Chapter Eighteen: The First Warning
Angel stood frozen, Mara's small body pressed against her chest as Zahid stared at his phone with an expression she had never seen before.
Cold.
Alert.
He looked frightening at that moment.
"Zahid?" Angel whispered, her heart pounding. "Tell me what that means. What is Round 2?"
He didn't look at her.
Instead, he locked his phone, slipped it into his pocket, and stood straighter.
"We'll talk later."
"No," she said, her voice trembling. "We'll talk now."
He shook his head. "No, Angelina. Not with the kid here."
She hated how calm he sounded. Calm in that way people sounded when they were trying not to cause panic.
"Zahid," she said again, "you're scaring me."
He walked past her toward the hallway.
"That's why I can't tell you."
Angel's throat tightened. "You promised not to hide things from me."
He stopped.
For a moment, he didn't turn around. His shoulders rose and fell slowly with a long breath.
Then..
"I made that promise years ago," he said quietly. "And I broke it."
Angel felt the words like a slap.
Before she could reply, Malik's sleepy voice echoed from the stairs.
"Mommy?"
Zahid immediately moved, faster than her, reaching the stairs before Angel even stood. He lifted Malik into his arm with a smooth practiced motion, like he'd been doing it his whole life.
Malik leaned against him, still half-asleep.
"Bad dream?" Zahid asked.
Malik nodded slowly.
"What happened, baby?" Angel asked gently.
Malik rubbed his eyes. "A man… was knocking the window."
Angel's blood went cold.
Zahid froze completely.
Malik pointed toward the back of the house.
"There," he whispered. "He was watching us."
Angel's breath caught. She looked at Zahid.
He wasn't calm anymore.
He was furious.
Not at Malik.
Not at her.
At something, or someone outside.
He placed Malik in Angel's arms. "Take them upstairs."
Angel swallowed hard. "Zahid...."
"Angelina," he said, voice low and sharp, "please. Take them upstairs."
That "please" terrified her more than anything.
She held both kids close and rushed them upstairs. Her legs felt weak the entire way.
When she reached the top step, she turned back.
Zahid was already in the hallway checking every lock, every window, every camera feed. His movements were precise and controlled… but his eyes were cold.
He wasn't checking for possibilities.
He was checking because he expected something.
Angel got the kids into her room and locked the door. Malik and Mara curled on the bed, still drowsy. She sat between them, her heart racing.
Downstairs, she heard Zahid's voice. Low. Urgent. On the phone.
She moved quietly to the edge of the bed, straining to hear.
"No, he was here," Zahid murmured sharply. "He stood by the window. Yes… the children saw."
Angel's stomach twisted.
A pause.
"I don't care about Round 2. If he's near the kids, we end this now."
Angel covered her mouth with both hands.
End.
What did that even mean?
She pressed her ear against the door.
"No, don't come here," Zahid hissed. "He wants a reaction. He wants me out of the house. I'm not leaving them."
Another pause.
"Don't, listen to me, don't send anyone unless I call you myself. He might be watching the cameras."
Angel felt ice trickle through her veins.
Watching the cameras?
Was the intruder inside their system?
She stepped back from the door, trembling, and returned to the bed. Mara was sleeping again. Malik too. But Angel… she couldn't calm the fear inside her chest.
Her door burst open suddenly.
Angel gasped, her heart thundering beneath her ribcage.
But it was Zahid.
His chest was rising and falling like he'd been running. His eyes scanned the room quickly.
"Are you okay?" he demanded.
Angel nodded shakily. "What did you see? Was someone really..."
Zahid raised a hand, stopping her. "I need to check the balcony."
He walked past her toward the curtain.
"Zahid, wait!!"
He pulled the curtain aside and stepped onto the balcony.
Angel's breath stopped in her throat.
Because the moment he opened the door.
A cold wind rushed in.
The air smelled strange.
It felt Off.
Like metal and burnt wire.
Zahid stepped outside slowly.
Angel grabbed the kids and followed him to the doorway, her heart hammering.
Zahid crouched near the balcony railing.
Angel peered over his shoulder.
Her throat closed.
There, it was so small, almost invisible
A symbol.
Scratched into the wood.
Fresh.
Ugly., and deliberate.
A circle with a slash through the center.
And three dots beneath it.
Angel blinked fast.
"What… what is that?"
Zahid didn't answer.
His hand tightened around the railing until his knuckles turned white.
Then he stood.
"Angelina," he said softly, "take the kids back inside."
She didn't move. "Zahid. Tell me."
His eyes lifted to hers.
Haunted.
Tired.
Defeated.
"That mark," he said, voice barely above a whisper, "means Round 2 has started. And it means he's close enough to touch the house."
Angel's knees nearly buckled.
"Who?" she whispered. "Who is close?"
Zahid swallowed hard.
His jaw tightened.
And in that moment, he seemed to break, just a little.
"A man I should have stopped a long time ago."
Angel stared at him.
"And now…" he added quietly, his voice trembling with anger he fought to control, "he's come for me the only way he knows how."
His eyes shifted to the children behind her.
Through them.
Through her.
Angel felt sick.
"Zahid," she whispered, tears rising, "are we in danger?"
He walked toward her slowly.
Placed both hands on her arms.
And looked her dead in the eyes.
"You were never supposed to be part of this," he breathed, pained. "But yes. Angelina… you're in danger. All of you."
Angel's breath shattered.
And for the first time since he walked back into her life.
Zahid finally stopped lying.