Seven Years a Shadow: The Stand-In's Escape novel Chapter 9

After a long silence, Ethan sighed above me.

"Don't worry about it. If you don't want to talk, you don't have to."

His voice was quiet. Tired.

"I already told you—no one gets to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

We didn't say another word until we boarded the plane.

Ethan's seat was right next to mine.

I turned toward the window, but I could still feel his gaze on me.

It wasn't until exhaustion finally overtook him and he drifted off to sleep that I could breathe again.

I pulled out my phone and slid in the SIM card I hadn't used in seven years.

The screen flooded with missed calls and unread messages.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my texts.

Every single one was from Ethan.

The last message was sent yesterday.

Charlotte, are you okay?

A tear splashed onto my screen.

My vision blurred as more followed.

No. I wasn't okay.

Not even close.

Seven years ago, the first time I stepped foot in the Miller house, Lucas was drunk beyond recognition.

The moment he saw me, he dragged me into his room.

"Take care of Noah. Keep Lucas happy. And don't get any stupid ideas."

She made it clear—if I ever stepped out of line, my mom's ventilator would be turned off.

So I stayed.

I tiptoed around the Miller house, terrified of making a wrong move. I did everything for Noah.

When he couldn't sleep, I held him through the night, rubbing his back until he drifted off.

When he got sick, I stayed by his bed, giving him medicine, watching his every reaction.

But it was never enough.

Mrs. Taylor always found something to criticize.

Always dangled my mother's life in front of me like a leash.