**Audrey/'s POV**

Victoria Sinclair turned around from the front passenger seat, flashing a bright smile.

"Astrid, did you see the wedding invitation I made?" She waved her phone screen at us. "The one I put together myself?"

I stared at the digital invitation displayed on her phone. My stomach tightened - it was identical to what Adrian had shown at dinner last night.

"I had to dig through so many photos to find one where my sister actually looked happy," Victoria continued. "The editing took forever."

Astrid's expression hardened, her eyes cooling as she glanced at the screen."Yeah, I saw it online," she said flatly. "Didn't know you were behind it."

"You know damn well Blake is marrying Rachel in two days. What's your angle here, replacing Rachel's photo with Audrey's?"

I studied Victoria silently from behind my mask. What was my supposed"sister" plotting now?

"To crash the wedding, obviously!" Victoria said with a hint of pride."Come on, Astrid. Don't you think it's wrong? My sister's barely cold in her grave, and Blake's already marrying someone else!"

She leaned forward, voice rising. "Once he's hitched to Rachel, you think he'Il give a damn about me or theSinclair family?"

Her hands flew up dramatically. "We can't let this wedding happen!"

She turned fully to Astrid, her smile turning syrupy sweet. "Don't you want justice for Audrey? Help me stop this wedding."

The car went silent. A laugh bubbled up before I could stop it.

Victoria's head snapped toward me. "What's so funny? I'm talking to Astrid. Mind your own business."

Astrid shifted, blocking Victoria's view of me. "She's my friend. If she thinks you're being ridiculous, she can laugh. Got a problem with that?"

Victoria's face darkened. "What's ridiculous about wanting justice for my sister?"

I leaned forward, my voice turning icy. "Are you after justice for Audrey,or just protecting Sinclair family interests?"

"When Audrey was alive, neither you nor the Sinclairs showed her an ounce of concern. You skipped her funeral. It's been over ten months.and not one of you - not you, not Richard, not Elaine - has visited her grave even once."

Victoria's expression soured as she studied me. I could see confusion flickering behind her eyes - something about me seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it.

After Victoria repeated her wedding-crashing plan for the fifth time,Astrid's patience finally snapped.

"Ethan." Just his name, nothing more.

He immediately pulled over. "Miss Sinclair, out you go."

**Victoria's POV**

I stepped out of the car, fuming at being dismissed like some Uber passenger with a bad rating.

As I reached to slam the door shut, the woman in the back seat pulled down her mask to sip some water. Through the window, I caught her profile in perfect clarity.

My body froze.

*Impossible.*

The car pulled away, but I barelynoticed. I stood rooted to the sidewalk,mind reeling.

That woman was Audrey. My dead sister-alive.

With shaking hands. I called Dad.

"Victoria?" Richard answered. "What's wrong?"

"Audrey's alive," I blurted. "I just saw her in Astrid's car!"

A stretched silence. Then, "Are you certain? Maybe you're confused..."

I dug my nails into my palm. "Dad, listen to me. I know what I saw."

"She's my sister - well, technically your daughter. How would I mistake her face? They were coming from the airport direction. Astrid must have picked her up!"

Richard sounded thoughtful. "Interesting. Though it would explain some things. Remember when she was fighting for that divorce? She argued with me on the phone."

"If she was truly dying, why bother picking fights with family right before

the end?"

I dropped onto a nearby bench. "Exactly! When we heard she'd died from cancer, something felt off. She must have faked her death when she saw Blake getting close to Laurel. She wanted to stop their engagement."

I let out a sharp laugh. "And it worked perfectly! Not only did Blake and Laurel never marry, but Laurel ended up in jail and died because of what she did to Audrey."

I stared at passing traffic. "And now she's back... just as Blake's about to marry Rachel."

*No wonder that woman got mad when I mentioned crashing the wedding.She wants to doit herself.*

Richard sighed. "If Audrey's back, do we still need to make trouble at the wedding?"

I shook my head. "Rachel isn't Laurel. She won't be as easy to handle. We're still going. If Audrey can't handle Rachel on her own, we'll help."

After a moment. Richard chuckled. "True. If we assist her, maybe she'll finally acknowledge her real father's efforts. And if she gets back with Blake, having her direct influence over the Parker fortune would be quite advantageous."

"Just make absolutely sure it's her," he cautioned."What if it's just a lookalike?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dad. be serious. Audrey doesn't have a twin. Who else could possibly look identical to her?"

**Audrey's POVw*

Fresh from our spa treatments, Astrid pulled me towward a designer boutique across the street. This was our first real shopping trip since I'd"returned from the dead" ten months ago, and despite the Victoria incident,I was determined to enjoy it.

Astrid, dressed in a bold red outfit that turned heads,practically bounced with excitement.

"Evelyn!" She linked her arm through mine. "To celebrate your second life.I'm buying you that bag you used to love!"

I smiled, shaking my head. "Honestly, I can't even remember what it looked like."

It wasn't a lie. My memories of New York had blurred at the edges -maybe because too much had happened since I left, or maybe because I'd trained myself to forget the painful parts. Big events and people remained clear, but the details of my day-to-day life had faded.

Astrid's laugh echoed through the boutique. "Doesn't matter if you don't remember-I do!"

She dashed to the counter to speak with a sales associate, then dragged me to view their new collection while they retrieved the reserved bag from storage.

The sales assistant was mid-description of another bag when a familiar voice floated in from outside.

"Thalia, why are we even at this place? You know I only carry real luxury brands. Since when do I shop at places like this?"

My body tensed immediately. After all this time, I'd still recognize Olivia Cavendish's voice anywhere.

"Just browsing," A second later, Thalin's voice sounded, "Even cheap places like this must have fans somewhere."

I felt Astrid tense beside me as Thalia's voice got closer."Look who's wearing red."

"Well damn, it's Astrid Wilson." Olivia approached. "Where've you been hiding these days?"

"Last time we saw her, she threw wine all over us because of Audrey's stupid cat." The smugness in Thalia's voice was obvious. "Then poof-vanished."

"Guess she finally realized who she messed with," Olivia said. "Time to face reality,Astrid."

"Your precious Audrey's been dead almost a year. You ruined our dresses for what? A corpse?" Olivia's voice grew louder. "What's she gonna do now,climb out of her grave to save you?"

"Turn around, Astrid." Thalia said, "Too scared suddenly? Where's that attitude from the charity gala?"

I could practically feel her eyes burning into my back. "And who's your friend? New model?"

"Doesn't matter," Olivia cut in."Hey, whoever you are - run while you can.Wilson's bad luck. One friend was a vegetable for four years. Only lived after ditching her."

"And her other bestie? Stomach cancer. Six feet under before thirty. Stick with her and you'll be nextl"

I laughed."What If I want to be her friend "and" keep you both away

from her?"

I turned around.