Chapter One: Beyond Kilometer Twelve

Su Wan stood outside his window, still wearing the white cap. Lu Xiao shoved open the door and seized her wrist. Warm skin. A pulse. The crescent scar on the inside of her wrist, left by a childhood fall. All real. “Su Wan.” She winced. “Mr. Lu, my name is Lin Wan. Have you mistaken me for someone else?” The set went silent. Crew members turned toward them. Shen Mo sat behind the monitors, his face shadowed by a cap, his eyes unnaturally bright. “Too much emotion from the stuntman,” he said. “Reset.” Lu Xiao released her. He had joined the film because of an anonymous email: If you want to find Su Wan, come shoot the last take. Attached was a permit for the East Cape Expressway.