Elena pov:
All lies. All delivered with perfect calm.
The old Elena couldn't have lied like this. Would have felt guilty. Would have shown it in her face.
This Elena felt nothing but focused determination.
Dr. Rivera signed off on the procedure.
And I went back to my hotel. A different one from the cheap Montana motel. LA required a better cover. Sarah Miller had booked a mid-range hotel. Nothing flashy. Nothing memorable.
I sat on the bed and called no one. Texted no one.
Just sat in the silence of my own company.
And thought about what I was about to do.
After this surgery, Elena Castellano would cease to exist.
Not legally. Not officially.
But in every practical sense, she'd be gone.
The face the world knew. The face Brighton had stared down at while he tortured her. Gone.
Something new would take her place.
Someone Brighton had never met. Would never recognize. Would never in a million years connect to the young woman he'd broken in that warehouse.
