“Caitlyn.” She shrunk backward. “Caitlyn Taylor.”

  “But what…how?” Ruth sputtered, desperate to make sense of the person who had worked so hard for her all summer, who surprised her each day with keen insights and effortless intelligence. The woman who knew Ruth’s secret vulnerabilities and, instead of running, had embraced her and kissed her like—God. How could it all be a lie?

  The room tilted and blurred, and she had an urge to bend over and puke. But she forced herself to focus, to get answers before she kicked Caitlyn out of her house. “You said your name, but who are you? How did you know so much about the college? And data? How did you know about me?”

  Caitlyn’s face was deathly pale. “I’m a sociologist.”

  Ruth fixated on the suffix. Caitlyn wasn’t a social science major or someone with an interest in education. She was a sociologist—a professional researcher, probably a PhD. “You’re an academic?”

  She nodded miserably. “Yes.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

  Jesus Christ. No wonder Caitlyn could analyze data as if it was nothing. Her supposed flashes of brilliance were child’s play for someone with her expertise. How could she have been so stupid?

  Caitlyn squirmed and scratched her arms. “I’m so sorry. It was only supposed to be for a week, but one thing led to another, and I really liked working for you. I wanted to help you as much as I could.”

  She wanted to help? Hot fury coursed through Ruth’s veins. How dare she frame her con job as some sort of magnanimous act? “You lied to me.”

  “I know.” Caitlyn’s eyes filled with tears. “I know, and I feel terrible about it. But the things I’ve said are true—aside from my name and my background, I’ve been as genuine with you as I could be.”

  “Fuck.” Ruth got up from the couch and began to pace. “You accessed college computer systems, email, student data. I told you my private medical information.”

  “I’ve never told anyone about your medication,” Caitlyn said, growing frantic. “I swear. Not even Chloe. I’d never betray your confidence, Ruth. I care about you.”

  The words ripped through Ruth like a chainsaw. Caitlyn had pretended to care, but none of it was real. She was a fraud.

  Ruth faced her. “Why? Why did you pretend to be Chloe? And for that matter, where the hell is Chloe?”

  “Chloe went to Colorado to be with her boyfriend, and she asked me to hold on to her job until she got back. Well, she’s back now. They broke up.” Caitlyn lowered her head. “She got back yesterday.”

  “And you were going to—what? Switch back?” Ruth’s mouth hung open. After everything they’d been through together, Caitlyn was going to send her twin back to work? As if Ruth wouldn’t know the difference?

  Caitlyn hunched forward, curling into herself. “Um. Well. Chloe wanted to come back on Monday. But I should have known it wouldn’t work, not after the time we’ve spent together. And after the—the kiss—I couldn’t lie anymore.”

  God, the kiss. Ruth would never forget the taste of her mouth, the feel of her breasts, the scent of her hair. Now it all made her nauseous. “I trusted you,” she choked out. “What you did is a crime. I could call the police.”

  Caitlyn looked up, a new glimmer of fear in her eyes. “Are you going to report us?”

  Images flashed through Ruth’s mind. Caitlyn in handcuffs. Reporters. Press. The faculty whispering, How could Ruth not notice? “I don’t know. I need time to think.”

  A tear slid down Caitlyn’s cheek. “Okay.”

  Ruth pressed her fingers into her temples. “You need to leave. I can’t look at you anymore.”

  With her head bowed, Caitlyn collected her purse and rose to her feet. She swayed and gripped the coffee table to stay upright. “Ruth, I’m so sorry. I’d give anything to make it right. Anything in this world.”

  “You betrayed me. You can never make it right. Ever.” Ruth jabbed the air with her finger. “Just go. Get out of my house.”

  With her shoulders slumped, Caitlyn stumbled toward the door.

  Ruth realized it wasn’t enough. “Wait. One more thing.”

  Caitlyn turned around, eyes red and face contorted in pain.

  “You’re fired. You, Chloe, both of you. I haven’t decided how to handle this with HR, but you will not come to work again.”

  “Okay,” Caitlyn said in a strangled whisper. She opened the door, slipped out, and closed it behind her.

  Ruth collapsed on the couch. Her heartbeat throbbed in her ears, and the focused rage she’d channeled to evict Caitlyn dissolved into a haze of hurt, confusion, and shame.

  I trusted her. I cared for her.

  I kissed her.

  Her emotions overwhelmed her and made it hard to think. She didn’t know what to do next. So, she didn’t do anything. She curled up on the couch, touched her fingers to her lips, and closed her eyes.

  * * *

  Caitlyn sobbed the whole way home. She couldn’t stop. Tears streamed down her face, mixing with snot and spit and makeup. Her gasps filled the car as she drove, swiping at her eyes to clear her vision. Somehow, she managed to stay on the road.

  When she pulled into the driveway, she was still crying. She pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed her face, but she didn’t bother to conceal her tears as she walked to the house. There was no way to hide what had happened from Chloe—or from their mother.

  She pushed through the door, kicked off her high heels, and dropped her purse at her feet. Then she ripped off her Pulaski badge and let it fall to the floor.

  Chloe was in the kitchen, washing a dish in the sink. “You’re home?” She turned her head. “Oh my God. What happened?”

  “Ruth knows.” Another sob seized Caitlyn as she sank onto a kitchen chair.

  “How?” Chloe gasped. “How does she know?”

  Caitlyn wiped her nose. “It never would have worked. She knows me too well. We’re more than boss and employee—or at least we were.”

  “What? You’re babbling. What do you mean?” Chloe’s eyes were huge.

  “We kissed.” Fresh tears spilled over.

  “What?” Chloe dragged a kitchen chair back and collapsed into it. “What the fuck?”

  “Not at the office.” As if that made a difference. “Ruth took the day off, and I went to her house. We were talking about the article and some other things, and it just happened. And I knew I didn’t have a choice anymore. I was so foolish to think this could work, that I could get to know her like this and she’d go on thinking we’re the same person. It was always doomed.”

  “You kissed Ruth? And you told her the truth? What were you thinking? Do you know how much trouble we’ll be in now? Oh my God. What is she going to do about it?” The questions came fast until Chloe finally paused to breathe.

  “We’re fired. That’s all I know right now. She said she needs time to think.” Caitlyn grabbed a napkin from the table and blotted her face. “She’s furious, obviously. But I don’t think she’ll report us.”

  “How do you know? You think she won’t turn us in because—because she’s in love with you?” The words came out in a gasp.

  The word love kicked Caitlyn in the gut. She and Ruth had spent two months together, and she’d been lying the entire time—they couldn’t be in love. Yet her feelings went beyond the crush she’d developed once she’d first looked past Ruth’s frosty façade. And she wasn’t alone—the emotion in their kiss had come from both sides. But whatever Ruth had felt for her an hour ago, it no longer mattered.

  “I guess I hope that some tiny part of her still cares for me.” It came out sounding pitiful. She cleared her throat. “But that’s not why. She won’t report us, because she would be implicated too. The fact that this happened on her watch, a few yards from her desk—it would look very bad for her too.”

  “Okay.” Chloe started to calm down. “That’s a good point. Ruth would hate that kind of scrutiny. She hates when people judge her or, like, when there’s bad press.”

  Caitlyn winced as she thought of the article. God, she has to deal with this and the media all at once. “Yes, she does.”

  Footsteps sounded in the hallway.

  Oh no. This would be worse than telling Chloe.

  Their mom walked in, hefting a grocery bag, and glanced between them. “What’s wrong?”

  “Ruth knows,” Chloe said bluntly. “Caitlyn kissed her. And then she told her that she’s not really me. And now I’ve lost my job.”

  Their mom’s jaw dropped. “You kissed Chloe’s boss?”

  Caitlyn sagged. “Yes.”

  Her mom’s breathing accelerated, a sign of rising anxiety that Caitlyn had seen countless times. “And you told her that you’re not Chloe? Why would you do that?” She fumbled to hold on to the grocery bag, then bent over and let it drop to the floor.

  “Because I didn’t have a choice. Look, Mom, if I dressed up like Chloe, would it fool you? Even for a second?”

  “Of course not. But you’re my daughters. I know you better than anyone. You said Ruth didn’t even notice when you turned up in Chloe’s place. If you hadn’t told her, Chloe could have gone back on Monday. It would have been fine!”

  Caitlyn shook her head. It was too late for anything to be fine. “Ruth knows me too. We’ve spent a lot of time together, and…and we became close.” She turned to Chloe. “I’m really sorry I put us at risk by telling Ruth. But please trust me. There’s no way we could have switched back.”

  “Wait. What do you mean you’ve grown close?” Her mom’s pitch rose to a shrill. “You never told me that. Have you kissed her before?”

  “No. This was the first time.” Caitlyn looked down at the table.

  “Why couldn’t you just keep your head down? Stay out of sight, answer the phone. Hold the job for Chloe. Why couldn’t you do that?”

  The disappointment in her mom’s voice was excruciating. I let her down. Again.

  Chloe met Caitlyn’s gaze, and she seemed to understand, without words, exactly how miserable Caitlyn felt. “Don’t be too hard on her, Mom. I’m upset too, but if Caitlyn hadn’t stepped in, I would have lost my job weeks ago.”

  “How much trouble are you in? Will she tell the police?” Her mom’s anxiety seemed to be escalating as she processed the situation.

  “I really don’t think she’ll tell anyone,” Caitlyn said.

  “How do you know? What did she say exactly? Can you call her and find out for sure?” Their mom started to hyperventilate.

  Caitlyn couldn’t deal with it anymore. “Look, I don’t know anything for sure. Ruth is angry. She needs time. I can’t call and bug her to make a decision.” She pushed her chair back and stood. “And I need to be alone.”

  Without giving them time to respond, Caitlyn ran up the stairs to her bedroom and locked the door behind her. She collapsed on the bed and threw her arms around a pillow. “I’m sorry, Ruth,” she whispered into the pillowcase. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  * * *

  Ruth’s phone buzzed beside her on the couch. Piper. She shoved it away and returned to her laptop—and the Google search results for Caitlyn Taylor.

  Apparently, Caitlyn had received her PhD in sociology from Washington University in St. Louis. She had a profile on the Job Candidates page, featuring a professional headshot and her curriculum vitae. The profile listed her dissertation title: Divorce rates among parents of multiples: The role of state support.

  Ruth’s heart squeezed as she read the title. Had Chloe and Caitlyn’s parents divorced? And if so, did Caitlyn believe having twins was the reason?

  Never mind. She cursed her impulse to feel compassion for Caitlyn, whose family history wasn’t her concern.

  Returning to her search, Ruth found a Twitter account with the same headshot. There was little original content, just retweets of news articles about academia and her research interests. Ruth guessed it had been sanitized for the job market.

  There was no evidence that Caitlyn had found a job. Was that why she had time to spend the summer impersonating Chloe?

  Ruth tried to recall Caitlyn’s words about academia. It comes down to a small group of people with their own biases and agendas. Perhaps she’d been speaking from personal experience.

  Before the revelation, Ruth had often been amazed at how well Caitlyn seemed to understand her. Now she knew why. They were both women in academia. They’d both dealt with rejection and mental health issues. Caitlyn hadn’t been sympathizing as an outsider—she could relate.

  Somehow, learning how much they had in common made it all worse. It would be one thing if Caitlyn were a con artist who’d been hustling Ruth the whole time, picking up on her weaknesses and exploiting them. In that case, Ruth could feel simple, uncomplicated rage. But Caitlyn had formed a genuine connection with her, all while lying about something so fundamental that she had to know Ruth would be devastated if she ever learned the truth. It was cruel.

  Now she had to decide what to do about it.

  Caitlyn had broken the law. She had worked under a false identity, accessed confidential information—including student records, which were meant to have special protections. If Ruth reported the switch to the authorities, Caitlyn would face real consequences. Arrest, maybe even jail. Her academic career would be over.

  But what would happen to Ruth? Nothing good. There would be hard questions about how she’d failed to notice that a completely different person had replaced her assistant. The board would investigate, and it would spill into the press eventually.

  They would all blame Ruth, and she would deserve it.

  Ruth hadn’t paid attention to Chloe—the real Chloe. She had decided Chloe was a nonstarter and had proceeded to interact with her as little as possible. No wonder she hadn’t noticed when Caitlyn appeared in her place.

  She should have made an effort to get to know Chloe, to find out her goals, and to help her to improve. The fact that she hadn’t was her failure as a supervisor. Then she had ignored or rationalized all of the signs that something was amiss.

  I didn’t want to see the truth. Ruth had been so relieved to find an ally and collaborator, she hadn’t followed her instincts.

  She clicked back to Caitlyn’s profile. Caitlyn’s eyes were bright and hopeful in the photo. Ruth had seen that same light when they’d worked together to help the college.

  “Damn it.” She closed her laptop. Caitlyn deserved consequences, and perhaps Ruth did too. But she couldn’t put the college through an avoidable scandal. There was only one decision to make.

  She reached for her phone and tapped out a text:

  Hello Chloe. I assume you can share this message with Caitlyn. There is a small park at the intersection of Miller Road and Devlin Avenue. You and your sister will meet me there tomorrow at 2 p.m. Bring your badge, your keys, and anything else in your possession that belongs to the college.

  After pressing send, she lay back on the couch and waited, clutching the phone to her chest. A few minutes later, it buzzed.

  We will both be there. Also, I want you to know that I am very sorry. This is from Chloe.

  Ruth rolled her eyes. “Save it.”

  Chapter 19

  Ruth spotted them from a distance. Two brunettes sat side-by-side at one of the plastic picnic tables behind the playground. Both wore summer dresses, one with exposed shoulders, the other more conservative. The park was deserted, as she’d predicted; it was attached to a school that had closed several years earlier.

  As she approached the table, Ruth observed their heart-shaped faces, their slim noses and high brow lines. Mirror images. As she got closer, however, she could see the slight differences: their posture, for one, and something in their faces she couldn’t pinpoint.

  By the time she reached the table, she was certain that Chloe was the one in the revealing pink dress, slouching and looking nervous, while Caitlyn was the one sitting up straight, eyes puffy and full of torment.

  “Hmm.” Ruth sat on the bench across from them. “You really do look alike. There are subtle differences in the shapes of your faces—just subtle enough, I suppose.”

  Caitlyn squirmed under Ruth’s scrutiny but didn’t speak.

  Silence stretched until Chloe opened her mouth. “I am so sorry for leaving. I just really needed time off to see my boyfriend in Colorado—well, he’s my ex-boyfriend now—and I didn’t have any vacation days left. I knew Caitlyn would do a good job because she’s so responsible and good at everything, so I thought it would be fine. But it was wrong to send her to work without telling you.”

  “Wrong?” Ruth swept an unforgiving gaze between them. “Wrong doesn’t even begin to cover what you both have done. I didn’t hire Caitlyn Taylor. She never had a background check, never signed a single form with her real name. She waltzed in off the street, a complete stranger, and trespassed in my office. She accessed confidential data. You could go to prison for this.”

  Chloe turned pale, while Caitlyn bowed her head.

  Ruth wasn’t done. “Have you ever heard of something called FERPA? You put the entire college at risk. If this got out, every single student in Caitlyn’s retention spreadsheets could sue Pulaski for allowing an unaffiliated individual to view their student records.”

  “I’m really, really sorry,” Chloe said again.

  Caitlyn still hadn’t spoken. She stared intently at the table, her mouth a brittle line.

  “You both deserve to experience the full consequences of your actions.” Ruth paused to watch their reactions.

  Chloe’s eyes were wide and fearful, but Caitlyn’s expression remained unchanged.

  Ruth sighed. “But I won’t let the college suffer if I can help it. However, before I decide on a course of action, I need you to tell me everyone who knows that you took Chloe’s place. Every single person.”