Chapter 1 - The Echo of a Stolen Life
The sound of Lucy’s voice was like a ghost rising from the pavement.
It was soft,
yet it carried a weight that made my lungs stop working.
"You can't keep doing this,
Rebecca,"
Lucy said,
her tone trembling with a mix of fear and exhaustion.
"Alex is a good man."
"He isn't like the others."
"He’s kind,"
"and he actually cares about people."
I leaned closer to the brick wall,
the rough surface scraping against my skin,
but I didn't feel the pain.
My heart was drumming a frantic rhythm against my ribs.
Inside the room,
I heard the sharp,
metallic click of a lighter.
Then came Rebecca’s laugh,
cold and sharp like shattered glass.
"A good man?"
"He’s a bank account with a heartbeat,
Lucy."
"He’s a mark that’s been overdue for a harvest."
"And don't you dare act all holy now,"
"considering you’re the one who found him for me."
I felt the ground shift beneath my feet.
Lucy found me?
The memory of the convenience store flashed before my eyes.
The water bottle.
The cat food.
The gentle smile.
"I didn't find him for you!"
Lucy shouted,
her voice cracking.
"I met him by accident."
"I liked him."
"I was going to go to that dinner,"
"until you told me you’d hurt my mother if I ever saw him again."
"You stole my life,
Rebecca."
"You saw a man with money and you pushed me into the dirt so you could take my place."
The man’s voice joined in,
deep and impatient.
"Enough with the drama,
both of you."
"We have a schedule to keep."
"Alex signs the deed at ten a.m. tomorrow."
"By noon,
the offshore accounts will be live."
"And Lucy,"
"if you make one sound,"
"if you even think about warning him,"
"you know what happens to the museum’s funding."
I pulled my phone back,
my fingers shaking as I hit the save button on the recording.
The truth was a jagged blade,
cutting through three years of lies.
Every "emergency,"
every "charity,"
it was all a script.
And Lucy wasn't a co-conspirator.
She was a prisoner.
She was the woman who had truly seen me,
only to be replaced by a parasite.
I looked down at my dirty clothes and my grimy hands.
I looked like a man who had lost everything.
But for the first time in years,
I felt like I was finally seeing the world clearly.
I retreated into the shadows of the alley,
my mind racing.
I wasn't just going to stop the wedding.
I was going to dismantle the entire machine that had been feeding on my life.
I had to save Lucy.
May you like
I had to get Baron back.
And I had to make sure Rebecca Alcott never had an "accident" ever again.
