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Back The Imposter Save as PDF
Chapters (55)
  1. Cover
  2. ANNA WHARTON
  3. Dedication page
  4. ONE
  5. TWO
  6. THREE
  7. FOUR
  8. FIVE
  9. SIX
  10. SEVEN
  11. EIGHT
  12. NINE
  13. TEN
  14. ELEVEN
  15. TWELVE
  16. THIRTEEN
  17. FOURTEEN
  18. FIFTEEN
  19. SIXTEEN
  20. SEVENTEEN
  21. EIGHTEEN
  22. NINETEEN
  23. TWENTY
  24. TWENTY-ONE
  25. TWENTY-TWO
  26. TWENTY-THREE
  27. TWENTY-FOUR
  28. TWENTY-FIVE
  29. TWENTY-SIX
  30. TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. TWENTY-NINE
  33. THIRTY
  34. THIRTY-ONE
  35. THIRTY-TWO
  36. THIRTY-THREE
  37. THIRTY-FOUR
  38. THIRTY-FIVE
  39. THIRTY-SIX
  40. THIRTY-SEVEN
  41. THIRTY-EIGHT
  42. THIRTY-NINE
  43. FORTY
  44. FORTY-ONE
  45. FORTY-TWO
  46. FORTY-THREE
  47. FORTY-FOUR
  48. FORTY-FIVE
  49. FORTY-SIX
  50. FORTY-SEVEN
  51. FORTY-EIGHT
  52. FORTY-NINE
  53. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  54. Praise
  55. THE IMPOSTER

‘It’s OK,’ Chloe answers with a yawn. She rubs her eyes and watches the room come into focus. She smiles to herself. Hollie is chatting away on the other end of the line, but Chloe lies back on her pillow, satisfied with the wallpaper that greets her. Now she wakes and sleeps inside the story of the Kyles.

‘So, how come you’re so tired? . . . Chloe?’

‘Oh, I . . . Sorry, I was miles away. I had a late night.’

‘Oh?’ Hollie says. ‘Doing what? Did you go out?’

Chloe glances about the room guiltily.

‘Reading?’ she says, wishing she hadn’t made it sound like a question.

‘Oh, I love getting lost in a good book like that. Phil bought me a new one the other day. Now, what’s it called . . .?’

Chloe’s eyes wander back to the wall. Her gaze honing in on one cutting. She reads the headline from her own pillow:

Did police waste time to find Angie?

She feels proud of herself, and, if truth be told, she would like to tell Hollie. But she knows too well what she would say. The same as she always does.

‘. . . so I was just ringing to say that I’ve got you an interview.’

‘What?’ Chloe sits up in her bed.

‘Yes, at Phil’s firm. I was telling him what had happened and apparently his place are looking for an admin assistant at the moment. It’s just filing and stuff . . . well, I don’t mean just filing. But you know what I’m saying, it would be perfect for you.’

Chloe thinks of the envelopes in the archive and everything and everyone they contain. That isn’t just filing. And this, a job, this isn’t what she has planned. Her hand already feels clammy round the phone.

‘Filing what?’ Chloe asks. Not that she cares.

‘I don’t know, insurance records, what does it matter?’

It matters, Chloe thinks.

‘Anyway, give Phil a buzz, he’s waiting for you to call. I think he said they could see you Friday. I’m so excited for you. Imagine, Phil could be your boss.’

Chloe winces inside as Hollie does a little excited squeal. She hangs up, promising Hollie she’ll call Phil. She turns back to the cuttings. No, starting a new job is not how she has pictured this playing out.

She throws the phone to the floor and instantly forgets the call. She leans back on her pillow and admires the Kyles, trying to decide how she will spend the day, which part of their story she will study, because she’s already got a new job now, or at least a project.