Chapter 1The Girl in the Wardrobe

Hayden Shaw came to St. Jude’s Home for Children to choose a sister.

Every other girl scrambled to be seen, praying they’d be the one.

I was the only one hidden away, fast asleep in a wardrobe.

I thought I could escape it this time. Escape the fate of becoming a Shaw, and eventually, becoming Hayden Shaw’s wife. I thought I could finally live a life that was my own, free and happy.

But when I woke up, the first thing I saw was Hayden, standing before the open wardrobe door.

He smiled and asked me, "Cora, how would you like to come home with me?"

* * *

When Hayden Shaw’s face swam into view, my first thought was that I was still trapped in the nightmare.

It wasn't until the director’s sharp voice cut through the haze that I knew it was real. “Cora, what are you doing sleeping in there?”

The fog in my head cleared. This was happening.

Seeing me frozen, the director, Mrs. Davison, reached in and pulled me out of the wardrobe. The smell of mothballs and old wool clung to me. She straightened my collar, her fingers rough, and then nudged me forward, towards the Shaws. “You were asleep. Mr. Shaw was kind enough to ask us not to wake you.” Her voice was tight with an unspoken reprimand. “We’ve all been waiting for you.”

Hayden stood just in front of his parents, a faint, unreadable smile on his face as he looked at me. He was different from the cold, distant Hayden I remembered. Softer. Younger.

He spoke first. “Hi, Cora.”

For some reason, hearing my name from his lips felt deeply, unnervingly strange. I frowned, my gaze dropping to the floor to avoid his. A question burned in my mind: they could have picked anyone else. Why wait for me?

“Waiting for me? For what?”

Mrs. Davison crouched down, her usual stern expression replaced by a rare, strained smile. “They want to adopt you, Cora. You’re going to have a family. A mother, a father… and a brother.”

I think she was trying to be happy for me. For any child at St. Jude’s, being chosen was like winning the lottery.

But Mrs. Davison didn’t know my secret. I’d lived this life before.

I knew Hayden Shaw was coming today. That’s precisely why I’d hidden in the wardrobe.

“Cora, sweetheart, won’t you come home with us?” Mrs. Shaw took my hand. Her touch was soft, her voice gentle. “Hayden has always wanted a little sister. You could be his sister.”

The scene was a perfect, horrifying replica of the last time. The past flickered through my mind like a broken film projector.

I snatched my hand back. I looked up, not at them, but at the director. “Mrs. Davison, I don’t want to be adopted by them.”

A collective, sharp intake of breath filled the room. Everyone was stunned.

Hayden’s reaction was the strongest. His smile vanished, his brow furrowing. “Why?”

“Because I don’t want to be your sister.”

Despite my rejection, no anger appeared on his face. Instead, his voice became even gentler, laced with an unnerving thread of indulgence. “Then don’t be my sister. Just come home with the Shaws. Live with us. Is that okay?”

Mrs. Davison gave my sleeve a sharp tug, a silent, desperate plea. It didn't stop me from refusing him again.

“No.”

I thought that would be the end of it. But when the director, flustered, asked the Shaws if they’d like to see the other girls, Hayden’s voice rang out, loud and clear. “Mom. I want her.”

He looked straight at me. “Only her. She’s the one who looks the most like my sister.”