Page 97 of Obsession

Shock swept over his brothers’ faces.

“She was with you?” Vedant asked.

“Of course,” Mihir replied. “How else would she know what I was doing at the party so as to write about it?”

“Was Ananya the woman you were dancing with?” Armaan asked.

“Irrelevant question,” Mihir barked.

“Alright. Why was Ivan talking to her?” Vedant asked instead.

“Initially, I thought he was doing that just to irritate me,” Mihir said. “Because he knows… what she meant to me once.”

“But?” Armaan queried.

“Then I also remembered what Paul said about Anna’s involvement in Ivan’s attack on me.”

Armaan looked shocked. “The way you’re saying it sounds like…”

“…sounds like he’s accusing her,” Vedant clucked his tongue. “Have you not clarified things with her?”

“Not yet.”

“Mihir…” Armaan began, but Mihir raised a hand to stop him.

“Right now, let’s focus on the fact that Ivan deliberately sought Anna out at the party last night and that Mrs. Braganza was killed a day after I told Anna about her.”

Vedant shook his head. “No, Mihir. I know what you’re thinking, and that’s not it.”

“Think about it…” His tone was hard, cold, as his speculations gained the strength of his words. “The only people who know of Mrs. Braganza apart from us are Navya, Reina, Chekov, and a few of our other trusted men, and…”

“No,” Armaan raised a hand to stop him. “It’s not Ananya.”

“Why not? Until now, Mrs. Braganza was safe. But the day I told Anna about her, the very next night, I saw her talking to Ivan, and then Mrs. Braganza ends up dead. What if Anna has been plotting with Ivan all along to hurt me? We all know he used her to hurt me in the past. What if he’s using her to get to me again?”

A loud gasp from behind him made him turn. He hadn’t realized he’d been speaking in English. Anna stood at the door, her face white. She marched toward him.

“Guys, I’ll talk to you later,” he told his brothers, switching to Russian. He tapped on his phone, and the screen went dark.

“You think I’m working with Ivan?” Anna said, her hurt apparent.

“Yes, it’s a possibility that I am definitely exploring.”

“And you didn’t think ofexploringthis possibility before you were buried inside me this morning?” She slammed a hand on her hip. “Or now that fucking me is out of your system, you’re back to being nasty and blaming me for every bad thing that has happened in your life.”

He crossed his arms on his chest. “Mrs. Braganza was killed today. She was shot in her daughter’s house.”

“I’m sorry to hear that; I really am. But what does that have to do with me?”

“Yesterday, during the interview, you specifically asked me for her name. A day after that, I saw you engaged in a conversation with my enemy. Fast forward a few more hours, and Mrs. Braganza is dead. You tell me what I ought to think.”

“That it has nothing to do with me.” She shook her head slowly. “I’d never even met Ivan until last night.”

“That could be a lie for all I know,” Mihir replied icily.

She clucked her tongue. “You saw me attack him last night. Why would I do that if I was working with him? And what would be the end game for me? Not money, for sure. Then what?”

Of course, money would never have enticed her. Then what?

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