By the end of the night, the gala crisis was contained. Guests were safe, alarms silenced, and the media frenzy had yet to catch wind of the chaos. Lila stood alone in Liora's penthouse, overlooking the city, heart still hammering.
She touched her reflection in the mirror. Liora's face stared back at her, confident and commanding. Yet inside, Lila felt a strange dissonance. Was she still herself? Or was she slowly becoming Liora Cade in every sense? The thrill of heroism and the lure of fame mingled with fear and uncertainty.
The choice loomed larger with every heartbeat. To live as Liora was to embrace risk, responsibility, and power. But to do so fully meant losing the quiet, familiar identity she had always known. And for the first time, Lila wondered: how much of herself could she sacrifice to truly become the woman she had always adored?