Chapter 2 - The Gaslight Kingdom
The hospital room was a prison of white sheets and the sterile hum of monitors. My hip was fractured, my spine bruised, but the worst injury was the clarity I had gained. Brooke had visited twice. Both times, she had brought flowers and an audience.
“She’s been so stressed,” Brooke told the nurses, her hand resting on my shoulder with a pressure that felt more like a warning than affection. “The trauma of the accident six months ago… it’s really taken a toll on her mind. She imagines things.”
She was building a narrative. If I told the truth, I was just the "crazy, disabled twin" who couldn't handle reality.
Julian visited when she wasn't there. He sat in the plastic chair, his expensive suit rumpled, his eyes tired.
“The security footage from the rooftop,” he said, his voice low. “It’s gone.”
I didn't blink. “She deleted it?”
“Her father’s IT team got to the server before the police could process the request,” Julian said. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “I’m a partner in the firm, Claire. I know how things get covered up. I want to know what happened that night in Lake Geneva. The real story.”
“You’re engaged to her,” I whispered.
May you like
“I was engaged to the woman I thought she was,” he corrected, his voice hardening. “I want to know who my fiancée is before I sign the license.”
I looked at him, really looked at him. He wasn't the golden boy anymore; he was a man waking up from a three-year hallucination. I reached out and took his hand. “The night of the crash… I wasn’t driving, Julian. I was in the passenger seat.”
