Ryan thought he had misheard, his expression stiffening momentarily. "What did you say? Go where?"

Zoe remained composed, repeating her statement: "I said, I want to return to S city in a few days.”

“S city is my roots, where I was born and raised. I don't want to continue living in a foreign land any longer."

For the past two years, she had lived under a foreign name, with a foreign face, assuming a foreign identity, in a distant and unfamiliar place.

Many times, when she saw reports mentioning "renowned painting prodigy Blake Cannon" on television and online, accompanied by her artwork, she would pause for a moment, struggling...