---- Chapter 4 Kiera' s suspicion was a dangerous spark. | couldn' t risk another close call. The next morning, Maria called me on my burner phone, her voice trembling. "Mrs. Reese was asking about the new girl. She said you looked familiar. | told her you were my cousin, just filling in for the day. | think she believed me, but she' s watching everyone now. "You did well, Maria," | said, my voice calm. "Here' s what you do now. Quit. I' ve deposited a year' s salary into your account. Disappear for a while." There was a choked sob on the other end of the line. "Thank you. God bless you." The line went dead. One loose end tied up. Now for the rest. | called my best friend, Debi Frost. She wasn' t just my friend; she was a shark of a lawyer, the sharpest mind | knew. We met at a noisy downtown coffee shop, a place where no one would notice us. | laid it all out. The secret house, the child, the five-year lie. | slid the flash drive across the table. Her face, usually so animated, became a mask of cold fury as she listened ---- "Those bastards," she breathed, her knuckles white as she gripped her coffee cup. "All of them. Your parents, too. Aliana, we are going to destroy them." "| don' t want to destroy them, Debi," | said quietly. "I just want to disappear. | want to leave them behind with the truth of what they' ve done." "Leave? Aliana, you' re entitled to half of Ivan' s assets, not to mention a massive settlement from your parents for the emotional distress..." "| don' t want their money," | said, the words tasting like ash. "Their money is what they used to buy my silence, my compliance. It' s tainted. | want nothing from them." Debi studied my face, then nodded slowly. "Okay. If that' s what you want. A clean break. We can do that. We' II prepare the divorce papers, cite infidelity. And a document renouncing any claim to the Donovan family inheritance. We' Il make it airtight." & As we were planning, my phone buzzed. It was an email from my mother's assistant about the "anniversary" dinner Ivan had proposed. The location was set: a private room at The Oak Room, the same restaurant where Ivan and | had our first date. The irony was so thick it was suffocating. But it was a detail at the bottom of the email that made my blood run cold. Debi saw my expression and leaned closer. "What is it?" ---- | read it aloud, my voice barely a whisper. "Please confirm Dr. Donovan' s dietary restrictions. The chef notes her mild allergy to benzodiazepines from her hospital records." Debi' s eyes widened in horror. "Benzos? They' re going to drug you?" It clicked into place. The dinner wasn' t a celebration. It was a trap. They were afraid that on the anniversary of their great deception, | might finally get emotional, or suspicious. They were going to sedate me, just to make sure their evening went smoothly, to ensure the placeholder didn't cause a scene. The last flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, there was some twisted, misguided love behind their actions died. This was pure, calculated cruelty. | started to laugh. It was a hollow, broken sound that had nothing to do with humor. "Of course," | said, shaking my head. "Of course, they would." Debi reached across the table and grabbed my hand. Her grip was firm, grounding. "Aliana, you can' t go." "Oh, |' m going," | said, my eyes hard. "I'm going to let them think their plan is working perfectly. And then, I' m going to vanish." That afternoon, in Debi' s office, | signed the papers. The divorce petition. The legal renunciation of the Donovan name and fortune. With each stroke of the pen, | felt a chain ---- breaking. | was cutting myself free. 4 | went online and booked a one-way ticket to a small, coastal town in Oregon under a new name, a name | hadn't used since | was a child in the system, before they found me. A name that was truly mine. The flight was for Saturday night, the night of Leo' s fifth birthday party. The party | wasn' t invited to. The party that would serve as my grand finale. When | got back to the apartment, Ivan was there, humming as he packed an overnight bag. "Just a quick business trip," he said, not meeting my eyes. "Have to fly out tonight, back tomorrow afternoon. Just in time for our dinner." | knew where he was going. He was going to Kiera' s. To his son's birthday eve. "Be safe," | said, my voice soft. He kissed me, a quick, dismissive peck on the cheek. "I love you," he said. "| know," | replied, the words a hollow echo. That night, | lay alone in our bed, the sheets cold beside me. For the first time in five years, the loneliness didn't hurt. It felt like freedom. | was no longer Aliana Donovan, the long-lost daughter, the happy fiancée. | was a ghost in my own life, counting down the hours until | could finally disappear.