<b>Chapter </b><b>173 </b>


    Elena’s POV:


    He set me down onto the bed, his movements gentle, and grabbed my face, his hands on my cheeks, forcing me to look at him.


    “Elena. Look at me. You need to tell me what happened, Malishka. I’m losing my mind here. Did that bastard do something?” he sneered, the word ‘bastard‘ced with so much venom I almost flinched.


    I tried to take in deep breaths, the air a burning cold in my lungs. I pushed the tears away with a desperate, shaky resolve. I couldn’t waste my time crying, not now. I looked at him, and swallowed. Calm down, Elena. You need to calm down.


    So with shaky hands, I pulled out my phone. I had forgotten I was even holding it until that moment. The screen showed the video I had taken. I handed the phone to Niki, my fingers trembling so badly I almost dropped it. He took it and watched the video, a clear look of confusion on his face. He watched the flickering images of the women and then the horrifying reveal of my own face with the red cross. His expression shifted from confusion to a cold, bone–deep horror.


    He looked up at me, his eyes wide. I pursed my lips, my voice a quiet whisper. “The Phantom Killer.”


    “These are all the victims,” he said, his voice low. “How? How did you get this? No, wait…” He paused then, his thumb flicking back to the beginning of the video, his eyes fixed on the final image. “Why is your picture here?!” The question was loud.


    I took in a deep, shuddering breath and shook my head. “I… don’t know why or how. I just found this ce. A basement. In Sergei’s backyard.”


    His eyes widened at that, a chilling understanding dawning in them. He took the phone from my hands and set it down on the bed as I exined everything I saw and did, the words tumbling out of my mouth in a panicked, breathless rush. The moment I finished, he moved, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me against his chest so hard I could barely breathe. It was a possessive, almost desperate embrace, as though he could keep me safe by holding me so tight.


    Fuck… I’m so sorry, Malishka,” he said, his voice a low, strangled sound. “It’s my fault for letting you go there.”


    And I froze, the words a shock to my system. I pushed him away slightly, my hands on his chest. “What? No. Niki. If I hadn’t gone there, we wouldn’t have found out about this.” My voice was sharper than I had intended..He was ming himself for something that was entirely out of his control.


    He pursed his lips then, the familiar hard <i>line </i>of his jaw returning. He finally nodded, a silent admission that I was right. “But I still should have gone with


    your”


    I sighed, shaking my head. “That isn’t important right <i>now</i>. We need to… catch the culprit. The one who did this.” My voice was firm, a new resolve settling in my gut. I wasn’t a victim. I was a survivor, and I was going to find the man who had done this.


    He frowned, a deep, contemtive line between his brows. “We? There will be no ‘we‘ in this, Malishka. I’ll find out who the culprit is and I’ll also see to it that he’s dealt with.” He paused then, his hands sweeping through his hair. “Damn it…..I really did not expect this.” He sighed, the sound a low, defeated one. I looked at him, a sudden surge of protectiveness washing over me.


    “I’m not dying to put myself in danger, Niki,” I said, my voice softer now. “But you do realize who the hell we are going up against, right? The biggest suspect is Sergei,” I finally spouted the bitter words.


    He pursed his lips, his eyes fixed on some distant point. “I need to think. You sure he realized when you left? If that were the case then it would be impossible that you left unscathed, Malishka.” His words were a cold, hard fact. A man like Sergei wouldn’t just let me go. He would have dealt with me, permanently.


    I frowned, a small flicker of doubt in my own mind. “I’m not sure. Like I said, I saw Roy calling out to us, but I was too afraid and I didn’t let them stop. You’re right though… maybe we misunderstood something?” I questioned, a small flicker of hope in my voice. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe it was just a coincidence?


    He sighed, shaking his head. “Alright. Give me your phone. I need to make a call. You should change and head to bed. I’ll go tighten the security…” he said, his voice a low, tiredmand. He was pushing me away, trying to keep me safe by putting a distance between us.


    I could tell <b>he </b>was on edge. Yes, he was rich and powerful, but so was Sergei. Even more so than him. Not to mention, how was he supposed to go against


    12:07 Thu, 28 Aug


    the Mafia? I only prayed that we really had misunderstood something and that the real culprit wasn’t Sergei, but someone else…


    56%


    +15


    I clenched my jaw, pushed myself up from the bed and made my way to the crib. The sight of Haider sleeping peacefully set me at ease, at least for a moment. But after this, I couldn’t help but think… maybe my presence itself was a danger to the people around me. I was a walking target, a ma for violence and chaos. My mother, my father, now Niki… I felt like I was a virus, poisoning everyone who got too close.


    I clenched my jaw and turned around, heading to the bathroom. After I changed my clothes, pulling on afortable pair of pajamas, I stepped out to look outside. The world waspletely dark, a vast, silent expanse. Most of the building lights had shut off, leaving only the soft glow of the streetlights to illuminate the quiet streets. The world was all asleep, and here I stood, unable to even think properly. I sighed and made my way out the door. I clicked the door open to find Benjamin sitting outside.


    “Where did Niki go?” I asked, my voice a little more sharp than I had intended. Didn’t he only have <i>to </i>make a call? Why would he leave?


    “Sir will be back soon. Please don’t worry. He had to go to the office for an emergency,” he said, his <i>voice </i>calm.


    Even with that being said, however, I didn’t feel the least bit reassured. I felt so on edge all of a sudden that I didn’t know what to do.


    “Oh… alright,” I sighed, biting my lips as I stepped back inside. I checked up on Haider onest time, making sure he was alright, that he was still breathing, that he was still safe, before heading to bed. I didn’t think I was going to get a wink of sleep… but then I drifted. Maybe it was because I was so tired, my body and mind so utterly exhausted from the events of the day that I had no choice but to surrender <i>to </i>sleep.


    In hindsight, though, I should have stayed awake. I should have made sure Niki came back. Instead, when I woke up it was five in the morning, the sky a dark, bruised color, and Niki still wasn’t back. That’s when I panicked. A cold, gut–wrenching fear settled in my stomach, a familiar, terrifying feeling that told me something was terribly wrong.


    I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. It rang once, twice, three times, and then went to voicemail. I tried again, my hands shaking so badly! could barely hold the phone. But even on the third call, he didn’t pick up. Which was something that had never happened before. Niki always, always picked my calls, whether he was in a business meeting or anywhere else didn’t matter. I was his lifeline, and he was mine. He wouldn’t just disappear.


    I asked Lara again, who was on shift this time, where Niki was, my voice a little more demanding this time. She replied that “Sir will be back soon,” but this time, the look on her face didn’t seem genuine. Her eyes flickered for a second, a small, subtle sign that she was hiding something.


    An hourter, when Aunt Rose and Mom arrived, I didn’t say anything. Not a word. It’s not like they’d know where Niki was. Instead, I only told them to stay close to Haider and that I’d check up on Niki and be back soon. Mom seemed worried, a deep frown on her face, but I didn’t answer her questions


    in detail.


    I just put on a full–sleeve shirt and jeans before pulling on my boots. Then I put on one of Niki’s jackets. I didn’t know why. I just had this strong gut feeling that something was seriously wrong. I had to find him.


    Benjamin, however, stopped me right outside the hospital, his arm outstretched. “Sir has ordered not to let you leave.”


    That’s when I finally lost it.


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