Chapter 5: He Called Her Sophia

The gunman raised the gun higher. He pointed it at her chest.

"I told you," he said. His voice was low and cold. "You can't escape me, Sophia."

"I'm not Sophia!" The words came out fast, before Claire could stop them. Fear pushed them out. "I'm Claire! I'm not her, I'm Claire!"

The man froze for a second. Something changed in his eyes. He looked confused now, not sure of himself anymore.

Footsteps came fast down the hallway. Someone was shouting for security.

The gunman swore under his breath. He turned to the window. He pushed it open and jumped through it fast. He was gone before Claire could even breathe again.

Claire sat frozen on the bed. Her heart was pounding. She stared at the empty window where he had just stood.

The door burst open. A staff member ran in. Her eyes were wide. She looked around the room fast.

"Mrs. Knight! Are you hurt?"

Claire could not answer right away. She pointed a shaking hand at the window. Her voice came out broken.

"He was right there. He had a gun. He just left. He went out the window."

The staff member ran to the window and looked out. Then she turned back, her face pale. "I'll call security. Stay here."

A moment later, Adrian came into the room. His hair was messy from sleep. A security guard stood behind him.

"What happened," he said. "Why is there screaming in the middle of the night?"

"Someone was in here," the staff member said fast. "A man. He had a gun. He got away through the window before we could stop him."

Adrian's face went hard. He turned to the guard. "How is that possible? You told me this house was secure. You told me the whole property was covered."

"It was, sir. Every camera showed nothing. No one crossed the fence tonight. I don't understand how anyone got in here at all."

"Then figure it out," Adrian said. "Now."

The guard left fast. Adrian turned to Claire. For the first time since she had met him, something in his face changed. He looked worried now. Real worry, not the cold look he'd had all night.

"Claire." He walked over and knelt in front of her. "Are you hurt? Did he touch you?"

Claire did not answer. She kept staring at the window. She was still shaking.

"Claire." His voice was softer now. "Talk to me. What did he say to you?"

"He called me Sophia," she said finally. Her voice was flat and tired. "He pointed a gun at me and called me Sophia."

Adrian went very still. "What did you say back?"

"I told him the truth. I panicked. I told him I wasn't her." Claire looked at him now. Her eyes were red and tired. "I told him I was Claire."

Something dark passed over Adrian's face. "Then he knows now. Whoever sent him knows there's no point pretending anymore."

"I didn't have a choice," Claire said. "He had a gun pointed at me."

"I'm not blaming you." Adrian reached toward her, like he wanted to take her hand. Then he seemed to stop himself halfway. "I just need to understand what we're dealing with now."

"Leave me alone!" Claire's voice cracked as it rose, sharp and sudden. "Just leave me alone, Adrian! Get out!"

Adrian froze, startled by the force of it.

"Claire, I only want to make sure you're safe—"

"I said get out!" She was shaking now, tears back in her eyes, her whole body pulled tight. "You don't get to act worried about me now. Not after everything you said to me a few hours ago. Just go."

Adrian's jaw tightened. He looked like he wanted to argue, wanted to stay, but something in his face gave way instead, guilt settling behind his eyes as he remembered exactly what he'd told her earlier that night.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Okay. I'm sorry."

He stood and walked out, closing the door softly behind him, leaving Claire alone in the dark with her knees pulled to her chest and the empty window still open to the night.

She sat there a long time before the shaking finally slowed.

She had not wanted to come back to New York. On the plane, she told herself this would be quick. Four days, maybe five. Just long enough to stand beside Sophia at the altar. Just long enough to smile for photos with a family she had kept at a distance for sixteen years. Then she would go straight back to her own life, her own apartment, her own quiet distance from all of it.

She had not expected to feel anything walking back into that house. She was wrong about that. The moment she saw Sophia's face at the airport, something in her chest hurt in a way she had not let herself feel in years. Some part of her had still been hoping, even after everything.

Now here she was. Married to a stranger. Hunted by a man with a gun who thought she was her sister. And Sophia, the one person she had actually come back for, was still missing. Maybe hurt. Maybe worse. Claire sat in a cold, unfamiliar room, wondering how four days had turned into this.

She pressed her forehead to her knees and cried again. Quiet this time. Too tired to be angry anymore.