Chapter 10: Five Days Until Freedom

Five days.

That was all that separated me from freedom.

Five days until Portland.

Five days until Olivia Carter became real.

Five days until Ethan Reed lost the one thing he had always assumed would remain exactly where he left it.

The strange thing was how calm I felt.

For weeks, I had expected fear.

Panic.

Doubt.

Instead, there was only certainty.

The woman who had once cried over Ethan's coldness no longer existed.

She had been buried somewhere between the fake amnesia and the hospital parking lot.

The next morning, I woke to the sound of raised voices.

I stepped out of the bedroom and immediately recognized Chloe's voice.

She was standing in the penthouse living room.

Again.

As if she already owned the place.

'You promised me,' she snapped.

'Lower your voice,' Ethan warned.

'No. I'm tired of waiting.'

I paused at the end of the hallway, unnoticed.

'You said the wedding was just for appearances.'

'It is.'

'Then cancel it.'

Silence.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

'Things aren't that simple,' Ethan finally said.

'They are for me.'

Chloe crossed her arms.

'Either you choose me or you don't.'

For a brief second, I almost felt sorry for her.

She genuinely believed she was special.

She didn't understand that Ethan only loved possession.

Not people.

Never people.

The moment he owned something, he stopped valuing it.

Eventually, she would learn the same lesson I had.

The hard way.

I quietly retreated before either of them noticed me.

Their argument continued behind me.

The beginning of another crack in Ethan's carefully controlled world.

That afternoon, Maya met me at a small park near the river.

'Everything is ready,' she said.

'Everything?'

'Apartment. Bank accounts. Documents. Transportation.'

She handed me a small envelope.

Inside was a new driver's license.

Olivia Carter.

For several seconds, I simply stared at it.

The woman in the photo looked familiar.

But stronger.

Harder.

Like someone who had survived a war.

'How does it feel?' Maya asked.

'Like breathing for the first time.'

She smiled.

'Good. Because in a few days, Ava Miller officially disappears.'

The words should have frightened me.

Instead, they felt liberating.

That evening, the Reed family hosted another formal gathering.

A smaller event.

Only close allies and senior family members.

The atmosphere was tense from the moment guests arrived.

Everyone could feel it.

The rumors.

The affair.

The strange behavior.

The growing doubts about Ethan.

Nothing had been confirmed.

But power attracts gossip the way blood attracts sharks.

During dinner, Vincent Reed watched his son constantly.

Every answer.

Every decision.

Every mistake.

And Ethan made several.

Nothing catastrophic.

Just enough to be noticed.

Just enough to plant doubt.

After dessert, Vincent called Ethan into his office.

The door wasn't completely closed.

Their voices carried into the hallway.

'You're becoming a liability,' Vincent said coldly.

'I've got everything under control.'

'You keep saying that.'

'Because it's true.'

'Then why are Captains questioning your judgment?'

Silence.

'Why are they discussing Chloe Vance behind your back?'

More silence.

'Why are they wondering whether you're ready to lead?'

The words landed like gunshots.

Because leadership wasn't inherited.

Not really.

It had to be accepted.

And acceptance was beginning to crack.

I quietly walked away before anyone saw me listening.

Later that night, Ethan found me on the balcony.

The city stretched beneath us like a sea of lights.

'Do you ever think about the future?' he asked.

'All the time.'

'And?'

I looked out across the skyline.

'I think people spend too much time planning futures they don't actually want.'

His eyes narrowed slightly.

'What does that mean?'

'It means sometimes people confuse obligation with happiness.'

For a moment, he looked unsettled.

Like he understood exactly what I meant.

Then he laughed softly.

'You always overthink things.'

Maybe.

Or maybe I was finally seeing clearly.

The next morning, I received an unexpected phone call.

Sarah Reed.

Ethan's younger sister.

We had always been close.

Closer than Ethan and Sarah had ever been.

'Can we meet?' she asked.

'Of course.'

'Today.'

Something in her voice made me agree immediately.

We met at a quiet café downtown.

Sarah looked exhausted.

'What's wrong?' I asked.

She stared down at her coffee.

'I think my brother is destroying himself.'

I said nothing.

'I don't recognize him anymore.'

Neither did I.

But unlike Sarah, I had stopped trying.

'Whatever happens,' she said quietly, 'I just want you to know that you deserved better than this.'

My throat tightened unexpectedly.

Because it was the first honest thing anyone from the Reed family had said to me in months.

'Thank you.'

Sarah nodded.

'I hope you find whatever makes you happy, Ava.'

As I watched her leave, a strange feeling settled over me.

Not sadness.

Not regret.

Closure.

Because somewhere deep inside, I knew she would be one of the few people I genuinely missed.

That night, I crossed another item off Maya's checklist.

The final item.

Everything was done.

The money.

The identity.

The apartment.

The transportation.

The evidence.

The plan.

All that remained was the goodbye.

And unlike Ethan Reed, I intended to leave without looking back.