Chapter 14
Camille's point of view
Victoria watched with unreadable eyes as Dr. Torres led me to the large bathroom. A white cloth covered the full-
length mirror. The doctor positioned me carefully, standing slightly behind my right shoulder.
"Remember," she said gently, "what you see today is still healing. There's swelling, bruising. The final results. won't be visible for weeks. But you'll get a first impression of your new appearance."
With that, she pulled away the cloth.
I gasped.
The woman in the mirror was me, but not me. My face but enhanced in ways that transformed my entire appearance. My cheekbones cast elegant shadows beneath them, giving my face a sculpted quality it ha Even through residual swelling and
faint bruising, I could see the changes Dr. Torres had created. Subtle Individually, powerful collectively. My lips had a new definition, not obviously augmented but somehow more present. My nose, always slight a perfect straight bridge.
I raised a hand to my face, watching my reflection do the same. The stranger in the mirror touched her cheek with trembling fingers.
"What do you think?" Dr. Torres asked quietly.
Words failed me. This new face looked.. strong. Confident. The kind of face that belonged on magazine covers or in boardrooms. The kind of face people remembered.
"It's..." I swallowed hard. "I hardly recognize myself."
"That's partly the swelling," Dr. Torres assured me. "And partly the shock of change. Your brain needs time to adjust to the new image. In a few
weeks, this will feel like you. The real you."
But which me was real? The woman I'd been before, or this new creation designed for power?
Then, something rare happened, she smiled. A genuine expression of
at her approval, a feeling I immediately tried to suppress. I shouldn't crave her validation this way. Shouldn't feel this rush of pleasure at her acceptance. Yet I did. Dr. Torres detailed
an ear, still captivated by the stranger in the
alone in the recovery
my bed, checking to see if the face I'd earlier was
seen
me, harder, sharper, more penetrating than the eyes I'd known all my life. Eyes that no longer pleaded for
the darkness behind my eyelids, Dreams taking shape,
around me. Below, dark water churned angrily. Across from me stood Rose," her perfect face contorted with fear. Between us, a broken railing gaped like an open mouth. "Please," Rose begged, backing away from me. "Camille, please,
e until her back
her terrified eyes. She
everything
cold as the rain drenching us both. "My husband. My family. My
as the railing began giving way
her scream cutting off
hands broke the surface once, twice,
had felt so real, the rain on my skin, the sound of the railing breaking, Rose's scream as she fell. But what disturbed me most
water on my face, my new face, before looking
the swelling, the bruises fading to yellow. Something in my eyes had
from the mirror, suddenly afraid of what I saw there. Not the
dream of her
me for the rest of the night. I
acceptance that something fundamental was shifting within me. Something that might be Two more days passed in the recovery suite before Victoria declared it time to return to the mansion. The bruising
As James drove us
reviewed upcoming appointments on her tablet. "The board wants to officially announce you as my heir at next quarter's shareholders meeting. We'll
distraction," Victoria observed, setting aside her tablet. "Which is it?" I turned from the window to face her. "I had a
concern about my
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