Chapter 1The AI Plastic Surgery

The day I got fired, I received a trial pass from an AI cosmetic clinic.

It required neither surgery nor recovery time, yet it could deliver a flawless celebrity face overnight.

But there was a catch.

The face only lasted seven days after the complimentary trial.

To keep it, I signed a contract to become the actress' body double, trading my time, identity, and freedom for another week of beauty.

As the years passed, I kept paying the price to maintain a face that wasn't mine until one day, I realized I no longer wanted to live in someone else's shadow.

* * *

The interrogation room was lit by harsh fluorescent lights that drained every trace of color from a person's face.

I sat on a steel chair, the handcuffs lightly clinking against the metal table.

The officer across from me was Daniel Carter, a man in his forties with sharp eyes—the kind that had learned to see through countless lies.

"Name."

"Mabel Shaw."

"Age."

"Twenty-four."

"Occupation."

I smiled faintly. "I used to be a fangirl. Now I'm a murderer. Haven't you already reached your verdict?"

Daniel didn't smile. He pulled a photograph from his folder and slid it across the table.

The woman in the picture was stunning—the kind of beauty no one could forget after seeing once.

She had almond-shaped eyes, a delicate upturned nose, and full lips as ripe as cherries.

Dressed in a custom couture gown, she stood on the red carpet as camera flashes bathed her in light, making her look almost untouchable.

"Do you know her?"

"Winter Lambert," I said. "The hottest young actress in the industry. She starred in three blockbuster dramas last year, and her endorsement deals started in the seven-figure range."

"What was your relationship with her?"

I stared at the face in the photograph, and suddenly everything felt unreal.

That face had been mine.

"We were coworkers," I said. "She acted on screen. I acted for her."

Daniel frowned.

I lowered my head and looked at my hands.

These hands had traced every contour of that face. I knew which features were natural bone structure and which had been sculpted with cosmetic fillers.

I knew about the nearly invisible scar above Winter's left brow, the slight difference in the thickness of her earlobes, and how the left side of her face always moved first when she smiled.

I knew every detail because I had once been her.

"Start from the beginning."

Daniel tapped the table. "Tell me how you became her."

I looked up. The interrogation room's window was set high in the wall, revealing nothing but a small patch of dull gray sky.

"It all started three years ago," I said. "Back then, I was still Mabel Shaw, just an ordinary fangirl."