The day started like any other. Dust coated everything at the construction site, and the roar of machinery filled the air as I checked the blueprints. I was walking across the east wing, double-checking the foundation markers, when it happened.
A metallic click under my boot.
I froze. My breath hitched as I looked down. Beneath the dirt and gravel was a faint glint of metal. Panic shot through me.
"Everyone, STOP!" I shouted.
The workers turned to look at me, confusion on their faces. My heart hammered in my chest. This wasn't part of the site.
It had to be a BOMB!
I stayed perfectly still, the seconds dragging like hours. My brain screamed at me to move, to run, but my body wouldn't budge. Every breath felt like it might set the thing off.
"Somebody call the cops!" someone yelled.
The shouting and running only made my panic worse. My legs trembled, and I tried to keep my weight steady.
But then, before anyone could help, the bomb went off.
The last thing I remembered was the deafening roar of the explosion. The world turned white-hot, and I was thrown into the air. Heat, pain, and darkness consumed me as I hit the ground.
I couldn't remember anything that day. All I could remember was somebody helping me!
After a few weeks, when I woke up, the air was different—too clean, too sterile. The harsh beeping of machines filled my ears, and the smell of antiseptic stung my nose. My whole body felt like it had been ripped apart and sewn back together.
I blinked slowly, trying to focus on the room. A hospital.
My throat was dry as I croaked, "What… happened?"
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor made me turn my head—or at least try to. The slightest movement sent a sharp pain shooting through my skull.
"You're awake," a calm voice said.
A woman stepped into view. She was tall, with sharp features and a white coat. Her dark hair was tied neatly back, and her piercing gaze locked onto mine.
"I'm Dr. Victoria," she said. "You're at my clinic."
I stared at her, trying to make sense of her words. "The… the explosion…"
"You were caught in the blast," she said, her tone clinical. "It's a miracle you survived at all."
"M-My face," I whispered, my voice barely audible.
She hesitated for a moment. "Your injuries were… severe. Your face was completely destroyed. I had to reconstruct it."
Her words hit me like another explosion. I stared at her.
Dr. Victoria's expression softened, but there was something guarded in her eyes. "You've been unconscious for weeks. I've been working on you the entire time. But… I couldn't save your face. I had to use a donor."
"A donor?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Whose face am I wearing?"
Her gaze didn't waver as she said, "My daughter's."
I froze, my breath catching in my throat. "Your… daughter?"
She nodded, and for the first time, I saw the cracks in her calm demeanor. "Evelyn. She was my only child." Her voice softened, but there was a sharp edge of pain beneath it.
"What… What happened to her?" I asked, dreading the answer.
"She was murdered," Dr. Victoria said, her jaw tightening. "By her ex-fiancé. Jarkius Montenegro."
My eyes widened.
He was a man I trusted once—my ex-husband!
DAMN. I never knew he could commit a crime!
Her words hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. My stomach twisted as I tried to process everything.
I had... the face of a murdered woman.
"Why would you…?" I started, but she cut me off.
"I couldn't save Evelyn," she said, her voice cold but cracking with emotion. "But I could save you. Her face gave you a second chance at life."
I didn't know what to say. The weight of what she had done pressed down on me.
"You're alive because of her," Dr. Victoria continued, her eyes boring into mine. "But this isn't just about survival." She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Jarkius is still out there. He's walking free while Evelyn is gone."
I felt a cold chill run through me.
“You owe her," she said, her voice steady and resolute. "You owe me. I didn't just save your life for nothing."
"What are you saying?" I asked, my voice shaky.
"You have her face now," Dr. Victoria said. "You're her, in a way. And I need you to finish what she couldn't. I need you to make him pay."
Her words sent a jolt through me. She wasn't asking for justice—this was revenge.
I stared at her, the weight of her request crushing me. My hands trembled as I raised them to my bandaged face, feeling the unfamiliar contours beneath the gauze.
"I don't even know who I am anymore," I whispered.
Dr. Victoria's eyes softened, but only for a moment. She glances at the paper she's holding. "You're Sierra Marquez," she said. "But now, you're also Evelyn. Jarkius is a multi-millionaire business tycoon with rotten secrets. Together, we’ll bring him down.”
I didn't know what scared me more—the idea of facing Jarkius or the woman sitting in front of me, who had saved my life at such a terrible cost.
But… how could I tell her that her late daughter’s fiance was my ex-husband who cheated on me?
