Author's Preface
"Miss Adelaide."
The voice barely registered at first. It wasn’t until a light tap on her lap that she fully woke up.
"Miss Adelaide." The deep voice came again, more insistent this time.
Her eyes fluttered open, and for a split second, she forgot where she was. Then it hit her—she wasn’t herself. She was Adelaide.
"You were talking in your sleep," Martin said, watching her closely. "Bad dream?"
Her stomach twisted. Had she said something she shouldn’t have? Her mind scrambled, but she kept her face calm.
"What was I saying?" she asked, forcing an easy, uninterested tone.
Martin shook his head. "Nothing I could make out. Just mumbling."
Relief flooded her, but she only nodded. "Oh."
Crisis averted.
Just then, her gaze drifted past him, landing on the massive structure in front of her. Her breath hitched.
This… was unreal.
The building loomed ahead like something pulled straight out of a luxury travel magazine—tall, pristine, and surrounded by untouched nature. It was like nothing she had ever seen before.
Martin followed her gaze, then gestured toward it. "We’ve arrived at your vacation spot, Miss Adelaide. Please do your best to enjoy yourself."
Wait. This was the place?
She struggled to keep her shock from showing, but she could already feel her expression betraying her.
Martin stepped aside and opened the passenger door wider, waiting for her to step out.
She hesitated. This was the seclusion house? The punishment? It looked more like a private resort, tucked away on what might as well have been a privately owned island. Endless sea. Fresh air. Nature at its finest.
How in the world was this considered punishment?
If this was how Adelaide suffered, then God help her—she wanted to suffer like this every single day of her life. Amen.
Once the initial shock wore off, she stepped out of the car, letting Martin lead the way. The air was thick with the scent of salt and something crisp—like the place had never been lived in. The only sound was the distant crash of waves against the shore, rhythmic and endless. It was eerily peaceful.
Then they reached the entrance, and Martin—without a word—stepped aside, like his job here was done.
She frowned, glancing between him and the massive door in front of her.
Was she just supposed to waltz in? No security check? No key? No secret Whitlock family knock?
Of course, no one had told her anything. Why would they? Apparently, part of being Adelaide meant stumbling through life blind and hoping for the best.
Still, she approached cautiously, reaching for the handle when—
"Miss Adelaide. You forgot. The face identity," Martin said.
She blinked. "The what now?"
His expression didn’t shift. Just standing there like a statue while she struggled to keep up with whatever ridiculous protocol this was.
She sighed and quickly scanned the entrance, searching for some kind of high-tech security panel. Nothing. No retina scanner, no fancy fingerprint pad—just a door.
Frustration prickled at her skin. She was two seconds away from knocking like a regular person when, on instinct, she tilted her head up slightly.
There.
A tiny CCTV camera, barely noticeable, was angled right at her.
Before she could react, a smooth, synthetic voice chimed from somewhere inside the house.
"What’s your name?"
She exhaled sharply. What did that have to do with anything? But she swallowed her irritation. "Adelaide."
Silence. Then—
"Your full name, please?"
She stiffened, glancing at Martin. He looked entirely unfazed, like he’d been through this a hundred times before.
Panic flickered through her. What if this AI had more questions? What if she didn’t know the answer? The Whitlocks had never warned her about this.
Thankfully, when she answered with her full name, that seemed to satisfy it.
"Door opened."
She flinched slightly as the heavy doors clicked and swung inward with mechanical precision.
Good God, was this the security process Adelaide had to go through every time she came here?
But whatever shock she had outside was nothing compared to what she saw inside.
The interior was immaculate. White. Pristine. The kind of clean that made her hesitate to breathe, let alone touch anything. Not a single sign of life, like the place had been frozen in time, untouched by human hands.
For a moment, she just stood there, unsure where to even look.
Martin stood beside her, still as a statue, and she forced herself to suppress the reaction bubbling up inside her. Instead, she turned to him, keeping her voice cool, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
“What now?”
He hesitated for a moment, his gaze flickering away before meeting hers. “Your father instructed me to ensure you’re fully settled before I return.”
She blinked. "Return?"
So, he was leaving?
She crossed her arms, trying to mask the confusion with a touch of casual indifference. “Hmm. How many hours does it take to settle someone in, exactly?"
Martin stiffened, his eyes briefly flicking down like he was weighing how much honesty was safe. "I’m not trying to get on your bad side, Miss Adelaide. I know you hate it here, but I’m just following orders."
So it was exactly what she’d thought. This was how Adelaide got "punished"—sent to some ridiculously gorgeous, secluded place. But why? What could she have done to deserve this? No matter how beautiful this place was, she wasn’t buying the idea that anyone should be sent here as a punishment.
She shook her head slightly, trying to shake off the thought. "It’s fine. I’ll survive."
With that, she turned and started toward the stairs. She knew Martin was still rooted to the spot, watching her like he was waiting for something, so she added, "Do well to leave quietly when you decide to go."
It wasn’t like she was mad at him. In fact, it wasn’t even about him. But whether or not he knew she wasn’t the real Adelaide, it didn’t matter. She had to keep up the act. She had to convince everyone—including herself—that she was her.