The next morning, Athena took the subway to Marcus's clinic in Hongkou. The neighborhood was rougher than she was used to, with cramped buildings and laundry strung between windows, but the clinic itself was clean and welcoming.
Marcus looked up from his desk when she entered, surprise giving way to a warm smile. "Athena. I wasn't sure you'd come."
"I need help," she said simply. "Real help. I need to leave Shanghai, and I don't know how."
Marcus studied her for a long moment, then nodded. "Come with me."
He led her to his office, closed the door, and pulled out a file folder. "I have a colleague who runs a medical research program in Melbourne, Australia. They're always looking for talented people, and they don't ask too many questions about your past."
"Australia?" Athena's heart jumped. That was literally the other side of the world.
"It's far," Marcus acknowledged. "But that's the point, isn't it? Fresh start. New country. They have excellent medical schools if you want to continue your education. And they're much more lenient with financial aid for international students."
"Why would they take me? I have no credentials, no references, no...."
"You have your high school transcripts, right? Your acceptance to Shanghai Medical University?" When Athena nodded, Marcus continued. "That's enough. I'll write you a reference letter. My colleague owes me a favor. And..." He paused, seeming to debate something. "I've been thinking about relocating anyway. Melbourne has better research facilities. If you wanted, we could go together. Not together-together," he added quickly. "But as friends. Support system. Someone who knows your situation."
Athena stared at him. "Why would you do that? Upend your whole life for a stranger?"
"Because I see potential in you," Marcus said simply. "And because I believe everyone deserves a second chance. So what do you say, Athena? Ready to disappear?"
Athena thought about Shanghai.....about her father's cold dismissal, Victoria's triumphant smile, Stephanie's cruelty, the inheritance locked away, the medical school that rejected her, the life that had been systematically destroyed.
Then she thought about the baby growing inside her. About the possibility of a future where she wasn't defined by one terrible night. About becoming someone new, someone stronger.
"Yes," she said. "I'm ready."
Marcus's smile was brilliant. "Good. Then let's get started. First thing we need to do is get you a passport. Then we'll handle the visa application, medical clearance, university enrollment..."
As he talked, mapping out her escape with the efficiency of someone who'd done this before, Athena felt something shift inside her. Not hope exactly....she wasn't ready for hope yet. But determination. Stubbornness. The refusal to let them win.
She pulled out her phone and opened a new note. At the top, she wrote: Things to do before I leave Shanghai.
* Thank Mrs. Liu
* Say goodbye to Tiang Li properly
* Find out who the father is
That last one was almost impossible. The hotel had refused to give her any information, citing guest privacy. The security footage was mysteriously corrupted. She had no name, no face, just fragments of memory and a note that said "this never happened."
But Athena was discovering something about herself: when people told her something was impossible, it just made her more determined to prove them wrong.
"Marcus," she said, interrupting his planning. "Before we leave... I need to find someone. The father. I don't know his name, but I have the hotel, the room number, the date. Is there any way...."
"I know a private investigator," Marcus said immediately. "Former police detective. Very discreet. It'll cost money though."
Athena thought about Mrs. Liu's envelope, still tucked in her purse. The old woman's life savings, given freely. She couldn't use it for this....it would be selfish, wasteful.
But then she thought about her child, years from now, asking about their father. Thought about medical history, genetic conditions, the right to know where you came from.
"Do it," she said. "Whatever it costs, do it. I need to know who he is."
Even if she never contacted him. Even if she raised this baby alone. She needed to know.
Marcus made the call. The investigator agreed to take the case. And Athena Chen...soon to be Athena Wei, traveling under the guise of being Marcus's research assistant...began the process of erasing herself from Shanghai.
Within two weeks, she had a passport. Within a month, she had a visa. Within six weeks, she had an acceptance to the University of Melbourne's medical program, a tiny apartment arranged through Marcus's colleague, and a one-way ticket to Australia.
The private investigator had called three days before her departure. "I found something," he said. "But you're not going to like it."
"Tell me anyway."
"The room you were in? It wasn't registered to anyone that night. The booking was made under a corporate account....Blackwood Enterprises. One of the biggest conglomerates in China. And the security footage wasn't corrupted. It was professionally deleted. Like, military-grade scrubbing."
Athena's heart sank. Blackwood Enterprises. She'd heard that name—everyone in Shanghai had. They owned half the city. Their president was famously reclusive, notoriously powerful.
"So you're saying I slept with someone from Blackwood Enterprises?"
"Maybe. Or maybe someone very powerful used their resources to cover something up. Either way..." The investigator sighed. "Whoever you're looking for, they have money and influence I can't touch. I'm sorry. This is as far as I can go."
Athena thanked him and hung up, staring at her nearly-packed suitcase. Blackwood Enterprises. The name meant nothing to her, but it meant everything. It meant the father of her child was someone untouchable. Someone who could erase evidence with a phone call. Someone who lived in a world so far above hers that she might as well be invisible.
"Forget about him," she told her reflection. "He doesn't matter. All that matters is survival."
On her last night in Shanghai, Tiang Li threw her a small goodbye party....just the two of them, cheap wine, and too many tears.
"I can't believe you're really leaving," Tiang Li sobbed, hugging Athena fiercely. "Promise you'll call. Promise you'll email. Promise you won't forget me."
"Never," Athena promised, crying just as hard. "You saved my life, Li. I'll never forget that."
"You saved your own life," Tiang Li corrected. "I just drove the getaway car. Now go to Australia and become amazing. And when you're rich and famous, come back and destroy Victoria and Stephanie for me."
"Deal," Athena said, meaning it with every fiber of her being.
The next morning, Marcus picked her up in a taxi. Her three suitcases, her mother's jewelry, her dreams packed into luggage that barely weighed anything.
As they drove to the airport, Athena took one last look at Shanghai's skyline. Somewhere in that sprawl of steel and glass was her father, probably already forgetting she existed. Somewhere were Victoria and Stephanie, celebrating their victory. Somewhere was a man from Blackwood Enterprises who'd left her a note and a baby and nothing else.
"Any regrets?" Marcus asked gently.
Athena touched her stomach....barely showing, just a small curve hidden under her loose sweater. Inside, a life that would change everything.
"No," she said firmly. "Only plans."
Years from now, she would return to this city. But she wouldn't return as Athena Chen, the disgraced daughter, the victim, the girl they'd broken.
She would return as someone they could never have imagined.
But first, she had to disappear.