Chapter 5

The morning of my birthday arrived. As I was packing a small suitcase, my mother, Eleanor, walked in.

"Darling, where are you going?" she asked, a flicker of panic in her eyes.

"Debi's taking me to a spa resort in the next city," I lied smoothly. "Just for a couple of days to unwind. I'm exhausted."

I saw the look of pure relief she exchanged with my father, who was standing in the doorway. My trip was the perfect cover for their own plans.

At breakfast, my mother, Eleanor, brought me a cup of "special calming herbal tea" to "help me relax."

I could smell it. The faint, almost undetectable bitter almond scent of the sleeping pills mixed in. They didn't even try to be creative. They were arrogant.

"Thank you, Mother," I said, picking up the cup. I looked at her, then at my father. "You're both so good to me."

Their faces softened with relief. I was playing my part perfectly. I took a sip of the tea. Then another. I drank half the cup, my stomach clenching with each swallow, not from the drug, but from the betrayal.

After a few minutes, I pressed a hand to my forehead. "I'm feeling a little... dizzy. I think the stress from the script finally caught up with me."

"Oh, you poor thing," Eleanor said, her concern a masterpiece of fiction. "Of course. You should rest."

Richard urged me to go upstairs.

I gave them one last look. My parents. The people who were supposed to love me unconditionally.

"Were you ever sorry?" I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it. "For what happened to me? For all the years I was gone?"

They stared at me, their smiles faltering. There was a flicker of something in their eyes-guilt, maybe-but it was quickly extinguished.

"Of course, we were, Aliana," my father said, his voice a little too firm. "Every single day."

A lie. Another one. I didn't press. I just nodded. "I'm glad."

I walked toward the stairs. Once inside the empty, opulent bathroom, I locked the door, knelt before the toilet, and forced myself to throw up, my body convulsing until the tea and the poison were gone. I rinsed my mouth, my face pale but my eyes clear in the mirror.

The dizziness was an act, but the nausea was real.

I changed into simple, dark clothing. I walked into the living room, where a single, elegantly wrapped delivery box sat on the coffee table. I had prepared it the day before.

Using a burner app on my phone, I scheduled a priority courier. The instructions were precise: deliver the package to the Starlight Restaurant inside the amusement park at exactly 12:00 PM. The recipient was Ivan Hughes, VIP booth.

My final stop was a quiet street overlooking the amusement park. Through a small access road, I saw them. Ivan, Kiera, Leo, and my parents, laughing as they walked through the entrance like a real family. And I was the outsider, looking in. They looked so happy.

My phone buzzed. A message from Debi. "Wheels up in 30. You're free."

I looked at the scene one last time, a tableau of their perfect, fake happiness. I felt nothing. No anger, no sadness. Just a profound, empty peace.

I blocked their numbers, wiped my phone, and dropped it into a storm drain, the screen shattering on the concrete below.

Aliana Donovan was gone. I turned my back on the glittering park and walked toward the airport, toward my new life, without looking back.