Page 31 of Vendetta Vows

I walk up to Mikhail and give him a once-over to make sure everything is perfect. As I walk behind him, I notice a glint reflecting the sun back into my eyes like a mirror.

But when I blink again, it's gone.

I turn my attention back to Mikhail, check him for the telltale bulge of the blood packet beneath the front of his shirt, and then give the director a thumbs up. He signals at me to clear the shot and I do.

"Action!"

The scene unfolds exactly as written. The gun rises, and the trigger is pulled.

BANG!

Mikhail staggers backwards, clutching his chest, his face contorting in pain exactly as rehearsed before he collapses to the floor with a heavy thud.

I frown. Something feels off.

"Cut!" The director's voice rings out. "Perfect! Mikhail, that was?—"

Mikhail doesn't move.

For a moment, nobody reacts. It's not unusual for actors to stay in character until explicitly released.

"Mikhail?" the director calls again.

The stillness extends too long. Then, I notice the dark red stain spreading across thebackof Mikhail's white shirt.

"Wait a minute," Hannah whispers beside me. "There aren't any blood packets in his back."

My eyes drift from Mikhail towards the concrete wall behind him.

And that's when I notice it.

A perfectly circular hole with lines spiderwebbing outward.

A bullet hole.

Ice floods my veins.

"He's been shot!" I scream, running toward Mikhail's crumpled form. "Someone call an ambulance!"

The set erupts into chaos. Crew members rush forward while others back away in horror.

I reach Mikhail first, dropping beside him. His face is ashen, eyes wide and unfocused. Blood—real blood with its unmistakable coppery scent—seeps through his shirt. When I reach out, his face feels cold and still.

Reality crashes over me with sickening clarity.

He's dead.

I stare at Mikhail's lifeless body as people rush around in panic. The world spins around me, voices melding into unintelligible noise. This can't be happening.

"Someone call 911!"

"Is there a doctor here?"

"Oh God, oh God!"

But I know it's too late. The stillness of his body, the vacant stare, the blood pooling beneath him. I've seen death before. In my parents' home. On the blood-soaked walls.

The next realization shakes me to my core.

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