Chapter 4

The alarm on my phone vibrated silently at 2:30 AM. I blinked awake instantly, my heart already racing. Tonight was the night. I slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb the empty sheets beside me—Alexander was in Chicago for his quarterly board meeting, a stroke of luck I couldn't have planned better.

My mother was already awake when I tiptoed into the guest bedroom. Her eyes, once dulled by illness, now shone with nervous anticipation.

"It's time," I whispered, helping her into the clothes I'd laid out the night before—comfortable, practical items nothing like the designer labels Alexander expected…