Chapter 7: A Perfect Imposter

When Gabrielle entered the Shore Estate, the silence was deafening. The servants avoided her eyes. She walked up to the Master Suite, her heart heavy.

Ethan was there. He had stripped off his suit jacket and was standing by the window, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. The moonlight caught the sharp line of his jaw.

"I didn't do it," Gabrielle said, her voice small but firm.

Ethan turned, his eyes like twin abysses. He tossed a tablet onto the bed. "The money is in an account under your name, Gabrielle. The IP address used to send the files was traced to this very room. My security team doesn't make mistakes."

"Then someone must have bypassed your security!" Gabrielle stepped forward, her hands clenched. "Ethan, think. If I wanted to sell you out, would I do it for a mere two million? I'm 'Mrs. Shore.' I could have asked for two hundred million. I'm not that stupid."

Ethan’s grip on his glass tightened until it cracked. "That’s the problem. I don't know if you’re that desperate girl looking for a way out, or a professional spy who has been playing me since that night you got laid."

The mention of that night hurt more than the accusation. "You think I risked my pride one month ago just to set up a corporate heist today? You're a brilliant businessman, Ethan, but it seems you're also a fool who doesn't think properly"

She turned to leave, but his hand shot out, grabbing her arm and pinning her against the door. The scent of scotch and anger rolled off him.

"Where are you going?"

"To find the person who actually sent that file," she hissed. "Because, I won't let people ruin my life without a fight."

Gabrielle retreated to the guest wing—the "maintenance" excuse be damned. She pulled out her phone, her fingers trembling as she looked at the text message again.

It looked real, so real. She opened her banking app to see the money sitting still like it belonged there. Suddenly, her phone chimed as a new message came in.

If you want to clear your name, meet me at the Central Hospital’s North Wing at 7pm tomorrow.

No name. No sender. No number. She couldn't decipher anything.

The Next Day–7pm

The North Wing was the psychiatric ward of the Celios City Central Hospital.

Gabrielle didn't inform Ethan or anyone as she slipped out of the manor, taking a taxi to the hospital. The air was cold, smelling of rain and disinfectant.

She reached the North Wing, her heart hammering. She met a smiling nurse who welcomed her with a, "Follow me."

Gabrielle frowned as she skeptically followed her until they got to a room. Room 402. The nurse stopped there as she nudged Gabrielle in.

Gabrielle walked into Room 402 where she saw a woman sitting on the floor, her back facing the door. She was wearing a hospital gown to signify her status as a patient but, with the meticulously brushing of her hair—hair that was exactly the same shade as Gabrielle’s, she didn't look like a patient.

As the woman turned. Gabrielle saw a face that looked exactly like hers. Up close, the resemblance was uncanny—the same eyes, the same nose. But something was wrong. Her face was like a twisted version of Gabrielle’s own.

"You're late, Gabrielle," the woman whispered, a haunting smile stretching across her face.

"Who are you?" Gabrielle gasped.

"I'm your shadow," the woman laughed, the sound like breaking glass. "And by tomorrow morning, I'd fully be you as you'd cease to exist."

Before Gabrielle could react, two men she hadn't seen when she entered the room lunged at her from the sides, covered her mouth with a towel and tried to drag her out using a secret door right in the room.

Scared and unwilling to die just like that, she bit strongly into the towel and onto the palm on her mouth, screaming at the top of her lungs as she found a temporal release, "Help! Someone's trying to kill me! An impostor is here!"

Alarmed, the man who was bitten hit her hard on her neck to silence her. Just before she lost consciousness, she felt that she heard footsteps thundered down the hall as she prayed they were here for her.

The secret door closed as the room's main door was kicked open to reveal men in black.

Ethan walked in from behind to see ‘Gabrielle’ standing alone in the room. The hospital corridor was deathly silent, save for the frantic beating of ‘Gabrielle’s’ heart.

“Wh-why a-are you here?” ‘Gabrielle' asked quite a bit anxiously as they never expected Ethan to show up.

Ethan's eyes narrowed, his gaze scanning ‘Gabrielle' in a hawk-like manner. Something's off. This woman–Gabrielle–looked different. He thought.

“I should be asking you.” Ethan responded. “What are you doing here?

‘Gabrielle' let out a fresh burst of tears. "I received an anonymous tip that I could find evidence of my uninvolvement in the information theft. I thought I'd find the mastermind and settle scores. I didn't know it was a set up. If you hadn't showed up, I'd have been killed.” She paused as she ‘cried’ harder. “I'm so scared, Ethan”

Ethan didn’t move. His gaze stayed locked on her, cold and predatory, as he watched the woman before him—the woman wearing his wife’s face—collapse into sobs, her hands shielding her tears.

“So!” Ethan said coolly. “Who was behind it all?”

“Cousin? What are you doing in the psychiatric ward? Have you finally gone senile?”

The voice came from the end of the hall. Henry, the treacherous cousin, walked forward with a smile, followed by several doctors.

“It was him.” ‘Gabrielle’ wailed, pointing a trembling finger at Henry who was walking in.