Amiriah Pov
The jet landed smoothly in the underground facility. Ten hours of flight had left me exhausted, but Lani was the more affected of us two. She was half-asleep and completely disgruntled as I carried her from the jet into our new safe house.
"Shh, just a little longer, my treasure," I whispered as she whimpered against my shoulder, her small fists clutching my shirt.
The safe house was impressive—Jackson had outdone himself. Modern, secure, and completely off any official grid. I walked straight to the bedroom and laid Lani down, smiling to myself as she immediately curled into the pillow with a contented sigh. One thing I knew for certain about my daughter: Lani did not like to be woken up. She'd been that way since she was a newborn. If I didn't let her go back to sleep now, she'd be grumpy and crying all day. Besides, she needed time to adjust to the different time zone.
I gently removed her little shoes and tucked the blanket around her, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before slipping away.
In the bathroom, I stared at my reflection in the mirror, really looking at myself for perhaps the first time in years. Would my family even recognize me? My hair now fell well past my shoulders, wild with curls and volume. The softness of youth had melted away from my face, revealing sharper, more defined features. I was no longer the little girl with the cautious eyes and hesitant smile.
I wasn't the child who had pushed her twin away because she couldn't bear to let her sister down, couldn't bear to watch Lenna slow herself down to stay with me. I wasn't the small, shy thing who cried over everything and feared the shadows that followed her. I wasn't alone anymore, trapped in my own pain and darkness.
I could control the darkness now. And with Lani by my side, I was never lonely.
The thought of my daughter brought both warmth and anxiety. I had to be careful how I approached this. S City wasn't just my old home—it was a battlefield of memories and dangers.
I settled at the desk in the corner of the room where Lani slept, trying to formulate a plan. How exactly does one reintroduce themselves to a family that believes they're dead? I couldn't just walk up to the Spellman mansion and announce, "Surprise! It's me, Amiriah, your dead daughter!" They'd think I was crazy, or worse—an impostor seeking to exploit them.
I scratched my head, making faces as different scenarios played out in my mind. None of them seemed right.
"Mama, why are you making funny faces?"
I turned to see Lani sitting up in bed, giggling at my expressions. My heart lightened at the sound.
"Oh, so my grumpy baby is finally awake and in a good mood," I teased, crossing to sit beside her on the bed.
Her hair was mussed from sleep, sticking up at odd angles that somehow made her look even more adorable. I smoothed it down gently as I gathered my thoughts.
"Remember when Mama said she had to come to S City for something?" I began carefully. "Well, I came here to see some people who think I died a long time ago."
Lani's face scrunched in confusion, then quickly shifted to panic. "Are they the bad people trying to hurt Mama?" she asked, her small voice trembling.
"No, sweetheart," I assured her quickly, pulling her onto my lap. "They're not the bad people who tried to hurt Mama."
I paused, trying to find the right words to explain the complexity of the Spellman family to a three-year-old. "They're... they're Mama's first family. Before you. But they don't know I'm alive, and they don't know about you yet."
Lani looked up at me, her brown eyes solemn. "Why don't they know?"
I sighed, running my fingers through her curls. "It's complicated, treasure. Bad things happened, and we got separated. But now I need to see them again, to understand some things."
I didn't tell her about Kai, about the name that haunted my dreams. Some burdens weren't for her small shoulders to carry.
"Are you going to tell them about me?" she asked, surprising me with her perception.
"Not right away," I said honestly. "I need to make sure it's safe first. That I can trust them again."
She nodded with a seriousness that sometimes startled me, as if she understood far more than a child her age should.
"Okay," I said, more to myself than to her, "I need a plan."
I moved back to the desk, Lani following to sit on my lap as I pulled out a notebook. Direct approach was out of the question. The Spellman were too well-protected, too suspicious of outsiders. I needed a way to observe them first, to gauge what had changed in four years.
"The annual Spellman Foundation Gala," I murmured, remembering the lavish charity event my parents hosted every year. "It should be coming up soon—they always hold it in early fall."
It would be the perfect opportunity. The mansion would be filled with guests, security focused outward rather than on the attendees themselves. With the right appearance and credentials, I could slip in unnoticed.
"Jackson's IDs will get me in the door," I said, writing quickly. "I'll need a disguise, though. Nothing dramatic, just enough to give me time to observe before I'm recognized."
I would start with Mother—Amara had always been the most perceptive of the family. If anyone would recognize me beneath a disguise, it would be her. And if anyone would listen before raising the alarm, it would be her as well.
"What about me?" Lani asked, her small finger tracing the words I'd written.
I looked down at her, my heart constricting with love and fear. "You'll stay here, treasure. Just for a little while. I'll have my trustworthy shadow wolf to watch over you."
She frowned, clearly not liking this part of the plan, but didn't argue. Another sign of her unusual maturity.
"Just for a little while," I repeated, as much to reassure myself as her. "And then, if everything is safe, you'll meet them too."
I continued writing, the plan taking shape. I would need formal attire, a new hairstyle, perhaps colored contacts to change my eyes—the feature most likely to give me away. I would use a different name, a vague connection to one of the Spellmans' business associates.
"What if they don't believe you're you?" Lani asked, watching me write.
I smiled at her insight. "I have proof," I said, thinking of the small birthmark behind my left ear—identical to Lenna's—and the childhood memories only a true Spellman would know. "And I have you. You're living proof I survived, my treasure."
The plan continued to form. After the gala, depending on how things went, I would approach Mother privately. Then Father. My siblings would come last—Hayden with his analytical mind, the twins Zuri and Zari with their sharp suspicion, Kario with his unwavering loyalty to our parents.
And Lenna. The thought of seeing my twin again made my heart race with a mixture of emotions I couldn't untangle. Did she remember that night? Did she believe I had tried to kill her? Or did she know, somehow, that something else had been at work?
"Mama?" Lani's small voice pulled me from my thoughts. "Are you scared?"
I looked down at her, surprised by the question. "Yes," I admitted, seeing no reason to lie. "But I'm also ready."
She nodded sagely, as if this made perfect sense. "I'll protect you," she declared, wrapping her small arms around me as far as they would reach.
I laughed softly, hugging her back. "And I'll protect you, my brave little warrior."
For several more hours, I refined the plan, making lists of what we would need, potential complications, contingencies. The Spellman Foundation Gala was in three days—enough time to prepare, but not so long that I would lose my nerve.
Three days until I faced the ghosts of my past. Three days until I stepped back into the world I'd been forced to leave behind. Three days until I began the search for answers about Kai and the missing pieces of my own mind.
I was Amiriah Spellman, daughter of one of S City's most powerful families. But I was also something more now—I was Lani's mother. And that gave me a strength I'd never possessed before.
Whatever secrets awaited me in the shadows of my past, I would face them. For myself. For Lani. For the truth.