Chapter 1
This was my fifth time staging a fake death with Curtis Bernard.
The first two times, he had held me trembling, his eyes red as he stared at the fake blood all over me.
He had said, "I'll never let you do something so dangerous again."
But by the third time, Curtis had stepped over my "body" without hesitation to comfort the frightened Jane Hughes.
Today, Jane and I were kidnapped by his rivals at the same time. A real gun was pressed to my head.
Curtis only sneered, snatched the gun from the kidnapper, and pulled the trigger without a second thought, shooting a hole through my chest.
He said, "Don't test me with this act. I hate being threatened most of all. You're not even worth a single strand of Jane's hair, not even if you drop dead."
Curtis left with Jane in his arms, never looking back, assuming I would brush myself off and stand up just like I had the previous times.
But he had no idea that Jane, the woman he loved, had already removed the steel plates from my bulletproof vest.
*****
"Don't test me with this act. I hate being threatened most of all. You're not even worth a single strand of Jane's hair, not even if you drop dead," Curtis sneered.
He snatched the gun from the kidnapper and pointed it right at me.
Without a second thought, he pulled the trigger.
A muffled gunshot echoed through the abandoned warehouse.
The force slammed me hard to the ground.
A tearing pain exploded in my chest, instantly shooting through my whole body.
I gasped for breath, the metallic, sweet taste of blood flooding my throat.
How could it hurt so much?
I struggled to lower my head and look at my chest.
Blood was gushing out like a fountain, quickly staining my white shirt red.
My hands shook as I reached for the lining of my bulletproof vest.
The specially made steel plates that should have been hard as rock were gone.
"Curtis, Lilah is bleeding so much. Is she going to be okay?" Jane asked.
She was hiding behind Curtis, clutching his sleeve with both hands.
Her voice trembled, but there was no trace of fear in her eyes. Instead, there was a triumphant smile on her face.
"She's faking it," Curtis said, not even sparing me a glance.
He casually dropped the gun on the ground and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his hands.
"This is the fifth time she's pulled this fake death stunt. The ketchup she uses for blood looks more and more convincing," Curtis said.
The pain made my vision darken, and I could not say a single complete sentence.
All I could do was glare at Jane.
It was her.
Before we left today, she was the only one who had insisted on helping me put on this tactical vest under the guise of being a "good friend."
"Lilah, don't be such a baby. Curtis can't stand girls who make a fuss. Here, I'll help you put it on," Jane had said.
Then she had taken the chance to remove the life-saving steel plates when I was not looking.
"Mr. Bernard, are you insane? That's a real gun." Even the leader of the kidnappers was stunned.
He glanced at the pool of blood on the floor, then at Curtis, who looked utterly indifferent.
"Forget not paying the ransom, but you actually shot your own wife?" the boss said.
Curtis snorted. "Say whatever you want."
He grabbed Jane's wrist and pulled her close, shielding her in his arms.
He said, "A fake corpse. You people act like it's something valuable.
"Lilah, I'll count to three. If you don't get up by yourself, I'll really leave you here."
Curtis looked down at me.
"One," he said.
I opened my mouth and coughed up a mouthful of dark blood, thick with chunks of my own insides.
"Two," he continued.
My vision started to blur, and all the sounds around me sounded like they were coming through a layer of water.
"Three," he said.
Curtis paused, clearly impatient. "Fine, act all you want. Jane was scared just now, and I don't have time to play your silly games."
With that, he wrapped his arm around Jane and walked out of the abandoned warehouse without even looking back.
The heavy door slammed shut behind them.
I heard Jane's soft voice coming from outside.
"Curtis, are we really leaving Lilah behind? She won't be mad at me, right? I'd hate to be the reason you two have problems," Jane said.
"She wouldn't dare. A woman full of lies deserves to suffer a little," Curtis replied.
The sound of footsteps faded away.
I lay sprawled on the concrete floor, feeling the warmth drain from my body, bit by bit.
The leader of the kidnappers cautiously approached and reached out to check my breath.
He snatched his hand back.
He stammered, "Sh-She's not breathing. She's really dead.
"Curtis is a freaking lunatic. Let's get out of here."
The kidnappers scrambled out of the warehouse.
The warehouse fell into complete silence.
I felt my body becoming very light.
So light that I felt myself drifting up into the air.