Elena pov
Victoria Reyes was taking shape.
Strong. Fearless. Magnetic.
Everything that would draw Brighton in.
The bandages came off on a Tuesday morning.
Dr. Webb unwrapped them slowly, carefully.
I sat in the clinic chair, eyes closed. Listening to the soft sounds of gauze being removed.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Open your eyes."
I opened them.
And looked into the mirror.
A stranger stared back.
The nose was straight, narrow. Nothing like the slightly crooked version that had looked back at me for seven months.
The jaw was softer. More rounded. Less angular.
The cheekbones less dramatic. More subtle.
The lips fuller. The brow smoother.
Taken individually, each change was subtle.
Together, they added up to someone completely unrecognizable.
I stared.
Turned my head left. Right. Looked at the profile.
Gone. Elena Castellano was gone.
In her place was someone else. Someone new.
Someone Brighton had never met.
And never would recognize.
"Well?" Dr. Webb asked.
