Chapter 3

As I quietly stepped into the ballroom, wearing a white feather mask, nearly everyone's gaze was fixed on the silver-masked woman in the center of the room.

The dazzling light of the crystal chandeliers seemed to dim in comparison to her.

She was escorted by Frank, who played the role of a "butler," and two bodyguards, descending upon the crowd like a true queen.

I saw Chloe standing amidst the crowd, her fists clenched, her eyes brimming with jealousy and malice that threatened to spill over.

She thought the one commanding all that attention, was me.

Just then, the ball's true star made his entrance.

Julian Vance, the heir to the Vance empire.

He wore a perfectly tailored black bespoke suit, tall and handsome. His appearance drew gasps from countless socialites.

He was my fiancé in the last life, and Chloe's ultimate target, the man she would stop at nothing to snatch away.

Julian's gaze swept indifferently across the room, ignoring the preening socialites. Finally, it landed precisely on the silver-masked "me."

His eyes flashed with undisguised admiration and intense interest.

My hand, holding the wine glass, paused slightly.

Indeed, everything was unfolding exactly as it had in my previous life, without a single deviation.

Julian walked straight through the crowd, and under everyone's watchful eyes, approached Ruby.

He bowed slightly, performing a perfect invitation to dance, his voice laced with a charming smile.

"My beautiful lady, may I have the honor of this first dance?"

The entire hall erupted in murmurs.

I saw Chloe's fingernails practically digging into her palms, her face pale and twisted with jealousy. Why! Why did this final glory still belong to Skylar?

But the next second, she took a deep breath, and the twisted jealousy on her face slowly morphed into a cold, eerie smile.

She looked at the dazzling pair in the center of the dance floor, her eyes filled with schadenfreude, as if watching a play.

Dance, my foolish best friend, dance to your heart's content.

Enjoy your last few minutes as Skylar Maxwell.

Because at the stroke of midnight, everything you possess-your family, your engagement, even this powerful man before you-will completely belong to me, Chloe Sullivan!

She raised a glass of champagne, and across the bustling crowd, she silently made a toasting gesture in the direction of the silver mask.

It was like an early celebration for the downfall of a clown.

"Dong-dong-dong-"

The heavy, resonant chime of midnight echoed through the estate.

This was the height of the Halloween revelry, and also... the moment the magic would take effect.

In the center of the dance floor, Julian and Ruby's dance had just ended. He was bending his head, as if about to say something.

According to the ball's tradition, when the midnight bell struck, everyone was to remove their masks and reveal themselves.

The lights in the hall abruptly extinguished with the final chime, plunging the room into utter darkness and silence.

I could feel an invisible, eerie force rapidly spreading through the air.

In the darkness, I could clearly "see" a faint white light emanating from the silver mask on Ruby's face. It snaked like a living entity, precisely finding Chloe, who was hiding in a corner, filled with eager anticipation.

The white light instantly merged into Chloe's forehead.

At the same time, parts of Chloe were forcefully stripped away and injected into Ruby's body.

The midnight bell struck, the identity-swapping magic activated, and my meticulously planned hunt had finally begun...