Chapter 43: Signal in the Dark

Chapter 43: Signal in the Dark
Elijah marched resolutely toward Damian’s study, which was guarded by two men. His face was usually cold and controlled, but at that moment, something was different. Like a reluctance he tried to hide behind his sharp gaze.
Vanya, walking behind him, remained silent. A wave of nervousness washed over her as the two guards exchanged glances and scrutinized them.
“Let me in. Damian instructed me to retrieve something,” Elijah said quietly, but firmly.
The two guards looked at each other before finally stepping aside, allowing Elijah and Vanya to enter the room.
Once inside, Elijah closed the door slowly. He walked to the cupboard, easily opened the safe, and pulled out a small black object.
Vanya’s phone.
Vanya froze. “Is that…?”
“Yours,” Elijah answered curtly. “Damian kept it in the safe from the start. I know the code.”
“Why are you helping me?” Vanya’s voice was barely a whisper.
Elijah looked at her for a long time, as if contemplating something far greater than mere loyalty.
“Because if Damian dies,” he said softly but firmly, “at least someone has to know who truly pulled the trigger.”
Vanya’s heart pounded violently. “Damian went to meet Pablo.”
“Yes.” Elijah nodded. “And I’m convinced it was not a meeting for peace.”
Vanya clutched the phone tightly. Her hands were shaking. “Are you going after him?”
“In ten minutes,” Elijah replied. “But there’s a chance I won’t be able to get close. Pablo has a wider network than Damian realizes.”
He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Stay here, and don’t leave the room. If you have something to do, anything at all, do it right now.”
Elijah then turned and left, leaving Vanya alone with the phone that felt too heavy in her hands.

After Elijah and Vanya left the study, they parted ways. Elijah went to follow Damian, while Vanya ran back to her room. As soon as the door closed, Vanya immediately turned the phone on. The battery was almost full; someone must have deliberately charged it.
Her hands moved quickly. She had prepared an emergency Interpol contact long ago, memorizing it even when she had no device.
The signal briefly weakened, then returned.
Connecting…
“Interpol Crisis Desk,” a woman’s voice answered on the other end. “State your identity.”
“Vanya Mikhailova,” Vanya replied without hesitation. “Forensic psychologist. I was previously listed as an external consultant for cross-border cases. I am in an emergency situation. Can you connect me to Agent Moreau?”
There was a brief pause, the sound of rapid typing.
“We found your data. You have been missing from the radar for six months.”
“There is a reason for that,” Vanya said quickly. “I have information about Pablo. He is holding the three elite women who have been considered victims of Damian Volkov. They are still alive.”
The silence on the phone line turned tense.
“Location?” the operator asked more seriously.
Vanya swallowed. “I don’t know the exact location yet. But I know Damian Volkov is heading there right now. Can I be connected to Agent Moreau?”
Another voice cut into the connection, sounding heavier. “Vanya… You’re alive?”
“Agent Moreau! Thank heavens!” Vanya exclaimed in relief. “I have the answers. It turns out the mastermind behind the kidnapping of the three elite women is not Damian Volkov. It’s Pablo. Damian is just a scapegoat.”
Agent Moreau cleared his throat on the other end. “We have been hunting Pablo for a long time. He operates under a shadow organization network. If Volkov approaches him without support, that’s suicide. Although truthfully, they cooperated in illegal transactions.”
“No! Damian is innocent. He is actually a victim, and I can guarantee it. Where is Pablo now?” Vanya urged.
A few seconds felt like an eternity.
“There is one hotspot,” the voice finally answered. “An underground warehouse in the border area, a former secret rehabilitation facility. I will send the coordinates.”
Vanya’s phone vibrated. A message came through containing the location.
Her chest tightened. “Please,” she said faintly, no longer sounding like a professional agent, but a woman in love with a dangerous man. “Help Damian. Catch Pablo if you still want to find those three women. But…”
Vanya paused her sentence for a moment, trying to keep her voice from shaking, “If you want to catch Pablo… Damian must not die.”
“We will move,” Agent Moreau replied. “But you must stay put. Give us your location, and an agent will pick you up. Don’t go anywhere.”
Vanya closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, I can’t promise that.”

The night deepened. Vanya sat in the chair near the window, gazing at the dark villa grounds. Every engine noise in the distance made her stand up, hoping and fearing it was Damian.
She imagined Damian facing Pablo. Elijah’s words echoed in her head: not a meeting for peace.
Damian, who always chose the bloodiest path. Damian, who preferred to die than ask for help. Damian, who loved her by pushing her away.
“I should be with you,” Vanya whispered to the night. “Not waiting for you like this.”
She checked her phone again. No message from Interpol. No news from Elijah.
Then a knock sounded at the door.
Once. Softly. Yet enough to make Vanya jump up.
“Damian?” she called spontaneously, her heart leaping with both hope and fear.
There was no answer.
She quickly opened the door. Her eyes widened seeing Elijah standing there. His face was pale. There was dried blood on his temple, whether his own or someone else’s.
“Where is Damian?” Vanya immediately asked.
Elijah swallowed. For the first time since Vanya had known him, the man looked… defeated.
“You need to listen to me carefully,” he said softly.
“Don’t,” Vanya’s voice trembled. “Don’t tell me something happened to Damian.”
Elijah shook his head. “The meeting was a trap. Pablo already knew Damian was coming. That warehouse is full of armed men. Damian managed to get in, and I did too. But I couldn’t find him.”
Vanya felt the world around her shrinking. “He’s alive, right?”
Elijah hesitated. That hesitation instantly destroyed everything for Vanya.
“He’s in danger,” Elijah finally said. “And Pablo knows one thing Damian thought was safe... you.”
Vanya’s blood felt like it was freezing.
“Why me?”
“He knows about your father,” Elijah continued. “About that research. And he knows you mean something to Damian.”
Vanya covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hold back the breath that was almost turning into a sob.
“I can’t allow this,” she said faintly. “I know the location. Interpol knows too.”
Elijah looked at her sharply. “If you go there, you might not come back.”
“If I don’t go there,” Vanya countered with tear-filled eyes, “Damian might not come back at all.”
Silence hung between them. Finally, Elijah spoke, almost like an oath,
“In that case… I will take you there.”
And for the first time, Vanya knew that night would change everything.