Chapter 1

I died on a Tuesday, mass in my brain, my husband holding another woman's hand at my funeral—and that woman was wearing my face.

My best friend Katrina Shaw had stolen everything: my home, my son, my name, my life.

She even cried at my grave—and everyone believed she was the grieving widow.

No one remembered me. Not even my own mother.

Standing over my own coffin as a ghost, I watched Katrina lean into my husband Dominic's arms, stroking my three-year-old son's hair with perfectly manicured fingers—my signature high-gloss red.

"Mommy's here, baby," she whispered. "Mommy's never leaving."

My son—my Leo—looked up at her and smiled.

That smile broke something inside me that death itself hadn't touched.

Then I heard her whisper to Dominic when no one else was near the casket:

"Thank God she's gone. The system said if she'd lived three more months, the synchronization would have failed. I almost didn't make it."

Dominic kissed her forehead. "You are her now. You always were."

I screamed, but no sound came out. I clawed at them, but my hands passed through like smoke.

System. Synchronization. Replacement.

So that's what it was.

Six months ago, Katrina had moved into our guest house after her "divorce." She said she had nowhere to go. I gave her everything—clothes, jewelry, skincare, even my dermatologist's number.

She started dressing like me. Styling her hair like mine. Losing weight until our silhouettes matched.

I thought she admired me.

I thought she was healing.

I was feeding my own replacement.

Then—a blinding white light, a sensation like falling through ice water—and I gasped awake.

Sunlight. Egyptian cotton sheets. The smell of Dominic's cologne on the pillow beside me.

My phone screen read: March 3rd.

Six months before my death.

The exact day Katrina had called me, sobbing, begging for a place to stay.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed.

Katrina: Bella, I have nowhere to go. Marcus threw me out. I'm sitting in my car outside your gate. I'm so sorry to ask, but… can I stay with you? Just for a little while?

My hands trembled.

In my last life, I'd run outside in my bathrobe, hugged her in the rain, and brought her into my home like a wounded bird.

This time, I stared at the message until the screen went dark.

"Mommy?" A small voice came from the doorway.

Leo stood there in his dinosaur pajamas, rubbing his eyes.

I crossed the room in two steps, scooped him up, and held him so tight he squirmed.

"Mommy, you're squishing me."

"I know, baby." My voice cracked. "I just missed you."

He giggled. "You saw me last night, silly."

Last night. He had no idea I'd been gone for an eternity.

My phone buzzed again.

Katrina: Bella? Please. I have no one else.

I typed back, fingers steady this time:

Bella: I'm sorry, Katrina. Our guest house is under renovation. I can send you money for a hotel.

Three dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.

Katrina: Oh. Okay. That's fine. Thanks.

But I knew this wouldn't stop her. In my past life, her system had given her a mission: achieve 100% synchronization with the target within six months. She needed proximity. Access. She needed to study me—my gestures, my habits, the way I tilted my head when I laughed.

She would find another way in.

And I needed to be ready.

I set Leo down and walked to my vanity. In the mirror, I saw a woman I barely recognized—healthy, beautiful, alive.

I had six months.

Six months to dismantle the trap before it closed around me.

My phone buzzed one more time. Not Katrina.

Dominic: Morning, beautiful. Dinner reservation tonight at Aurelio's. Wear that red dress I love. ❤️

I stared at his message for a long time.

In my past life, he'd held Katrina's hand at my funeral without shedding a single tear.

Had he been fooled—or had he been willing?

I didn't know yet. But I was going to find out.

Bella: Can't wait. ❤️

I pressed send, then opened my closet.

The red dress hung there like a bloodstain.

I reached past it and pulled out something I'd never worn before—a black fitted blazer, sharp-shouldered, powerful.

If Katrina wanted to become me, I'd make sure the "me" she was chasing no longer existed.