I dragged the box to the garden, the cold air biting at my bruised skin. One by one, I dropped the memories onto a pile. When the match flared, I didn’t flinch. I watched the flames eat the lace, the letters, the lies. Sparks rose into the sky like tiny ghosts, each one carrying a piece of the girl who once thought she was loved.
I whispered to the fire, “Few more days. Just a few more.”
Back inside, I lay on the cold sheets, heart pounding as my phone buzzed on the table. The screen lit up with a single message from my father: Everything is ready. Noah will pick you up soon. It’s time to disappear.
I read it twice, my chest tightening in a strange, sharp way — part fear, part hope. Free. It didn’t feel real yet, but it was coming.
I pressed the phone to my chest and let out a shaky breath. I pictured Noah’s steady eyes, his warm voice telling me I was his. I pictured the way I’d walk out of this prison with nothing but a suitcase and my name finally wiped clean.
No more wife. No more daughter. Just Lauren — whoever that might be.