Chapter 2

I gasped, jolting upright.

The same dingy room. The same demand hanging in the air.

Tiffany stood before me, impatient. "Well? Will you do it or not?"

It was the same day. The exact moment.

But I wasn't the same Chloe.

The naive, kind-hearted fool was gone, burned away by betrayal and murder.

This time, a cold, hard resolve settled in me.

I looked at Tiffany, my face carefully neutral.

"Yes," I said. "I'll do it."

A flicker of surprise, then triumph, in her eyes.

"Good. I knew you'd see it my way."

I thought of Elijah Vance. His terrifying reputation.

He once fired an entire department because their noise bothered Anna during a visit.

He financially obliterated a journalist who wrote a mildly critical piece about her.

What would he do to her killer? Her imposter?

"If she wants to walk into the fire," I thought, "I'll light the match."

The news broke later that day. Anna Reid confirmed dead.

Vance's statement was short, brutal.

A twenty-million-dollar reward for any information leading to a perpetrator.

A vow to personally destroy anyone involved.

I turned to Tiffany, feigning nervousness.

"Aren't you... scared? After that announcement?"

She laughed, a high, brittle sound.

"They'll never trace it to me. It was a perfect accident."

She preened in the cracked mirror.

"And soon, I'll be Anna. Mrs. Elijah Vance."

She patted my arm, a condescending gesture.

"Don't worry, Chloe. Once I'm settled, I'll make sure you get a nice, cushy job. Maybe you can do my makeup full-time."

I smiled faintly. "Thank you, Tiffany."

Inside, the ice was spreading.

I began the work, meticulously transforming Tiffany.

Her bone structure was already close to Anna's. My skills would bridge the rest.

Every brushstroke, every subtle change, was a step in my revenge.