The following morning, Liora found herself wandering through the estate gardens.
The weather was pleasant, and once again she had nowhere urgent to be.
No lessons.
No appointments.
No endless instructions on how to become Elara Valmere.
Just silence.
Her footsteps carried her deeper into the sprawling gardens surrounding the estate.
Flowers stretched in every direction.
White roses.
Hydrangeas.
Lavender.
Peonies.
Dozens she couldn’t even name.
A soft clipping sound drew her attention.
The gardener.
The elderly man she often saw working among the flower beds.
Today, he was carefully trimming a row of white roses.
When he noticed her approaching, he offered a polite smile.
“Miss Bennett.”
Liora smiled back.
“Good morning.”
The old man nodded.
“Beautiful day.”
“It is.”
For a few moments, they stood together in comfortable silence.
Then Liora found herself asking the question that seemed to live permanently in her mind these days.
“Did you know Elara well?”
The gardener’s expression softened immediately.
A nostalgic smile appeared.
“I watched her grow up.”
Something about that answer made Liora pause.
“What was she like?”
The old man chuckled.
“Curious.”
That answer seemed to follow Elara everywhere.
Liora laughed.
“Everyone says that.”
“Because it’s true.”
He pointed toward the flowers surrounding them.
“She knew every flower in this estate.”
Liora blinked.
Every flower?
The estate grounds were massive.
The gardener nodded.
“Not just the names.”
He smiled fondly.
“She knew when they were planted.”
His gaze moved toward a distant flower bed.
“She knew which seasons they bloomed.”
Another smile.
“And she always corrected me whenever I got something wrong.”
Liora laughed.
“You mean to tell me she corrected the gardener?”
“Oh, frequently.”
The old man looked almost offended.
“She was usually right, too.”
That only made Liora laugh harder.
For a moment, she pictured Elara walking through these gardens.
Stopping beside flowers.
Asking questions.
Memorising details.
The image felt strangely vivid.
Almost real.
Later that afternoon, Liora found herself wandering into the estate kitchen.
The rich smell of baked goods greeted her immediately.
Several staff members moved between counters, carrying trays and preparing meals.
The head cook noticed her at once.
“Miss Bennett.”
Liora smiled.
“Hello.”
The woman narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“You’re not here to steal anything, are you?”
Liora froze.
The cook froze too.
Then groaned dramatically.
“Oh, dear.”
“What?”
The woman pointed at her.
“That look.”
“What look?”
“The same look.”
Liora immediately knew who she meant.
“Elara?”
The cook sighed.
“Yes.”
Liora couldn’t help smiling.
“What was she like?”
The answer came instantly.
“Terrible.”
Liora nearly choked.
“What?”
The cook nodded firmly.
“Absolutely terrible.”
Liora stared.
The woman finally laughed.
“She always stole cookies before dinner.”
Liora burst out laughing.
“Cookies?”
“Every single time.”
The cook folded her arms.
“No matter how many times I told her not to.”
“What did she say?”
The woman rolled her eyes dramatically.
” ‘One won’t hurt.’ ”
Liora laughed.
“And then?”
“She’d take three.”
Not the image of an heiress.
Not the image of a socialite.
Just a girl stealing cookies.
A normal girl.
A human girl.
And somehow that made Elara feel more real than any photograph ever had.
That evening, her phone rang.
The name on the screen made her smile immediately.
Tessa.
Liora answered.
“Hello?”
“There she is.”
Tessa’s voice carried its usual energy.
“You sound disappointed.”
“I am.”
Liora laughed.
“Why?”
“Because you’ve vanished.”
“I have not.”
“You absolutely have.”
Liora smiled as she settled onto her bed.
For several minutes, they talked about ordinary things.
School.
Assignments.
Campus gossip.
The normal world.
A world that felt increasingly distant.
Then Tessa suddenly grew quiet.
“Liora?”
“Hm?”
“You sound different.”
The smile faded slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know.”
Tessa hesitated.
“You just do.”
Liora stared at the wall.
Tessa continued carefully.
“Not bad, different.”
A pause.
“Just different.”
Liora forced a small laugh.
“Maybe I’m finally becoming mature.”
Tessa snorted.
“That’s terrifying.”
Both girls laughed.
Thankfully, Tessa didn’t push further.
“I should come visit sometime.”
“You’re always welcome.”
But after the call ended, Liora found herself thinking about those words.
You sound different.
Even Tessa had noticed.
The following day, another strange discovery awaited her.
While reviewing some university documents online, she noticed several changes.
At first, she thought she was imagining it.
Then she looked closer.
Her graduation clearance application had already been approved.
That alone was odd.
The process usually took weeks.
Her final-year project funding had been processed and released.
The library fines she’d accumulated over the previous semesters had disappeared.
And a few other things here and there.
Just when she thought things couldn’t possibly get better after her tuition fees had been cleared.
Everything.
Every obstacle.
Every delay.
Every inconvenience.
Gone.
As though someone had quietly swept away every problem in her path.
Liora leaned back in her chair.
Her stomach tightened.
She shouldn’t be surprised; she had everything now.
From a new computer, to a new phone and having all the latest gadgets, she would never dream of having a few months ago.
From clothes to shoes to accessories.
She should feel grateful.
Instead, she felt uneasy.
Because acting as someone’s daughter shouldn’t come with this much power.
Shouldn’t come with this many things.
Who exactly was Cassian Valmere?
And what kind of world had she stepped into?
*****
That evening, she returned to Elara’s room.
The journals had become impossible to ignore.
Each one revealed another piece of the woman she was pretending to be.
Liora settled onto the sofa and opened one of them.
The familiar handwriting greeted her.
Page after page.
Thoughts.
Observations.
Plans.
Memories.
Everything was detailed.
Meticulous.
Very Elara.
Then she reached a section that abruptly stopped.
Liora frowned.
The pages ended unexpectedly.
She flipped forward.
Then backwards.
Her heartbeat slowed.
Then quickened again.
Several pages were missing.
Not damaged.
Not fallen out.
Removed.
Deliberately.
Someone had torn them out.
Carefully.
Purposefully.
That wasn’t an accident.
Someone wanted those pages gone.
Hours later, she finally heard the sound of a car arriving outside.
Adrian was back.
Without hesitation, she went looking for him.
She found him in his study.
Reviewing documents.
As usual.
He barely glanced up when she entered.
“You look determined.”
“I need to ask you something.”
Adrian set down his pen.
“What now?”
Liora crossed her arms.
“What if I can’t be her?”
The question escaped before she could stop it.
Adrian looked genuinely surprised.
For a moment, he simply stared.
Then he leaned back in his chair.
Liora waited.
Half expecting criticism.
Half expecting another lecture.
Instead, Adrian said quietly:
“You aren’t supposed to be.”
The answer stunned her.
“What?”
“You aren’t supposed to be Elara.”
He folded his hands.
“You’re supposed to be believable.”
Liora blinked.
Adrian continued.
“Nobody expects someone to remain the same after surviving a traumatic event.”
The room fell silent.
Then Adrian added:
“Especially not after what we’re about to tell them.”
Liora frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Adrian closed the folder in front of him.
“It’s time.”
Her stomach immediately dropped.
Time.
For what?
As though reading her thoughts, Adrian answered.
“It’s time for you to meet Cassian.”
Silence.
Complete silence.
Liora’s pulse pounded.
“What?”
Adrian’s expression remained calm.
“Everything’s set.”
Liora stared.
Already?
“Although your training isn’t over.
You still have a few months to make finishing touches.
But a proper connection is needed between you two.”
Suddenly, every concern rushed forward.
“What if he notices something off?”
“He won’t.”
“What if I say something wrong?”
“You won’t.”
“What if he thinks I’m lying?”
Adrian sighed.
“Liora.”
She stopped talking.
“If he notices inconsistencies, we’ll attribute them to temporary memory loss.”
The explanation sounded far too rehearsed.
Which meant they had already planned for it.
Adrian stood.
“You’ll be fine.”
Liora wasn’t convinced.
Not even slightly.
But before she could argue further, Adrian began discussing details.
What she should expect.
How the meeting would happen.
What information had Cassian been given?
By the time the conversation ended, her mind felt overwhelmed.
Completely overloaded.
She returned to her room exhausted.
Only after sitting on her bed did she suddenly freeze.
The journal.
The torn pages.
That was what she’d originally wanted to ask Adrian.
Not the meeting.
Not Cassian.
The journal.
Groaning softly, she reached for it again.
The missing section.
The torn pages.
This time, she paid closer attention.
Carefully examine the dates surrounding the missing entries.
One date.
Then another.
Then another.
Suddenly, she stopped.
Her breath caught.
Slowly, she counted backwards.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The realisation settled heavily into her chest.
The missing pages had been written five days before the yacht disaster.
Five days before Elara supposedly died.
Five days before everything changed.
Liora stared at the journal.
A cold feeling crept down her spine.
Because now she wasn’t wondering what had been written on those pages.
She was wondering why someone had wanted them erased.
And for the first time, she began to suspect that Elara’s disappearance might not have been as simple as everyone believed.