I gasp for air as if I’ve been drowning underwater.

Rai.

Oh my God. My name is not Reina—it’s Rai.

Reina was the other one, the one who told me she’d come back, the one who stopped me from going with her.

I jump to my wobbly feet and walk to the spot where both of us stood that night. She hugged me, and we made a promise.

We talked and then…what?

I stare at the black walls, at the cracks in them.

We found human remains.

The detective’s words bounce in my head like an atomic bomb.

No, no, no.

Fuck no.

It’s not Reina. They didn’t find Reina’s remains. They couldn’t have.

I pace the length of the cottage, back and forth, back and forth like a trapped animal. They took my sister away from me.

After I finally found her, they fucking took her away.

But who are they?

Reina and I were talking just fine that night. We were planning things and then…what? What the fuck happened after that?

I rack my brain for answers, but nothing comes out.

It’s blank in there. Or maybe it’s too jumbled up for anything to be clear.

Reina.

I had a twin. No, have. I refuse to believe she’s not here anymore. We made a fucking promise.

But if she were alive, wouldn’t she have found me by now? Wouldn’t she have stepped up?

No, no. She can’t be dead. I can’t lose her like I lost Mom.

Like I lost Mom.

Mom.

Mom…?

The jolt hits me like a bolt. I stagger backward and fall on the damp floor. My limbs spasm and my ears ring.

Shouting echoes in my head like a distant memory, damnation—something I don’t want to remember.

I cover my ears with sweaty fingers, unable to take it anymore.

Nine years ago

“Take your sister and run, Rai! Run!!” Mom’s voice echoes in my head like the pounding of a bell.

The shuffling of feet comes close to us. They pound on the door. They’re coming for us.

“Run!” she screams at us. “Don’t look back. Run!”

We do.

My hand clasps Reina’s as we sprint through the back door. The streets are dark and smell of puke, so much puke.

Reina covers her nose with the sleeve of her thin sweater and motions at me to do the same.

It only reduces the smell a little.

It’s atrocious, the scent. I wish I could say I got used to it after sleeping in dirty places, but I didn’t. This pungent sensory assault never gets normal.

“She’s not here!” Mom yells. I want to turn around, but Reina shakes her head.

There’s screaming, shouting, and then something hits the floor behind us, but we don’t turn around.

We run.

We just run.

Mom screams, her voice echoing in the air like a bomb.

“Here, Boss!” someone shouts closer to us.

“Darn it!” Reina pulls me behind a container by the sleeve.

“Don’t touch her!” Mom shrieks, but she’s gurgling on something like her mouth is full of water. “Don’t you dare or Papa will—”

A pop silences Mom. She’s no longer shrieking or talking. She’s no longer…there.

My widened eyes meet Reina’s. I start to run back, to go see Mom, but my sister shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes. “Mom said to never look back.”

“But—”

Reina stifles my words as footsteps approach us.

“I saw her. She’s here.” The gruff voice makes goosebumps rise on my arms.

“Get her. Boss won’t accept any mistakes.”

Reina’s clutch on my arm turns steel-like. She leans in, her face like Mom’s when she’s about to say something bad.

I shake my head frantically before she even speaks. “No.”

“Shh.” She places a trembling finger on my lips, shushing me and glancing behind her as the thundering footsteps get closer. “You’ll be okay, Rai.”

I continue shaking my head, unable to stop. My fingers strangle the bracelet Mom gave me for my birthday. It’s a bit big and I have to roll it twice, but it’s Mom’s most precious gift. She said she got it from her own mother, and now, she was giving it to me.

“They’re after Mom’s daughter,” Reina says. “I don’t think they know about me. They only know about you.”

“No.”

“I lived well with Daddy, Rai.” Tears glisten down her cheeks. “We didn’t have to run like you and Mom. We didn’t have to eat leftovers or sleep on the streets. I want you to have that. I want you to have my life.”

“Reina…” I choke.

“You’re Reina now. I’ll be Rai.”

“No…no…” I hold on to her hand, shaking and whispering my denials like a prayer.

She caresses my hair. “I love you, little sis. I’ll find you.”

“No, Rei.”

“You’re Rei,” she whispers. “It’s our secret. I’ll live as you and you’ll live as me.” Her bottom lip trembles. “Take care of Daddy. Tell him you love him every day on my behalf.” I open my mouth to say something, but she pushes me. “Now, run. Don’t look back. Never look back.”

Footsteps approach as I hold on to her hand.

“Run!” she hisses.

My feet kick into gear as I stumble in the opposite direction.

“I’m here!” Reina’s voice echoes behind me, but I follow her instructions and don’t look back.

Never look back.

“Boss! The girl is here!” yells a thickly accented voice.

I round the corner and run until my legs nearly give out, until my breathing stutters. Snot and tears cover my face, but I don’t stop running. I run and run until I think I’ll collapse and they’ll catch me.

Don’t look back.

Never look back.

I don’t know how long I run. I don’t know how far my legs carry me. Then, I stumble and fall.

Someone in a uniform approaches me. I shrink into the pole, breathing harshly and hugging my knees to my chest.

The tears won’t stop. Mom and Reina’s voices won’t leave my head.

They just won’t.

Murmurs. Screams. Hisses.

They’re all there, in my head.

“Are you okay, kid?” The uniformed man crouches in front of me. He has a red beard and tattoos down his arms.

He looks like the pigs who’ve chased Mom and me all our lives.

I shrink further into the pole, clutching my bracelet tight.

“Kid? Have you lost your way home?”

He doesn’t have an accent like those guys, but he could be one of them.

Don’t trust anyone. The world is out to get you, Rai, Mom used to tell me.

“Wait.” He reaches into his pocket and retrieves a picture then studies it and me intently. “You’re that mogul’s missing daughter.” He retrieves a device from his pocket and says a number then something about finding the missing child. “What’s your name?” he asks me. “Do you remember your name and where you came from?”

Rai Sokolov. Daughter of Mia Sokolov. I’ve been on the run since the day I was born, homeschooled my entire life, and had no friends until Mom brought my long-lost twin sister to meet me a month ago.