The shadows were still thick in the hallway when Chloe eased the bedroom door shut behind her. Morning hadn't fully broken yet, and the silence of the Thompson estate was almost unnerving. Every floorboard groaned under her steps as she tiptoed toward the west wing,the place she had accidentally discovered the day before.
The images haunted her: the photo of the two girls,twins,and the note that read, If you're reading this… they know. Run.
She had barely slept, her mind spinning with questions. Was she really Zoe's twin? Had she lived her whole life believing she was someone else?
And why did Mrs. Squibb seem so sure Zoe was dead?
The door creaked slightly as she pushed it open again. The same faint scent of old perfume lingered in the air. She stepped into the room,Zoe's room, she now realized,and looked around in the gray morning light. The diary was still tucked under the pillow. She slid it out gently.
She had read only a few pages the day before, but now she needed more.
Zoe had written in a neat, emotional hand:
"He doesn't love me. But he needs me. This marriage is a business arrangement. I agreed for the money. For Dad. For the promise of a new life. But I think they're lying to me. I think someone in this house wants me gone."
Chloe's stomach tightened. The entries felt like a mirror. She was now living the life Zoe had left behind… or been forced out of. But what scared her more was the date of the last entry.
Exactly one week before Chloe was mistaken for Zoe and dragged into this marriage.
She heard a voice suddenly outside the room,faint, angry.
Mrs. Squibb.
Chloe crept to the door and cracked it open.
"She's not Zoe," the woman whispered harshly on the phone, pacing the hallway. "I told you, I buried her. This one is someone else,someone dangerous. I don't care what deal was made with Thompson Global. If she stays here, she'll ruin everything."
There was silence.
Then Mrs. Squibb hissed into the phone, "Then I'll handle her myself."
Chloe closed the door gently, her chest tightening. She couldn't stay in this house. But she had to,for her child. For the truth. For justice.
She left the room and returned to her own, locking the door behind her.
***
Later that morning, Mark knocked. Chloe quickly slid the diary under her pillow before opening it.
"Morning," he said, dressed in a dark tailored suit. "You disappeared last night after the toast. Everything okay?"
She nodded. "I just needed some quiet."
He studied her for a long second, eyes narrowing slightly. "You're different."
She froze.
"You carry yourself differently," he continued. "More confident. It's strange."
Chloe forced a soft smile. "Maybe I'm finally growing into the woman you expected me to be."
He looked at her, unreadable. Then gave a small nod.
"The board is coming by tonight. I need you by my side, like we agreed. Just smile, hold my hand, and try not to disappear halfway through."
She nodded. "I'll be ready."
He turned to leave, then stopped at the door. "Zoe…?"
Her stomach flipped at the name.
"If there's anything I should know,anything going on,tell me. This deal depends on both of us."
She nodded again, more slowly.
As the door shut, she sat on the bed, the name Zoe echoing in her mind like a lie she couldn't keep telling.
***
That evening, the mansion was alive with lights and expensive perfumes. Chloe wore a deep blue evening gown picked out by Mark's assistant. It was elegant and revealing,designed to distract. Mark arrived at her door, offering his arm like a man trained in public charm.
"You look... different," he said again, as if trying to reconcile the woman before him with the one he married days ago.
"I feel different," she whispered.
The evening went smoothly until one of the board members, a sharp-eyed woman with a clipped accent, cornered Chloe by the wine table.
"You're Mark's wife?" the woman asked.
Chloe nodded.
"I've met you before, haven't I?"
Chloe hesitated. "I don't think so."
"You were at the gala last fall, yes? You were,how do I say this,less polished."
Chloe gave a tight smile. "Maybe I was just having a bad night."
The woman chuckled, clearly unconvinced. "Or maybe you've been reborn."
Before Chloe could answer, Mark appeared beside her, slipping his hand around her waist with the ease of someone used to pretending.
"She's full of surprises," he said smoothly, guiding her away.
When they were alone, he whispered, "That woman doesn't forget faces. Be careful."
Chloe swallowed. "Are you afraid she'll find out I'm not Zoe?"
He stopped walking.
"What did you say?"
She froze.
"I mean… I meant, if she suspects I'm not being myself."
Mark looked at her carefully, then nodded once. "Right. Let's hope not."
But his eyes didn't leave her face for a long time after.
***
That night, after everyone had left, Chloe went back to Zoe's room. She searched the closet, the dresser, even behind the bookshelves. In the corner of the room, something caught her eye: a slightly crooked floorboard.
She knelt and pulled it up carefully.
Underneath was a small wooden box. Inside it were photos, letters, and something wrapped in cloth.
She opened it,and gasped.
It was a birth certificate.
But not for Zoe.
It read:
Name: Chloe Amara Smith
Born: June 5
Twin Sister: Zoe Amara Smith
Her hand trembled.
She wasn't crazy.
She was Zoe's twin.
She was stolen.
She sat on the floor, chest rising and falling, until the sound of a door slamming downstairs made her jump.
Voices followed. Loud. Angry.
She pressed closer to the wall, listening.
It was Mrs. Squibb.
"She knows!" the woman screamed. "I saw her in Zoe's room. She found something,I know it!"
Another voice responded. Male. Calm, but firm. "If she's who I think she is… this changes everything."
A third voice joined,low and familiar.
Mark.
Chloe's eyes widened. She pressed closer to the wall.
Mark was involved?
Or... had he just found out?
The walls felt like they were closing in.
She quietly slid the floorboard back in place, hiding the box again. But her thoughts were in chaos.
She was Zoe's twin.
Mark still thought she was Zoe.
Mrs. Squibb wanted her dead.
And someone else… just found out the truth.
As she stepped out of the room and crept back down the hallway, a sudden sound made her heart stop.
Her bedroom door was open.
And her child's photo,the one hidden in her drawer,was gone.