Page 25 of Vendetta Crown

"Then Semyon gets a foothold in territory that's been historically difficult for theVorito penetrate."

I meet Ruslan's eyes, my mind racing with possibilities. "We need to drive a wedge between Kristofer and Semyon. Make Semyon realize that Kristofer isn't the dependable ally he bought."

"You're right about dividing them," Ruslan says. "But I don't see any clear way to do that."

"I don't either."

"We'll figure something out," he promises. His hand brushes over his shoulder where I know bandages conceal his wounds. "In the meantime, I need to get production at the studio back up and running."

"Why?" For a second, I'm confused.

"The weapons shipments won't move without the movie shoots as cover. Whatever fight is coming next with Semyon, we'll need those guns." He taps his fingers against the window. "We need to resume filming as soon as possible, even if it's just B-roll and small scenes."

Something turns in my brain. A flash of inspiration so clear it nearly takes my breath away.

"That's it," I whisper.

Ruslan turns. "What's it?"

I stand up, a surge of energy coursing through me. "The production company. That's how we drive a wedge between Semyon and Kristofer!"

"How do you mean?"

"If Kristofer becomes someone who can't cover Semyon's tracks, he is useless to Semyon," I explain, my words rushing out. "Right now, if we try and expose him, he'll pull his connections as the head of police to stonewall everything. But there's something that he can't influence. Something he can't touch."

"Which is?"

"A documentary," I say, the plan crystallizing in my mind. "About what Kristofer did seven years ago. About how he stalked me, about how he killed my parents and brother, and about the message that he wrote on the wall."

My voice doesn't shake as I say the words that would have paralyzed me just days earlier.

"We make it impossible for him to hide what he's done," I continue, pacing now. "We convict him in the court of public opinion. And once we do that, Semyon will have a liability instead of an asset on his hands."

"We use my own production company." A smile appears on Ruslan's face, and widens with each word. "To tell your story."

I nod. "And when Semyon realizes that Kristofer has become a very public liability..."

"He'll cut him loose," Ruslan finishes. "Or kill him for us."

"What do you think?" I ask, my heart racing with this new purpose that's filling me.

Ruslan's golden eyes light up. "It's brilliant,zarechka," he says, stepping closer to me. "You're brilliant."

His hand reaches for mine, and I feel that familiar warmth spreading through me at his touch.

"Do you remember what you said to me that first night we met?" he asks, his voice soft with wonder. "When you were critiquing that ridiculous script?"

I think back to that night. It feels like a lifetime ago, when I was just a prop girl with strong opinions about storytelling and Ruslan was just a handsome stranger, before I knew anything about the man standing before me.

"I said a lot of things that night," I respond with a small smile. "Most of them terribly embarrassing."

"You told me that the heroine can't just be a damsel in distress," Ruslan quotes, his thumb brushing across my knuckles.

The words hang between us, taking on new meaning in light of everything that's happened.

"That she'd have to be the one to confront her past," I recall, squeezing his hand.

"And he has to be the one who empowers her to do so." Ruslan's eyes never leave mine. "And that's exactly what we're going to do."

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