For a decade, I played the role of Eleanor Vance, Senator Alistair Hayes' s wife. I endured his icy indifference and his stepdaughter Brittany' s cruelties, clinging to the hope of a stable home for my daughter, Clara. But at the annual charity gala, the illusion violently shattered. Brittany, with a triumph in her eyes, forced me into her deceased mother' s gown, then publicly humiliated me by crushing a cherished locket I' d made for her with my own hands. Alistair, far from defending me, stood by, his cold gaze stripping me bare, blaming me. He had dangled Clara' s return as bait for my compliance, and now his lie was exposed, alongside my public shame. My world, built on fragile hopes, crumbled. I was nothing but an outsider, always second best to a ghost. The raw injustice, the betrayal, and the horrifying truth of their manipulation ignited a quiet, chilling rage within me. My efforts, my sacrifices, all for nothing. So when Alistair, eager to control the narrative, suggested I 'disappear' for a 'break' at the remote family cabin, I agreed. He thought I'd break and crawl back. He didn't know Eleanor Hayes was already gone.
For a decade, I played the role of Eleanor Vance, Senator Alistair Hayes' s wife.
I endured his icy indifference and his stepdaughter Brittany' s cruelties, clinging to the hope of a stable home for my daughter, Clara.
But at the annual charity gala, the illusion violently shattered.
Brittany, with a triumph in her eyes, forced me into her deceased mother' s gown, then publicly humiliated me by crushing a cherished locket I' d made for her with my own hands.
Alistair, far from defending me, stood by, his cold gaze stripping me bare, blaming me.
He had dangled Clara' s return as bait for my compliance, and now his lie was exposed, alongside my public shame.
My world, built on fragile hopes, crumbled.
I was nothing but an outsider, always second best to a ghost.
The raw injustice, the betrayal, and the horrifying truth of their manipulation ignited a quiet, chilling rage within me.
My efforts, my sacrifices, all for nothing.
So when Alistair, eager to control the narrative, suggested I 'disappear' for a 'break' at the remote family cabin, I agreed.
He thought I'd break and crawl back.
He didn't know Eleanor Hayes was already gone.
Introduction
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Chapter 1
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Chapter 2
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Chapter 3
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Chapter 4
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Chapter 5
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Chapter 6
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Chapter 7
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Chapter 8
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Chapter 9
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Chapter 10
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