The Unnecessary Alliance

THE PLAN

"Exactly!" I run my hand in my hair. "Don't act stupid. Tell me where she is?"

"Oh, please! Like I would ever act stupid without any motive." She opens the car door and places her cherry red bag in the passenger seat. "I am getting late, Aadish. Vanie left this morning to meet you, at the rosarium. That's where you guys were meeting, right?"

"Yes, but she never came."

She freezes. "What do you mean she never came?"

"I stood there for an hour and she never came. I tried calling her, but she wouldn't answer." I take in a deep breath, "so tell me where she is?"

"I-I don't know. Maybe her tire got flat, or maybe she lost her way. Check your messages, she might have messaged or something."

It's been an hour since I last checked my phone, so I silently follow her orders.

I take out my phone and stare at the screen.

I only have three messages, that too from an unknown number.

Maybe she used somebody else's phone.

I immediately click on the notification banner and it leads me to the chat.

A video and unread message sits on my screen.

You only have two options - give us what we want, you, or we keep what is yours. You choose.

You have till 6:00 PM to decide.

A chill runs down  my spine and I immediately click on the video.

My body immediately goes numb when I watch Vanie standing on the road. Three men approach her and the air around me fills with her screams. My hands tremble, not sure with rage or fear, but they do.

One of the men has wrapped his arm around her neck, cutting off her air supply. I notice the same mark on his hand, the mark that has been troubling us for months now.

My body goes numb.

How dare they touch her?

"Not so fast, Roses," the man whispers.

I clench my jaws. She is my Roses.

And then she falls to the ground with a thud.

My body goes stone still. This can't be happening. Watching her lie on the floor motionless does something to my body. There is this unexplainable need to break into the screen and shake her, so that she would move.

Sidya snatches the phone from my hand and I watch her face flash with fear. Her eyes widen when she looks up at me, "who are they?"

I clench my fists. She can't act stupid when she herself has been funding them to get some dirt on me. I am going to destroy her and make her regret her existence. She wanted to mess with me, no problem, but she should have kept her evil and wild claws away from my woman.

"STOP!" I step forward and snatch my phone back from her hold. "You made it possible. They are fucking nobodies, but you decided to pay them to get a video that almost broke my relationship." I point my finger at her, "it's because of you that they have the guts to pull a stunt like this."

Her nostrils flare and she steps forward. "DON'T. BLAME. ME." Then she looks at the phone in my hand. "I did not hire them or pay them. I don't even know who they are."

I shake my head at her. She can't be serious.

"Then how the hell did you get that video, huh?"

She stills. Her eyes shoot daggers at me. "I hacked into your system."