Page 145 of Vendetta Vows

"I think you should. She's posting again."

I don't need to ask who. The numbness begins at my fingertips before I start to move.

"Give me a second," I murmur and then pull my phone away from my ear.

Three taps and I'm on Sienna's IG profile.

And there it is.

The photo is from that night at Nikoforov. My face is contorted halfway between a plea and a snarl, but it's definitely me. I look down at the caption, and see a name of a girl that has been dead for seven years.

Meet Ruslan Dragunov's latest fling: Jamie Fields. Disappeared seven years ago and declared dead until I caught them together at Nikoforov under the fake name of Aurora Castellanos. I always knew this town was dirty, but I didn't realize just how dirty it really was.

Strange.

I expected panic.

Hyperventilation.

The familiar feeling of walls closing in.

Instead, there's just... nothing. A hollow space where terror should be.

"Aurora?" Hannah's voice pulls me back. "Are you there?"

"Yeah." My voice sounds disconnected from my body. Far away. Like I'm listening to someone else speak.

"What are we going to do? Should we call a lawyer? We need to get this taken down. Maybe Ruslan can do something."

"It doesn't matter," I hear myself say. The words drift from my lips like smoke.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? Of course it matters! If he sees this!"

"I know."

Hannah falls silent for a moment. "Aurora are you okay? You don't sound like yourself."

"I'll be fine." The words come automatically, mechanical. Empty promises from a broken machine.

"You keep saying that, but you don't sound fine." Hannah's voice cracks with worry. "I know what this means. I know what you're scared of."

"That's true." My voice comes out even and flat.

"Aurora, please say something human," Hannah begs, her voice stretching thin with concern. "You're scaring me."

"I just need to think."

"No, you need to react! Scream, cry, something! This isn't like you!"

I stare at the photo and the caption again. But still, the familiar panic never comes.

"It wouldn't change anything," I say. "He was going to find me eventually."

"Aurora, don't do this. Don't shut down on me. Look, tell me where you are and I'll come over."

"No." I stare at my reflection in the dark window. "I'll be fine," I repeat.

"Aurora, please, we need to do something about this right now."

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