CHAPTER FIVE: REFLECTION OF DECEPTION.

Leon had changed.

At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but his touch felt different. His kisses, once warm and tender, now felt like chains locking me in place.

Then, the doctors came.

"You've been having episodes," Leon told me, holding my hands gently. "I want you to get better."

The doctor smiled, reassuring me as he injected something into my veins. "It's just to help you relax," he said.

But after that day, things started slipping away.

I forgot conversations, entire moments vanishing as if they never happened. I felt lost in my own mind, unable to grasp what was real.

Leon would hold me close at night, whispering, "You're safe with me."

But I wasn't safe.

I was trapped.

One evening, as I wandered through the halls, I overheard Maria whispering to Brown.

"I told her about her look-alike, but I lied—I told her she was dead."

Brown gasped. "She's alive?"

Maria's eyes darkened. "I don't know where she is, but she's somewhere. And I think Leon knows."

I stood frozen, my heart pounding.

A look-alike?

Who was she?

My mind was spiraling. Nothing felt real anymore.

Desperate, I turned to Leon's parents. "Something is wrong," I told them. "I feel like I'm being lied to."

They exchanged glances before Leon's mother placed a hand on mine.

"You've been through a lot," she said gently. "It's your mind playing tricks on you."

Leon's father nodded. "Leon is taking care of you. Trust him."

I wanted to believe them.

But something inside me screamed not to.

Meanwhile, Maria had become a problem. She was tired of the lies, the secrets. And Leon knew it.

One night, I heard his cold voice in the hallway.

"Stay in your place, Maria."

She didn't respond. But I knew—she was running out of time.

Maria wasn't one to listen.

One afternoon, as she walked past the grand hallway, she saw Leon and his father disappear into a hidden door.

Curious, she followed.

Peeking through a crack, she saw something that made her blood run cold.

Inside the secret room, there was a woman.

She was dressed elegantly, her face covered in flawless makeup.

And she looked exactly like me.

Maria's heart pounded. Who is she?

The woman turned, laughing softly as she played with a knife.

Maria stepped back, horrified. She had to tell me.

But when she found me, I was too distracted to listen.

"Please," she begged. "You need to hear me—"

"I'm busy, Maria," I sighed.

She left, defeated.

And I would regret not listening.

Maria was restless. She could no longer keep the secret to herself.

She had to tell me the truth—before it was too late.

Maria couldn't take it anymore.

One night, she stormed into my room.

"You need to leave, now," she whispered urgently."There's another woman in this house," she said breathlessly. "Leon is cheating on you—with someone who looks just like you."

Maria's voice shook. "You need to run or report him before it's too late."

But someone else was there.

A woman sitting on my bed, dressed in my clothes.

Maria's heart pounded as the woman turned to face her.

Her breath caught in her throat.

She was looking at… me.

No.

Not me.

Someone who looked exactly like me.

Maria took a step back. "Who… are you?"

The woman smiled—a slow, wicked smile.

"Really? You don't recognize me?" she asked, tilting her head.

Maria's hands shook. "You… you're the look-alike…"

The woman let out a soft laugh, standing up gracefully.

"Elena," she said smoothly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you properly."

Maria's stomach twisted. "But… but you're dead."

Elena raised a brow. "Who told you that?"

"I—I just thought—"

"You thought wrong."

Elena took a step closer.

Maria stepped back.

"You're spying on me, aren't you?" Elena mused, her tone amused yet cold.

Maria's lips trembled. "I only wanted to help her—"

Elena's smile widened. "Oh, Maria… you poor, foolish girl."

Maria turned to run.

Too late.

Elena grabbed her wrist with a strength Maria never expected.

"Spies don't live long," she whispered.

Before Maria could scream, Elena dragged her toward the balcony.

A final, terrifying shove—

And Maria's body plunged from the mansion.

Elena sighed, dusting off her hands as she peered down at Maria's lifeless form.

"One less problem to worry about."

She turned away, a dark glint in her eyes.

And I, completely unaware, had no idea what was coming next.