Chapter 2

Evie

Three days later, she moved in.

Nathaniel brought her in himself, one hand carrying her suitcase, the other resting at her waist like she might collapse if he let go. She was wrapped in my cream cashmere robe, the one he bought for me in Paris because he said it made my skin glow, and I stood there watching her cross the foyer like she had every right to be there.

“It’s cold in here,” she murmured, tucking herself closer into his side.

“I know,” he murmured, adjusting the robe around her shoulders without thinking, then he looked at me.

“Evie,” he said carefully. “Serena will be staying with us for a while in the guest suite.”

Serena lifted her head and looked straight at me, assessing me, Then she turned back to Nathaniel and her voice became softer.

“Thank you, Nate,” she whispered.

Nate.

Nathaniel stiffened when she called him that, just for a second, then something in him gave way. His hand tightened at her back, his expression was gentle.

That was the first day.

The next morning I went into the kitchen for coffee and found her already there, sitting in my chair by the window, holding my blue mug, the chipped one I had dropped once and laughed about.

Oh,” she said when she saw me. “Is this yours?”

She did not wait for my answer.

“Nathaniel said I could use anything.”

Nathaniel walked in behind me, fastening his cufflinks. He glanced at the mug, then at me.

“It’s just a cup, Evie,” he said. “We have plenty.”

I stood there longer than I should have, my hands empty with my chest tight. I hadn’t even uttered a word.

A few days later she couldn’t find her mother’s locket.

“That was the last thing I had of her,” Serena said from the sofa, her voice trembling. “I never take it off.”

Nathaniel was already searching, pulling open drawers, checking surfaces, his movements shifted, I never saw him that desperate.

“Don’t worry,” he told her. “We’ll find it.”

I searched everywhere too.

 That afternoon Serena touched my arm lightly. “Maybe check your coat,” she said. “You wore it yesterday.”

The locket fell from the lining and hit the floor between us.

Nathaniel stared at it, then at me.

“Why was this in your coat,” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I said quickly. “I didn’t put it there.”

He looked past me to Serena, who was crying now, her hands shaking.

“After everything she’s been through,” he said quietly. “Why will you steal her locket?”

“That’s not what happened,” I said, my voice breaking. “You know me.”

His eyes hardened. “I don’t know what I’m seeing anymore.”

He picked up the locket and fastened it around Serena’s neck.

She leaned into him. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “I know she didn’t mean it.”

Her eyes met mine over his shoulder and she smiled.

After that, things changed quickly.

When I came back from my evening walk, my things were gone from the bedroom. Every dress, every shoe, moved into a guest room at the end of the hall. Serena's things replaced mine in our bedroom. 

The same study he told me not to enter now became their playground.

I had passed the door and heard his voice low and intimate.

 “Stop,” she giggled. “You’re tickling me.”

That sound lodged itself in my chest and stayed there.

A week later, her medicinal tea was found dumped in the sink.

Serena cried on the staircase, saying she had seen me in the kitchen late at night.

 “She hates me,” she whispered. “She wants me gone.”

Nathaniel didn’t raise his voice this time.

He stood in my doorway, his face flat. “You will not touch her things. You will not speak to her,” he said. “You will be civil.” Then a pause. “Or you will leave. Don't be ungrateful.”

That night, the air in my room felt heavy. I stepped onto the balcony. The city glimmered differently tonight.

Their balcony was beside mine, separated by frosted glass, their door was slightly open.

Serena’s voice floated out. “Does she still bother you?”

I heard Nathaniel exhale. The sound he used to make when he was tired. “She was a comfort,” he said. “For a while, just a placeholder.” Another pause. “You’re my heart. I never stopped. I will make sure she leaves soon.”

Something snapped, I wasn’t sure what it was. If felt like a dynamite ignited silently from the depths of my being. It was released. Through the curtain, I saw their shadows come together.

I sank to my knees on the tile. I didn’t cry, but my throat felt tight.

The woman named Evie ended there.

That evening, I packed one bag, the old navy Longchamp tote from the hospital. I put on the jeans and sweatshirt I’d been wearing when I woke up three years ago. I left everything else behind.

I stopped at his study. I slid the ring from my finger and placed it at the centre of his desk.

Then I walked to the elevator.

“I can’t breathe!” Serena’s scream shattered the quiet.

She was on the foyer floor, clutching her chest, gasping. “Nate!”

Nathaniel burst out of his office, his eyes locked onto her, then snapped to me.

“What did you do?” he shouted. “What did you give her?”

Serena looked at me, then she winked.

I smiled faintly. “The performance is convincing,” I said. “But the understudy is leaving.”

The elevator doors closed on his stunned face.

~~~

I found myself at the centre of the city. The streets of New York City were loud. Then it dawned on me, I had nowhere to go. My body started shaking.

In the heart of Times Square, I looked up and something caught my eye.

[VANDERBILT HEIRESS PRESUMED DEAD — $10M REWARD] was flashing across the massive digital billboard.

The photo beneath it stole my breath, the face looked like mine.

The name read: ALESSANDRA VANDERBILT.

Instantly, some memory crashed into me: glass breaking, screaming tires. A woman with my face screaming a name.

“Alessa!” 

I gasped. 

I held my head, trying to suppress the flashes, but suddenly a black SUV pulled up beside me.

The man inside looked at me once.

“Miss Vanderbilt,” he said. “Your grandfather is waiting.”