Chapter 1
My boyfriend, Owen Vance, was a bomb disposal specialist. To save a woman, he endured inhumane torture at the hands of a terrorist organization. They severed his fingers, sliced his tendons, and cut off the tip of his tongue. The brutal ordeal reduced a brilliant man to a drooling, broken shell. He never knew the woman he tried to save was the first love of the terrorist leader, Silas Thorne. It had all been a trap just to lure him in.
The day I learned of Owen's death, I jumped into the sea. When I opened my eyes again, I had somehow become Silas's most cherished sweetheart.
The original owner of this body loved wearing heavy makeup, but I didn't. On my second day in this new life, I appeared in front of Silas with a bare face. He grabbed my chin, forcing my head up with a half-smile. "Without makeup, you don't look like Elena."
So today, I flawlessly mimicked Elena's look. I even added a small beauty mark near the corner of my right eye. I had one person to eliminate: the man Silas trusted most, Marcus "Viper" Kael.
When Silas burst into the room, I was pinned underneath Viper. Half-naked, with tears streaming down my cheeks, I played the part of a vulnerable victim perfectly. Viper, a heavily built man with a face flushed from drinking and eyes gleaming with greed, was gnawing at my neck.
I sobbed and shook my head, pushing weakly against his chest. "No! If Silas finds out, he won't spare you!"
Viper laughed, a gold tooth glinting in the light. "You? You're just Elena's stand-in, Silas's little toy. A nobody. You really think Silas cares about you?"
I clung tightly to my clothes and struggled frantically, trying to stumble backward, but he grabbed my ankle. My pale skin contrasted sharply against his sun-darkened wrist.
He licked his lips. "No wonder you've lasted so long by Silas's side." He started undoing his pants.
That was exactly when Silas entered. He stood there with a gun in his hand, his face completely cold.
"Silas, save me!" I cried out. "He touched me, Silas. I don't even want to live anymore." I angled my face to mimic Elena perfectly, knowing exactly how the light needed to hit my features.
Seeing Silas, Viper didn't flinch. He even had the audacity to stroke my face. "Well, look at you, calling for Silas." He turned to his boss with a brazen grin. "Boss, I've been loyal to you for years. Let me have this one?"
Silas's men usually feared him. Everything he owned, especially a woman, was strictly untouchable. Viper's reckless words confirmed that the drug I had slipped him was working perfectly.
Silas knitted his brows. He stood perfectly still and silent. I knew he was weighing his options, caught between his woman and his brother-in-arms.
Tears trickled from the corner of my eye. I choked out a desperate plea, "Silas, if you give me to him, I'll die!"
Silas raised an eyebrow and smirked carelessly. "Fine, Viper. Maya's yours."
Viper's face lit up with triumph. As his mouth descended toward my chest, I closed my eyes in apparent despair.
But then, Silas's expression darkened, and his voice turned venomous. "Did you really think you were worthy?"
*Bang.* Viper's head jerked to the side as a bullet hole appeared in his skull. Blood sprayed across my face.
I had made the right bet.
Silas strode over, shoved Viper's lifeless body aside, and lifted me into his arms. "It's okay, it's okay," he murmured. "No one will ever dare touch you."
I trembled against his shoulder, playing the terrified victim. But beneath the mask of blood on my face, my lips curled into a cold, satisfied smile.
*Owen, was this how Viper cut your fingers and slashed your tongue?*
I cast one last glance at Viper's wide, shocked eyes. Good riddance.