Chapter 13: The Audit of Lies

Elena’s POV

The mist outside the greenhouse clings to the glass like a veil, heavy and unyielding. Inside, I stand at my workbench, misting the soil of newly planted eucalyptus seeds. My silk gloves lie abandoned on the stool. For the first time all day, I am alone — and my thoughts refuse to quiet.

I cannot wear Alyssa’s mask forever. Alexander Sterling is too sharp, too watchful. Sooner or later, he will see through me. I need a plan before my grandmother’s lifeline is cut.

As the droplets settle on the leaves, I map out my survival strategy step by step in my mind.

First, I have to keep Alexander happy and play the role of my sister perfectly for the next few weeks. This forces my father to keep his word and use his company funds to pay for my grandmother's expensive heart specialists and private hospital room right now. Second, while I am living rent-free in this giant mansion, I have to run my small plant shop in secret through online orders, using my phone at night to coordinate with my assistant. Third, I will scrape together every single penny of profit I make and save it for my grandmother's medical f*e.

The moment I save up enough cash to pay the hospital bills directly without my father's help, I will execute the final step. I will pack my bags, slip out of the Sterling gates at midnight, and disappear from the city completely with my grandmother. I will leave my father and Alyssa to face Alexander's wrath when the truth comes to light.

It is a fragile plan. But it is the only one I have.

A sharp clicking sound on the cobblestones cuts through my thoughts.

I whirl, heart pounding. A woman stands at the greenhouse entrance — young, immaculate, severe. Her grey suit is crisp, her dark hair pulled into a flawless knot. A tablet rests against her chest, her eyes cold and calculating.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Sterling. My name is Evelyn. I’m the estate manager.” Her voice is precise, clinical, draining the warmth from the room. “I am conducting a mandatory audit of the West Wing structures. I do not mean to interrupt your… hobby, but I have flagged a severe anomaly.”

Panic flares in my stomach. I quickly snatch my white silk gloves from the stool and slide my hands inside them, hiding my dirt-caked fingers from her sight. I force my shoulders back, tilting my chin up, my expression sharp with Alyssa’s arrogance.

"An anomaly, Evelyn?" I snap, pitch-matching my sister's sharp, haughty tone. "I am simply tending to some plants. I didn't realize the estate manager needed to approve my morning routine."

Evelyn doesn't flinch at my hostility. She taps her digital screen, her eyes locking onto mine with a terrifying intensity.

"The plants are not the issue, Madam," she replies coolly. "The monitoring system shows the industrial boiler here was unlocked with a master key this morning. Furthermore, someone introduced a foreign, unverified substance into the reservoir, causing the mansion’s ventilation system to release unauthorized herbal vapor."

She takes a slow step toward my workbench, Her eyes flick to the mortar and pestle, where green traces of lungwort and thyme stain the stone.

"Mr. Sterling's health is a matter of global corporate security," Evelyn whispers, her tone dropping to a dangerous edge. "We do not allow unverified compounds in his air supply. I am taking this paste to the estate labs for immediate testing. If I find a single trace of toxicity, I will have the security guards remove you from this wing before nightfall."

My breath hitches beneath my silk bodice. If she tests that paste, she will realize it is a highly advanced medical compound meant for scarred lungs—proof that Alyssa Vance is a fraud, and that I am not who I claim to be. My entire escape plan is about to crash down around me.

My plan, my disguise, my grandmother’s lifeline — all of it hangs by a thread.

And Evelyn’s cold eyes tell me she already suspects the truth.