He didn’t need to.
Before I entered the black car the detectives brought, I glanced over my shoulder and our eyes met.
This wasn’t over. This was just the beginning.
46
BETH
They didn’t even know the monster’s name.
I stood by the window of Kenzo’s house again, just like I had been doing for the past 10 hours now.
The night outside was quiet and calm, the street bathing in the soft glow of the streetlights.
Although there were no heavy black cars or shadows moving in the dark, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that Zaghan was coming.
“He’s not going to find you.” Kenzo’s voice was gentle but firm, breaking through the silence. I didn’t turn to acknowledge him. Instead, my fingers tightened around the windowsill, as if that was the only steady ground keeping me from spiraling into panic.
“You’re safe, Beth,” he added, his steps drawing closer, that soft, calming cologne of his wafting through my nostrils, weaving a sense of comfort into my nerves. “Detectives are involved now. He’s smart enough to know not to come here.”
Kenzo and the detectives all seemed so sure. Their confidence was almost admirable, if not downright foolish. They were underestimating Zaghan. They didn’t know him like I did. They hadn’t lived the most difficult weeks of their life wrapped in his wicked web, tormented by his madness and manipulation.
They didn’t know he was a psychopath who didn’t answer to laws or yield to authority, not even humanity. He moved like a ghost, striking when no one expected him to.
This right here was a game for Zaghan. In fact, they had all unknowingly participated in the game the moment they took me out of his house and he didn’t protest. He wanted them to believe he had been cornered, helpless, at a loss, and nowhere to run. He wanted them to believe he was so unarmed and had gone into hiding. But little did they know they had all just become a pawn. He was coming; on the night they all relaxed and let their guards down. He would creep in like a thief.
But this time…only this time…
I gasped, jumping away from the window as though the cool sill burnt me.
This time, I wouldn’t be his target.
My breath hitched as realisation hit me again, the horror so cathartic, I stumbled back another step, my body trembling.
Zaghan warned me. Some weeks ago—‘I won’t hurt him, you know. He’s basically like my brother-in-law now. Who knows what I’ll do to him if he tries to take you away from me?’
Kenzo had done exactly what Zaghan warned me of. He had barged into his house with detectives and dragged me away from him.
That night, Kenzo signed his death warrant.
“He’s coming.” My palm cupped my mouth, shivering. “I need to go. I have–I have to go.”
My movements were frantic, my gaze unfocused as I turned for the exit.
“You’re not going anywhere.” Kenzo reached for me, his touch grounding me, but not enough to curb the panic surging through me. “He doesn’t know where you are, remember?”
“I know he won’t hurt me,” I cut in, my voice breaking. “It’s you, Kenzo. You broke his number one rule. You took me away from him.”
He exhaled sharply, gripping my shoulders. “Look at me,” he urged, his voice controlled. “He isn’t going to touch me. The detectives know everything now. They know his identity. The Raskovs aren’t just mere people. The whole of Scotland knows them. He would try to avoid any scandal that would smear his family name. He won’t do anything.”
“You don’t know him.” I tried to pull away but he held on tighter. “He doesn’t care about some fucking cops. Just take me back. I’ll tell him I came willingly. If I go back to him, he won’t have a reason to hurt you.”
Why wasn’t anyone taking my words seriously? Why were they treating me like I was paranoid and going mad?
“You’re scared, understandable.” His voice was calm and insistent. “And that’s okay, judging by what he put you through. But running back to him won’t save me or anybody.”
I shook my head, my vision blurry as a sob pressed into my chest. They didn’t know Zaghan. But I knew him. I knew what he was capable of doing and the lengths he would go to prove a point. But Kenzo and the detectives weren’t listening to me.
