Chapter 3
The Corleone family estate.
This territory — ruled by the most notorious Mafia clan — swarmed with armed men on patrol, every one of them capable of striking fear into the hearts of ordinary people.
Eileen stood before the full-length mirror in her bedroom.
The woman staring back at her had a plain face, slightly puffy from years of hormone therapy, with loose, sagging flesh gathered around her midsection.
She pinched the soft roll at her waist with undisguised loathing, her nails nearly breaking the skin.
"Tomorrow… just until tomorrow." Eileen fixed her gaze on the mirror, her eyes blazing with near-pathological fervor.
When she woke tomorrow, this revolting body would belong to Isabella, and she — she would possess that divinely kissed, immaculate form.
She would become the muse every man dreamed of. And most importantly, she would finally be free of this cold, suffocating Mafia family.
Including her father. Including her brother.
Eileen thought of her childhood.
Before her mother died, she had been the adorable little darling — the most treasured prize of both her father and brother.
But then her mother was killed in a war between Mafia factions. Illness forced Eileen onto heavy hormones, and the weight piled on. After that, her father and brother seemed to stop caring.
They would just watch her in silence, as though she no longer carried the blood of the Corleones.
So.
She was leaving this cold-blooded family — right now.
Heavy footsteps outside her door shattered her spiraling thoughts.
Her brother Matteo leaned against the doorframe, idly flipping a butterfly knife in one hand, telling her to come down for dinner.
"Stop moping around all day. Nobody in this house is your enemy."
Eileen's fingers clenched violently, nails biting deep into her palms.
When they were little, Matteo used to call her "baby Eileen" in the softest voice. But now — all because of her ugly appearance!
She drew a sharp breath. "I'm not eating. I'm on a diet!"
Matteo shook his head and spoke firmly. "You're still young. What's the point of dieting? It doesn't even work."
Matteo paused.
Eileen lowered her head, her self-loathing deepening.
She shut the door. She didn't want to see the person on the other side.
This was her family.
But it wouldn't matter for much longer.
Once the soul swap was complete tomorrow, she would vanish from this life entirely.
Let that stupid, kind-hearted Isabella take her place — endure her father's coldness, her brother's contempt, and whatever suffocating Mafia marriage they had planned for the future.
And she — wearing Isabella's stunning face — would live happily ever after with the man she loved.
Just then, the private phone on her nightstand buzzed.
A name that made her heart race flickered across the screen.
Luca.
Eileen snatched it up and answered, her voice instantly turning syrupy sweet. "Luca, it's me."
"Darling, how did it go?" On the other end, Luca's voice was as warm as the low hum of a cello, magnetic enough to drown in.
"She drank the tea." Eileen collapsed onto the plush bed, a blush of happiness spreading across her face. "I watched her finish every last drop. By tomorrow morning, the magic will take effect."
"Wonderful, my darling." Luca laughed softly on the other end, his voice carrying a barely detectable edge of urgency and elation. "You have no idea how much it hurts me — watching you every day, trapped in that plain body, forced to smile at that brainless girl who has nothing but a pretty face. After tomorrow, you'll be my leading lady. I'll love you forever. Only you."
Listening to her lover's sweet nothings, Eileen felt as though she might float away.
She could already see herself nestled in Luca's arms, basking in the world's admiration and envy.
"I love you too, Luca. For you, I'd do anything." Eileen closed her eyes, murmuring the words like a lullaby.
"Good girl. Get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, everything changes."
After hanging up, Eileen pressed the phone tightly to her chest, a sweet smile still lingering on her face.
Then, without any warning, a wave of dizziness crashed over her like a tide.
Her body lurched violently. The phone slipped from her hand and dropped onto the carpet.
Immediately after, a strange, searing heat rose from the marrow of her bones, spreading rapidly through every limb.
Her heart began to pound wildly, each beat accompanied by a fierce throbbing at her temples.
"It's happening…"
Far from panicking, Eileen was thrilled. She knew this was the sign — the ancient elixir beginning to pry her soul loose from its body.
She struggled to lie flat on the bed and surrendered to the scorching torrent as it gradually devoured her consciousness.
In the final moment before her vision blurred completely, she gazed up at the ornate crystal chandelier overhead and let a smile curve across her lips.
Goodbye, plain, ugly Eileen.
Tomorrow, I will be the most beautiful woman in the world.
She closed her eyes and, carrying infinite dreams of the future, sank deep into the exquisite fantasy she had so carefully woven.
