From Tool To Treasure: My New Life

he convenient stand-in for my twin sister, Harper-the woman he truly loved. I

agement, Harper sent me a recording. It

motional pressure valve. I need to vent on

as a tool. That night, he polished Harper's engagement ring right in front

t a summer camp all those years ago, not Harper. He'd

quiet farm in Vermont. But just as I started to heal, he found me, clutching the pro

pte

ent a shiver down my spine, a mix of anticipation and dread that had become my n

t jacket already off, tie loosened. His

up." It wasn

ing a book I wasn't reading, ti

His voice was smooth, edged with a familiar skepticism.

Neither. Just... waiting." The words felt small, i

't suit you." He walked past me, his expensive cologne filling the air

middle of the room. It was easier that wa

is voice was l

gave the order. Nine years. Ni

rful, loomed over mine. He ran a hand over his jaw. "You look tired. Dark circles

l. That was me, I suppo

't wait for an answer. "You're my pressure valve.

r me like a heavy blanket.

g me closer. "Tell me, Eden. Why are you

ster kid volunteering at the camp, had found him in a rage, kicking at trees. I approached him, not with fear, but a quiet understanding. I' d seen that kind of raw pain before. I' d offered him

f as Kane Hill, a name that would soon become synonymous with power and wealth in New York. He' d come back, he said, beca

' d pursued him, cautiously at first, then with an eager desperation born of loneliness and

inst mine, and whisper another name. Harper. Always Harper. It was a knife twist

ce cut through my

tared back, a ghost. "Because... I'm here." It

ing to be a long day. You'll need to be rested." He released me, walki

arefully removed the shell, a gesture that, in another

He was being... kind. What was this?

voice was firm, b

heart. He used to laugh, watching me devour plates of seafood. He used to wipe a smudge from my che

mething on his ring finger. Not his usual signet ring. This one was far more delicate, in

e was cleaning Harpe

suddenly tasting like ashes. This wasn't kindness. This was a rehearsal. He was practi