a distant roar,

grand auditorium, a girl who looked e

ring the salut

g my name, A

re, in another life. A life where I watched this on a livestream from a dark room, ju

me, I w

king down the

a ripple that spread through the row

, it'

re are tw

is goi

faltered for a second when she saw me, a flicker of pure hatr

rn man named Mr. Harrison,

help you? This is

opped at the foot of the stage and looked up at the girl wea

ium erupted

stage steps, a pictur

voice trembling just enough. "Ava? I

and Mrs. Davenport, the tech moguls from Silicon Valley. My biolo

d cold. She didn't look at me, only at the Dean. "Our daughte

er girl is an impostor. She's c

a mask of confusion. We were identica

said, trying to regain contro

pocket and produced my driver's license, my social security card, my

hing," I said. "

settle this definitively. Our Ava, the real Ava, has a very dis

leeve of her expensive blouse. There it was,

this time with a sense o

y stepped forward from the front row. Ethan. The high schoo

've known Ava for years. That's her birthmark. I don't k

l of pity and contempt. In my last

I was rea