Her voice cracked, urgent and raw. “You have to help me. I’m running. I’m running from someone who will never let me go. If they find me they’ll drag me back and I won’t survive it. I know I won’t. Please. I need to disappear. Just long enough to get away.”

I stared at her, the resemblance suddenly less shocking than the pure terror in her eyes.

“Slow down,” I said, heart starting to race. “Who’s after you? Who are you running from?”

Before she could answer, men’s voices carried from the hallway outside. Heavy footsteps. More than one. Coming closer.

Ruby’s face crumpled. Tears spilled over fast.

“They’re here,” she whispered, the words breaking apart. “They’re going to take me back.”

Then she pulled her hand free and ran out of the restroom. “Wait—” I called, but she was already gone.

I crouched down and grabbed my phone. The screen had gone blind. “Shit.” I shoved it into my pocket. I couldn’t just let her go. She looked terrified. I pushed into the hallway.