- 18 hours ago
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00:00Face changer. I change people's faces for a living. My shop, Rouge Face, sits right in the heart of the
00:06mob world.
00:06I don't sell makeup or luxury goods. What I sell is faces, one at a time.
00:11Anyone who walks through the door, leaves their messed up life behind, and comes out a different person.
00:16I heard you can change a face. Will you take me on?
00:19I look up. My heart skips a beat. I recognize her at once.
00:23Evelyn Blackwood, wife of the powerful Dawn Victor Blackwood.
00:26And she is every bit as beautiful, as the rumors say.
00:31I don't take money, Mrs. Blackwoods, but I do keep the perfect face you leave behind, okay?
00:37A face change takes seven days. She cannot stay away that long.
00:40I return to Blackwood Manor with her, disguised as her private nurse.
00:44That is when I discover something interesting.
00:46Evelyn's long-lost sister, the mistress her husband is about to acknowledge in public, is one of my former clients.
00:52She is living under a face I gave her, and a life that belongs to someone else.
00:56I lift a tiny white worm from a black box.
00:59It writhes in my palm, no bigger than a grain of rice.
01:03This is your last chance to back out.
01:09A face worm can only be used once in a lifetime.
01:12Once your face is gone, you don't get it back.
01:14Do it. I won't regret it.
01:35Beautiful women always make me softer than I should be.
01:38I have pain medicine. You can have it for free.
01:41You'll suffer for seven days.
01:43For the first five days, the worm will peel your skin from flesh and bone.
01:47For the last two, it eats away whatever bone doesn't fit your new face.
01:52All the color drains from her face, but she still refuses.
01:56No. I need to remember the pain.
01:58Only if it hurts enough will I never be tempted to turn back.
02:01Most of my clients come to me to run from enemies or chase beauty.
02:05But her...
02:06Mrs. Blackwoods, why do you want to change your face?
02:08Don't you know it's already perfect?
02:11To be free.
02:15Comes in.
02:16People call Victor one of the rare good men in the mafia.
02:19A husband devoted to his wife.
02:20A man who never lets another woman near him.
02:23He is handsome, sure, but he looks dangerous.
02:26What exactly are you making a scene over?
02:29I was supposed to marry Nina.
02:31The only reason I haven't divorced you is because I'm trying to protect you.
02:35She's your sister.
02:36I'm only giving her the place and respect she should have had in the Blackwood family.
02:43Don't forget, you were the one who wanted me.
02:46You were the one who begged both families to let me take my sister's place and marry you.
02:51If you think the title of Mrs. Blackville belongs to her, then divorce me.
02:55Don't say that, Evelyn.
02:57Your family has never been good to you.
03:00If you leave me, who else is going to take care of you?
03:03What I'm doing for Nina is only meant to make up for what she suffered all those years.
03:08The Blackwoods will always be your home, and I will always be your husband.
03:12Evelyn lowers her eyes and does not move in his arms.
03:15Then his assistant calls from the hallway.
03:17Mr. Blackwoods, Miss Hart isn't feeling well.
03:20She's crying and asking for you.
03:22Victor does not hesitate.
03:24He lets go of Evelyn and heads straight for the door.
03:28Only when he reaches it does he turn back.
03:30Nina was out there alone for years.
03:32She's timid.
03:33I'll check on her and come right back.
03:35Then he is gone.
03:36After the door closes, Evelyn keeps staring at it.
03:39I grew up afraid too.
03:41No one ever pitied me for it.
03:42Victor does not come back that night.
03:47The third day, the worm has peeled more and more flesh loose.
03:51The pain is bad enough to bring tears to Evelyn's eyes.
03:53She sits at her mirror with sweat at her temples, her fingers trembling against the edge of vanity.
03:59Ruby, it hurts too much.
04:00Come walk with me for a while.
04:01There is a private lounge in the side wing of Blackwood Manor, reserved for family and favorite guests.
04:06The lights are low.
04:07The music's soft.
04:08Two maids sit down nearby with coffee.
04:11Why do your dark circles look worse today?
04:14You know why.
04:15I've been on night duty all week.
04:17Mr. Blackwood and Miss Hart go at it till midnight.
04:19Of course I look like this.
04:21Miss Hart has Mr. Blackwood wrapped around her finger.
04:24Since she got here, he sleeps there every night.
04:26Last time I was on duty, I heard him say she's damn good in bed.
04:40And Miss Hart's friends are even worse.
04:42They party all night and sleep all day.
04:45I heard they were at Mulan Club again last night.
04:47Mulan Club.
04:48The name catches at me, but I do not stop.
04:50We barely make it outside, before a car pulls up at the steps.
04:53The door opens, and a woman in an emerald gown steps out and heals.
04:57The moment she sees Evelyn, her smile turns warm in that practiced way.
05:01Evelyn, what a surprise.
05:02I glance up, and my heart skips a beat.
05:06I know her.
05:09I know her very well.
05:11Three years ago, she walks into my west coast branch of Rouge Face.
05:15Back then, she was not Nina Hart.
05:17She was Cassandra, Mulan Club's most in-demand girl.
05:20I remember her because the face she wants is unforgettable.
05:23She drags in the body of a beautiful young woman,
05:25who has only just died, and has not even gone cold yet.
05:28She empties every card she has, and buys that dead girl's face.
05:32Maybe I stare a second too long, because she cuts her eyes at me.
05:35Have we met before?
05:36I smile politely and lower my gaze.
05:39I have changed my own face before coming to Blackwood's Manor.
05:42She does not recognize me, and even if she did, we do not betray our clients.
05:46Luckily, Evelyn shows no interest in her.
05:49I was out for a walk.
05:50Enjoy your evening.
05:51She takes my arm and moves on.
05:53Madam, Mr. Hart and Mrs. Hart are here.
05:55I guide Evelyn to the main hall,
05:56just in time to see her parents storm toward her, with open disgust.
06:02Evelyn, I hear Nina woke from night maimers again last night.
06:06How exactly are you taking care of her?
06:08You studied nursing, didn't you?
06:10Nina has been living here this long, and you still haven't cured her insomnia?
06:14Did you forget?
06:15I made her a sleep tonic last time.
06:17She refused to drink it, and accused me of trying to poison her.
06:21Victor confined me, and you both blamed me.
06:24How am I supposed to help her now?
06:25That stops them for all of two seconds.
06:28You're only resentful because Nina came back.
06:31Don't forget, the marriage to Don Blackwoods was always meant for her.
06:35So what?
06:36You set me up, made me walk in on them in bed,
06:40and I lost my baby because of it.
06:46She suffered for 20 years.
06:48Can't you just be nicer to her?
06:50As for the child, you simply failed to keep it.
06:53I said I'd divorce him.
06:54You and Victor said no.
06:56So this is what you do instead?
06:58Hurt me?
07:00A Hart woman does not get divorced.
07:02You may not care about shame, but the rest of us do.
07:05Evelyn sways.
07:06I steady her before she falls.
07:08Mr. Hart, there will be no divorce.
07:13Victor crosses the room and stops at Evelyn's side.
07:16He looks at her pale face, regret flashing in his eyes.
07:19Evelyn, I never intended to divorce you.
07:21I care about Nina because she's your sister.
07:23If I have not heard the maids, I might almost believe him.
07:27Evelyn closes her eyes as if he makes her sick,
07:29then shoves him away and turns to wretch.
07:31Victor's whole expression changes.
07:33He rushes to catch her around the waist.
07:35What's wrong?
07:36He scoops her up and carries her to bed.
07:38Call the family doctor.
07:42Evelyn, when I saw you get sick, I thought you were pregnant again.
07:45When you've recovered, we can have another baby.
07:47So maybe the stories are not entirely wrong.
07:50Victor does love his wife.
07:52He just doesn't love only her.
07:54A bitter smile touches Evelyn's mouth.
07:56You already killed our child.
07:57Did you forget?
07:58You're still blaming me?
08:00If your parents hadn't set that up, you wouldn't have lost the baby.
08:03They don't love you.
08:05I'm the only one who does.
08:07Get out!
08:07I don't want to see you or hear another word from you!
08:10Victor's pride takes the hit before he does.
08:13His face goes cold.
08:14I've been too good to you.
08:15I left Nina there in tears just to come see you.
08:18And this is how you treat me?
08:21He slams the door on his way out.
08:23A moment later, muffled sobs sink into the pillow.
08:26For all her calm, she is not as untouched as she looks.
08:32After that, Victor stays away for three days.
08:34By now, most of Evelyn's face is already loose beneath the skin.
08:38Tomorrow is the day.
08:39When I come to discuss the exchange, I finally ask the question I have been holding back.
08:44Mrs. Blackwoods, those two really are your parents?
08:47Her eyes dim.
08:48A bitter smile appears.
08:49She nods.
08:51Seriously?
08:51Seriously?
08:52The way they treat you, you'd think you were their enemy, not their daughter?
08:55I almost wish I were.
08:56After a short silence, I change the subject.
08:59What kind of face do you want?
09:01I have plenty to choose from.
09:02Evelyn looks at the face she is about to lose.
09:04I spend my whole life being what other people want.
09:07A good girl for my family.
09:08A good wife for Victor.
09:10Never myself.
09:11My work has one rule above all others.
09:13Never get attached.
09:14But Evelyn is beautiful enough to make me break my own rules.
09:17So I make the choice for her.
09:19I had a childhood friend.
09:21At 18, she asked me to give her a man's face.
09:23She joined a mercenary company, avenged her love, and never came back.
09:27I can give you her original face, and I can get you safely out of here.
09:31But in return, I need one thing from you.
09:33Go to Havenburg in her name and visit her mother.
09:35Evelyn agrees.
09:37I leave for Rougeface to retrieve the chill case.
09:39When I return, I hear Victor inside her room, breaking things.
09:43I have accepted your affair with Nina.
09:44I have accepted with Nina.
09:46And now you want me to personally put a ring on her hand in front of every Blackwood cap you?
09:50That's impossible!
09:52You're the first woman I ever loved.
09:54Even now, with Nina here, you're still the one I love most.
09:58I just need you to acknowledge Nina in public.
10:00Maybe because she's leaving, Evelyn finally stops pretending.
10:04She gives him a sharp slap.
10:05Get out, Victor!
10:06I will never agree with this.
10:08If you don't like it, divorce me.
10:10You're impossible.
10:12After Nina's birthday, this room is hers.
10:14Divorce?
10:14Keep dreaming.
10:15You'll die at Blackwood.
10:16The bedroom door flies open.
10:18Victor storms out, curious.
10:21I slip quickly out of his way.
10:23But there is nowhere to hide.
10:24The chill case in my hands leaks white vapor.
10:27He stops.
10:28His gaze drops to the box.
10:29What is that?
10:33Reaches for it.
10:34I step back and play scared.
10:36It's cake.
10:36The box keeps it cold.
10:39Nina likes this sort of thing.
10:41I'll take it.
10:42Damn it!
10:42I slip a syringe into my sleeve and wait for him to look away.
10:45Before I can move, a cup flies out of the room and smashes into his head.
10:49Blood runs from the cut above his brow.
10:51Evelyn appears in the doorway, face set.
10:54So that's your love?
10:55You take my things just because Nina wants-
10:56Victor, absurdly, looks pleased.
10:59He hands the case back to her.
11:00Evelyn, I don't think I've ever seen you jealous like this.
11:03You've been so distant with me.
11:05I thought you stopped caring.
11:06I roll my eyes.
11:07When Nina's birthday is over, I'll make it up to you.
11:09He will not.
11:10They do not have an after this.
11:12Evelyn glances at me.
11:13I follow her inside and she shuts the door hard behind us.
11:16The room goes quiet.
11:18I set the chill case on the table and crack it open.
11:20White frost spills out, revealing the perfectly preserved face of a young woman.
11:24Evelyn looks down at it, fingers trembling.
11:27This will take four hours.
11:28No one can come in.
11:29We cannot stop halfway or your face will rot before the new one sets.
11:33Evelyn nods.
11:34It will hurt.
11:34Are you ready?
11:35She nods again, then looks at me.
11:38Let me tell you my story.
11:41When it's over, my life as a heart daughter and Mrs. Blackwood can end with it.
11:45All right?
11:46She closes her eyes.
11:47Her voice grows quiet, as if it is coming from very far away.
11:51My story starts when I'm two.
11:55Evelyn's story starts when she is two.
11:57Her father goes away on business, and her mother goes with him, afraid he'll find another woman.
12:02They left Evelyn behind with her grandmother.
12:04Her grandmother was cold to her.
12:06Most days, she had only a nanny and the house staff for company.
12:09Then, when she was eight, her father and mother finally returned, and they brought home a five-year-old little
12:15sister.
12:16Evelyn is awkward with them by then, and they are warmer with the girl they actually raise.
12:20The first Christmas after Nina came home, they left Evelyn behind and took Nina out instead.
12:25The crowds were thick, and Nina disappeared.
12:28Nina?
12:28Nina?
12:29Nina?
12:30Her parents searched for six months and found nothing.
12:33After that, every happy moment in Evelyn's life came with a reminder of the sister who was gone.
12:37You're fine here at home.
12:39Who knows where Nina is suffering right now?
12:41Your sister still hasn't come back.
12:42How can you be this happy?
12:44Those words poured guilt into her young heart.
12:46Her father was often ill.
12:48To learn how to care for both parents, she kneeled outside a medical professor's door all night,
12:52until he agreed to teach her therapeutic treatment and massage.
12:55Once she learned, she tended them by hand every month.
12:58By trying hard enough, she finally got a little warmth from them, until Nina came back.
13:03Overnight, Evelyn became the enemy of the daughter they actually love.
13:06If not for Victor, she says, she might have slipped into despair long ago.
13:13Evelyn?
13:16Hearts and the Blackwoods belong to the same world.
13:18So Victor and Evelyn had known each other since they were teenagers.
13:22Evelyn fell for him, long before she understood what love was.
13:25But Victor was supposed to marry Nina.
13:27So Evelyn kept quiet.
13:29Years later, Evelyn's father offered to call off the old engagement.
13:33Victor refused.
13:34He said he would still honor the marriage agreement with Evelyn.
13:37So Evelyn married the man she loved.
13:39The man she had never dared to hope for.
13:41On their wedding day, he promised she would be the only woman in his life.
13:45And Evelyn believed him.
13:47For four years, it almost felt true.
13:49Then Nina came back.
13:51One night with Nina, everything changed.
13:53Victor told Evelyn he had to take responsibility for Nina.
13:56He said it while Evelyn was still recovering from the miscarriage that nearly killed her.
14:00Evelyn lies on my bed, her eyes half close.
14:03Ruby, I think I've spent my whole life waiting for someone to love me.
14:07A tear slips down her temple.
14:09I give her the sedative.
14:11When she falls asleep, I take out the silver bell and ring it once.
14:14Beneath her skin, the face worm begins its final work.
14:17I lean in and whisper.
14:19Then stop waiting.
14:20Starting tonight, you live for yourself.
14:25Remove the face I have watched for five days and replace it with one I have kept on ice for
14:29years.
14:30An old friend's face.
14:31I fit skin to bone, smooth every edge into place, and finish with the last of the solution.
14:36An hour later, I make the call.
14:39Ava, come get her.
14:41Fifteen minutes later, Ava slips in through the window without a sound.
14:45Hide her in Rouge Face's safe room.
14:46When she wakes up, take her to Havenbrook yourself.
14:49Ava doesn't ask questions.
14:50She lifts Evelyn over her shoulder and disappears the same way she came.
14:54Then I take the gasoline from under the bed and pour it across the room.
14:58Above the headboard hangs Evelyn's wedding portrait.
15:01She is smiling in it, bright and trusting, still believing she has found someone who will cherish her.
15:07Maybe Victor does love her, but love can change overnight.
15:10I look at the photo one last time, laugh softly, and flick the lighter.
15:14Once the fire takes, I climb out the window, keep to the blind spots, and reach the black car waiting
15:19beyond the grounds.
15:24Inside, I pull off my mask.
15:26Through the window, I watch Blackwood Manor burn.
15:29Then the alarm splits the night.
15:31Fire!
15:32There's a fire!
15:37The time Victor realizes the manor is on fire, half of Evelyn's room has already collapsed.
15:42I sit in the car and open the tablet my assistant hands me.
15:45A few days ago, on my instructions, my people install a camera high along the Blackwood's perimeter wall.
15:51On the screen, Victor runs toward the east wing like a man losing his mind.
15:55Evelyn!
15:57Evelyn!
15:58Several guards hold him back.
16:00Let me in!
16:01His eyes are bloodshot.
16:02The cut at his temple from the cup Evelyn throws earlier is still there, making him look more ruined than
16:07dangerous for once.
16:08I tap send on my phone.
16:09The video Evelyn records in advance lands on Victor's phone.
16:13His butler picks it up at once.
16:15Dawn, you need to see this.
16:16It's a scheduled message from Mrs. Blackwood's.
16:23Victor, tonight, I leave you with my life.
16:26The life my parents gave me ends here.
16:29The love I bore for you dies here.
16:31From this moment on, everything between us is over.
16:36May we never meet again.
16:38Not in this life, not in the next.
16:41Not in heaven, not in hell.
16:43Victor goes completely still.
16:45Then fake Nina comes running from the west wing and throws her arms around him.
16:49Victor, it's too dangerous.
16:51Let's get out of here.
16:55Get away from me.
17:03An hour later, the fire is finally out.
17:06My people bring out a charred body under a white sheet.
17:09Victor crouches and pulls back one corner with shaking hands.
17:12Then he stumbles backwards so fast, it is almost a fall.
17:15And a sound tears out of him that does not sound human.
17:18He drops to his knees and breaks.
17:20Evelyn, I was wrong.
17:23I don't want anything anymore.
17:24Just come back.
17:25I only want you.
17:27From now on, only you.
17:28He is sobbing now.
17:30All tears and snot in ruin, with none of Dawn Blackwood left in him.
17:33People are always like that.
17:35They only learn the value of something after they lose it.
17:38I sit back in the car, laugh under my breath, and lose interest in the rest of the show.
17:42The driver lowers his voice.
17:44Miss Blake, do we leave now?
17:46Yes.
17:46Take me back to Rouge Face.
17:48The car pulls away from Blackwood's manor.
17:50Even as we pass the front gate, I can still hear Victor shouting Evelyn's name into the night.
17:54At the time, I think the deal is over.
17:57I am wrong.
17:58Six months later, I see Victor Blackwood again.
18:00And this time, he is not looking for help.
18:03He is looking for me.
18:06The second I catch the strange scent, I know I am already too late.
18:10The drug hits my lungs.
18:12Everything goes black.
18:13When I wake up, I am in an underground room.
18:16Concrete at my back.
18:18One cold white bulb overhead.
18:20Victor is sitting just outside the bar door, watching me.
18:23Where am I?
18:24Why did you take me?
18:25I have to admit, I am surprised he traces this back to me at all.
18:29Maybe Victor is not the less drunk idiot I take him for.
18:32His gaze settles on me.
18:33Dark and murderous.
18:34He sits in the shadows, tapping one finger against the arm of his chair.
18:39Ruby Blake, owner of Rouge Face Boutique.
18:41Tell me where my wife is, and you walk out alive.
18:44That almost makes me laugh.
18:45Your wife?
18:46Mr. Blackwood, isn't she already back at your manor?
18:48A month ago, you publicly named Nina Hart the second lady of Blackwood.
18:52The clip was all over every private syndicate feed.
18:55And from the pictures?
18:56Miss Hart was already pregnant by then, wasn't she?
18:59That almost makes me laugh.
19:00The day Evelyn disappears, Victor looks like his heart is being ripped out in real time.
19:05I almost believe he is done humiliating himself over that woman.
19:08A few months later, he has her carrying his child.
19:11I know Evelyn did all this out of jealousy.
19:13If she comes back now, I can overlook the fact that she lied to me with your help.
19:17She will remain my legal wife.
19:19The only Donna Blackwood.
19:20I look him over with open disgust.
19:22Come back for what?
19:25To watch you play happy family with another woman and her baby?
19:28To watch your people bow to her face and laugh behind her back?
19:32Being your wife isn't an honor, Victor.
19:35It's a stain.
19:39Victor grits his teeth.
19:41Ruby Blake, I am not negotiating with you.
19:43If you don't tell me where Evelyn is today,
19:45I will make sure you experience every punishment in a Blackwood cell.
19:52He picks up a compact crossbow.
19:55His thumb presses the trigger.
19:56Two bark shock darts slam into my shoulder.
19:59The current rips through skin and bone.
20:01My whole body jerks against the chains.
20:03The wires trailing from the darts twitch with me.
20:06The pain is half numbness, half fire.
20:08Like a nest of insects burrowing through my veins.
20:11Victor rises and walks to the cell door.
20:15His shoes cutting through the thin water on the floor.
20:18That was me being patient.
20:19You do not want to see what happens when I stop.
20:21I stare back at him and feel the same murderous heat rise in my chest.
20:25Once my people realize I'm missing, it will take them two days to find me.
20:29I need to buy myself two days.
20:33I draw in a shaky breath and let him think he scares me.
20:37If you find me, then I assume you've already looked into Rouge Face.
20:40We have rules.
20:41We take orders.
20:42We don't ask questions.
20:43As for your wife, all I know is that she plans to head north.
20:47I need his eyes.
20:48She tells me once that she wants to see the Rocky Mountains.
20:51It is something Evelyn says to me in passing.
20:54Years ago, Victor survives an assassination attempt while hiding with his family in the Rockies.
20:58At the time, he promises Evelyn he will take her there one day.
21:01The second I say it, I can see he remembers.
21:04His eyes drop.
21:05His throat moves once.
21:07Then he sends people to the Rockies.
21:08Before he leaves, he turns cold again.
21:11Miss Blake, I have no patience for you.
21:13If I don't find my wife, every minute costs you.
21:15His mouth hardens.
21:16He slams the door behind him.
21:18The light goes out with him.
21:20For two days, I stay in the dark without food or water.
21:23By the time the lock finally turns, my body is weak, my head light, and every muscle in me is
21:28starting to shut down.
21:28At first, I think my people have found me.
21:31Then I hear the steps.
21:32Uneven.
21:33Hesitant.
21:34Not them.
21:35Perfume reaches me first.
21:36Then the click of a lighter.
21:38A small silver flame rises in front of my face.
21:41It throws light across the beautiful face of fake Nina Hart.
21:44I am not wearing a disguise.
21:46She knows exactly who I am.
21:50I hear Victor has someone locked up over Evelyn, but why is it you?
21:54She lowers her voice and flicks a glance toward the door.
21:57Did you tell him anything about me?
21:59Wonderful.
21:59She is here to make sure I do not.
22:01Ma'am, Rocheface does not share client information with outsiders.
22:05I haven't told Victor Blackwood a thing about you.
22:07She does not believe me.
22:09I watch her eyes narrow.
22:10Then she reaches into her purse and pulls out a narrow knife.
22:14The blade catches the flame.
22:15Dead man keeps secrets best.
22:18She steps closer, one heel sinking into the shallow water on the floor.
22:21I work too hard to become a Hart daughter and the only woman at Dawn Blackwood's side.
22:29And the only words I've.
22:31I won't let anything destroy the life I built.
22:34Her face twists.
22:35I won't let anything destroy the life I built.
22:42Ava shoots the lock off the cell door with the suppressor.
22:48Don't kill her!
22:49Ava twists, moves, and before Nina can even react, the knife handle cracks against the back of her neck.
22:54She drops.
22:55I finally let myself breathe through the pain.
22:57Ava, painkiller, now!
23:00Ava shoots the lock off the cell door with the suppressor and gets to work on my shoulder without a
23:04word.
23:06She moves fast.
23:07Once a little color comes back into my face, she finally looks up.
23:11Why?
23:11She means why I stop her from killing fake Nina.
23:14I glance at the woman unconscious in the corner and curl my lip.
23:17Because one is cruel and the other is poisons.
23:19They deserve each other.
23:21Ava and I tie fake Nina up and dump her against the wall.
23:24Then we fasten the chains loosely back around my wrists and ankles and wait for Victor.
23:28He gives me an opportunity.
23:30The least I can do is return the favor.
23:39After Blackwood storms and dressed in black from head to toe, two guards with Blackwood Rose pins right behind him.
23:45This time he does not stay outside the cell.
23:47He comes straight for me and gets both hands around my throat.
23:50Bitch, you lied to me.
23:52So they find nothing in the Rockies.
23:55His face is wild with it.
23:56Veins stand out at his temples.
23:58He yanks a knife from his belt and drives it down toward me.
24:02I knee him hard.
24:03He staggers.
24:04The syringe slips from my sleeve into my hand and into his chest.
24:07Victor is not expecting that.
24:12His knees hit first.
24:14Then the rest of him follows.
24:15I raise my voice toward the ceiling.
24:17Ava, bring her.
24:19Ava appears, hauls fake Nina from the corner, and drops her at Victor's feet.
24:24The drug has him weak, but not quiet.
24:27He glares at me with everything he has left.
24:29Don't touch her.
24:30If you want blood, take mine.
24:32No.
24:33I'm just curious.
24:35I glance down at the woman beside him, then back at him.
24:39You care so much about that pretty face.
24:41I really wonder how you'll feel when you find out who's wearing it.
24:50Ava slaps fake Nina hard enough to bring her around.
24:54The second she sees Victor, she starts crying.
24:59Victor, save me.
25:00I'm carrying our baby.
25:03The look on his face is almost tender.
25:06I clap slowly.
25:08Cassandra, you should have been an actress.
25:11Is this how you do it?
25:12Make a man betray his wife?
25:14Break every promise he ever makes?
25:15And spend his nights in your bed?
25:17No wonder.
25:18Cassandra from Mulan Club.
25:20The woman every man asks for.
25:22Her cry turns sharp.
25:24Shut up!
25:25Victor, she's lying.
25:27Don't listen to a word she says.
25:28Victor's eyes move from Cassandra's face to mine.
25:31His expression goes hard again.
25:33What exactly are you saying?
25:37Ava hands me a flashlight.
25:38I click it on and shine the beam at the pale red dot beneath Cassandra's ear.
25:42You see that?
25:43If your men really dig into Rouge Face, they should have heard the rumors.
25:47The only trace we leave behind is this mark.
25:49It's where the face worm enters and exits.
25:51I tilt the light toward him.
25:52The woman in front of you is not Nina Hart.
25:55She's just wearing Nina Hart's face.
25:57Victor's pupils contract.
25:59His gaze fixes on the mark, then climbs slowly to her face.
26:02Nina, is that true?
26:05Who are you?
26:06Panic flashes across Cassandra's face.
26:08Her lips tremble, but she still tries to hold the line.
26:12Victor, I am Nina.
26:13Evelyn's sister.
26:14Don't let outsiders turn you against me.
26:17Cassandra, if you won't tell him the truth, I will.
26:20I turn to Victor.
26:21She comes out of a high-end strip club, an escort lounge.
26:25She used to be the most requested woman there.
26:27Don't let that fresh little face fool you.
26:29Cassandra is 47.
26:33Victor looks like a man trying not to choke on something rotten.
26:37How?
26:38How is that possible?
26:40I give him a cool smile.
26:42Oh, come on.
26:44You never wonder how a frightened little virgin
26:46knows exactly how to keep a man like you crawling back.
26:49How she gets you to skip Blackwood council meetings night after night.
26:54Then I look down at Cassandra and land the final blow.
26:57She learns that act in rooms where men pay by the hour.
27:02Shut up.
27:03Victor, she's lying.
27:05She's trying to turn you against me.
27:07Don't believe her.
27:08Victor's gaze moves from the red mark beneath Cassandra's ear to her face.
27:12The face is still innocent, soft, fragile, like a white rose caught in the rain.
27:17But the look in his eyes turns slowly, unmistakably, to disgust.
27:21Cassandra keeps shaking her head.
27:23She inches forward on her knees, trying to reach for his hand.
27:27Victor, look at me.
27:28You know me.
27:29You said you remembered my eyes.
27:31You said I was exactly like the girl you knew as a child.
27:36Please, don't let her take that from us.
27:38She lifts Nina's face to him, tears trembling on her chin.
27:41Victor turns away, jaw tight.
27:43Cassandra goes silent.
27:45That's all?
27:46Then I step on Victor's wrist and bring Ava's knife handle down hard enough to break two of his fingers.
27:51The crack is clean.
27:52Victor's body jerks and he drops forward, sweat breaking across his forehead.
27:56Even then, he does not make a sound.
27:59That's for the darts in my shoulders.
28:01I look down at him, then at the woman on the floor.
28:04As for Cassandra, I'll leave her to you.
28:06She may be a lie from head to toe, but the baby is yours.
28:10Probably.
28:16Oh, right.
28:16The real Nina Hart is still lying in one of our cold storage units.
28:20If the Hans want her back, they can come claim her.
28:2320 million in unmarked bills.
28:33Morning, I am back at Rouge Fate.
28:35The red lights are still dim.
28:36Masks hang across the walls.
28:38I sit on the sofa while Ava changes the dressing on my shoulder.
28:41She looks annoyed, and the way she cuts the bandage tells me exactly how annoyed.
28:45Why not kill them?
28:46Sometimes staying alive hurts more.
28:49And besides, Cassandra may not survive Victor anyway.
28:54With the information I give him, Victor moves fast.
28:56He learns who Cassandra really is.
28:58The hearts learn it, too.
28:59For a fake daughter, they help destroy their real one.
29:02They cost her a child, a marriage, and whatever faith she still has in family.
29:05In the end, she would rather burn than belong to any of them.
29:09Miss Blake, my daughter, Nina.
29:11Is she really with you?
29:12Can you take me to her?
29:13Open it, and find stacks of cash packed neatly inside.
29:16Of course.
29:18This is the deposit.
29:19When you confirm the body is really your missing daughter, you pay the rest.
29:24When I leave for the cold storage facility with them, Victor follows.
29:27Victor follows.
29:29I heard he's been having a rough time lately.
29:32Several of the Blackwood family's operations have been cut off one after another.
29:36The docks, the casinos, everything's been hit.
29:47What are you to the Godfather?
29:49I let out a soft laugh.
29:52That isn't information you get to have.
29:54But one thing you should know.
29:55I am not someone you can afford to cross.
30:01Of course, I do not tell him the man they call the Godfather is my father.
30:05At least by blood.
30:06Without him, Rouge Face does not survive in my hands this long.
30:09Not in this world.
30:10My mother is gentle too.
30:12Or she is.
30:13Once.
30:13She meets my father young.
30:15Falls in love.
30:16And has me before he becomes the kind of man who decides who lives and who disappears.
30:19Back then, he is not yet the man in the dark.
30:22Then he climbs.
30:23He stops being a young thug from the street and starts becoming something larger.
30:27He takes charity photos.
30:29He controls ports.
30:30New women begin appearing at his side, one after another.
30:33My mother cannot bear sharing him.
30:35She cannot bear the way he wraps betrayal in power and calls it normal.
30:38So she leaves.
30:39I never hear from her again.
30:41Maybe that is why I keep going soft, where Evelyn is concerned.
30:45She reminds me of my mother.
30:46When women like that love, they do it without holding back.
30:49And when they finally leave, they do not look back.
30:55Inside the cold storage room, white fog spills from the drawer as Ava pulls it open.
30:59There is no face left to identify, so I cover Nina Hart's features with a white cloth.
31:04Mrs. Hart steps forward and nearly collapses.
31:06Before she even reaches the body, Mr. Hart catches her, but he is unsteady too.
31:12With trembling hands, Mrs. Hart pulls back the fabric covering the body.
31:16There's a mull on her shoulder.
31:17A burn scar on her hand.
31:19She keeps going, almost speaking to herself now.
31:22And here, on her ankle, the scar from the neighbor's dog when she was little.
31:30Her hand stops there.
31:32A second later, tears hit the white sheet.
31:35This is my daughter.
31:38This is the daughter I've been looking for all these years.
31:46She cries for a moment, then suddenly looks up, eyes blazing red.
31:52She may be dead, but that doesn't settle what she did to my daughter.
31:55I'll pour her ashes down a sewer.
32:00Mr. Hart stares at the body in the drawer with the blank, stunned grief of a man who has arrived
32:04too late to matter.
32:05He reaches toward the cloth over Nina's face, then stops with his hand hanging there, fingers shaking.
32:10Nina, we're late.
32:12It's all right now.
32:13We're taking you home.
32:17Mr. stands in silence and watches the hearts take Nina's body away.
32:20Miss Blake, I owe you an apology for what I did before.
32:23Name your price.
32:24Money.
32:25Territory.
32:26Blood.
32:27Take whatever you think I'm worth.
32:28Just tell me where Evelyn is.
32:30At the sound of her name, both of Evelyn's parents turn around.
32:33Hope flickers to life in Mrs. Hart's eyes as she looks at me.
32:36Miss Blake, does that mean Evelyn is alive?
32:39Her hand drifts to her waist, as if the ache there has only just become real.
32:42We let her suffer.
32:43We see that now.
32:44Your father and I have both been falling apart lately.
32:47Only now do we realize how much she did for us all those years, trying to keep us well.
32:51She was a good daughter.
32:52We were not good parents.
32:54Mr. Hart's eyes are red too.
32:55His shoulders have sunk, as if he ages ten years in a day.
32:58Only after losing a fake daughter, and then learning the real Nina is dead.
33:02Do they finally remember Evelyn?
33:04And if she is alive, then what?
33:06You wreck her marriage?
33:07You kill her child?
33:08I let the question sit there.
33:09And now you expect her to come back and keep playing the devoted daughter at your feet?
33:15The question leaves them in tears, and with nothing to say.
33:18After a long moment, Mr. Hart lets out a tired sigh, lifts one hand, and turns toward the car.
33:23Enough.
33:23We don't deserve to see her again.
33:26Knowing she's alive somewhere is enough.
33:30Miss Blake, if you ever see Evelyn, please give these to her.
33:35They were her grandmothers.
33:36She left them to me, and now I want Evelyn to have them.
33:39Her voice shakes.
33:40At this point, I only want her to live easily.
33:43To be happy.
33:44I glance at the maid standing beside me.
33:46She does not blink.
33:47Does not move.
33:48Her white gloves are sawless.
33:49Her face is lame enough to pass for machinery.
33:52So I pull my hand back and take one step away.
33:54I'm sorry.
33:55We don't offer delivery service.
33:57You should keep them.
33:58The disappointment on their faces is almost painful to watch.
34:01Almost.
34:01Bent with grief, they make their way back to the car.
34:24I'm sorry.
34:42I don't know.
34:43I don't know.
34:43I don't know.
34:43I don't know.
34:43I don't know.
34:43I'm sorry.
34:48You