All The Truths - Rina Kent Page 0,19

The fact that I confiscated another person’s name.

This must be why I didn’t feel comfortable with the name Reina Ellis when I woke up in the hospital with wiped memories.

I lived as Rai Sokolov for twelve years. That name resonated with me better, but I had to erase it. I had to become Reina to survive.

Just like that, I took her life and threw her into mine.

Those Russians were after Mom and me. Or rather, they were after me since they had no problem hurting Mom once they found me.

Tears fill my eyes as I fall back on the bed, my limbs shaking and my heart racing louder and harder with every second.

Mom.

Reina.

Dad.

They’re all gone now, and I’m the only one who remains, the dirty little monster Rai who took an identity and a life that was never hers, who got engaged to a person who was never supposed to be hers.

Rai Sokolov.

That’s Russian, like Mom’s name and those men’s accents.

Mom used to teach me some Russian, telling me it was better to understand my enemies so I’d know what I was in for.

She considered them enemies and ran away from them. She took Reina and me and planned to leave the country. We had forged passports and forged identities and papers. But that day, they found us and everything blew up.

They killed Mom and took Reina.

I hate myself for being a fucking coward back then, for letting Reina take my place, for running away to Dad. I hate that I never looked back, never stopped.

In my twelve-year-old mind, I was so tired of running all the time, tired of never staying in one place for more than a few months, never having friends, never having enough food.

Never having a father.

I was also so fucking scared when I realized Mom no longer existed. She had been the one who took care of me, and I had no clue what the fuck to do without her.

So when Reina gave me her life, I took it.

I didn’t ask her to run with me to Dad, because I knew they’d never stop until they got Mia Sokolov’s daughter.

And they did stop. Once I started living with Dad, they never bothered me—I think. My memories are still fuzzy around that.

What I know for sure is that at the time, I thought Dad would try to find Reina and bring her back.

He must’ve realized he got the wrong twin. And in some way, maybe Dad searched for her. It can’t be a coincidence that he was involved in all that dangerous business with the mafia.

Then they took him, too.

And they came back for Reina and me when we reunited at the cottage. Although I don’t remember exactly what happened, I’m sure they did.

If they didn’t kill her after all these years, surely they need her alive, right? Surely she’s still out there.

Human remains.

A tear slides down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away.

No.

I won’t believe they took her life. They need her in some way. She managed to survive all this time and will continue to do so.

You promised, Reina.

The door clicks open and I startle, nearly toppling over the side of the bed. During my jumbled thoughts about what happened, I forgot about the unfamiliar place I’m in.

My heart picks up speed and sweat beads on my forehead. My muscles tighten like every time Mom ushered me from the bed and told me we were leaving.

No warning, no nothing.

My eyes were usually closed as we ran in the middle of the night to God knows where then slept under the walls when we had no money for hotels. At least I slept—Mom never did. She’d stay wide awake all night watching over me to ward off any homeless.

Or the men chasing us.

Those motherfuckers, she called them. They’ll never take you away from me, Rai. Not as long as I breathe.

What if they came for me now? What if they figured out the identity switch and decided to rectify their mistake nine years later?

A shadow spills into the room and I jump back, my shoulder blades hitting the wall.

The light casts a halo on him as he becomes clear. A long breath heaves out of my lips before they turn shallow again.

Asher.

No idea why it’s both relieving and suffocating to see him.

Probably because he tried to kill you, Reina.

No, not Reina. Rai. I was always Rai. Reina was temporary. Her life was never mine to confiscate.

Maybe that’s why I’ve been that cold and aloof