Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN ON THE BALCONY
The second woman looked almost exactly like me.
Same brown hair. Same navy gown. Same height.
Her name was Claire Ashford.
My identical twin.
Declared dead at birth.
Raised privately inside the Ashford succession program as my replacement if the “primary heir” became compromised.
Elias had known.
Jonathan had met her twice and claimed he thought she was me.
Claire stared at him.
“You knew.”
His silence confirmed it.
The gala had two targets: Sophie and whichever Rachel reacted first.
If I struck Cassandra, Jonathan would claim instability. If Claire intervened, the board could declare me replaceable.
Then the projector resumed.
Jonathan asked Patricia, “Which Rachel did Elias send tonight?”
Patricia answered, “It doesn’t matter. Make the mother look dangerous.”
They had known about Claire before I did.
Then Sophie pointed toward the balcony.
“She was at my school.”
May you like
Claire froze.
Read Chapter 3 to learn why Claire had been watching Sophie for months.
