Chapter 1965

Nash's eyes widened in surprise, but just as quickly, a shadow of disappointment flickered across his face.

"So that's what's going on. None of you thought to tell me, huh?" He forced a smile, picking up a rib and biting into it. The taste barely registered his mind was clearly somewhere else.

Some secrets, he thought, were better locked away, never meant to see the light

of day.

Later that evening, Fiona headed out to meet the Gregory family as planned. She finished dinner and went straight to see Amy's parents.

The real Amy was there too, looking sweet and fragile-nothing like the girl Fiona remembered. But in Amy's eyes, Fiona still caught that hunger for money and power. She didn't say anything about it. As long as Amy stayed out of her way, Fiona didn't care what she did.

"Ms. Fiona, you're here!" Lucy jumped up to greet her, gently pulling Amy along. Her face lit up as she led Fiona inside the private room.

"Hello, Ms. Fiona," Amy said softly, sounding shy and polite.

Honestly, Amy was grateful to Fiona. If it hadn't been for her and for Tyler's help, she probably would've spent the rest of her life trapped in that dark, damp basement-never getting to see her parents again, no matter how much she dreamed about it.

The resemblance between the real Amy and the fake one was almost unreal-you could barely tell them apart. Fiona studied them closely, but all she could spot was a subtle difference around their eyes and eyebrows. Everything else, at least for now, looked exactly the same.

Even their voices matched. On first listen, you'd never guess one was an imposter.

You had to give the fake Amy credit-she'd studied every little detail and copied them all perfectly.

"Ms. Fiona, don't you think they look alike?" Lucy asked, her face full of helplessness. She let out a long sigh.

"It's all because of that girl's lies. Our real daughter suffered so much because of her. Ms. Fiona, we honestly can't thank you enough. If it weren't for you, who knows how much longer we would've been fooled?"

Bentley, Amy's father, stood by his chair, his eyes full of gratitude as he looked at Fiona. "Please, Ms. Fiona, have a seat."

Once Fiona sat down, the Gregorys all took their seats too.

"Ms. Fiona, we should've picked a special day and invited you out properly. But you beat us to it—we feel a little bad about that," Bentley started, just as Fiona expected. She couldn't hold it against him; business types loved their good omens and lucky dates.

"It's really fine," Fiona said, getting straight to the point. "Honestly, I wanted to talk tonight because I'm curious: what are you planning to do about the fake Amy?"

Amy's parents looked uncomfortable, glancing at each other as if they didn't know how to begin. For original chapters go to find(ɴ)ovel.net

Fiona didn't rush them. She picked up her tea and took a slow sip, waiting quietly for their answer.

Silence hung heavy in the room.

Finally, Bentley sighed. "Ms. Fiona, it's not that we aren't trying. The truth is, she never came back here. We even called her school, but they said they haven't seen her either. Ever since Tyler called and let us know you'd returned, I've had someone watching the docks. Up to now, there's been no sign of her."

Fiona glanced down at her teacup, noticing a single leaf floating at the bottom. Her gaze lingered for a second, but then she looked up, her expression calm and unreadable.