( Raina’s POV )

It had been a good month.

Too good.

Ethan got the promotion. Grandpa finally returned to Japan. Malcolm was locked away where he couldn’t ruin anything. Even my father had gone quiet for once instead of crawling out of whatever hole he hid in whenever he needed money.

For the first time in a long while, things felt... peaceful.

And tomorrow was Halloween.

Ethan and I already planned for today. Costume shopping after work. Horror movies. Probably teasing each other over stupid couple outfits until one of us gave in.

The thought alone made me smile.

I was stretched across my couch in an oversized hoodie, half watching some random sitcom playing on the television while my phone rested against my chest. The apartment was quiet. Too quiet.

No streams today.

No sponsors.

No meetings.

No pretending.

Just me.

I closed my eyes for what was supposed to be a short nap.

Then my phone started ringing.

The sharp vibration jolted me awake immediately.

I reached around blindly, still half asleep, my hair stuck against my cheek as I searched for the phone between the cushions.

"Ugh... where the hell..."

I finally grabbed it and squinted at the screen.

Frank.

A bad feeling hit me instantly.

I answered quickly.

"Frank? What’s wrong?"

His breathing was uneven.

"Boss... I don’t know how to say this but... we lost him."

My stomach dropped.

"Lost who?" I sat up immediately. "Wait... don’t tell me—"

Silence.

Then—

"We lost Malcolm."

I was already standing before he finished speaking.

"What the fuck do you mean you lost Malcolm?!"

"Boss—"

"How did that happen?!"

"You know what? I’ll be there in a minute." I grabbed the nearest jeans from the chair beside me. "Don’t fucking move, Frank."

I hung up before he could answer.

My heart was already pounding.

No.

No no no.

This couldn’t be happening.

I threw on a plain white T-shirt, shoved my legs into jeans, grabbed a face cap and rushed downstairs. I didn’t even call Malik.

I drove myself.

The entire ride to the warehouse felt suffocating. Every red light pissed me off. Every slow driver made me want to scream.

By the time I arrived, Frank was already waiting outside.

The moment I stepped out of the car, I slammed the door hard enough to echo.

"Frank," I snapped. "What the fuck happened?"

He looked exhausted.

"Come see for yourself."

He led me inside quickly.

The warehouse felt different now.

Tense.

The guards avoided my eyes. Some looked bruised. One had blood on his shirt sleeve.

Frank walked me straight into the CCTV room.

"Play it," I ordered.

The footage started.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying only mouth movements.

Malcolm sat inside the cage quietly while one of the guards stood nearby scrolling through his phone.

Then Malcolm started talking.

At first the guard ignored him.

Then Malcolm kept talking.

Smiling.

Laughing.

Saying something that finally irritated the guard enough to move closer.

Too close.

In one sudden movement Malcolm grabbed him through the bars and wrapped his arm around his throat.

My eyes widened.

The guard struggled violently.

Malcolm didn’t even hesitate.

He choked him until the man went limp, reached into his pocket, took the keys and unlocked the cage.

Then he ran.

The footage switched.

Another hallway camera.

Another guard down.

Then the front exit.

Gone.

I turned slowly toward Frank.

"What the hell happened to the idiots watching the cameras?" My voice shook with rage. "And the guards outside? They were armed, Frank."

Frank looked furious too.

"We didn’t expect—"

"That’s exactly the problem!"

My phone rang suddenly.

Unknown number.

I answered immediately.

"Hello?"

A familiar voice chuckled softly.

"Hello, Himari."

My blood ran cold.

"Malcolm."

"You sound surprised."

"You think you won by escaping?" I hissed. "I promise you I’m going to find you."

"Oh really?" he laughed. "Well you won’t have to search too hard."

Then my phone vibrated.

A message.

An address.

I looked down at it.

Crestline Avenue.

My chest tightened instantly.

No.

No no no.

Ethan.

I turned immediately.

"Boss, want me to come with you?" Frank asked.

"No," I said quickly. "Stay here and clean this mess up."

Then I ran.

I drove faster than I ever had in my life.

My fingers trembled around the steering wheel the entire way.

Please don’t let him say anything yet.

Please.

When I finally reached Ethan’s apartment building, I practically jumped out of the car and hurried to the door.

I knocked hard.

A few seconds later Grace opened it.

"Oh! Raina," she smiled warmly. "Come in."

For one brief second, relief hit me.

Maybe he wasn’t here yet.

Then I stepped inside.

And saw him.

Malcolm.

Sitting comfortably on the couch like he belonged there.

I froze.

Grace noticed immediately.

"Oh," she said cheerfully. "This is Malcolm. He said he’s a friend of Ethan’s from college so I told him to wait inside."

Good.

He hasn’t said anything yet.

Maybe I could still stop this.

I forced a smile onto my face.

"It’s nice to meet you, Malcolm."

He smiled back slowly.

"Nice meeting you too... Miss?"

"Raina," I said carefully. "Call me Raina."

"Raina," he repeated. "Beautiful name."

"Well this is wonderful," Grace laughed. "You two are already getting along. I’ll be in the kitchen finishing dinner."

The moment she disappeared—

My expression dropped.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I whispered harshly.

Malcolm leaned back comfortably.

"What does it look like I’m doing?"

"You need to leave."

"No." He smiled. "I’m finally going to tell Ethan the truth."

My chest tightened.

"You’d do no such thing."

"Oh yeah?" he asked quietly. "And what exactly are you going to do about it?"

He leaned forward slightly.

"I’m already here."

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered angrily. "Why are you so obsessed with ruining everything in my life?"

He stared at me for a moment.

Then laughed softly.

"You really wanna ask me that?"

His voice darkened.

"My brother is dead." 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

I swallowed hard.

"You think I deserve this?"

"I think you deserve worse."

I clenched my fists.

"You can’t prove anything."

"Maybe not murder," he admitted. "Yet."

Then he smiled.

"But kidnapping? Torture? Illegal imprisonment?" He tilted his head. "Pretty sure those are still crimes."

My pulse hammered violently.

"You’re going to prison one way or another, Himari."

"Malcolm," I warned quietly.

"Everything alright in here?" Grace called from the kitchen.

Immediately Malcolm smiled again.

"Everything’s peachy!" he answered casually.

Then he looked at me.

"Right?"

I forced another fake smile.

"Right."

Grace disappeared again.

I lowered my voice instantly.

"You don’t want to do this."

"Oh I really do."

Then—

Ding dong!

The doorbell rang.

Malcolm grinned.

"Oh look," he said softly. "Your boyfriend’s home."

He stood up before I could stop him.

"I’ll get it!"

My heartbeat became deafening.

No.

No no no no—

The door opened.

"Ethan," Malcolm said warmly. "Long time no see."

"Malcolm?" Ethan sounded shocked. "What are you doing here?"

He stepped inside carrying his bag.

Then his eyes landed on me.

"Hey babe." He smiled instantly. "What are you doing here?"

My throat tightened.

For some reason I suddenly couldn’t breathe properly.

Everything around me felt distant.

The sound of my heartbeat filled my ears so loudly it almost drowned out the room itself.

My palms were sweating.

My stomach twisted violently.

I could feel Malcolm watching me.

Waiting.

Watching me break.

"You okay?" Ethan asked suddenly.

I blinked.

"What?"

"You’re sweating."

I forced a laugh.

"I’m fine." My voice sounded weak even to me. "How was work?"

"Good." He loosened his tie slightly. "Long day though."

Then he pointed toward Malcolm.

"Raina, this is Malcolm. He’s Felix’s brother."

My chest tightened again.

"I’m sorry," Ethan continued. "I realized I never really talked about him much."

"It’s okay," I said carefully. "We’ve already met."

Grace walked back in.

"Ethan! Welcome home."

"Hey mum."

"How was work?"

"It was good."

"Well go wash up. Dinner’s almost ready."

"Alright."

Then Ethan turned back to Malcolm.

"You’re staying for dinner right?"

Malcolm smiled slowly.

"Oh I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world."

Something about the way he said it made my skin crawl.

Ethan went upstairs.

Grace returned to the kitchen.

The moment we were alone again, I turned toward Malcolm immediately.

"You don’t have to do this," I whispered desperately. "Please."

He smirked.

"Who says I want to stop?"

I looked away sharply, frustrated.

A few minutes later dinner was ready.

We all sat down together.

The entire time my hands felt cold.

Every little sound made me tense.

The clinking of forks.

The sound of Grace serving food.

Ethan casually talking.

Meanwhile Malcolm sat there calm. Patient.

Like a man enjoying the final moments before detonating a bomb.

"So Malcolm," Ethan said while eating. "It’s really been a while. I honestly didn’t expect to see you here after all these years."

Malcolm nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I came back because I finally got a lead."

Ethan looked curious.

"A lead?"

"On my brother’s killer."

The room went still.

Even Grace looked up.

Ethan frowned immediately.

"Wait... killer? I thought Felix disappeared."

Malcolm looked directly at me.

"No."

My fingers tightened around the fork.

"He was murdered."

Silence.

Heavy silence.

Then Malcolm leaned back slightly.

"And the person who killed him..." his eyes stayed locked on mine, "is someone you know very well."

My heartbeat slammed violently against my ribs.

"Really?" Ethan asked slowly. "Who?"

"Malcolm," I said quickly, forcing calm into my voice. "Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this during dinner."

"Yeah," Grace agreed uneasily. "Dead people at the table isn’t exactly pleasant conversation."

"Oh no," Malcolm said softly. "You’re all going to want to hear this."

My chest felt tight.

"Malcolm," Ethan said carefully. "What are you talking about?"

Then Malcolm smiled.

Cold.

Satisfied.

"The person who killed my brother," he said slowly, "was his girlfriend in college"

My vision blurred slightly.

No.

"Her name was Himari."

Then he looked directly at me.

"Or as you know her now..."

Silence swallowed the room whole.

"Raina."