1 My best friend Stella grew up devouring romance novels, convinced she was destined to marry into a life of unimaginable wealth. I always thought she was just talking big. I never expected her to actually hook the city’s wealthiest bachelor, Sebastian Shiloah. They had a whirlwind romance and a flash wedding. For two weeks, the news was saturated with coverage of their lavish ceremony. When she video-called me, she was on her honeymoon in Hawaii. Lounging in Sebastian’s arms, she grinned. “Lily, darling, my husband and I have it all figured out. When we get back next month, you’re moving in with us!” Sebastian chimed in from the side, his voice smooth as silk. “Any friend of my wife’s is a friend of mine. We’re all family now.” A month later, I stood before the Shiloah family’s sprawling estate, suitcase in hand. I smiled at the butler who answered the gate. “Hi, I’m Stella’s best friend. I’m moving in with her!” The butler just stared at me. “Stella? Who is Stella? Mr. Shiloah has always been single.” … The smile froze on my face. “Sir, you have a strange sense of humor.” I forced a laugh. “Stella! You know, Stella Shiloah! Sebastian Shiloah’s wife!” “I saw you during the wedding procession! I even gave you a cigar! Please, stop joking with me.” The butler’s expression remained flat. “I have no time for jokes. There is no Stella here. Only myself and Mr. Shiloah reside on this property. If you continue to cause a disturbance, I will call the police.” With that, he began to close the heavy iron gate. “Wait! Don’t close it!” Panic seized me. I grabbed the bars with one hand, fumbling for my phone with the other. “I have proof! How could you forget a wedding that big? Are you going senile?” I frantically opened Instagram, scrolling through my saved posts for the livestream of the wedding. I had even sent screenshots to Stella, my eyes blurry with tears of envy. But when I tapped the link, a pop-up appeared. [This content has been deleted or is unavailable.] My head spun. How could that be possible? Refusing to believe it, I clicked on several news articles I had bookmarked. Billionaire Spends a Fortune to Marry His Cinderella. Stella Quinn: The Girl Kissed by an Angel. The moment I clicked them, every single link went dead. “No… they were working just last night…” The butler watched my frantic movements with cold, detached eyes. “Ma’am, forging images and spreading rumors is a crime. Are you that desperate to marry into money?” “I’m not spreading rumors!” I screamed, my fingers trembling as I switched back to WhatsApp. “I have our chat history! Look! She messaged me just a minute ago!” On the screen, the chat window with Stella’s smiling selfie as the profile picture was clearly visible. [Babe, just putting on a face mask… the butler will let you in…] “You just wait! I’ll call her right now!” My voice cracked with desperation. “When she comes down to get me, you can start looking for a new job tomorrow!” The next second, a cold, robotic voice echoed from the phone’s speaker. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again…” I stood frozen. Not in service? I glanced at the WhatsApp chat again. She was texting me a minute ago. How could this be? A cold dread crept up my spine. Instant messages but a dead phone line? What was going on? The butler’s expression didn’t flicker. Not even a hint of surprise. He gave me one last look, as if I were a piece of trash. “Be gone. If you don’t leave now, I’ll have security throw you down the mountain.” Clang. The gate slammed shut. I was standing under the blazing sun, yet I felt like I’d been plunged into an icy cavern. What was happening? Stella was in there, I knew she was. Why would the butler deny it? Why had every trace of her and the wedding been scrubbed from the internet? Unless… something happened to Stella. The lives of the ultra-rich are notoriously dangerous. What if Sebastian was holding her captive? Announcing he was single and erasing her existence would be the perfect cover. The thought made my scalp tingle. Fear and fury surged through me. No, I couldn’t leave. If I left, she would be completely alone. Gritting my teeth, I dragged my suitcase to the center of the driveway and sat down on it. I’d see if Sebastian Shiloah could avoid coming out. Sure enough, less than ten minutes later, a black Maybach purred up the drive. I recognized it. It was the same car Sebastian had used to pick Stella up on their wedding day. A rush of adrenaline hit me. I leaped up and threw myself in front of the car, arms spread wide. “Sebastian Shiloah! Get out here! What have you done with Stella?!” The driver’s face went pale. He was about to get out and yell at me when the rear window smoothly descended. It was him. My best friend’s new husband. I stormed over to his window and roared, “Mr. Shiloah! Your butler says you’re single! He says there’s no such person as Stella! We video-chatted with you and Stella from Hawaii just two weeks ago! What the hell is going on?” Sebastian’s brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. “Stella? Hawaii?” It was clear he was going to play dumb. I was about to lose it when he gestured for the gates to be opened. “Since you’re here, you might as well come in and explain yourself.” A chilling smile touched his lips. “As it happens, I’m also very curious…” “About where this Mrs. Shiloah you speak of… truly is.” 2 The moment the gates opened, I didn’t even wait for Sebastian to get out of the car. I grabbed my suitcase and bolted toward the villa. The butler tried to stop me, but I shoved him aside. “Don’t touch me!” I knew the layout by heart. I stormed through the living room and straight for the second floor. I had been in the master bedroom with Stella on the morning of the wedding, helping her get ready. “Stella! Come out!” I kicked the bedroom door open. I scanned the room, my eyes darting everywhere. Nothing. No Stella. Worse… there wasn’t a single trace that a woman had ever lived there. “How can this be…” I tore open the door to the walk-in closet, muttering to myself. “The closet! Yes! The closet!” I remembered it vividly. On the wedding day, behind this very door were two entire walls of Hermès bags. I had screamed when I held a Himalayan Birkin, and Stella had laughed and promised to get me one. Screech. I yanked the closet door open so hard it nearly came off its hinges. My hand froze in mid-air. It was empty. Save for a few dark, custom-tailored suits hanging forlornly on a rack. No Hermès. No Chanel. “Impossible… this is impossible…” I sank to my knees, my hands frantically patting the wooden floor of the closet, searching for a single long hair, a lost earring, anything. There was nothing. The room was as sterile as a showroom. Sebastian leaned against the doorframe, his voice calm. “Have you seen enough, Miss Miller?” I collapsed onto the floor, my mind a chaotic mess. Was it all a scam? Had Stella been conned by a fake Sebastian Shiloah? But… this villa was real! How could a con artist afford to rent the actual home of the city’s wealthiest man just for a charade? And if it was a scam, why was the real Sebastian Shiloah living here now? “I don’t believe you!” I scrambled to my feet and pointed at him. “You’re the imposter! You’ve hidden everything, haven’t you?” “I’m calling the police! I have video evidence! You were on your honeymoon in Hawaii two weeks ago!” Sebastian looked at me as if I were a hopeless lunatic. He pulled out his phone and dialed 911. “Hello, police? This is Sebastian Shiloah.” “I have a trespasser on my property. Please send an officer.” Ten minutes later, the police arrived. “Officer! I want to report a missing person! Her name is Stella Quinn, and he’s responsible!” I pointed a shaking finger at Sebastian. “I have proof! They were in Hawaii on their honeymoon just two weeks ago!” The officer glanced at me, then at Sebastian. Sebastian sighed, the picture of weary patience. “Officer, I’ve been in the country for the past month handling a corporate merger. I haven’t been to Hawaii.” “You can check my travel records if you don’t believe me.” The officer immediately looked it up on his device. Two minutes later, he turned the screen toward me. “Ma’am, the system shows that Mr. Shiloah has no international travel records for the past three months.” Boom. A lightning bolt struck my brain. No travel records? “Impossible! I saw it… the ocean, the beach…” The officer put his device away, his expression turning serious. “Ma’am, filing a false police report is illegal. Since it appears you were the victim of a scam and are acting out of concern, we’ll let you off with a verbal warning this time.” “Please leave the premises, or we’ll have to charge you with disorderly conduct.” I stood frozen, ice flooding my veins. A massive wave of panic washed over me. Sebastian stood off to the side, his gaze as cold and indifferent as if he were looking at a bag of trash. “Alfred, see our guest out.” “And from now on, if she ever sets foot on this property again, call the police and have her arrested immediately.” The butler, Alfred, stepped forward and roughly shoved my suitcase toward the door. “This way, Miss Miller.” I bit my lip so hard I could taste blood, my body trembling with rage. I couldn’t accept this. Everything had felt so real. Why was I suddenly the crazy one? I dragged my heavy suitcase, looking back every few steps as I walked toward the exit. As I passed the grand foyer, next to a huge porcelain vase, the wheel of my suitcase clipped the edge of a wastebasket. Clatter. The basket tipped over, spilling a few wads of crumpled paper onto the floor. The butler immediately scowled. “Stop making a mess and get out!” Just then, a wrinkled little receipt caught my eye. One glance was all it took. The blood in my veins turned to ice. It was a receipt from a convenience store. Item: Orange Crush cigarettes. Time: Yesterday, 2:30 PM. That was Stella’s favorite brand. 3 I secretly pocketed the receipt and walked out of the villa without another word. At dawn, I called Stella’s former colleague, Jessica. “Jess, it’s Lily! Do you know where Stella is? Has she contacted you guys at all since the wedding?” There was a pause on the other end, then her voice shot up. “Lily, are you insane? Stella doesn’t even have a boyfriend. What wedding are you talking about?” My heart sank. “The wedding that was livestreamed everywhere last month! With Sebastian Shiloah!” “Are you having delusions?” Jessica cut me off, her voice laced with annoyance. “She quit last month and went back to her hometown!” Before I could respond, she hung up. With a trembling hand, I dialed Stella’s mother. “Auntie! Something’s happened to Stella! Sebastian Shiloah is denying everything, saying they never got married! You have to come to the city!” Stella’s mom was silent for five seconds. “Lily, dear… what on earth are you talking about?” “When did Stella get married?” I was stunned. “Didn’t you receive the dowry? The eight hundred thousand dollars?” “What dowry? Honey, do you have a fever?” Her tone grew urgent. “Stella told me last month she was coming home for a break. She even sent me pictures! What boyfriend? Don’t you go spreading rumors that could ruin her reputation!” Click. She hung up on me too. I was completely dumbfounded. Had Sebastian bought off her mother as well? I refused to believe it. I took a cab straight to my own mom’s house. The moment I walked in, I grabbed her arm. “Mom! Something’s happened to Stella! The whole world is lying to me!” I poured out the story of the last two days. My mom just stared at me, then touched my forehead. “Lily, honey, when did Stella get married? How come I didn’t know?” My mind exploded. “Mom! Don’t you joke about this!” “We watched the livestream together last month! You even said how handsome Sebastian was!” My mom frowned. “You were working overtime last month. I was watching my shows. When did we watch a livestream?” “No!” I shoved my phone in her face. “Look! Here’s the proof!” “Stella has been bragging to me every single day about her life as a billionaire’s wife! Just yesterday, she was telling me to hurry over!” My mom glanced at the screen and sighed. “Lily, this is just that ‘marrying-a-billionaire’ game you two used to play as kids.” “Stop it now, before you get into real trouble.” A game? I stared at the screen, a tidal wave of confusion threatening to drown me. If it was a game, what about the wedding? If I was dreaming, how did I know the layout of the Shiloah estate? How did I know where the master bedroom was? And besides, if Stella hadn’t gotten involved with Sebastian Shiloah, I wouldn’t even know who he was! Most importantly, where was Stella now? Suddenly, I had an idea. There was one more place that could prove I wasn’t crazy. I ran out the door and hailed a cab. “The Grand Commerce Tower! Eternity Weddings!” 4 Stella’s wedding had been organized by Eternity Weddings, the biggest event planning company in the city. There was no way a company that massive could just vanish into thin air. Ten minutes later, I stood staring at a door sealed with official tape. I was too late. [Eternity Weddings has ceased operations due to financial mismanagement.] The date on the seal was from two weeks ago. The day after Stella’s wedding. I peered through the glass door. The inside was a wreck. Chairs and tables were overturned, and papers were scattered everywhere. They just packed up and left? The biggest wedding planner in the city lands a ten-million-dollar contract with a billionaire and goes bankrupt the next day? I pulled out my phone and dialed the number of the owner, which I had saved. “We’re sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service…” Not in service. Again. A chill shot up from my feet to the crown of my head. Every person, every place connected to that wedding was disappearing, one by one. Which only proved that something was very, very wrong. I wouldn’t give up. There had to be a loose end they hadn’t tied up yet. “The spa! Yes! The spa!” I remembered. A week before the wedding, Stella took me to a high-end spa. To show off, she bought me a $500,000 VIP membership card on the spot. “Here, darling,” she’d said, “take this. Come whenever you want. It’s on Sebastian’s card, anyway!” I immediately hailed another cab and raced to the spa. “Can you check the balance on my membership card?” The receptionist typed for a few moments. “Miss Miller, your VIP card has a remaining balance of $498,000.” A jolt of triumph shot through me. $498,000! I was a girl who made three thousand a month. Where would I get half a million dollars for a spa membership? “Quick! Pull up the transaction record! Who paid for it?” The receptionist turned the screen toward me. “It says you paid for it yourself, ma’am.” I froze. “What do you mean, I paid for it myself? Stella swiped her card! Sebastian Shiloah’s secondary card!” The receptionist looked confused. “Stella? We don’t have a member by that name.” “Impossible!” I yelled. “Check the security footage! Stella and I came in together that day!” The receptionist, startled by my outburst, quickly called her manager. The manager approached with a frown. “I’m sorry, Miss Miller, but we cannot show you the security footage due to the privacy of our other clients.” “You won’t show me?” I sneered, pulling out my phone. “Then I’ll call the police. An unexplained half-million-dollar transaction sounds like something they’d be interested in investigating. They’ll have the authority to see the footage, won’t they?” Twenty minutes later, the police arrived. And right behind them was Sebastian Shiloah. He wore the same weary expression. “Miss Miller, how long are you going to keep this up?” “Cut the crap! Play the footage!” At the officers’ request, the manager reluctantly pulled up the recording from that day. We all stared at the screen. On the monitor, I walked through the door. Beside me… was empty space. I pulled a black credit card from my purse and handed it to the receptionist, chattering away. But from beginning to end, there was no one with me. The security room was dead silent. The way the officers looked at me changed. It was no longer suspicion, but pity mixed with caution. Sebastian sighed and stepped toward me, reaching out to pat my shoulder. “Miss Miller, you should go to a hospital. I’ll cover the costs.” I stood rigid, trembling all over. Was I really alone? Was I really insane? Was this all a figment of my imagination? Just as one of the officers was about to lead me away, a thought struck me like lightning. Of course. That’s how it was. I snapped my head up, my eyes locking onto Sebastian’s. “You can drop the act, Sebastian.” “I know where Stella is.” 5 Sebastian’s hand froze in mid-air, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Miss Miller, do you have any idea what you’re saying?” An officer frowned and reached for my arm. “Ma’am, please, no more trouble. Come with us to the station to cool down.” I shook him off, pointing a finger at Sebastian. “You’re all being deceived!” “Yes, the footage only shows me, but that’s the proof! That proves Stella was there!” “Because that day, Stella never got out of the car!” The words tumbled out of me as I stared into Sebastian’s eyes, refusing to look away. “Stella drove me here. She took a call in the car and told me to go in first and get the card!” “She’s the one who gave me that black card! She’s the one who told me the PIN!” “If I’m a lunatic, if this is all a delusion, then how could I possibly know the PIN to Sebastian Shiloah’s secondary credit card?” Sebastian’s expression finally changed. I caught the flicker of shock, the momentary stiffness in his posture. The officer whipped his head around to face Sebastian. “Mr. Shiloah, care to explain? Why would Miss Miller have your credit card and know the PIN?” Sebastian was silent. He looked at me, his eyes dark and menacing. “Miss Miller, you stole my card, and now you have the audacity to play the victim?” “Stole it?” I laughed, a cold, sharp sound. I pulled the crumpled convenience store receipt from my pocket. “Then I suppose I stole this receipt, too?” “Orange Crush cigarettes. Bought yesterday at 2:30 PM from the convenience store just outside the estate gates.” Sebastian’s pupils contracted. The words slipped out before he could stop them. “My driver bought those!” I smirked, my theory solidifying. “Really? Because yesterday at 2:30 PM, your driver was delivering documents to you at your corporate headquarters. The building’s security cameras will prove it.” “So tell me, who bought the cigarettes?” Sebastian took a step forward, trying to snatch the receipt from my hand. “Lily! You trespass on my property and now you’re digging through my trash?” “Why are you so nervous?” I backed away, moving behind one of the officers. “Sebastian, why do you think I dragged everyone, including the police, all the way out to this spa?” “It was a diversion!” I held up my phone, the screen showing that I was still on a call with my mother. “While we were all busy here, I had my mom go to that convenience store!” “You’re a billionaire. You can control the narrative. You can delete news articles and bribe spa managers. But that convenience store is part of a national chain. Their security footage is uploaded directly to a corporate cloud server. You can’t delete that!” Panic finally broke through Sebastian’s stoic facade. The cool elegance was gone, replaced by a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. “Lily! You wouldn’t dare!” “Wouldn’t I?” I shouted into the phone, “Mom! Send the video! Let the police see who really bought those cigarettes yesterday!” “Once we have that footage, we’ll know exactly where Stella is!” Ding. A notification sound. My mom had sent the video file. My heart hammered against my ribs, my hands shaking with excitement. I’d won. The truth was finally coming out. I opened the video and held the screen up for everyone to see. “Sebastian Shiloah, open your eyes and take a good, long look! Tell me that’s not Stella!” The next second, the triumphant smile on my face shattered. A chilling cold shot up from the soles of my feet, so intense it felt like my blood was flowing backward. In the security footage, the person buying the cigarettes… Was me.
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