Chapter Sixty Ella
Chapter Sixty
Ella
I’m sitting on a train bound for Hamburg after three days of training with Garrett and Miranda’s makeover.
Both of them are on board too, watching me from a safe distance in case something goes wrong.
According to Lex’s intel, Tiero has bought Freemont’s diversion method. He’s sent a team to Austria while chasing Molinaro through Switzerland himself.
For now, I’m relatively safe. With all the help I’m getting, I might actually have a chance.
But Tiero has a way of finding what he wants. One slip-up with my disguise, one camera catching it, and he’ll be on my tail again.
So there can’t be a slip-up.
Miranda had me practice the contouring makeup over and over until I got it right. I look so different now.
When I first saw myself in the mirror after Miranda’s handiwork, I hardly recognized myself.
I’m a brunette now with chin-length dark brown hair, not shoulder-length like she promised. Sneaky Miranda had the audacity to say, “Oops, I accidentally cut off too much.”
I gave her a deadpan look, but it did nothing. I’m slowly getting used to the shorter hair. At least washing it is faster now, and it needs far less shampoo and conditioner. I’m clearly clutching at straws, but I’ll take the wins.
My face too looks like someone else’s. Ash Rene Morgan’s, to be exact. That’s my new name while I’m on the way to America.
After that, Freemont Security has another identity lined up for me. For what looks to be the rest of my life, I’ll be Riley Emerson James.
I picked the names from the list Rhia made. She knows me too well, choosing options with meanings she thought I’d like, while Lex insisted on unisex names to make things just that bit harder to trace.
Riley stands for bravery, courage, and power. All things I’ll need going forward.
And Ash? It simply means happy. Something I’m a long way from feeling.
Maybe having the name will help.
I rise from my seat and make my way to the bathroom. I wash my hands, wishing I could splash water on my face to cool off a little, but that would ruin the makeup I’ve painstakingly applied this morning under Miranda’s watchful eye.
I stare at my reflection, a stranger looking back. The longer I look, the less familiar she feels.
Will I ever get used to this?
Part of me wonders if Tiero would recognize me now. The other part knows he would. Instantly. But his goons shouldn’t.
I’m wearing contacts that turn my blue eyes brown. With the way the makeup is applied, my face looks longer and slimmer, my eyes a completely different shape.
I hate the idea of having to do this every day, at least until I get to Atlanta. I normally don’t wear makeup. It seems like such a waste of time.
Why bother when you just take it all off again at night?
But if it keeps me out of trouble, I guess it’s a price I’ll have to pay. I never imagined my safety would depend on becoming someone else.
The goal, as Garrett kept hammering into me, is to fool facial recognition software. I spent hours learning to walk differently, wearing insoles in my shoes to make me a little taller and shift the angle of my posture. All so my movement pattern wouldn’t match old footage.
I’m instructed to keep sunglasses on whenever I’m outside and to wear large hats whenever possible. And flowy dresses that hide my shape, though that won’t exactly work once I’m in the kitchen on the cruise ship.
The most challenging part is being mindful of my habits. No more doing things that could easily identify me. No more small comforts that make me, me.
Goodbye parsnip omelets and licorice tea. I groan just thinking about it.
Apparently, I also have to abandon any routines, keeping things fresh and unpredictable. Not sure how I’ll manage that. I love my routines. It feels like I’m shedding pieces of myself one detail at a time.
With one last look at myself, I return to my seat. I avoid looking directly at my travel companions, but I glance at them out of the corner of my eye.
Just having them nearby makes me feel safer. I hate the thought of saying goodbye to them and facing everything on my own.
The moment they leave, the world will seem a little bigger and a lot more dangerous.
But I can do it. Fear or no fear, I’m not going to fall apart.
I have a team behind me. One that looks out for me and helps me at every possible turn. I am truly fortunate.
I straighten my dress as I sit back down. Miranda has done a fine job putting together a new wardrobe for me with pieces that still let me travel light.
She’s a firecracker with endless energy, and what she lacks in height she more than makes up for in personality. We’re very different, but I can see us becoming good friends once I reach Atlanta.
She reminds me a lot of Rhia, which helps too.
God, I miss my best friend.
It’s going to be a long time before I can talk to her again.
I need this cruise to be over already.