In the quiet autumn of 2015, Aria Wells was born into an ordinary American family. Unfortunately, her father, Stetson Wells, was a chronic alcoholic, and her mother, Anima Wells, was a compulsive gambler. They relied on meager welfare payments to make ends meet.
One day, Anima discovered she was pregnant. However, this revelation did not deter her from her gambling habits. Several months later, Aria was born in a small maternity clinic, bringing a glimmer of hope to her otherwise bleak life.
As Aria grew, her beauty became increasingly evident. She was tall and slender, with eyes that sparkled like precious gems, accentuating her fair skin. Her rosy cheeks gave her a vibrant and lively appearance. Seeing her daughter's striking beauty, Anima devised a plan to use Aria as a means to make money.
When Aria turned eighteen, Anima secretly signed her up for a beauty pageant called "Star of Tomorrow." This competition was a highly competitive star-making contest, attracting countless beautiful girls who dreamed of becoming celebrities. The winner would be directly signed by Disney as an actress. Anima couldn't miss this opportunity, so she pushed Aria into the beauty pageant.
To maintain her stunning figure, Anima imposed a strict diet on Aria, demanding that she refrain from eating anything that could jeopardize her slim physique. The pressure to conform to these unrealistic standards soon took a toll on Aria's health.
During the pageant finals, the consequences of her extreme dieting became painfully apparent. Aria collapsed on the runway, her body unable to cope with the lack of nourishment. The audience was stunned as she fell, and a hush fell over the crowd. The staff quickly called 911, and paramedics used an AED for on-site resuscitation before rushing her to the hospital.
Despite the doctors' best efforts, they couldn't revive her. Minutes later, they declared Aria dead to her mother, Anima, who showed no signs of grief. She had always seen Aria as a tool for making money, feeling only the loss of a potential income source.
Even after her daughter's death, Anima didn't awaken any maternal love. She arranged for Aria's body to be sent to a local funeral home and hired the best mortician to take the final photograph, intending to sell it to the tabloids for profit. That night, the mortician, a strong, handsome young man with chiseled features named Nike Lewis, entered the room.
Coming from a poor background, he had dropped out of school early to support his family and chose this profession because it paid well. He walked into the room and, upon seeing the blonde beauty lying on the table, was instantly captivated. She looked more like a sleeping angel than a deceased girl. Driven by an inexplicable force, he leaned in and kissed her.
Miraculously, Aria awoke from her coma, startling Nike so much that he stumbled back onto a cart of cosmetic equipment, causing Aria to burst into laughter. Their hearts quickly intertwined as they talked for hours. Realizing she should go home, Aria left, much to Anima's shock upon her return.
When questioned about her resurrection, Aria explained that she had merely been in a coma, misdiagnosed by the doctors. Anima quickly saw the potential to exploit this miraculous event. She contacted entertainment journalists and publicized Aria's resurrection story, which drew massive attention. Intrigued by the high publicity, Disney's owner decided to sign Aria and groom her into an actress.
Thus, Aria was reluctantly thrust into the spotlight. Her exceptional acting skills and stunning looks quickly propelled her to fame. However, the restrictive and monotonous life of a star soon wore her down. One night, after a long day of filming, Aria sneaked out, wrapped in a headscarf and sunglasses, and sought out Nike. She poured out her heart to him about her frustrations, and in a moment of vulnerability, they kissed. Their relationship deepened into a secret affair, but their happiness was short-lived.
Robert Baker, Aria's manager, discovered the relationship and was furious. He knew that if the fans learned about Aria's affair with a mortician, it would damage her career. To cover up the scandal, they arranged for Smith, the original of Clone Smith and a popular singer, to enter into a contract relationship with Aria.
Leander was secretly gay, involved with a composer named Charlie. Both management companies didn't want Leander 's orientation to be public, so they agreed to announce a fake relationship between Aria and Leander . Believing the scandal had been quelled, life returned to a semblance of normalcy until one day, Aria began to feel nauseous. Suspecting it was a lingering effect of her extreme dieting, a visit to the doctor revealed a startling truth—she was pregnant with Nike's child.
When Robert found out, he was furious and demanded Aria terminate the pregnancy. Determined to keep her child, Aria sought Leander 's help. With his assistance, she managed to keep the baby. Ten months later, she gave birth to a boy, who was sent to live with Nike. They never saw each other again.
Aria's health continued to deteriorate due to her past extreme dieting and the stress of her career. In a desperate bid to regain her vitality, she learned about Caesar's cloning service from a director. This service, which promised to create a perfect clone for organ harvesting or other needs, came with an exorbitant price tag. The cost was divided into high, medium, and basic tiers, with even the basic service priced at five million dollars.
For Aria, this sum was astronomical, as most of her earnings were taken by Disney's management. Determined to secure her future, Aria liquidated nearly all her assets and handed the money over to Caesar.
The day of the transaction was gloomy and overcast. Aria received instructions via text message for a face-to-face meeting. She arrived at a small grocery store and walked up to the cashier. "I'm looking for the fountain of youth, do you sell it here?" she asked, using the prearranged code phrase.
The cashier immediately understood her intent and led her to the back of the store. Behind a seemingly ordinary office was a hidden compartment. The cashier moved a bookshelf to reveal a secret door with a combination lock. Aria couldn't catch the code as the cashier quickly entered it, and the door swung open, revealing a short tunnel.
Aria walked down the two-to-three meter passageway and entered a dimly lit, spacious room. In the center stood a figure with a hat, slightly hunched over, facing away from her. Despite the murky atmosphere, Aria sensed the significance of this moment.
She recognized the man as Caesar, the mastermind behind the cloning operation. In her dreamlike memory, she struggled to get a clear view of his face, but it remained frustratingly blurred. Aria realized that this part of her memory had likely been tampered with, erasing any chance of identifying Caesar's true identity.
Reliving the encounter, Aria's heart pounded. The dimly lit room, the hazy figures, and the unsettling feeling that her memory was being manipulated gave her a sense of foreboding. She knew the memory must have been tampered with, so much so that she couldn't see Caesar's face at all, try as she might.
Meanwhile, on the operating table, Aria suddenly awoke, clearly having assimilated her original's memories. On the other hand, Ethan was not as fortunate...