ra

amily on the screen seemed to mock me, their happiness a vibrant, cruel poison. I

ock in the corner. 3:17 AM. The entire building w

map of their deception, and I had to explore every inch of it bef

years of a hidden life,

ated awe. There were videos of Finn's first steps, taken in a bright, airy house I'd never seen before, with Seraphina's delighted laug

ved while he

told me he had to fly to an urgent political conference in Chicago. A family beach

, every unexplained absence clicked into pla

school invoices. It took me twenty minutes of cross-referencing street names and account numbers, but I found it: a property management agre

ant trust fund. The beneficiary was Seraphina Collins. The funding source, however, wasn't Liam. It was a transfer

er. My own mother, who had looked me in the eye just hours ago and spoken of punishment and reflection, was **

achine. They hadn't just chosen Seraphina over me; they had made me the unwitting guardian of their secret, the publ

clamped my hand over my mouth, choking it ba

start our own family. Liam had deflected, saying the timing wasn't right with the election comin

his child everything. He just

my keychain for work, I downloaded everything. The photos, the videos, the financial

ped up on his screen. The sender was Seraphina

oze. I clic

ymore. He misses you. I miss you. Is the timeline still the same? Just a few more months of this charade? I saw the new pho

social worker.` That's all I was to th

y the grief. They thought I was plain. They thought I

ake they were g

ped the faint traces of my fingerprints from its surface. I

I was going to wait for the perfect moment to detonate it. Their carefully construc