First Lie Wins

by Ashley Elston

I envy the gracefulness that comes with knowing that everyone in this town has seen them at their worst and still accepts them.

The fact that he caved and invited them all here and spent the week helping me get the menu just right tells me more than the whispers in the dark that he likes how different I am, different from the girls he grew up with.

That someone would hold a nail just so in a valve while the air whistled away. I mean, it’s amusing to believe one person would go to those lengths just to meet another.

Something I’ve seen before when he doesn’t get his way.

since units can be leased by the week. And one week was all I needed.

That sounds sus

But most important, no one is questioning who I am or where I came from. The first lie wins.

She’s slender but muscular, and I can’t help but notice how physically similar we are.

“Y’all came to the Fall Riverfest. It’s always in September around my birthday. I love that festival!”

This is not good. This is not good. This is not good. She is not from Eden, North Carolina—I am. Her mother didn’t die from breast cancer—Mine did

Her name is not Lucca Marino—Mine is

I want so much for you, Lucca. A home and a family of your own one day. I want you to have that house we’ve always dreamed of. Maybe you can build it in that fancy new neighborhood near the lake.”

Lucca Marino is a seventeen-year-old high school senior who sews dresses and makes costume jewelry to help her mother pay the bills. The girl at the flower store has different hair, different makeup, and answers to a different name.

I had to decide a long time ago that what she doesn’t know can’t hurt her.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been blindsided.

Deep breaths. I need to get back on my game.

“He’s here with a woman.” I don’t say her name. I can’t bring myself to say her name. My name.

Beth swings back around and says, “I can’t believe he’d show up here. He must need money.”

I need to consider the possibility that the woman with my name and my background is using James to get close to me.

Evie Porter has a lot of things, but a passport isn’t one of them.

The way you walk, the way you talk, the way you move your body screams more about you than anything else ever could.

Taking the job Matt offers moves me deeper into this world but comes with the support that would make the feel of those cuffs biting into my wrists a distant memory.

Mama always said to be successful in life you need to do three things: learn everything you can, try your hardest, and be the best at what you do.

Ugh old account got hacked so let’s be friends here! about a week after I arrived in Lake Forbing.

While there is still a slim possibility that someone other than my boss sent the impostor here,

the true sound of Mr. Smith’s voice is a secret that’s guarded as meticulously as his real name.

“Yet you waited three days to report this development.”

Its giving

Mr. Smith doesn’t do anything without good reason.

Its like stockholm syndrome....

The game has changed.

He has become the concierge of the black market. Basically, Ryan is a thief, just like me.

Even though I expect his lies, does he expect mine?

“James Bernard and his companion, Lucca Marino, were visiting from Baton Rouge. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, and the Bernard family was notified shortly after,” the newswoman says.

Mr smith killed her off(!!!!!

Second, killing them was a deliberate move by my boss.

What does killing them accomplish? Lucca Marino from Eden, North Carolina, is dead.

His IQ is off the charts. If he’s awake, he’s got to keep that brain busy,

We both know that option is always on the table.

While this is the easiest way to get into the party, it is also the grossest.

“Fuck, something’s got her spooked.” Ryan’s voice fills the space and I freeze. They’ve moved a little closer to me.

RYAN SUMNER IS MR SMITH

The first time I talked to him was eight years ago. Ryan was still at LSU and has no connection to North Carolina.

Amy will sit at the bar and drink anywhere from four to six martinis, then she’ll grab her purse and drive the short distance home, some nights swerving back and forth across the yellow line the entire way.

And then I wonder if this is a true representation of them. Or are they like me? Hiding behind a mask.

Okay, damn, Rachel. I’m impressed.

“Figure out that my boss and my delivery guy were the same person?

laptop. I’ve put off asking this because I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. After Devon planted the

The only difference this time is we’re both honest about how shady we are.