The night was velvet-smooth, the city below glowing like a bed of diamonds scattered across darkness. Aria lay stretched across her silk sheets, her hair spilling in soft waves around her face as she lazily scrolled through Instagram.

Every post was her.

#AriaCarterCross was trending.

Photos of her handshaking with Mr. Reed, headlines calling her “The Billion-Dollar Beauty” and “Carter Group’s Secret Weapon.”

She tilted her head, a slow grin curving her lips.

“Aria baby, give them sleepless nights,” she murmured to herself, laughing quietly as she double-tapped a few of her own fan edits.

Her reflection gleamed in the phone screen—calm, confident, dangerous.

In my past life, she thought,...