Chapter 2

The air conditioning in the Beverly Hills mansion hummed quietly.

Guillermo sat on a white leather sofa, wearing a custom-fitted suit. He swirled amber whiskey over a single large ice cube in his crystal glass.

The heavy oak doors to his study opened. His manager walked in, his face tight.

He handed Guillermo a thin manila folder. It was the cleanup report from the East LA apartment.

Guillermo set his glass down. He flipped open the folder and glanced at the death confirmation certificate.

A slight frown creased his forehead.

He didn't ask how she died. He didn't ask if she suffered.

"Make sure the press release frames her as a mentally unstable former assistant," Guillermo said. His voice was flat. "Erase any other connection."

Footsteps padded softly against the hardwood floor outside the study.

Jasmine appeared in the doorway, wearing a silk robe. She pouted her lips.

"What are you working on so early?" she asked.

Guillermo's face transformed instantly. The coldness vanished, replaced by a warm, adoring smile.

He stood up, walked over, and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Just handling a problematic former employee," he lied smoothly.

Jasmine rolled her eyes. She rested her head against his chest. "I can't wait for the wedding."

Guillermo kissed the top of her head. Over her shoulder, his eyes darted back to the manila folder, calculating his next move.

Miles away, in a sterile room at a downtown Los Angeles hospital, the gears of fate shifted.

The sharp smell of bleach hung heavy in the air. A heart monitor beeped in a slow, monotonous rhythm.

On the narrow bed, the girl's eyes snapped open.

She gasped for air, her chest heaving as if she had just been pulled from the bottom of the ocean.

A blinding pain ripped through her skull. Memories that didn't belong to her crashed into her brain.

She grabbed her head, her fingers digging into her scalp. Cold sweat soaked through the thin fabric of her hospital gown.

She squeezed her eyes shut until the pain subsided. When she opened them, the truth settled in her chest like a stone.

She had not died. She had woken up in a covert, high-tech medical facility. A sterile voice over the intercom had informed her that she had been saved by a clandestine organization, her face entirely reconstructed through agonizing surgeries. She had been given a new face, a new life, and a new identity: Kayla Cohen, a notorious, heavily-hated internet influencer.

She pushed herself up. The IV line pulled at her skin.

She grabbed the plastic tube and ripped the needle out of her hand. A drop of dark blood welled up on her skin.

She swung her legs over the bed and stumbled toward the attached bathroom.

She gripped the edges of the sink and stared into the mirror.

The face looking back at her was young and strikingly beautiful, but it was buried under thick, smeared eyeliner and heavy contouring.

Kayla turned on the cold water. She cupped her hands and splashed the freezing water onto her face.

She scrubbed her skin until it turned red, washing away the heavy makeup.

She looked up again. The face was clean. The features were sharp and cold.

The confusion in her eyes hardened into a layer of solid ice.

The heavy door to the hospital room swung open with a loud bang.

Effa Nichols, a talent agent in six-inch heels, marched into the room. She threw her designer bag onto the small sofa with an irritated huff.

"Sign this," Effa snapped. She tossed a thick stack of papers and a sleek new smartphone onto the hospital bed. "It's the reality show contract."

Kayla walked slowly out of the bathroom. She stared at Effa.

Her gaze was so heavy and piercing that Effa actually took a step back, her mouth snapping shut.

Effa recovered quickly, her face flushing with anger. "Don't look at me like that. If you don't sign it, you owe the agency two million in breach of contract fees. You don't have a dime."

Kayla walked to the bed. She picked up the new phone, her thumb quickly bypassing the basic lock screen to access the digital banking app left open in the background. Her eyes scanned the recent deposits and the glaring discrepancies in the agency's wire transfers. She picked up the contract and flipped through the pages.

Her eyes scanned the legal jargon. She immediately spotted the predatory revenue-split clauses hidden in the fine print.

Her jaw tightened. She had no money. She had no power.

But this show was a platform. It was a weapon.

Kayla picked up the pen resting on the bedside table. She pressed the tip against the paper and signed her name with sharp, aggressive strokes.

She threw the contract back at Effa. It hit the woman in the chest.

Effa scrambled to catch the papers, looking at Kayla in shock.

Effa grabbed her bag and hurried out of the room, muttering under her breath.

Kayla walked to the window. She looked out at the sprawling Los Angeles skyline.

Her fingernails dug into her palms. She was going to tear Guillermo's life apart, piece by piece.