AVA'S POVIt took a few months to go back to zero.I met a blond man who hovered over me like I was going to break if he wasn't around. He said to call him Ezra instead of Sir. He popped in several times a day, making sure I had everything I wanted. Sometimes, he brought over things I didn't need just so I could keep my mind occupied.The first few weeks with him and the nurses around were nauseating, and I told him, but I might as well have said he was my favourite person because he lingered around even more.Some days, Rome had to physically remove him from my side.My body healed a lot faster than I had imagined. Ezra said it was because I was a fighter. I told him to lie better because I didn't deserve to live.The nail replacements I had over my nails fell over as mine grew in. My fingertips were slightly bent and suppressed. I hated them, but Ezra called my badges of honour.What had come as a shock to me was my face. My nose wasn't straight like before; it was more like a button, and my eyes had been pulled to look more cat-like.In addition to my hair, I almost looked like a completely different person. I'd screamed in shock the first time I saw the changes, and Ezra had come running, begging me to stop clawing at my face.He immediately called for Rome, and he sauntered in, sleek and lazy, like my meltdown was the last of his worries. When I yelled at him for what he'd done to me, tears streaming down my face, he bent to my level and callously gripped my face, turning it from side to side."Do you want to walk out and be recognised?" He said. "I told you Stan is bodyguard, didn't I? He saw me take you away, and he'll do anything to silence you if he thinks you'll pose a threat to him. We're finding someone to pose as you to have you stay alive. Also, you'll probably see your friend in the hallways at school. Think she'll stay silent if she sees you're not dead? You need this face, you need to be different for anything we're doing to work. The second they suspect you're in their space, your head won't stay on your neck.""Sir!" Ezra gasped.Rome unhanded me, eyes still on mine as he stretched back to his full height. His words echoed in my head, and I conceded.He turned to walk out and said. "The designer will come this week to take your measurements for school. Get all the rest and information you need. We start class on Monday."Which was what I was waiting for. I was sitting in the window seat reading about who I now was. Ezra coached me on who was who, who owned what, and who I needed to avoid.I didn't tell them I still remembered everyone from our society as what I knew seemed to be old news. Even so, some secrets and weaknesses of some of the families were sitting in my arsenal. It seemed they never came to light.A few seconds later, a knock sounded at the door. Swiping a hand over my hair, I jogged over and answered.Blue eyes blinked at me, then crinkled at the edges with a smile."You must be Ms. Easton. I'm Mrs. Jones." the middle-aged woman smiled.Ah, the designer. I nodded and pushed the door wider to let her in.Thats right. My new name was Easton Wayne. Long lost cousin to Rome with no parents. The rest of the details were pretty solid, but the name was just...ugly.Because Easton for a girl? Really?"Come in, chop-chop. We don't have time to spare," she shouted, and for a second, I was confused about who she was talking to until several people filed in, each carrying clothes or equipment."Put them down carefully. If you break anything or pull a thread, it will come out of your paycheck. Now," she turned to me as I stared at the orderly chaos unraveling, "please step up on the stool."The hours went by fast, thank God. It wasn't easy keeping some distance when ten people constantly dashed from one side of the room to the other.Mrs. Jones was really good with her hands. She'd made all my uniforms fit perfectly while I was standing in them. Several times, I froze up, panicking that she would prick me with the needle. She was rapidly pushing in and out of my skirt, but I never felt a thing, not even a graze.Three hours of standing, changing, and squirming later, I was alone in my room with ten uniforms, over twenty pairs of different types of shoes, and ten different designer bags.Walking over to open the window, I blinked at the red and orange streaked sky, wishing my life wasn't as complicated as it was.I had too many questions and no answers.Why did my parents agree to Kyle not tagging along? Who talked them out of it? How did all of our parents agree to have us go alone at the same time? Why didn't Pashvik kill me? Who was Rome? Why did Andia betray us?This was my fight, and I was going to win. I had to. I'd lost so much and too many people to consider wasting away in self-misery.I visualized Andia and Aunt Caren sleeping in my house, swimming in my pool, and eating from my fridge.They wouldn't see what hit them.