Chapter 5
The echo of Lincoln’s shouting rattled the cheap glassware in his kitchen cabinets, but inside my chest, there was only a profound, echoing silence. The erratic fluttering of my pulse—the anxious, desperate rhythm of a woman trying to shrink herself to fit into a small man’s life—completely vanished.
My fingers drifted upward, resting against the sharp ridge of my collarbone. It was an old tell, a subconscious grounding mechanism I used whenever a ledger needed balancing, or a liability needed cutting.
He mistook my stillness for submission. The red, sweaty flush of his unearned arrogance made him look utterly pathetic in the harsh fluorescent lighting of his cramped apartment.
"Tomorrow night," I said. My voice was a frictionless sheet of ice, so unnaturally calm that Lincoln physically recoiled, the defensive heat draining from his face.
"What?" he stammered, his hand twitching toward his loosened, synthetic tie.
"Tomorrow night at eight o’clock," I repeated, my tone measured and absolute. "Bring your parents. Bring Reagan, too. Let's have one final dinner at my family's home to clear the air and settle things."
Lincoln let out a derisive scoff, though his eyes darted nervously. "Your family's home? What, are we taking the train to some cramped duplex in Queens?"
"I'll text you the address," I murmured. I picked up my coat, the bespoke Milanese silk slipping effortlessly over my shoulders. "Don't be late. I despise tardiness."
I didn't wait for his response. I walked out, the heavy, rusted door of his building clicking shut behind me, severing the tether once and for all.
Stepping onto the damp Brooklyn pavement, I pulled my phone from my pocket. The disguise of the struggling, ordinary girl washed away into the gutters with the freezing rain. I dialed a number I hadn't used for logistical support in over a year.
Ambrose Larson answered on the first ring.
"Adelina," my father’s voice resonated through the speaker, carrying the deep, commanding timber of the CEO of Zenith Financial Group. He didn't ask about the weather. He didn't ask for small talk.
"Dad. The experiment is over," I said, stepping into the back of a waiting yellow cab. "I'm coming home."
A brief, loaded pause hung on the line. "I'll have the executive security team clear the lobby. Do you need the boardroom?"
"No. The Upper East Side penthouse. I'm hosting a dinner tomorrow night for four guests." I watched the blurry, neon lights of the city streak across the rain-streaked window. "Activate the private staff. I want the formal dining room prepared. I want the full Larson standard."
"Consider it done," Ambrose replied, a quiet, lethal pride threading through his words.
I hung up and opened my messages, typing a quick text to Victoria Ashworth: *The execution is set for tomorrow at 8 PM. Penthouse. Wear black.*
Her reply was instantaneous: *Already picking out my veil. 🥂*
By the following afternoon, the physical weight of my true life had settled back over my shoulders like a familiar, heavy mantle. I stood in the center of my family’s triplex penthouse, the sprawling, uninterrupted view of Central Park stretching out beneath the floor-to-ceiling glass. The scent of fresh white orchids and beeswax polish filled the climate-controlled air. In the dining room, our private staff moved with silent precision, laying out Christofle silver and Baccarat crystal.
Victoria sat perched on a velvet chaise lounge nearby, sipping a flute of vintage Dom Pérignon. Suddenly, her phone vibrated against the marble side table. She glanced at the screen, and her perfectly arched brow shot upward.
"Well," Victoria purred, a feline smile curving her lips. "The tectonic plates of Manhattan are officially shifting. Isabella Rodriguez just blew up my phone."
I turned away from the window, the silk of my emerald gown brushing against the imported hardwood. "Enzo's publicist? Why is she messaging you?"
"Because, darling, when the sole heiress to the Zenith empire suddenly drops her disguise and orders a full corporate security detail to the Upper East Side, the elite whisper network catches fire. Isabella’s job is to know everything before the press does." Victoria took a slow sip of her champagne. "And she just informed her star client that the Bryant-Larson illusion is imploding."
The air in my lungs suddenly felt thin. "Enzo is supposed to be in Europe. He starts filming a multi-million dollar production tomorrow."
"He *was* in Europe," Victoria corrected, her eyes gleaming with absolute thrill. "Isabella says he just breached his contract. He walked off the tarmac, canceled the shoot, and took a private jet straight back to New York."
My hand drifted to my collarbone. Enzo. Eight years of quiet, respectful distance. Eight years of watching me navigate this suburban fever dream, never once intruding, never once breaking my cover, just waiting for me to wake up.
"Where is he now?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
"He went straight to his secure bank vault," Victoria said, setting her glass down, the crystal clinking sharply against the marble. "He retrieved something he’s kept locked away for eight years. And, Adelina... he's heading here."
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