Grant knelt by the bed, shaking. He could barely bring himself to touch me again.
Meanwhile, the real me was already sitting in the airport terminal. A few hours later, my plane took off without a hitch.
I sat by the window with a hand pressed to my chest, feeling the faint pulse of the machine. Julian had arranged a portable power case for me ahead of time, and it sat right by my feet.
Outside the window, the city kept shrinking. In that moment, I finally broke free of the life that had suffocated me.
And 30,000 feet below me, Grant finally figured out the truth. He pulled the covers all the way back and got a good look at what was lying in the bed. It was a lifelike CPR mannequin from a medical training center, dressed in my pajamas.
Grant froze where he stood, and his mind went com
