The mask falls

It had been over two years since I gave birth to Ethan, and our life was quiet until one afternoon when everything changed. I was watching TV with Ethan playing by my feet when Rachel's face appeared on the screen. She was standing next to Mr. Luca at a gala for the mansion's charity, looking completely transformed. Her smile was wide, but her eyes were different, almost... content. I froze, unable to process her glamorous appearance. This wasn’t the Rachel I remembered. I had always hoped she’d found a way out, a fresh start. But here she was, smiling and leaning against Luca’s side like she belonged there. She seemed happy, not at all like someone being forced. I grabbed my phone, desperate to call her, to understand why she was back in that life. But as I dialed, I got a message saying her number was no longer in service. My heart sank. She was truly out of my life, swallowed by the very world she had promised to help me escape. Just as I thought about packing to leave, there was a