The day I was discharged from the hospital, Hera and Hector took me to a secluded estate—Hector’s secret place, as he called it. The drive was silent, tension thick in the air. I could barely process what was happening. I was no longer Alicia Costa. I had agreed to bury her.
Inside the house, Hector and Hera sat me down and told me about Francheska Falcon.
“Everyone still believes she’s alive,” Hector said, his voice steady but cold. “She died while we were abroad, but no one knows the truth except me and Hera.”
I swallowed hard. “How did she die?”
Hector’s jaw tightened. “Her death is tied to the debt the De Santis family owes me.”
He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t push. Instead, Hera took over, describing Francheska in detail.
“She was timid, reserved, always hiding from the crowd,” she said. “She loved flowers, just like you. And she was a painter.”
My breath hitched. “She painted?”
Hera nodded. “She found solace in it.”
Just like me. Memories of my mother encouraging me to paint when my father died flashed in my mind. Francheska and I were eerily similar. It was almost as if fate had placed me in her shoes before I even realized it.
Hector leaned forward, his dark gaze piercing. “Your resemblance to her is uncanny, but it’s not enough. If you want revenge, you need to fully become her.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“You need to change your face.”
The words slammed into me like a blow. I stared at him, frozen.
Hera sighed. “It’s the only way. The De Santis and Russos know Alicia Costa. If you go after them with this face, they’ll find you before you can even make your move.”
My stomach twisted. Changing my face meant erasing every trace of Alicia Costa. There would be no turning back.
Hector watched me, his expression unreadable. “It’s your choice. But if you truly want to destroy them, this is the only way.”
I clenched my fists, my heart hammering in my chest. This was the price of revenge. The final nail in Alicia Costa’s coffin.
I exhaled sharply and nodded. “Do it.”
Hera squeezed my hand. “We’ll go to Bay City. I have a private clinic there. No one will know.”
The next day, Hera and I left. The journey felt surreal, as if I were being transported into someone else’s life. In a way, I was.
The surgery was brutal. Darkness consumed me, and when I woke, a searing pain engulfed my face. My entire body felt heavy, as if I had been buried alive.