Total bull.
The truth was, seeing that message on the wall had set something off in me. Reina hadn’t only left proof—she’d invaded my restaurant, my sanctuary, what little of it remained. Every time I closed my eyes, she was there: moving between the tables, breathing my air, touching my things.
Reina was winning.
I thought about sending the photo to Miki just so I could shout, See, I wasn’t lying. But then what? She’d drop everything and come running back. That wouldn’t help. No, I needed to deal with this myself.
And I would. After one day of rest.
Day two looked just like day one: bed, snacks, K-drama. Every time a show ended, I jabbed a finger at the tablet and declared, “The power of Christ compels you!” then immediately hit Next Episode.
Sometimes, between episodes, I’d catch myself glancing at the apartment door, straining for footsteps outside. Flip-flopping between crazy and sane.
That’s when my oji-chan’s words came back to me: Dreams are all we have. He’d said it my whole life. Those words carried me through the hell of my apprenticeship, the chaos of opening my own place, the joy of making it one of Kyoto’s hottest up-and-coming restaurants. Would I really let it all rot because I was too scared to stand up?
By late afternoon, I fought off the devil’s lure, dragged myself into the shower, and made my way down to the restaurant, well rested, ready to face the mountain of problems waiting for me.
I stood in the main dining room, staring at the message still on the wall. My blood boiled. I wanted to punch Reina in the face. Her downfall wasn’t my fault. She was evil. She preyed on people’s hopes and dreams for her own benefit, for the lavish lifestyle she flaunted. She’d brought herself down.
I went into the office and worked. When I came up for air, it was nearly nine. I stretched, twisted at the waist. And froze.
The framed opening-day photo of Miki, Jiro, and me hung upside down.
A cold prickle ran up my neck. Someone had been in the restaurant.
I pulled up the security footage. It didn’t take long to find her, the figure drifting through my restaurant: a woman dressed like Reina, long black hair obscuring the camera’s view. If it was her, she made sure the cameras never caught a clear look at her face.
She’d come in just before two in the morning. She wandered the main dining room, the kitchen, the private room, and finally the office. I watched her rifle through the drawers. She didn’t take anything; that wasn’t the point. She wanted to torment me, humiliate me, and destroy my business. And she was succeeding at all three.
How did she get in? Had I forgotten to lock up? I’d always left that to Jiro. If it wasn’t him, it was Miki.
The footage showed her leaving through the rear door into the alley. I wondered if it was still unlocked.
I exited the office and stepped into the main dining room. The lights snapped off. For a second I thought it was a blackout, then I saw the streetlights still on outside the windows.
A metal clank rang from the kitchen. I froze.
I wasn’t alone.
Reina!
Fight or flight?
I was tired of her bullying. This would end now, even if I had to kill her a second time. I grabbed the large sword that hung on the wall by the sushi counter and headed for the kitchen.
“Reina!” I shouted.
The moment I entered the kitchen, a shadowy figure shot out the back door. Not this time. I charged into the alley after her, locked on a single thought: End this.
It didn’t take long to close the distance. When I was within reach, I barreled into her, tackling her from behind. We tumbled across the asphalt and slammed against the side of a building. She yelped; her body cushioned my impact.
I forced myself on top of her, straddling her chest, my knees pinning her arms. She writhed beneath me. Black hair fell across her face. I grabbed a fistful and pulled, and it came away in my hand. All of it.
For a second I stared at the strands dangling between my fingers. Then it clicked: a wig. My gaze dropped to the face beneath.
“You’re not Reina.”
10
