Page 64 of Vendetta Crown

"It's not just about finding an actress who physically resembles her. How can anyone capture all the little things that made her who she was?" My voice quivers slightly. "The way she'd hum while cooking Sunday breakfast. How she always smelled like vanilla and cinnamon. The specific way she'd raise her eyebrow when she caught me in a lie. The little smirk she'd give Dad whenever she caught him sneaking a finger of batter from the mixing bowl."

I stare down at my hands, watching them tremble.

"Whoever we pick will just be a cheap imitation. And that's not how I want to remember her. That's not how I want the world to see her."

Hannah is quiet for a long moment, her expression thoughtful. Then her eyes light up with that specific spark that means she's had an idea.

"What ifyouplayed her?" she asks, leaning forward. "Who better than the one person who knew your mother best?"

I blink, caught completely off guard. "Me?"

"Yes, you! You could channel everything you remember about her. All her little mannerisms and expressions." Hannah's excitement builds as she speaks. "It would be more authentic than combing for an actress who'd need weeks just to scratch the surface of who your mom was."

"I'm not an actress," I protest weakly. "Not anymore. Not for years."

"But this is your chance to stand back there." Hannah gives me a look. "Isn't this what Ruslan is offering you? A chance to live your dreamsandhonor your mom at the same time?"

The idea settles over me like a familiar blanket. Playing my own mother. Bringing her to life through my memories, my movements, my voice.

"Your mother lives in you, Aurora." Hannah grips my hands, her eyes blazing with conviction. "Everything you just described. You've been preserving those memories for seven years. You've kept her alive in your mind all this time."

My throat constricts at her words.

"And it's not just memories," she continues. "Look at how protective you are of the people you love. Where do you think that comes from? The way you always notice the little details that everyone else misses? The stubbornness when you know you're right? That fierce love that makes you willing to sacrifice everything?"

I close my eyes and see my mother's face—clear as day—smiling at me from across our kitchen table in Kansas City.

"Those aren't just traits you admired in her. Those are parts of her that live on in you. You're her legacy, Aurora. In everything you do. In every choice you make. In every breath you take." Hannah's eyes are unwavering. "Bring her back to life. And let the world see her the way that you did."

17

RUSLAN

I stareat the computer screen, fingers tapping against my desk as Aurora pinches her brow in concentration. The Google Maps streetview of her childhood home looks nothing like the memories she's conveying to me.

"It was a light blue," she insists, leaning closer to point at the siding. "With white trim around the windows, not black. And there used to be old gutters by this window here."

Her shoulder presses against mine, warm and solid. I take in the coconut scent of her hair, resisting the urge to bury my face in it. I jot down the details as she says them, taking in everything. From the layout of her childhood bedroom, to the faded floral wallpaper in the dining room, and down to the way the third stair from the bottom always creaked.

"We'll make sure the production designers get it right," I promise, watching her face carefully.

But something's off. I can tell.

Her eyes keep darting away, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. I've seen this behavior enough to recognize when she's holding something back.

"What's bothering you,zarechka?" I take her hand, feeling the coolness of her skin against my palm.

She sighs, shoulders slumping forward. "Sienna Voss showed up at the auditions today."

I immediately tense, my jaw clenching. "What did she want?"

"To apologize." Aurora turns to face me fully. "She told me that Tamara threatened her life, and forced her to post about me."

"Do you believe that?" The words come out sharper than intended.

That woman's post nearly cost us everything.

"Whether I believe it or not doesn't matter." Her hazel eyes search mine. "I told her that her apology doesn't absolve her guilt. That words can't erase what Kristofer did to me because she exposed me."

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