Chapter 3 Sister, Sister

Gasp.

Valerie woke up as if from the dead, with a headache so sharp it made her vision blur.

She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut against the harsh light above her. Her mouth was dry, with a bitter, metallic taste, and her throat hurt every time she swallowed.

She tried to lift a hand to massage her head, but her arm wouldn't move.

Valerie pulled harder, and a loud clank of metal echoed through the room.

Her eyes snapped open.

She wasn't in the quiet hallway of Ewan's private estate anymore.

Instead, she was lying on a narrow cot in a small, bare room that smelled strongly of bleach and something damp.

A shiver ran down her back.

She looked down and realised her clothes and shoes were gone. Instead, she was wearing a thin, scratchy white patient gown that left her arms and legs exposed to the cold.

Her wrists were held against the bed frame with thick straps of leather. Another pair secured her ankles. Her chest tightened with panic.

The needle.

The memory came rushing back in pieces: the shadow near the pillar, the gloved hand pressed over her mouth, and the cold sting in the side of her neck.

"Help!" Valerie shouted, her throat hurting as she raised her voice. "Is anyone there? Please, help me!"

She thrashed against the mattress. The iron bed frame screeched noisily against the floor, but nobody answered.

"Help!" she screamed again, tears of frustration filling her eyes. "Let me out of here!"

What time was it?

Ewan's eye surgery was scheduled for dawn. The specialist was supposed to arrive at six that morning to remove the bandages covering his eyes.

She had promised him she'd be right there with him. If she didn't return, what would he think?

Would he think she'd abandoned him?

"Let me go!" Valerie cried, pulling at the straps until the leather dug painfully into her skin. "Ewan! Help me!"

Just then, she heard a lock click.

The sound came from the door at the foot of the bed.

Valerie froze as the handle turned.

"Please," she gasped, her throat tight with panic. "I've been locked in here. I need-"

The door swung open.

A pair of shiny heels stepped into the room, followed by the hem of a beige coat Valerie recognized.

It was her coat.

Valerie stared, the words dying in her throat.

The woman who entered looked exactly like her. She had the same dark hair, the same green eyes, and the same cheekbones.

But while Valerie lay strapped to a cot, sweating in the cold, the woman standing before her looked perfectly put together. Her lips were painted glossy pink, and there was a strange mocking smile on her face.

It was her twin sister.

"Vanessa?" Valerie whispered, her head spinning.

Vanessa quietly closed the door behind her and walked towards the bed. As she drew closer, the scent of her perfume filled the room.

Jasmine and Vanilla.

Valerie recognised it immediately. It was a personal blend she'd made herself.

"Save your breath, Val," Vanessa said calmly. "Nobody can hear you down here. And even if they could, nobody would come to help you."

Valerie stared at her twin, desperately trying to understand what was happening.

"What is this?" she demanded, rattling the leather cuffs. "Did someone attack you too? Who brought us here, Vanessa? Untie me! We have to call the police!"

Vanessa laughed, and the sound made Valerie's stomach turn.

"Call the police?" She tilted her head, looking down at Valerie with disgust. "Oh, catch up, twin. I paid the driver to bring you here."

The room fell silent. Valerie stopped pulling against the straps.

"What...what are you talking about?"

"I'm telling you to stop shouting." Vanessa ran a perfectly manicured hand down the front of Valerie's coat. "You're going to be staying here for a while, so you might as well get comfortable."

"Have you lost your mind?" Valerie's voice shook with anger. "Untie me right now! Ewan is waiting for me! His surgery is this morning-"

"I know," Vanessa interrupted sweetly.

She leaned over the bed rail until her face was only inches from Valerie's.

"That's why I came to say goodbye before heading over to his estate."

Valerie felt the room tilt around her. "What do you mean?"

"Ewan's bandages will be removed in about forty minutes." Vanessa glanced at the gold watch on her wrist. "And as the woman who saved his life, I really shouldn't keep him waiting."

"You're lying," Valerie choked out, tears of rage blurring her vision. "You can't do this. He knows me! He knows my voice! He knows-"

"He knows a woman who pulled him out of a fire in the dark," Vanessa cut in, her smile fading. "He knows the fool who sat beside his bed while he couldn't see. Ewan Shaw has never seen your face, Valerie. And luckily for me, your face happens to be mine."

Vanessa reached out and tapped a sharp nail against Valerie's jaw.

"When the doctors remove those bandages, I'll be the one sitting beside him, holding his hand."

"Don't you touch him!" Valerie screamed, lunging forward with all her strength. The bed shook violently. "He'll know the difference! He loves me, Vanessa! He'll figure it out, and he'll destroy you!"

"He won't figure anything out," Vanessa sneered. "He's a traumatised man looking for the woman who saved his life. From today on, that woman is me. Did you really think someone like Ewan Shaw belonged to you?"

Vanessa straightened and let out a cruel laugh. "You've always been so naive, Val. Always hiding in the back labs of the family company with your little beakers and formulas, never paying attention to what's happening in the real world."

She leaned closer, her eyes narrowing with amusement.

"There's a lot going on that you know nothing about. Did you honestly think Ewan Shaw showed up at our chemical facility late that night for some random business meeting? Do you really think that fire was an accident?"

Valerie's breath caught in her throat. "W-what?"

"He was supposed to die in that room, you idiot," Vanessa whispered with a cruel smile. "The doors were locked, and the explosion was planned. He was supposed to burn to ashes inside our plant so his family's contracts could be rewritten. You were never supposed to be in that building after hours, and you certainly weren't supposed to play the hero."

Valerie's chest tightened as the pieces began to fall into place.

The strange figure she'd seen in the hallway carrying a bag. The doors that had been locked. "You..." She stared at her sister in horror. "You planned the bombing? At our own company?"

"She didn't plan it," a deep voice said from the doorway.

Valerie's head snapped towards the door.

Victor Rose stood there with his hands buried in his pockets. He wore a suit, and his face was cold and completely unbothered.

"Dad!" Valerie cried, desperation tightening her throat. "Dad, listen to what she's saying! Vanessa set this up! She's trying to steal Ewan-"

"Be quiet, Valerie," her father said flatly, as if he were scolding a child.

She jerked back in shock.

He walked over to the bed and stopped beside Vanessa. He didn't even glance at Valerie's bruised wrists or the tears running down her face.

"The Rose company was going under," Victor said calmly, too calmly. "We were drowning in debt. Powerful people wanted Ewan Shaw out of the way, and they paid a lot of money to make sure it happened at our facility."

Valerie shook her head as tears spilled down her cheeks. "Wait, no. Y-you let someone bomb your own facility? You tried to murder him?"

"He survived," Victor snapped, frowning. "Because of you. You dragged him out and ruined the entire arrangement. You weren't supposed to be there that night. The people who paid for that explosion are furious, and the police are going through our records, trying to find out who let the bomber inside."

Victor looked down at her, coldly.

"The police needed a suspect for the bombing, Valerie. We gave them Vanessa's name."

Valerie's breath caught. "What?"

"As far as the law is concerned, Vanessa Rose is the fugitive who bombed our plant and fled the country," Victor said calmly. "And the sweet, brave Valerie Rose who pulled Ewan Shaw from the fire? She's at his bedside, getting ready to marry him."

Valerie pulled at the leather cuffs, her voice cracking. "Then why lock me up?! I saved him! If you wanted his money, why didn't you just let me marry him?!"

Victor stepped closer, his eyes cold. "Because you're weak, Valerie."

His words left her speechless.

"You will be a liability," Victor continued. "If I let you into that penthouse, you'd help Ewan investigate the explosion. And the moment you discovered the truth, you'd hand your own father over to the police."

He glanced at Vanessa before looking back at Valerie.

"Your sister knows how to keep her mouth shut. She knows how to protect this family. You've always been too soft, Valerie. So Vanessa gets your life, your name, and your billionaire. And you stay here where you can't ruin us."

"I saved his life!" Valerie shrieked, pulling at the straps until blood began to trickle from her wrists. "Ewan loves me! I'll tell him everything! The moment I get out of here, I'll make sure you both rot in prison!"

"Pathetic," Vanessa checked her watch and sighed impatiently. "We need to go, Dad. Morning traffic is picking up, and Ewan will be waking up soon."

"Right," Victor said, turning his back on Valerie without a hint of guilt.

"Dad! Please!" Valerie sobbed, struggling against the straps as the iron bed dragged against the floor. "Look at me! Don't leave me here! Vanessa! What did I ever do to you? I'm your twin sister! You can't do this to me!"

Vanessa stopped at the doorway.

She turned around, and a sweet, sickening smile spread across her lips.

"Don't worry, Val," she said, smoothing Valerie's coat over her shoulders. "I'll make sure to give Ewan all your love."

The door slammed shut and the lock turned from the outside.

Valerie pulled desperately against the leather cuffs, screaming Ewan's name into the empty room until her voice gave out.