It was Tracy's call that woke Jayden the next morning.
Ever since they started suspecting that Mr. Cole could be monitoring her regular calls, both women had secretly switched to encrypted SIM cards to avoid leaving trails behind. It was risky, but necessary.
Still half-awake, Jayden sat upright on the bed while listening quietly to Tracy's update.
Apparently, the agency had already found someone who was roughly eighty -five percent similar to her in appearance.
Under normal circumstances, that should have made her happy.
Finding someone with even slight resemblance was already difficult enough.
Yet strangely, Jayden couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling sitting heavily in her chest.
Something still felt wrong.
Incomplete.
Like she was forgetting something important.
After ending the call, she remained seated silently for a while before finally standing up and walking toward the window.
The moment she pulled the blinds aside, her expression darkened slightly.
The atmosphere outside her apartment felt… different.
Too quiet.
Too controlled.
Her father had definitely increased security around her again.
She didn't need anyone to confirm it.
The feeling of being watched had become almost suffocating.
Jayden stared blankly at the towering buildings surrounding her apartment complex and exhaled slowly.
"If I step outside now," she muttered bitterly, "Dad will probably know before I even reach the gate."
The thought irritated her deeply.
How was this any different from imprisonment?
Even inside her own apartment, she couldn't fully relax anymore.
Frustrated, she let the blinds fall back into place before walking toward the refrigerator. She poured herself a glass of cold water and settled onto the sofa quietly.
Sip.
Sip.
Sip.
She forced herself to calm down.
Panicking now would only ruin everything.
Calling her parents was pointless.
It would only make them tighten control over her even further.
No… she needed to stay quiet for now.
Lay low.
Wait patiently.
Since the look-alike situation had already been partially resolved, the next step was obvious.
They needed someone capable of perfecting the disguise completely.
A professional.
Someone skilled enough to turn seventy-five percent similarity into one hundred.
And suddenly, a thought crossed her mind.
Jayden froze.
Then slowly… she stood up.
Walking toward her bed, she carefully lifted one side before reaching underneath. Her fingers searched around expertly until they finally touched something cold and metallic.
A hidden mechanism clicked softly.
Moments later, she pulled out what appeared to be a compact concealed safe.
Her expression dimmed slightly.
Inside the safe rested an old phone.
One she hadn't touched in years.
Jayden stared at it for a long moment before finally unlocking it.
There was only one contact saved.
Just one.
Her fingers trembled faintly as she dialed the number.
The line rang once.
Twice.
Then a soft male voice answered.
"Hello?"
The voice was calm gentle almost ethereal.
"Who is this?"
The man sounded uncertain.
Careful.
As though he already knew only one person in the world could possibly be calling him through that number.
Jayden swallowed hard before speaking quietly.
"It's me."
Silence instantly followed.
Then she added in a strained voice,
"I need your help."
Another long pause.
"If you help me this time…" she continued slowly, "I'll try to let go of what happened in the past."
The man on the other end seemed stunned into silence.
He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.
After several seconds, he finally asked softly,
"What do you need?"
Jayden closed her eyes briefly before answering.
"I need a professional makeup artist. Someone skilled in disguise." Her grip on the phone tightened. "And I need someone capable of helping a person leave the country unnoticed."
This time, the silence lasted longer.
The man clearly wanted to ask questions.
What happened?
Was she in trouble?
Why was she running?
But he no longer had the right to ask such things.
Not after everything that happened between them.
Finally, he answered quietly,
"That's not difficult."
Jayden said nothing.
"Send me the address once everything is ready," he continued. "I'll arrange it personally."
"Alright."
Her voice turned cold again almost immediately.
"But don't expect gratitude from me. You still owe me far more than this."
And before he could respond, she ended the call.
The second the line disconnected, Jayden felt like all the air had been sucked from her lungs.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Her breathing became uneven.
Sweat gathered against her skin as memories she had spent years burying threatened to resurface again.
Calling him had reopened wounds she desperately wanted to forget.
If she had any other option, she would never have contacted him.
Never.
That man represented a part of her past she still couldn't fully heal from.
A scar that remained raw no matter how much time passed.
Jayden lowered herself weakly onto the edge of the bed, pressing a trembling hand against her chest.
Sometimes she truly felt like a wounded stray animal licking its injuries alone in the dark desperately searching for warmth but too afraid to trust again.
Life was cruel that way.
It forced people to survive even when they were already breaking apart inside.
Still…
No matter how difficult things became, she refused to surrender.
She would escape this suffocating situation somehow.
Even if she had to fight everyone to do it.
Taking a deep breath, Jayden finally steadied herself again.
There was still too much left to prepare.
She grabbed the encrypted phone and immediately sent Tracy a message.
Find a quiet location where we can meet safely. Somewhere inconspicuous. We'll also need space for the makeup artist and the others.
She paused before typing one final message.
Everything has to be flawless. We can't afford mistakes.
Because if there was one thing Jayden understood clearly now, it was this:
Trying to deceive her father would require perfection.