Chapter 2: Doppelgänger in the Shadows

Cassie Monroe’s building was a dump. I squeezed through three, maybe four, narrow alleys before ducking into a doorway. The stairs were a mess—each step coughed up dust, the banister sticky and slick.

The building stank of mildew and stale cigarettes. Graffiti sprawled across the walls. I hesitated at the bottom, then forced myself up, every step creaking, the air getting thicker and hotter the higher I climbed.

Finally, on the second floor, I spotted a public restroom dead ahead. Cassie Monroe was fastening her belt as she stepped out. Only then did I realize she’d just come out of the men’s room.

I blinked, thrown off. She moved with a swagger, not caring who saw her. The hallway smelled of bleach and something sour. I pressed myself against the wall, trying not to draw attention.

Cassie Monroe kept her head down, walking as she untied the scarf around her neck and held it in her hand. She happened to walk into the light, and her whole upper body was illuminated. I saw the sharp Adam’s apple moving up and down, and I froze on the spot.

The sunlight caught her features, casting sharp shadows. For the first time, I noticed the subtle signs—the strong jaw, the way she moved. My mind raced, trying to reconcile what I was seeing with what I thought I knew.

Cassie Monroe looked up and spotted me, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Her eyes narrowed, then widened with recognition. For a second, I thought she might run, but instead, she cocked her head, studying me with a mix of curiosity and annoyance.

"You’re here looking for Savannah too, aren’t you?"

Her voice was lower than I expected, edged with sarcasm. She crossed her arms, waiting for my answer like she already knew what I’d say. My heart skipped. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on.

Hearing him say Savannah’s name, hope surged.

A spark lit inside me—maybe, just maybe, this was the break I’d been chasing. I took a step forward, hope rising and fear right behind it.

"You know her?"

Cassie Monroe curled his lip. "I don’t know her, but everyone keeps mistaking me for her, which makes me curious too!"

He shrugged, rolling his eyes. "You’d think I was some kind of celebrity. Folks come around here, flashing photos, asking questions. Gets old fast."

He cracked his knuckles, wearing a mean little smile.

The sound echoed in the narrow hallway. He grinned, the expression sharp and a little mean. "You’re not the first, you know."

"It’s been a year, right? You’re the fourteenth person to come looking for her! Do you all have the same fiancée?"

That hit me like a punchline I wasn’t ready for. Fourteenth? I nearly laughed—then felt sick. Was I just another face in a long line of desperate fools?

My heart leaped into my throat.

I could barely breathe. Sweat beaded on my forehead, despite the stifling heat. I felt like I was standing at the edge of a cliff, about to topple over.

Maple Heights is scorching hot—over a hundred degrees, the sun could cook a person alive. But right now, I broke out in a cold sweat. A breeze made me shiver with chills. My cheek still stung a little.

The heat pressed down, heavy and relentless, but I felt cold all over. My shirt stuck to my back, and I wiped my forehead with a shaky hand. The memory of Cassie’s slap was the only thing anchoring me to reality.

After a while, I managed to squeeze out a sentence.

My voice was barely audible, each word dragged from somewhere deep inside me. "So, did they find Savannah?"

Cassie Monroe raised an eyebrow, idly checking his manicure.

He examined his nails, as if bored by the whole conversation. "People come and go. Not many stick around."

Probably not. After a while, each one of them disappeared too.

He said it so casually, like it was just another day in Maple Heights. The words sent a chill down my spine. I swallowed hard, trying to process what I’d just heard.

"Maple Heights is small. If she were still in this town, it’d be hard not to run into her. I guess they’re gone."

He shrugged again, as if that explained everything. His tone was almost mocking, daring me to ask more questions.

I reeled.

The world spun. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it all. Disappeared? How could people just vanish, one after another? It sounded impossible, like something out of a bad movie.

Dead, alive, ran away—I could make sense of those. But 'gone'? What did that even mean?

I clung to the word, turning it over in my mind. Gone. Not dead, not alive, just… gone. The uncertainty gnawed at me, making it hard to breathe.

Cassie Monroe seemed to read my mind and sighed.

"Gone" means vanished. Not only did they never find this Savannah, the guys searching for her went missing too. You boys are grade-A lovesick idiots.

He smirked, shaking his head. "Can’t say I blame you, though. If she looked like me, I’d probably lose my mind too."

It was too much. For a moment, I couldn’t tell if Cassie literally meant more than ten guys had come looking for her.

My thoughts tangled into knots. Was this some sick joke? Was Savannah leading a double life? I wanted to scream, but all I could do was stare at the floor, lost.

Could she have been seeing over ten other men besides me, and after she went missing, they all started searching?

The idea was absurd, but the doubt wormed its way in. I shook my head, refusing to believe it. Savannah wasn’t like that. She couldn’t be.

No way.

I clenched my fists, jaw tight. No way. I knew her better than anyone. Didn’t I?

Savannah and I were college sweethearts. Our families were well-off—a perfect match. After graduation, she took over her family’s business, and I took over an even bigger one. We’d been together for five years. Last year, we were about to get married—then this happened.

I remembered our graduation day, how we’d toasted to our future at a rooftop bar downtown. We’d mapped out our lives together, every detail. She was my person. Losing her felt like losing the ground beneath my feet.

Friends told me to stop being stubborn, to let go. If I couldn’t find her after a year, why would another year change anything? Most likely she was pulled under out on the lake. There are plenty of fish in the sea, they said—if not Savannah, there’s always someone else.

They meant well, but their words felt hollow. I’d nod along, pretending to listen, but inside, I was screaming. They didn’t know what it was like to lose someone and have no answers. The world moved on, but I was stuck in place.

But how could they understand my feelings for Savannah? She loved me deeply, and no one else could fill that void.

Every night, I dreamed of her—her laugh, her touch, the way she’d curl up next to me when she was cold. I’d wake up reaching for her, the emptiness beside me a fresh wound. No one else could ever compare. Sometimes I wondered if I’d ever feel whole again.

Cassie Monroe waved a hand in front of my eyes.

"Hey, snap out of it. So what does Savannah do? What makes you all so desperate for her?"

He raised an eyebrow, waiting for my answer. His tone was half-mocking, half-curious, as if he genuinely wanted to know what made Savannah so special.