Chapter 5
The car pulled up outside Flora's place.
"Here we are. Drive safe," Flora said, unbuckling her seatbelt and turning to me with a soft smile.
It was that same familiar, gentle smile, but somehow, it felt strangely unfamiliar to me now.
"Sure," I forced out, barely managing a single word.
Flora pushed open the car door and got out.
She stood outside and waved goodbye, saying, "See you tomorrow."
I watched her walk into the building and disappear from sight, but I couldn't bring myself to start the car.
I pulled out my phone and scrolled through our old photos.
In those photos, her smile was radiant and innocent.
We hiked mountains, visited the sea, and played in the snow together.
But now, all those happy moments felt like an elaborate deception.
I sat downstairs for a long while until my hands and feet froze. Then I finally drove home.
When I walked in, my parents were sitting in the living room, waiting up for me.
The TV was off, and the air was tense.
"Mom," I called out, my voice hoarse.
My mom nodded, gesturing for me to sit down.
"So? Do you believe me now?" she asked, getting straight to the point.
I nodded helplessly. "Flora was way slicker than I expected."
My mom's expression didn't soften at all. "She didn't even hesitate. She directly turned to test you. That means she's run through this kind of interrogation in her head a thousand times.
"This isn't just lying anymore. It's an instinct that is ingrained in her bones."
My dad listened, looking anxious. "Linda, what if we're reading too much into this? Maybe Flora just wanted to make a good impression in front of us and didn't want to say she didn't know Mark, afraid things would get awkward."
"James, don't you get it?" my mom sighed with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "This isn't about a good impression. This is about survival tactics.
"Normal people think in terms of 'yes' or 'no', based on the facts.
"But Flora's mind is always calculating 'how to respond', based on risk assessment.
"When she answered about Mark, she wasn't even thinking about whether she knew him or not. She was quickly weighing her options: 'What's the safest answer? How much do they really know? Is it riskier to admit I don't know him, or to pretend I do?'
"You only see this kind of mindset in two kinds of people."
Mom held up two fingers. "One, the elite spies. Two, fugitives who've spent years surviving on the edge. A single misstep could blow up their whole life."
The word "fugitive" sent a jolt through me, like a thunderclap right to my skull.
I trembled. "Mom, is it really that serious?"
"I'm just making a comparison," my mom said, worry clouding her eyes. "But the nature is the same. Alex, you need to face reality. The Flora you love and the Flora you think you know might be two completely different people."
I buried my face in my hands, feeling like my whole world was falling apart. "What am I supposed to do? My head is a total mess right now."
"It's normal to feel lost," my mom said, her voice calm and steady. "But we can't let ourselves fall apart.
"We've done enough psychological probing. If we keep pushing, we'll tip her off and let her know we're onto her.
"From now on, we need hard evidence.
"We need to find out who she really is."
Mom got up, paced in the living room, and then stopped right in front of me. "Tomorrow, you need to figure out a way to get Flora's SSN, her birthday, and her home address.
"Say the company's planning a team-building trip overseas and needs everyone's info for passports, or tell her you're buying some financial products together and need to verify identities.
"Make up whatever reason you want. Just make sure it sounds natural."
I looked up, my lips dry. "Once I get all that... Then what?"
"Then hand it over to me," my mom said, her eyes sharp as a hawk. "I've still got some old contacts in the system.
"We'll run a full background check on her.
"Whatever she really is, we'll know for sure once we dig."
*****
The next day at work, I couldn't focus on anything.
The data and charts on my computer screen all blurred together, turning into a bunch of meaningless gibberish.
My mom's words kept echoing in my head, and all I could picture was Flora's face. It was impossible to tell if it was genuine or just another disguise.
How could I get her info without her suspecting a thing?
This task felt like a mountain pressing down on my chest.
I had to act like nothing was wrong.
I had to send Flora a good morning message like always, asking if she'd had breakfast.
[Good morning, honey. It's getting colder today, so make sure you bundle up.] My fingers trembled when I typed.
Flora replied almost instantly. [Got it. You too. Let's both work hard today.] She even added a cute emoji at the end.
Everything felt just like it always did.
But deep down, I knew something inside me had shattered for good.