All Chapters of The Stand‑In Meant to Fake Her Death: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The next morning, Jack came to take me home. He was driving the same black Bentley he'd used to take me to the hotel three years ago.As soon as he opened the door, I spotted a box of lemon candies on the back seat."Still your favorite brand," he said.He held the car door open for me. "You've always gotten carsick. Have one. It'll help settle your stomach."I picked up a candy, unwrapped it, and popped it into my mouth. As the sourness spread across my tongue, memories of three years ago came rushing back.Jack had been the one driving that night, too.My drink had been spiked, leaving me so weak I could barely move. But I was still conscious enough to know what was happening. I'd clung to his sleeve, sobbing as I begged him to take me to the hospital.But all he'd said was, "Winnie, Lawson Group's over a billion dollars in debt. If Hayden agrees to help us, we can still save the company. Just do this one last thing for Mom and Dad."Then he'd pried my fingers off his sleeve,

Early the next morning, Rachel showed up with a suitcase. "Ms. Lawson, I'm coming to Fenris with you. I've already quit my job. Whether you go by Winifred Lawson or Willa Dawson, I'm staying by your side."She spoke quickly, as though she was afraid I'd turn her down if she hesitated for even a moment.I took a document out of the drawer. "Sign this."She glanced at it, and her face immediately fell.It was an official employment contract from Prescott Group. The position was two ranks above her current one, with double the salary."I'm not signing it," she said."Rachel.""Like I said, I'm coming with you," she insisted.She looked at me, her eyes brimming with tears. "You're afraid of the dark. You have trouble sleeping, and when you do, you get nightmares. How can you go to a foreign country all alone, living under a fake name? Who will you even have to talk to?"I placed the pen in her hand. "Dead people don't need anyone to talk to." Tears immediately spilled down Rache

The search and rescue operation continued through the night. By the time dawn approached, the fire at sea had finally been extinguished.Hayden stood at the bow of the boat, still wearing his soaked clothes. He hadn't once loosened his grip on the tracking bracelet in his hand.The rescue team hauled pieces of wreckage onto the deck, one after another. Among the debris, they found half of a badly damaged phone lodged in a charred piece of sofa leather.After two hours of painstaking work, the technicians managed to recover just one audio recording I'd never sent.Hayden pressed play.My faint voice came through, barely audible over the automated countdown to the explosion. "This time, I won't be a burden to anyone anymore."The recording cut off abruptly.Hayden stared at the phone, unable to move for a long time.In all three years we'd been together, I'd hardly asked him for anything. When everyone turned against me, all I'd asked was for him to stop the reporters from gather

The DNA test results arrived in the early hours of the following morning. The probability of a biological match was over 99.99%. The results confirmed it. The body was mine.Hayden stared at the thin sheet of paper for a long time. He'd known it was me the moment he saw the scar on my pinky finger. But it wasn't until that moment that he finally lost the last excuse he had to keep lying to himself.I was really dead. I hadn't faked my death. I hadn't gone abroad to start a new life under a different name. I'd died aboard the very yacht he'd arranged for me.Dad wasted no time contacting the funeral home. "We've already booked the venue for the memorial service, and the obituary is ready to go," he said. "We'll proceed with the burial in three days, just as planned."Jack handed Hayden a tablet. On the screen was a press release they'd prepared well in advance. "Lawson Heiress Winifred Lawson Dies in Tragic Yacht Accident. Grieving Parents and Brother Devastated."They had even pic

Rachel turned down Hayden's request to meet for the fourth time. On his fifth attempt, he spent the entire night waiting outside her apartment building.When dawn broke, Rachel finally came downstairs and tossed a hard drive into his arms. "These are Ms. Lawson's medical records from her hospital stay. If you really want to know what happened, then listen to every last bit of it." The hard drive contained more than just medical records. There was also hospital surveillance footage and audio recordings.When I was admitted to the hospital, I'd suffered severe injuries to my abdomen, and my baby's heart had already stopped beating. Yet when I regained consciousness, the first thing I asked was, "Where's Hayden?"When the nurse told me Hayden was waiting outside, a faint smile appeared on my pale face. "I bet I gave him quite a scare, huh? Please tell him I'm okay. I don't want him to worry."The doctor remained silent for a long time before finally breaking the news that they hadn'