Chapter 5

Meanwhile, watching Liam talk with the director made Annie uneasy.

She grabbed the medicine from the nurse and hurried over. “Liam, is something wrong with me?”

The director repeated himself, and Annie finally relaxed.

Right then, her parents called to summon her home for dinner. Liam said he’d go with her.

I floated into the car after them.

Ever since he returned, I’d felt something off about the way he treated the fake me.

For a man who never lifts a finger without a reason, it was hard not to suspect another agenda.

This was Liam’s first visit to the Lee residence.

My parents greeted him with shining smiles, fawning over every word.

We sat in the living room. I couldn’t drift far from Annie’s orbit.

My mom held Annie’s hand, fussing—Did she eat well at the Grant house? Sleep okay?

I couldn’t watch her shower that impostor with motherly concern.

My gaze kept sliding to the junk room in the backyard.

That day, they’d given all the staff the day off.

They tricked me in there, killed me, and stashed me in a freezer they’d prepared in advance. I wanted to see if I was still there.

If Liam had come all this way, maybe he could take me away.

My mom shot my dad a look. He immediately found an excuse to take Liam to the study for tea and chess.

I followed the mother–daughter pair into a bedroom.

With a grave face, my mom lowered her voice. “Your dad and I chopped that girl up last night.”

Late again. Always a step late.

Annie’s expression soured. “Is that face for me? Regretting it? Feeling sorry for her?”

My eyes lit up and I stared at her, waiting for my mother’s answer.

Mom tapped Annie’s forehead with a gentle scold. “You ungrateful brat. Who else would I feel anything for besides you?”

I couldn’t help drifting close. “Mom, I’m your biological daughter too. You carried me ten months. Why did you hold me down for Annie to stab?”

“I’ve listened to you for years—stayed put in that countryside like you wanted. Say the word and I’ll go back there again.”

I didn’t dare hope for the kind of love Annie got, but to ensure her path was smooth, my mother chose to erase me entirely.

The image of her yanking Annie’s hand away so my blood wouldn’t stain it overlapped with the only time she’d visited me as a child.

But a ghost’s questions get no answers.

Annie smiled, satisfied. “Good. Toss one bag a day. Far away.”

My mom hesitated, then said, “There’s one thing. She was pregnant—with twins.”

I wavered and stared at the two of them.

I’d taken the morning‑after pill for years, but no one wanted a baby more than I did.

At the start of the year, Grandma Miller’s health failed. I rushed back to the county hospital.

She squeezed my hand, worried. “My Zoey, what’ll you do when I’m gone?”

I held back my tears and forced a smile. “Don’t worry, Grandma. Liam treats me much better now.”

She lifted her hand with all her strength. I bent close.

“Zoey, try to have a child soon. Boy or girl, you’ll have someone of your own to hold you up.”

“People need someone to live for. That’s how you find the strength to go on.”

I nodded. “Okay. When I give birth, I’ll bring the baby for you to see.”

Grandma smiled and told me to remove the wooden bead from around her neck.

“I have nothing valuable to leave you. My parents got this bead from a revered monk. Since childhood, I've had a 'fragile spiritual presence'—prone to soul displacement. But ever since I started wearing this sacred bead, my entire being has felt completely grounded and whole”

“It isn’t worth money, but it’s something of mine for you to keep.”

I thought of that and glanced at the bead on Annie’s neck.

So that was it. My soul was bound to that bead.

Annie blurted, shocked, “Who else knows she was pregnant?”

Mom frowned. “That’s what worries me. But I sounded Aunt Lee out this morning—no one at the Grant house should know.”

Annie went pale and clutched Mom’s arm. “Mom, I don’t want to go to prison!”

Mom hugged her. “Don’t panic, baby. Your father and I won’t let anything happen to you. We’ll say you’re traveling. In a while we’ll file a missing‑person report.”

“Your dad’s trying to buy an industrial grinder that pulverizes bone. Once she’s ground to paste and buried deep, there’ll only ever be one Zoey Lee in this world—you.”

Her eyes were cold and vicious. But when she looked down to soothe Annie, she turned back into that gentle, kindly mother.