sky. The house was cold and silent. I slipped in quietly, my heart a stone in m

sk of concern. "Amelia, my God, where were you?

my cold arms. I flinched, a barely

you still shaken up about Leo? He's fine, honey. He's

rms. The scent of his cologne, a scent that used to feel like home, now made me want to gag. I forced myself to r

me rest," he said, stroking my ha

ne room in the house that was exclusively his. I had never gone in there without him. I close

It smelled like him. I started searching, my hands shaking. I didn't know what I w

locked metal box. My heart leaped. I looked around frantically for a key. Nothing. Acting on pure instinct, I grabbed a

There were photo albums filled with pictures of her and Liam, dating back years, long before he met me. Pictures of

script and Liam's messy scrawl. Years of them. Promises of a future toge

it read: "Project Nightingale." My blood ran cold. I opened it. Inside

. History of trauma. Desperate for children." My name was at the top of a short list, with n

Chl

es, my favorite books, my style. And then there was a separate section. A list of suggestions for me. "Encourage new hai

and tried to shape me into a copy of the woman he couldn't have at the time. I wasn't even a perso

lling. I was a stand-in. A body double. And I had been playing the part f

froze. Then I heard his voice, muffled but clear, t

en up. ... I know, baby. Soon. Just a little longer and we can sto

.. it made me physically ill. I stumbled out of the study, the contents of that box