The lock clicked behind them.
For one terrible second, Prema could hear nothing except her own heartbeat.
Then Zyan turned toward her.
"Stay with me."
His voice was quiet, but there was something in it that made her realize how close he was to losing control.
The screen still showed Satya's room.
Empty.
Abandoned.
But the image had been deliberately chosen to frighten her.
"Satya was here," Prema whispered.
"I know."
"They took her."
"We don't know that."
"You saw the room."
"I saw a camera feed."
Prema looked at him. "You don't believe she's there?"
"I believe whoever is behind this wants us to believe she is."
Harry was already examining the walls.
"There has to be another exit."
Zyan didn't answer.
He was looking at Prema.
Not the screen.
Not the locked door.
Her.
She could see the question in his eyes.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
"You're shaking."
"So are you."
He glanced down at his hand.
She was right.
His fingers were trembling slightly.
Zyan had spent his entire life mastering control. He controlled negotiations, companies, enemies, and entire rooms with nothing more than a look.
But Prema had somehow become the one thing he couldn't control.
And that terrified him.
He stepped closer.
"Come here."
Prema hesitated.
Then she moved toward him.
His arms closed around her.
This time, there was nothing possessive in the embrace.
It was desperation.
He buried his face briefly against her hair and breathed in slowly, as though reassuring himself that she was real.
"I thought I was going to lose you," he murmured.
"You haven't."
"You don't understand."
"Then make me understand."
He pulled back enough to look into her eyes.
"When I found you after the kidnapping, I realized something."
"What?"
"I could survive almost anything happening to me."
His thumb brushed gently across her cheek.
"But the thought of someone hurting you…" He stopped. "That is the one thing I don't know how to survive."
Prema's breath caught.
"Zyan…"
"I know what you're going to say."
"What?"
"That I'm being too protective."
"You are."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"I know."
"And controlling."
"I know that too."
"And sometimes impossible."
"That one is unfair."
Despite everything, she almost laughed.
The sound barely escaped her.
But Zyan heard it.
His expression softened.
"There," he whispered. "That's the sound I've been waiting for."
"What?"
"You laughing."
Prema looked away.
"You shouldn't say things like that."
"Why?"
"Because you make it difficult for me to remember that you're dangerous."
His gaze darkened.
"I am dangerous."
"I know."
"And you still came closer."
Prema looked back at him.
"Maybe I don't understand why."
Zyan's fingers slowly slipped from her cheek.
"You don't have to understand everything tonight."
The lights suddenly flickered.
Both turned toward the screen.
The masked man had returned.
"Beautiful," he said. "This is exactly what I wanted."
Zyan stepped in front of Prema.
The man's voice carried through the room.
"You finally found someone who can make you vulnerable."
Zyan's jaw tightened.
"Show me Satya."
The screen changed.
Satya appeared.
She was sitting in a chair, frightened but conscious.
"Prema!"
Prema moved forward.
"Satya!"
Zyan caught her wrist.
She immediately turned toward him.
"Let me go."
"Wait."
"I need to know if she's hurt."
"I know."
"Then let me see her."
His grip loosened instantly.
Prema moved closer to the screen.
"Satya, are you okay?"
Satya nodded quickly.
"They haven't hurt me."
The masked man laughed.
"Not yet."
Zyan's voice became cold.
"If you touch her, I'll find you."
"You keep making threats."
"I keep promises."
The man leaned toward the camera.
"You have eleven hours left."
"Tell me what you want."
"I want you to make a choice."
Zyan's eyes narrowed.
"You already said that."
"And you still don't understand the rules."
The screen split into three sections.
Zyan's mother.
His father.
Satya.
Prema stared at them.
"Three people," the masked man said. "Three lives."
Zyan said nothing.
"Save one."
His mother looked toward the camera.
"Zyan, don't listen to him."
His father shouted, "Find the location!"
Satya shook her head.
"Prema, don't let him—"
The screen went black.
Prema turned toward Zyan.
"There's something wrong."
"What?"
"He wants you to choose."
"Yes."
"But he keeps giving us more people."
Zyan stared at her.
"Why?"
"Because he doesn't actually want you to choose."
Harry suddenly looked up.
"She's right."
Everyone turned.
Harry walked toward the screen.
"This entire setup is psychological. He's trying to force Zyan into making an emotional decision before he has enough information."
Zyan's gaze remained on Prema.
"You noticed it too."
She nodded.
"They want you angry."
"They want me reckless."
"They want you to come after them."
Zyan's expression changed.
"And if I don't?"
Prema looked toward the black screen.
"Then they'll have to come to us."
Harry stared at her.
"That might be exactly what they're afraid of."
Zyan's lips curved slightly.
For the first time that night, the dangerous confidence returned to his eyes.
"You're learning."
Prema folded her arms.
"I had a good teacher."
His gaze lingered on her.
"Careful, babydoll."
Her heart skipped at the familiar name.
"You haven't called me that in a while."
"I was trying to behave."
"And?"
"I've stopped trying."
She should have been annoyed.
Instead, warmth spread through her chest.
Zyan stepped closer.
"You know what scares me most?"
Prema shook her head.
"That I don't know where my obsession with protecting you ends and my feelings for you begin."
Her eyes widened.
"Obsession?"
He didn't look away.
"Yes."
The honesty between them felt more dangerous than the threat on the screen.
"I've thought about you every day since I saw you at the temple. I remembered what you wore. The way you looked at the flowers. The way you smiled when you thought nobody was watching."
Prema's breath became uneven.
"I watched you before you knew me," he continued. "I learned your routines. I learned what made you happy. I learned what frightened you."
"Zyan…"
"I know that sounds wrong."
"It does."
"I know."
"Then why tell me?"
"Because I'm done hiding the ugly parts from you."
Prema stared at him.
"You're not perfect."
"No."
"You're possessive."
"Yes."
"You scare me sometimes."
His expression tightened.
"I never want you to be afraid of me."
"Then don't give me a reason."
The words landed between them.
Zyan nodded slowly.
"I won't."
It was the simplest promise he had made her.
And somehow, it felt heavier than all the others.
Harry suddenly interrupted.
"We found the signal."
Zyan turned.
"Where?"
"Not outside."
Harry pointed toward the floor.
"Under us."
The room became still.
"There is an underground communication chamber beneath this wing," Harry continued. "The old estate plans show a passage leading underneath the east wing."
Zyan looked at Prema.
She knew what he was thinking.
"You're going down there."
"Yes."
"I'm coming."
"No."
She frowned.
"You just promised."
"I promised I wouldn't control you."
"And?"
"I am asking you to stay here because I don't know what is beneath us."
"I don't care."
"I do."
Prema stepped closer.
"Then let me choose."
Zyan stared at her.
The words struck him harder than any threat could have.
Finally, he nodded.
"Fine."
He held out his hand.
"Stay beside me."
Prema placed her hand in his.
Their fingers intertwined.
Not because he demanded it.
Because she chose to.
Together, they followed Harry toward the hidden passage.
The old stone staircase descended beneath the mansion.
With every step, the air became colder.
Then they reached a steel door.
Harry entered a code.
The door opened.
Inside was a room filled with monitors.
Hundreds of them.
Every screen showed Prema.
At college.
At the dance academy.
At the temple.
In the hostel.
With Satya.
With Zyan.
There were photographs of her sleeping.
Eating.
Studying.
Crying.
Smiling.
Zyan went completely still.
Prema stared at the screens in horror.
Then one monitor changed.
A live camera appeared.
It showed the room they were standing in.
The camera was watching them.
A message appeared.
YOU FINALLY FOUND MY ROOM.
Then another.
BUT YOU STILL HAVEN'T FOUND ME.
Zyan stepped in front of Prema.
The final message appeared.
AND ZYAN…
The screen went black.
A second later, every monitor displayed the same image.
A photograph of Zyan kissing Prema's forehead at the mansion.
Neither of them remembered anyone taking it.
Underneath the photograph were six words.
I KNOW WHAT SHE MEANS TO YOU.
Zyan's hand tightened around Prema's.
Then the lights went out.
And a woman's scream echoed from somewhere beneath them.