Chapter 1

The black SUV stopped at the familiar gates of our D.C. estate.

Ten years.

Ten years I spent in the desert, at that high-security facility.

Ostensibly, I was caring for Dr. Albright, the reclusive scientist.

In reality, I was his lead researcher.

Now he was dead, and I was home.

I expected a quiet welcome, maybe a strained dinner with my parents, David and Eleanor.

The driver opened my door.

I stepped out, my legs stiff.

The house looked the same, imposing and cold.

But music drifted from inside, laughter too. A party.

Strange.

I walked up the stone steps, my old key still fitting the lock.

The foyer was crowded. People I vaguely recognized, political faces, society types.

Then I saw her.

Chloe. My cousin.

She stood by the grand staircase, wearing a dress I remembered. It was mine.

She laughed, her hand on Julian Vance' s arm.

Julian. My fiancé. Or he was, ten years ago.

Chloe looked up, her eyes widened for a second, then narrowed.

A woman beside her gushed, "Chloe, darling, your work on the Chronos Project is simply revolutionary! That fellowship is so deserved."

My research. My fellowship.

Chloe smiled, a tight, practiced smile. "Thank you. It was a team effort, of course."

My blood ran cold.

I pushed through the guests. "Chloe?"

Her smile vanished. Julian looked at me, confused, then back at Chloe.

"Who is this?" he asked Chloe.

Before Chloe could speak, my mother, Eleanor, appeared.

Her face, perfectly made up, hardened when she saw me.

"Ava," she said, her voice like ice. "What are you doing here?"

"Mother? What is going on? Why is Chloe..."

"Chloe is celebrating her engagement to Julian," Eleanor cut in. "And her recent achievements. Things you wouldn't understand."

"My achievements?" I said, my voice rising. "That's my work she's claiming. Julian was my fiancé."

Eleanor stepped closer, her eyes blazing.

"You are unwell, Ava. The isolation has clearly affected your mind."

She addressed the stunned guests. "My apologies. This is my daughter, Ava. She's been away for a long time, under medical care. She sometimes gets... confused."

Gasps rippled through the room.

Chloe played her part, a look of deep concern on her face. "Oh, Ava, dear. You're not well."

Julian looked from me to Chloe, his expression shifting to distaste as he looked at me.

"Medical care?" I repeated, staring at Eleanor. "You told people I was sick?"

"It was for the best," Eleanor said smoothly. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have guests."

She tried to steer me away.

I pulled my arm back. "No. I want to know what's happening."

My father, David, emerged from his study. He looked older, tired.

He saw me, and his face was unreadable.

"David, tell them," I pleaded. "Tell them the truth."

Eleanor shot him a look. A warning.

David cleared his throat. "Ava, your mother is right. You're not yourself. You need to rest."

"Rest?" I felt a surge of anger. "You're all pretending I don't exist? That my life is hers?" I pointed at Chloe.

Chloe shrank back against Julian, who put a protective arm around her.

"She's hysterical," Eleanor announced. "David, please take her upstairs."

Two large men, security I didn't recognize, moved towards me.

"Don't touch me," I warned.

But they were professionals. They flanked me, gently but firmly guiding me towards the back stairs.

"This isn't over," I said, looking back at Eleanor's triumphant face and Chloe's feigned sympathy.

My father wouldn't meet my eyes.

They took me to a small suite of rooms in the disused wing of the house.

The door locked behind me.

I was a prisoner in my own home.

The party sounds faded.

I sank onto the dusty bed. Betrayal. It was a bitter, suffocating thing.

My mother. My father. My cousin.

They had erased me.