Fixation (Fatal Attraction #3)

Chapter 25

25

Three weeks later

I t was like Reina had disappeared into thin air. Three whole weeks had passed, and Vedant still had no clue where she was. The only thing Armaan had assured him was that she was safe.

He looked outside the window of his study. Dusk had settled in, painting the lake, the grasslands, and the forest around his home in a dark violet shadow. His heart felt heavy. He missed Reina so damn much. He missed her smile, her pouty lips when she was mad, her defiant jaw, and the changing hues in her eyes—bright when she was angry, softer when she was kissing him. It hurt that he didn’t know where she was, that he couldn’t personally ensure she was safe and that no one touched a hair on her head. He felt powerless now, more than when he’d been bedridden and injured.

He pressed a hand against his chest. A permanent ache had lodged itself there. He missed her so bloody much. She’d embedded herself into his heart and his mind. He felt… he felt incomplete. Like a vital part of him had left with her. And he had no one but himself to blame for that.

Letting her go that day had been the hardest thing he had ever done. And the cruellest. He had hurt her deliberately. While ensuring that she hated him so she’d stay away from him, he hadn’t considered how his own heart would break in the process. Three weeks had passed, and he continued to yearn for her. He woke up in the middle of the night, her name on his lips, his body aching for her, her scent, her smile… There was something about her… No, he now knew what it was about her that had pulled him to her. But he refused to name it out loud. What was the point? The best way to keep her safe was to keep her away from him. Even when he found her, which he would, he couldn’t be with her.

He checked the time on his phone. He still had a few minutes before the scheduled call with his brothers. He needed to discuss something with them. Tyrion had learned something important, and he needed to share that with his brothers.

Thankfully, things were back to normal between Armaan and him. They each couldn’t stay mad at the other for too long, and after Vedant had profusely apologised, Armaan had come around with the condition that Vedant never asked him about Reina. Vedant had accepted it with a heavy heart.

However, Armaan’s condition couldn’t stop him from asking others about her. And that is what Vedant had been doing since the last few weeks. But thus far, he had found out zilch.

Even Su Min, the one person who probably knew about Reina, had vanished into thin air. The only news Tyrion had found was that she’d applied for a leave from the hospital. After that, there was no news on her, and that worried him. It sounded too convenient that she’d disappeared right after they’d captured Vasily. However, she was the least of his worries.

He needed to find Reina first and see for himself that she was safe. He needed to have someone he trusted watching over her all the time. Only then would he be able to breathe again.

Tyrion had noted the details of the cab driver who had dropped Reina home that fateful, rainy night, but none of the apartment blocks in the vicinity of the address Reina had been dropped at had a Dr. Singh listed on the lease or on the ownership records. Tyrion hadn’t been able to get her mobile number also. He’d checked everywhere.

Vedant had further learned from the hospital administration that she had resigned and that Dr. Williams had given her a glowing recommendation letter. Considering the problem Reina had with that man, Vedant had been quite surprised to hear that. He itched to have a one-on-one with the man and make him pay for what he’d put Reina through, but he held back because he’d given his word to her to not interfere in this.

However, the important point was that no one in the hospital knew where she had gone. The hospital records also had the same location Tyrion had as Reina’s last known address, and that had anyway turned out to be a dead end. It boggled him that Reina had lived so quietly and privately. Why though? Was she hiding something? What was she hiding?

His team had even checked other hospitals in and around London, but no one had a Dr. Singh on their payroll. It’s like Dr. Reina Singh didn’t exist. But he wouldn’t give up. He would find her. He had resources everywhere. Even now, his team was working round the clock, searching for her.

He pressed a hand on the cool window pane. Where are you, Reina? Where have you disappeared? And why does my heart hurt so fucking much?

His phone rang. He pressed a button on the TV remote. His brothers’ faces came into view.

“Hey guys,” he said.

“How are you doing?” Mihir asked him. “Did you go to the hospital? How is the new doctor? What does she say?”

After Reina had left, he’d been forced to consult with another senior doctor from the hospital Reina had worked in. Dr. Banks was highly recommended. She had appreciated Reina’s treatment program for him and decided to continue with it. But she was too regimental and conservative in her care program—far stricter than Reina had been. Nonetheless, he had been following all her instructions diligently.

And he did feel much better. His ribs had fully healed. His shoulder and leg were both back to normal as well. He’d already started fight training with Tyrion and some of the other bodyguards, and he got better at it with each passing day.

“I’m doing fine,” Vedant said. “I have a visit scheduled with her this weekend. I’ll find out from her if I’m okay to travel. I want to come meet you guys.”

With his inability to find Reina, he just needed a few days with his brothers to heal his ailing heart, and then he’d return to London.

“Actually, it would be better for you to stay in London for a while,” Armaan said.

Vedant frowned. “Why?”

“Both of us are worried about you,” Mihir explained. “You need to remain in London for a while longer and heal. The house there is very well protected.”

“And so is our house in Dubai,” Vedant countered. “Guys, I am doing fine. I’m almost back to normal.”

“Almost, being the keyword,” Armaan said. “Stay a few weeks more in London. Heal. Recover.”

Before Vedant could argue further, Mihir asked, “What did you want to talk to us about?”

“Tyrion has been trying to speak to Anita’s family and friends for days. He finally managed to talk to her mother. She told him that Anita suspected she was being followed and was scared. You guys know she’d been trying to get in touch with me. What if she’d figured out something?”

“You’re making assumptions because you feel guilty about her death,” Mihir said.

“Please stop doing that,” Armaan said.

“Then why the hell had she been so desperate to reach me?” Vedant queried.

Navya appeared behind Armaan. Both his brothers smiled at her. She waved at Vedant.

“Hi, Navya!” he greeted her warmly.

She gave Vedant a smile. Armaan crossed his arms on his chest and gave her a sullen look.

She swiped a hand in the air. “Stop being difficult. I’m only going to stay with my family for one night. My sister has been in town for weeks now, and I haven’t spent a single night at home with her.”

“It’s your fault that I’m used to having you here, moya tigritsa ,” Armaan said. “I can’t sleep without you.”

Vedant laughed. Ever since Armaan had moved Navya to their home in Dubai, he looked relieved and way happier. Armaan was paranoid about her safety and had armed bodyguards follow her around everywhere. The fact that he actually let her out of his sight to go to work or to stay at her parents house boggled Vedant. How did his brother fight the desperate urge to protect the woman he loved and yet allow her to live her life?

Armaan whispered something in Navya’s ear, and she giggled. Vedant smiled, looking at them.

Mihir pushed past Armaan and Navya to stand in front of the screen. “Ignore them. I usually do.”

“You’re never home to be around us to ignore us,” Navya complained. “You work all the time.”

Mihir rolled his eyes, but Vedant noted the hint of a smile on his elder brother’s face. He knew how fond Mihir had become of Navya. She was a breath of fresh air in their home. Vedant had spoken to her several times on the phone, and he couldn’t wait to meet her in person so he could get to know her better.

“Do you have the photograph, Mihir?” Vedant asked. This was the reason they all were on the call.

Mihir nodded. Vedant took a deep breath. They were all going to see Karina’s photo. Navya had finally convinced both Armaan and Vedant to let go of their guilt concerning Karina and move forward.

“Alright, Mihir,” Armaan said. “Show us. Vedant, are you ready?”

“Yes, I’m finally okay with doing this,” Vedant said.

Mihir clicked a button on his iPad, and the screen split into two. His brothers and Navya were on one side, and an old photograph was rendered on the other. Vedant gasped.

“This is the old picture of her that Mrs. Braganza sent me,” Mihir explained.

Vedant stared at the image of a young Karina. She looked to be ten or twelve. His eyes stung. He remembered her like this, so young and vibrant. His memories, hazy as they were, rushed to the forefront of his mind. She’d been around his age. They used to play together, laugh together, and dream of a better life together. He and his brothers were now living a happy and fulfilled life. They had been fortunate. Alexander had changed their lives for good, and now, thanks to him and the resources they’d had, they would find her one day. In the meanwhile, he prayed that wherever she was, she was living a good and happy life too.

“Vedant, are you good, brother?” Mihir asked.

Nodding, Vedant cleared his throat. He was overcome with emotion, just like Armaan was.

“This next one is the AI image I chose to search for her,” Mihir said. “I feel this resembles her the most.”

Mihir swiped on his iPad, and Vedant’s mouth fell open. The picture was… it was…incredible.

“This is… this is simply wow,” Armaan expressed. “It is such an amazing resemblance. I’m sure she looks like this now.”

“She’s so pretty,” Navya exclaimed. “I can’t wait to meet her.”

“You will soon,” Mihir replied. “I have people searching the whole of India for her. Our team is going through databases of passport records, Aadhar card images, PAN card images, etc. There is a load of data to sift through, but we will find her.”

Vedant shifted away from the screen to wipe his eyes. He was moved simply by looking at her picture.

“Vedant, are you there?” his elder brother asked.

He faced the screen again. “Sorry, guys. I was a bit emotional for a moment. But Mihir, this is fabulous.”

“Yes, it is. But guys, all of us need to keep very quiet on the hunt for Karina. We cannot trust anyone with this knowledge.”

“Absolutely,” Vedant concurred.

“Yes,” Armaan accepted. When Mihir faced Navya, she gave him a nod.

“Is there an update on Ivan?” Vedant asked.

“Our team wasn’t able to locate him in Poland,” Mihir said. “We combed through his possible whereabouts, the ones that we got from Vasily’s phone, but that information was of no use. He’s vanished again. The two men in charge of attacking you and Armaan have also disappeared with him.”

“They’ll all show up,” Armaan said. “Ivan will resurface with another plan, I’m sure.”

“We will be prepared this time,” Mihir said.

Vedant’s face hardened. “Yes, we will.”

He had his own sources in place for finding that Karl Leipzig. He wouldn’t let him get away with murdering Anita. She’d been innocent and he would avenge her death. That man would never hurt another person who Vedant knew again.

Armaan looked at Navya. “We have more to protect now, da ?”

“Yes, we do,” Vedant smiled. He addressed Navya. “How are you doing? Is Armaan treating you well?”

“Of course, I am,” Armaan gritted out. “What sort of a stupid question is that?”

Navya laughed. “Stop teasing him, Vedant. You know how touchy he gets when it comes to me.”

“Tell me about it,” Mihir said. “He’s become so possessive that he doesn’t let her go for a walk on the beach alone. Can you believe that?”

Vedant chuckled. “I never thought Armaan would be the first one to get tied down. It’s good seeing you in love, brother. You look happy, and that makes me happy.”

Armaan kissed Navya’s forehead. “I am.”

“So, when’s the big day, Navya?” Vedant asked. “Have you guys decided? I do hope it’s after I’ve been given the go-ahead to travel by my doctor. She’s a tough one.”

Navya made a face. “Um, we’ve not decided yet.”

“Don’t worry, Vedant,” Armaan looked at Mihir. “We will get married when every member of our families can make it. Right, Mihir?”

Mihir looked at his iPad, refusing to reply. Armaan looked heavenward.

Vedant alternated his gaze between his brothers. “What’s going on here?”

There was a sudden noise, and Vedant saw Ananya Mehra appear on the screen. His brothers and Navya turned to face her.

Mihir’s face twisted in anger. “Why the fuck is she here?”

Ananya tilted her head and gave him a smile. “No hello, no hi, Mihir?”

Mihir’s face turned an angry shade of red. “Who gave her the permission to enter our gates?”

“She’s Navya’s sister, Mihir,” Armaan said. “Her name is on the list of approved visitors. She’s welcome in our home any time she wants.”

“No, she’s not .”

“ She has a name,” Ananya retorted. “And you better get used to using it.”

She marched angrily towards Mihir. “Did you threaten Armaan that you wouldn’t attend his wedding if I did?”

Wait, what? Mihir had done that? Good God.

Navya neared her sister. “Shit. Who told you that?”

“I’ve been so excited about the wedding for days,” Ananya told her. “And today, Sheena finally told me to calm down because there was no wedding on the cards because of him .”

Ananya looked at Mihir. “Is this true?”

“ Da .” Mihir didn’t even bat an eye. “I did tell Armaan to have the wedding without me.”

“That will never happen, brother,” Armaan replied.

Mihir shrugged. “Fine, then ask her not to come, and I’ll be there.”

“Fucking bastard,” Ananya raged. “How dare you assume that I won’t attend my own sister’s wedding?”

“Not sure what I am supposed to do or say here,” Mihir replied.

Vedant stared at his eldest brother. Mihir was behaving unemotional and detached. It was so unlike him. Was Vedant the only one who saw how Ananya affected Mihir?

“Who are you, Mihir?” Ananya sounded sad. “I don’t recognise you anymore.”

“I am who I am because of your betrayal and your deception.”

Ananya stared at Mihir, before approaching him. Mihir lifted his chin and looked down at her. She pulled a gold chain from inside her t-shirt and dropped it down on her chest. Mihir’s eyes fell on the chain exactly as she’d intended, and they widened.

Vedant’s eyes popped when he realised what dangled from her chain. Fuck. The situation had just gone from bad to extremely bad.

“How the fuck do you have this?” Mihir stormed. He put a finger through the chain and tugged on it, ensuring he didn’t touch Ananya at all. “I want my ring back.”

Ananya flicked the chain from his fingers. The red diamond on the ring glittered as she stepped back. She hid the chain inside her t-shirt again, looking rather pleased with herself. “Sorry, since I’ve had this ring for more than what, seven years now, I think it belongs to me.”

Mihir’s face hardened. “Anna?—”

“—you lost the right to call me that after you rejected me over and over. My name is Ananya,” she hissed. “Address me as such or not at all.”

“You don’t get to dictate to me ever, Anna .”

“You asshole.”

Mihir took an irate step near her.

“Navya, look,” Armaan said aloud. “Mihir and Ananya are in a room together and they are talking. Isn’t that what you stipulated as a precondition for dating me? See, I’ve fulfilled it.”

“What?” Ananya and Mihir both said at the same time.

Vedant barked out a laugh. This was too funny. Mihir threw him a hard glare.

Navya giggled. “They’re not talking; they’re biting each other’s head off.”

“Shut up, both of you,” Ananya snapped.

“I want my ring,” Mihir said.

Ananya gave him a wide smile. “You will never have it.”

“I’ve been avoiding a war with you for years, Anna . Don’t give me a reason to fight with you. That ring is my legacy. I will destroy you for it.”

“Not if I destroy you first,” Ananya challenged.

Oh God. This was going crazy. Before he could say something to calm the situation, Armaan spoke up, “Guys, no one is destroying anyone, okay?”

But Ananya wasn’t done. She stepped closer to Mihir. “You want a war; I’ll gladly give you one. I’ve wasted years of my life yearning for a selfish bastard like you. But now, I’m done. I’m done pining over you. I’m done hoping to have a decent conversation with you to clear the air. I don’t even care what you think of me anymore. You are an asshole, and you don’t deserve me. Ever since that yacht incident, I’ve been miserable, depressed, and upset because of you. I’ve even stopped looking after myself. But that stops today. I can’t get those tears and years back, but I will get retribution for the time I wasted on you.” She lifted her head higher. “From this day on, revenge has a new name for you, and it is Ananya Mehra.”

Oh Fuck. Mihir could never resist a challenge, and he’d never back off from one thrown by this particular woman.

Mihir’s lips curved. “Fancy words, but then you always had a good play on language, da ?” He lowered his face to hers. “Bring it on. Let me see what you’ve got, Anna .”

Ananya lifted her nose. “Never even in my wildest dreams I imagined I’d feel this for you, much less say it, but I truly hate you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Good, now you know what it feels like.”

They stared at each other for a hot, electrifying moment before Ananya walked away. Reaching the door, she looked sideways. “Don’t forget to read the next issue of Noir. It will be the beginning of your doom, Mihir Oshnov.”

With that parting shot, Ananya stormed away. Mihir opened the terrace doors in the direction opposite her and left through them.

“Have they gone?” Vedant asked.

“Fuck, yeah.” Armaan looked as shocked as Vedant was.

Vedant chuckled. “Am I the only one here who thinks that their conversation was filled with sexual tension?”

“So much that I wanted to fan myself,” Navya replied.

“Well, I think this war might just be good for them then,” Vedant said.

Mihir needed to hash out his differences with Ananya Mehra. It was long overdue, and it was high time that his brother found some closure with her. Good or bad, this needed to happen.

With a quick goodbye to Navya and Armaan, he disconnected the line. Tyrion entered the room.

“Sir, I have news,” he held his iPad out. “We’ve been scanning through the flight manifests of various flights out of London for the last three weeks.”

Vedant’s heart soared. “And?”

“I found out that Su Min took a flight from London to Seoul soon after she left from here. Further enquiries show that she has family there.”

Okay, this was a relief that, at least for now, this woman didn’t pose a threat to Reina if she was out of the country.

“There’s more,” Tyrion said. “No airline had a passenger named Dr. Reina Singh on their manifest for the last three weeks.”

“Fuck.” Disappointment swamped him.

“But there was a Reina Mehra who took a flight to Dubai,” Tyrion quickly added.

Vedant froze.

“Something about that name bothered me,” Tyrion explained, “so I returned to the ownership and rental records of the building where the cab driver had dropped Dr. Singh that night. Like I’d suspected, there was an apartment owned by a Ms. R. Mehra in that building. I’d missed it out because our team was looking for a Dr. Reina Singh. Nonetheless, I believe Reina Singh may actually be Reina Mehra.”

Her name was Reina Mehra? His heart began to speed as so many thoughts rushed into his head. He tried to puzzle through them slowly. Fuck. It couldn’t be… But everything pointed to only one possibility.

Armaan giving Reina her phone back… Reina trusting Armaan to help her… Armaan being protective of Reina, so much so that he was willing to battle with Vedant over her… Navya mentioning right now on the call that her sister was in town...

Reina had told him that she was the youngest. That she had a brother and two sisters. And finally, Armaan’s words: “ Even God won’t be able to help us once her brother learns that she was held hostage here, and she was forced to leave because of something you did.”

Fucking hell. Why had he not thought of this before? There was only one man unafraid to take the Oshnovs on. Only one man who had stood against them in the past and would willingly do it again. Rajiv Mehra.

Now he understood why his brothers were so keen on Vedant remaining in London. They were trying to keep him from finding out Reina’s identity. If he was in Dubai, then eventually he would have learned who she was.

Shit, he suddenly realised that Mihir had scanned the backgrounds of every single person whom he had assigned to care for Vedant. Armaan must have ensured that Reina got paid the two million pounds they had committed to pay each of the medical team, not that she’d need the money if she was indeed Rajiv Mehra’s sister. Fuck. Why hadn’t he remembered this earlier? It would have saved him three weeks.

He addressed Tyrion. “Mihir had looked into the background of all the members of the medical team who were working for me. Check on Reina’s file.”

“Sir, I did that long back,” Tyrion replied. “The files on her are blank.”

He winced. Mihir must have deliberately wiped out all of Reina’s files just so Vedant could never know who she was. His brothers really hadn’t wanted him to find out her identity. Still, he needed to be one hundred percent sure.

“I’m sure Mihir has a file somewhere on Rajiv Mehra’s family,” he told Tyrion. “Show it to me.”

Tyrion tapped on the iPad a few times and handed it to him. Vedant clicked through several photos, until he came across a photo from four years ago. Four women were seated in a Mexican restaurant laughing. Ananya, Navya, Rajiv’s wife Sheena, and… and… Reina. His Reina.

Fuck. He’d never cared to learn who the third sister of Rajiv Mehra was. Now, he knew. For some reason, she had changed her identity to Reina Singh, and she hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him who she really was.

Now he understood why Armaan was so certain she was safe. He would have ensured it. Her brother would have ensured it.

His eyes coasted over her picture. Those sparkling eyes, that shiny hair, her glowing face. His heart constricted. God, he missed her.

He handed Tyrion the iPad. “Get the jet fuelled and ready. We’re going home to Dubai tonight. But we need to keep it quiet. Tell no one. Even the pilots need to hear it last minute.”

He just needed to see Reina once and make sure she was okay and safe. Even from afar would do. Then he’d have someone from his own security follow her from a distance. Only then would he have some peace.

He exhaled. The rope that had wound itself around his chest finally loosened a bit. He’d found her like he’d promised himself he would, and now he was going to ensure that she stayed safe always. But first, he needed to see her to ensure she was alright.