Page 147 of Obsession

Devina’s face fell. “I’m sorry. He forced me to call you here. He has compromising pictures of me doing drugs from those days in London. He threatened to expose me to the media. I had to do what he said. I had to call you here.”

Ivan smirked. “I was running out of options on how to get to Mihir. Then I remembered Devina had helped me all those years ago. She’d told me back then about someone Mihir had been involved with. I called her again some months ago, and she told me that it was you who was with him then.”

Devina said, “I thought if I gave him that information, he’d leave me alone, and he did, for a few months, until tonight.”

Ananya gave her a disgusted look. “You gave him that information and then came to visit me at my office, isn’t it? You were going to go out for lunch with me. You even suggested we take the shortcut through the alley. No wonder his man could attack me so easily. He knew I’d be there at that exact time, and you facilitated it. You’re a terrible person.”

Devina blanched, further confirming her suspicions.

Ananya ignored her to face Ivan. “Mihir and I weren’t even involved then? Why did you attack me?”

“To send a message to Mihir. That I could get through to any woman from his past as well.” His lips twisted. “But nothing happened to you. Then I saw you with Mihir in Moscow. I realized that you were together again. However, you left Moscow the day after the party, and he continued to stay there for another month. For a while, I wasn’t entirely certain if you were in a relationship with him or not. But then, lately, my people saw you both together, coming out of an OB-GYN clinic and taking prenatal exercise classes. Imagine my surprise when I learned that you’re carrying his baby.”

Devina gasped. “You’re pregnant?”

Fear coated the back of her mouth. This man knew too much. Her hand instinctively curved protectively over her belly. Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place.

She looked at Devina. “So, you were working with him in the past as well.”

Ivan tapped a hand over Devina’s cheek. She tried to move, but he caught her chin tightly. “Meeting her was coincidental, but so fortunate for me. There I was in London on some business, angry with my situation in life, how three orphans from India had suddenly become more important to my uncle than me. My uncle hadn’t announced it, but I knew he had given them his name. I was so annoyed and frustrated. And then she came along.”

“Through her, you found out about Mihir and me, didn’t you?” Ananya guessed.

Ivan grinned.

Devina looked at her hands. “After Asha’s reception, some of her cousins invited Zeeshan and me to this really swanky nightclub. Ivan was there. He looked rich and fancy, and like an idiot, I tried to get his attention. When he introduced himself, I asked him if he knew Mihir, since they had the same surname. He pretended not to know him. He asked me lots of questions about him and you, but mostly, he was interested in Mihir.”

“Please! Getting her to talk was so easy,” Ivan scoffed. “I just had to offer her some pills at that party, and she sang like a canary.”

“She was the one who told you about Zeeshan’s drug habit,” Ananya surmised, making sense of everything. “You bought off his debts and forced him to get Mihir to come to that house in Kent, right?”

“So easy it was. In one stroke, I thought I could get rid of Mihir. I knew my uncle was fond of him. Rumors were already abuzz that Mihir and his brothers were to be named his heirs. I thought I’d get rid of Mihir, and everything would fall nicely in place for me. His brothers wouldn’t have lasted without him. But he survived my attack. I’d been so wrong then. Instead of getting him, I should have gotten to you. I realized only recently, after meeting you in Moscow, that I should have killed you. Killing you would have killed him. But I’m not going to make the same mistake twice.”

Ivan pulled out a gun from his pocket and pointed it at her, thus silencing her. Her heart thudded.

“What do you want?” she asked calmly, despite the fear rattling inside her.

“You’re going to be my ticket to getting my inheritance back,” he said. “You’re coming with me.”

“And if I don’t?”

His eyes hardened. “Do you want to test me?”

She looked at Adam.

“Don’t worry about him,” Ivan said. “My guys will take care of him.”

“What about me?” Devina asked. “I did as you said. I made her come here. Let me go now.”

“You’re also coming with us,” Ivan said. “I don’t trust you to keep your mouth shut. Once I secure Ananya, then I’ll see what to do about you.”

Devina’s eyes widened with fear. “But?—”

“—shut your mouth,” Ivan said. “Both of you leave your phones here.”

Once they’d done as he’d asked, he held Ananya in front of him, the gun poking against her back as he walked them outside. Five other men joined him, while one man led Adam to a corner.

In the parking lot, she saw Anton and Lenin standing by their car. Horror filled their eyes when they saw who was with her. Anton took a step in her direction, but she surreptitiously shook her head. Ivan still had a gun pointed at her back, and Anton and Lenin were outnumbered. One wrong move, and it would all be over. She wouldn’t risk her babies’ lives in any way.

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