AVA'S POVShe wore a long-sleeved sweater that covered her fingers.Her hair was twisted into two braids like she was a child, and a knitted blanket cloaked her grey skirt. She had aged. Her beautiful, lush hair was feeble and thin, wrinkly lines mapped her face, and willowy fabric hung over her bony shoulders and arms.I whimpered, tears blurring my vision as they rolled her in. What the hell were they doing?!Andia stepped back hesitantly as my mother was brought closer.I gaped, my fingers sliding into my hair and yanking. But as if she remembered herself, Andia stepped forward and enclosed my mother in her arms."Mom," she wailed, "you-"The screen went dark. I looked to my right to see Rome holding the remote in a loose grip."Turn it on!" I said. "Why would you-""We need to talk." He tossed the remote aside and crossed his arms over his wide chest."You want to talk now?!" I had half a mind to pummel him into the wall."I don't want to talk to you," I managed through clenched teeth, "turn on the TV-.""You're going to want to hear what I have to say."I clutched at the blanket, trying to decide whether to listen or ignore it. I spared a glance at the TV. If I declined, he might not open up again, and as upsetting as it was, he was my only link to the outside world.Sensitivity and pride could not come into play here.I sighed. "I'm listening."He brushed a hand over his slight stubble, "Your parents, Francine and Tanner Saxon, own Saxon Industries, and according to statistics, it's one of the wealthiest companies to have ever existed for over sixty years. But you already knew that."I did, but I didn't know we were that wealthy."What you don't know is when you were thirteen, it was leaked that you and a number of your friends were going on a trip without security, hence, the kidnapping. I recently found out you were taken to an institution that belonged to my grandfather."His what?He grabbed the neck of his chair and dragged it close. I curled my legs under the duvet."After your disappearance, your parents tried everything they could to find you. All the parents who lost their daughters did. They set up billboards, rewards, expensive investigations; you name it, they did it. Your mother tried to hold it together, holding conferences, cutting ribbons, but barely."I pressed my fist over my dry lips, trying to take deep, calming breaths as he went on."One day," his blank eyes lazily roved over my clenched fists, "your father disappeared. The business was on the verge of collapsing, but weeks later, he was found in his office with a rope around his neck and a note in his hand saying he quit. Suicide."When your mother found his body, she went into shock and it apparently paralyzed her. I hear she's never been able to communicate in any way ever since, and it was the perfect chance for your aunt to take over the company."Hopelessness blew a crater through my chest."The girl on the screen, Oakley, she's your friend?""Was." I croaked."Her mother was also found dead the same day as your father. Only she committed suicide."I frowned, trying to focus on his face through the blinding tears. "I thought you said my dad killed hi-""He was murdered."My hair stood on end. Someone killed Daddy? But why?"The murder was made to look like a suicide, but it turns out he was long dead before he was hanged. Your mother, since she's practically been declared mentally unstable and paralyzed, can't work anymore, and your infamous aunt took over. The only problem was that despite your disappearance, your parents hadn't removed your name from their will as their successor should anything happen to them, but instead of you, your friend took over." A thick brow lifted, "Any idea how that was possible?"Something strange about Andia's face on TV nicked at me, but I put it aside. "We look alike," I breathed, "people used to say we looked like each other all the time when we were kids."His dark head bobbed. "Exactly. She has nowhere to go since her mother died and sold everything she owned to live at her workplace, including her house. She didn't want to stay there because it reminded her of her daughter. So naturally, with your similarities, your friend is taking the easier route to success by pretending to be you. Your aunt knows, but she's too greedy to say otherwise. They're using each other. I suspect your aunt has the upper hand between them both."He inclined his head to the black screen hanging on the wall. "That show they just put up? It was obviously set up by your aunt. She brought your mother out not only to humiliate her but also to show the world that she's important. With the money Saxon Industries makes, she's worth thousands of dollars each day. No one can touch her."It was a lot to digest. I cast my mind back to the lavish life we used to live.The endless trips we took, the fancy restaurants we dined at, the easy, comfortable life we had.Now, I couldn't care less if we had nothing. I just wanted my family back.Another round of tears was swallowed. "So Andia is pretending the girls and I are dead because she thinks that I'll never make it out for trying to escape, and they will be kept under tight supervision. She expects that we won't make it out alive.""That's what she thinks, not what she knows." He grabbed his phone, and for an entire minute, he was silent.I didn't disturb him; I was too busy wallowing in the unfortunate tale of my life and trying to figure out my next step.I knew something was off that night, but I was too trusting, too stupid to see it."What do you want out of this?"