7
Jake pulled Sarah aside.
“Sis, the birthmark on Liz’s arm isn’t in that
spot. That’s not her!”
A wave of hope washed over him.
Jake immediately told them to take down the funeral decorations and send the guests
home.
He called his assistant.
“Find out where Liz went yesterday. Check all
the flights!”
The assistant said I’d gone to the beach after
the press conference.
But Jake was convinced that he wasn’t
convinced I was at the beach.
He searched everywhere, leaving no stone
unturned.
For months, there was no sign of me.
Jake returned to the house, defeated.
The wedding photo was gone from the wall.
He yelled for the housekeeper.
“Who told you to take down the photo?”
The housekeeper hesitated, and said, “Mr.
Smith, don’t you remember? Your wife took it
down herself.”
He remembered me dragging a chair over to
take it down.
I’d thrown the photo in the trash.
Jake rummaged through the trash, but the
photo wasn’t there.
“Where’s the photo? Who cleaned the
bedroom?”
He was furious.
A new housekeeper spoke up, looking
terrified.
“I–I didn’t look closely, sir. I thought it was
trash.”
Jake stepped closer, his face like ice.
“How dare you? I let you touch mine and Liz’s
photo?”
The housekeeper backed away.
Jake fired her and said if any cleaning
company hired her, they were against Smith
Corp.
く
That day, Jake sent everyone out to look for
the photo.
When they found it, it was crumpled.
My side had been cut off.
Jake collapsed, heartbroken.
“Liz, how could you? It’s our only photo!”
Before Jake hated me, we’d had a good time,
but all the photos from our dates had been
ruined.
Jake went to the closet.
My jewelry was untouched.
I’d only taken clothes, leaving one coat.
Jake hugged the coat, taking in the lavender
scent.
But I hadn’t worn the coat in ages, and it
didn’t smell like me anymore.
Then, Jake found a letter in the pocket.
“Liz, I knew you wouldn’t be cruel. This is for
me.”
But it was a diagnosis.
