She turned and headed toward the bathroom, mumbling, “I’ll go splash some water on my face.”
But as she walked away, she heard Lucas call out behind her.
“Jane!”
The name pulled her up short. Without thinking, she turned and responded, “What?”
She froze when she saw Lucas’s expression.
He smiled faintly, his eyes sharp. “So your real name is Jane, huh?”
Jane hesitated, unsure of what to say.
Lucas didn’t press her further. “Someone’s been looking for you,” he said.
The moment Jane saw Suzy–her childhood best friend–she was pulled into a teary hug.
“Jane!” Suzy sobbed, covering her face with her hands. “I thought you were dead!”
.
9:18 AM
<
Jane wrapped her arms around her, gently patting her back. “Why are you crying?”
“I really thought you were gone,” Suzy choked out, glaring at her through teary eyes. “If you were going to fake your death, couldn’t you at least have told me? We’ve known each other for twenty years, and you didn’t even think to warn me? Do you even consider me your friend?”
They’d known each other since elementary school. At first, they couldn’t stand each other, but somewhere along the way, their relationship had shifted, and they’d become inseparable.
Jane sighed softly. “I didn’t want the Faulkners to find me. I couldn’t risk leaving any loose ends.”
Suzy’s expression darkened as she let out a heavy sigh. After a long pause, she said, “Your dad–he never wanted to donate blood to Summer. But the last time she had surgery, she lost so much blood that he had no choice. He finally did it.
“And afterward? His health completely collapsed. He’s bedridden now–some kind of severe blood deficiency. He’s seen every doctor, but nothing’s worked. He’s still stuck in that bed.”
Suzy let out a bitter laugh. “Funny thing is, Summer hasn’t had a single fainting spell since.”
Jane smiled faintly. “Nothing surprising about that. She’s always enjoyed tormenting me.”
Suzy quickly changed the subject. “I was only in town for a work trip–there’s a design expo going on. Then, out of nowhere, I spotted you. I thought I was hallucinating.”
“Luckily, I have a friend who knows Lucas, so I asked around and eventually tracked you down.” Suzy smiled wryly. “But seriously… are you planning to keep hiding forever?”
She watched Jane’s face carefully before continuing, “I’ve been keeping tabs on William lately… I’ve learned a few things.”
The mention of William’s name made Jane’s heart skip a beat, but she quickly calmed herself.
She realized, almost to her surprise, that she didn’t feel much anymore.
Hearing his name didn’t evoke the pain it used to. She could talk about him now–as if he were just some distant acquaintance.
But Suzy hadn’t quite accepted the idea of treating William as just a “friend.” She sighed and continued, “When he first found out you had cancer, he went absolutely insane. He searched for you like a madman, stopped eating, stopped sleeping, stopped working–it was like he’d lost his mind.”
“And when he got the news of your death… Suzy bit her lip. “He started drinking like water. You’d think he was in denial, but then he went ahead and held a funeral for you. You’d think he accepted it, but when I went to the funeral, he actually smiled at me and said, ‘This was supposed to be our wedding day!”
“He’s lost so much weight, Jane. His cheekbones stick out, and he looks like a skeleton. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was the one with cancer.”
Suzy kept rambling, but eventually, she realized Jane’s face hadn’t changed expression the entire time.
Finally, she caught herself and changed the subject. “Sorry, I’ve been oversharing. Just think of it as me gossiping and forget about it. Don’t worry–I won’t tell anyone you’re alive.”
Jane nodded quietly. “Please keep this a secret.”
They talked for a little while longer, catching up on old memories. As the sky darkened, Suzy stood to leave, but before she did, she handed Jane a flash drive.
“This, Suzy said, “is the restored footage from the Grant Group fire. William knew I had a friend who could recover damaged files, so he came to me a while back to get it fixed.”
She hesitated. “I’ve seen what’s on it. I think you should too.”
Back at home, Jane immediately st
9:19 AM
<
Jane smiled faintly. “Nothing surprising about that. She’s always enjoyed tormenting me.”
Suzy quickly changed the subject. “I was only in town for a work trip–there’s a design expo going on. Then, out of nowhere, I spotted you. I thought I was hallucinating.”
“Luckily, I have a friend who knows Lucas, so I asked around and eventually tracked you down.” Suzy smiled wryly. “But seriously… are you planning to keep hiding forever?”
She watched Jane’s face carefully before continuing, “I’ve been keeping tabs on William lately… I’ve learned a few things.”
The mention of William’s name made Jane’s heart skip a beat, but she quickly calmed herself.
She realized, almost to her surprise, that she didn’t feel much anymore.
Hearing his name didn’t evoke the pain it used to. She could talk about him now–as if he were just some distant acquaintance.
But Suzy hadn’t quite accepted the idea of treating William as just a “friend.” She sighed and continued, “When he first found out you had cancer, he went absolutely insane. He searched for you like a madman, stopped eating, stopped sleeping, stopped working–it was like he’d lost his mind.”
“And when he got the news of your death… Suzy bit her lip. “He started drinking like water. You’d think he was in denial, but then he went ahead and held a funeral for you. You’d think he accepted it, but when I went to the funeral, he actually smiled at me and said, ‘This was supposed to be our wedding day.“”
“He’s lost so much weight, Jane. His cheekbones stick out, and he looks like a skeleton. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was the one
with cancer.”
Suzy kept rambling, but eventually, she realized Jane’s face hadn’t changed expression the entire time.
Finally, she caught herself and changed the subject. “Sorry, I’ve been oversharing. Just think of it as me gossiping and forget about it. Don’t worry–I won’t tell anyone you’re alive.”
Jane nodded quietly. “Please keep this a secret.”
They talked for a little while longer, catching up on old memories. As the sky darkened, Suzy stood to leave, but before she did, she handed
Jane a flash drive.
“This,” Suzy said, “is the restored footage from the Grant Group fire. William knew I had a friend who could recover damaged files, so he came to me a while back to get it fixed.”
She hesitated. “I’ve seen what’s on it. I think you should too.”
Back at home, Jane immediately plugged the flash drive into her laptop.
The footage was grainy and shaky, but it was clear enough to make out the people in it.
On the screen, Summer stood in the middle of the frame.
A man–presumably Riley’s brother–appeared to be confessing his feelings to her. Summer rejected him. The man grew emotional, grabbing her in a desperate hug.
Summer struggled violently, trying to push him away. But she wasn’t strong enough. In the chaos, she suddenly reached for a vase from a nearby table and smashed it over his head.
The man collapsed onto the floor, convulsing. He reached out a trembling hand toward her, as if begging for help.
Summer didn’t move.
Instead, she picked up a shard of the broken vase and struck him again. And again. Blood splattered across her face.
The man stopped moving.
Summer stood there for ten whole minutes, breathing heavily, before she calmly walked into the
When she came out, she had a lighter in her hand. She deliberately tampered with the fire alarm system, then set the curtains ablaze.
The flames spread quickly.
The man’s body was consumed in the inferno, reduced to nothing but charred remains. All evidence of the crime was destroyed.
When the video ended, Jane’s screen went black. She sat frozen in her chair, drenched in cold sweat, her face ghostly pale.
She stood up abruptly, pacing around the room, her thoughts a jumbled mess.
So the fire hadn’t been an accident after all.
Summer had gone to prison, but not as an innocent scapegoat–she had deserved it.
Jane stopped pacing, her hands trembling. She pulled out her phone and instinctively typed in Summer’s number.
Her thumb hovered over the call button.
But in the end, she didn’t press it.
Meanwhile, William was staring at his own copy of the footage.
When the video ended, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. But no amount of control could suppress the rage boiling inside him.
With a loud crash, he swept everything off his desk, sending papers, pens, and his laptop flying to the floor.
His assistant stood nearby, shaking with fear. “Mr. Grant, should… should I call the police?”
William didn’t answer.
The assistant hesitated, then glanced at William’s face.
What he saw made his blood run cold.
William stood by the floor–to–ceiling windows, his thin, gaunt frame trembling ever so slightly.
He clenched his fists, his body rigid, before finally raising a hand to cover his face.
From between his fingers, shimmering tears began to fall.
His voice, barely audible and shaking, broke the silence:
“Jane…
“What have I done…?”
“How could I have been so blind, letting that woman fool me for so long?”
“And how… how could I lose you? I didn’t even get to say goodbye…”
The assistant slowly backed out of the room, closing the door behind him without a word.
Later that night, William left his office and took the elevator to the rooftop.
The wind was sharp and cold, biting at his skin.
For a moment, he thought he saw Jane standing in the distance, her soft smile beckoning him.
“William,” she called, her voice gentle. “Come here.”
9:19 AM
<
winan, sire Cameu, ter voice yennie. Cune mere.
He stepped forward, one foot in front of the other, moving toward the edge of the rooftop.
As he reached the railing, a memory surfaced–Jane’s last words to him:
“I understand.”
She had always been so obedient, so compliant, always doing what others asked of her.
She had accepted everything without resistance:
Being her sister’s “blood bag.”
Being overshadowed by Summer in William’s life.
Accepting her diagnosis, her fate, her death.
Even when he thought he’d saved her, pulling her out of the darkness, he realized now–he was the one who’d pushed her back in.
William clenched his fists. He would never forgive himself.
He stepped closer to the edge, lifting one foot over the railing-
Suddenly, his phone rang, the sound piercing the silence.
It was his assistant.
William answered dully, his voice hollow. “What is it?”
The assistant’s voice was frantic with excitement. “Mr. Grant, Miss Jane… she’s alive!”
William’s eyes snapped open. “What did you just say?!”
The assistant quickly explained, “You asked me to keep an eye on Suzy, right? Well, two days ago, she flew to Eldoria for a business trip.
“She was supposed to fly home tonight, but she rescheduled her ticket to stay longer. I thought it was strange, so I asked someone to check on her.
“And you won’t believe it–she was spotted at a café with Miss Jane!
“I thought it was a mistake, so I asked for proof. My contact sent me a photo–I’ve forwarded it to you. Take a look!”
William’s hands trembled as he opened the photo.
He zoomed in. Then zoomed in again.
It was her. His Jane.
She was bundled up in a beige puffer jacket, looking like a polar bear. Jane hated the cold, and in Eldoria, where winters were unusually bitter, she dressed much warmer than anyone else.
She looked healthier now, with a slight flush of color on her cheeks and a little extra weight on her frame.
It was her. His Jane.
A wave of overwhelming joy crashed over him, and William’s eyes filled with tears. Practically shouting into the phone, he ordered, “What are you waiting for? Book the earliest flight to Eldoria–now!”
He leapt off the rooftop and bolted down the stairs.
As he exited the building, he almost collided with Summer, who was sitting in her wheelchair by the entrance.
