CHAPTER 21: NOURA’S TRAGEDY.

Luckily, Alexander was not in the room. Switching on the light, I rushed to the nightstand and began to rummage through drawers. When I didn’t find it there, I went for the glass shelf in the corner of the room, frantically searching through the books with my shaking hands.

Still, it was nowhere to be found. I bit my lips in anxiety, as I stood, tapping my foot on the floor. Where could he have kept it? Think, Anna, think. You have no time to waste. Then an idea suddenly popped in my head. Yes, his private room. I hurried to the door and just as I gripped the door knob, his voice came inside the room, making me freeze.

"What are you looking for?" he asked, bluntly.

I released the door knob, my pulse racing in my ears as I turned to face him.

"Did you lose your voice?"

"I...I was...was just..."

"You just what?" he interrupted, annoyance clear in his tone.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves down. "I was just checking around," I said without stammering.

He tilted his head to the side, his eyes digging holes inside my soul, as if he was trying to read me. Though he looked very tired, the intensity in his gaze still made my knees go weak.

Without saying a word, he began to stalk towards me. I stepped back in panic until my back hit a table behind me. But he didn’t stop until he was a breath away from me. He raised his hand causing me to cringe and shut my eyes in fright. He was going to hit me?

When the pain didn’t come, I carefully opened my eyes only to come face to face with his chest. What?!

My head snapped up and found him rummaging through the wall cabinet above my head. Shortly, he fished out a little box and handed it to me. What was it?

"Isn’t that what you are looking for? Your phone and the card are inside. Now, get out."

My eyes widened in confusion. Just like that? No fight or threats?

"Thank... thank you..." I quickly said and moved away from him before he would change his mind.

"Switch off the light before you leave," he ordered, which I did before rushing to my room, grinning in excitement.

I sat on the bed and typed the number on the card into my phone. Instead of dialing it, I texted ’hello, it is me Jacy’ to it. I still wasn’t prepared to talk to him or hear his voice.

After about two minutes, he replied.

"Hi dear, I have been waiting for your call, why didn’t you reach out?"

"I’m sorry... my phone got a problem, I just fixed it."

"Alright," was his short reply. Wouldn’t he ask me about the necklace, or he wasn’t interested anymore? Oh no...

"About the necklace... I wanted to let you know the auction is in two days. Are you still interested?"

"Of course, dear. I will send for someone to come pick you up. There is going to be a charity gala before the main auction. We could talk about the reward when we meet."

Reward. My heart skipped a beat. How could I have forgotten about that.

"Okay. Thank you," I texted lastly and fall back on the bed with a sigh.

Shortly, my phone buzzed again. This time, it was not Seith, rather it was anonymous.

"Hello, I am Noura. I could tell you everything you need to know about Alexander Vaughn."

****

They drugged him with aphrodisiac, a drug known to turn man in beast. They didn’t just dose him, they flooded his system with it.

Viktor laughed as the other gangsters tossed him inside a containment room with glass walls, from where the could see him writhe in agony. They watched and mocked him.

"Look at him," one of them jeered. "He thinks he can disobey boss and go away with it. Sucker."

"Bring the girl in already!" Nicole, Viktor’s second hand man yelled.

"No, wait, give him more of the drink," Viktor ordered. "Let’s see how he can still hold back from committing the thing he called a crime when he turns into a horny dog."

Alexander could hear everything, and he knew exactly what they were trying to reduce him to. He had refused to take up a vile work that needed him to ambush a family, kill the parents, then abduct the girl, and bring her to Viktor for his pleasure.

And now, they were tormenting him for breaking the rules. This was not just torment, this was hell. His senses were slipping, his vision swimming in and out as the drugs took hold of him. His skin burned and felt very sensitive.

Alexander wanted to surrender. He could literally do anything to just have a woman he would vent all his frustration on.

Of course they would give him exactly what he needed, since that was the main plan.

They wanted entertainment, to watch him lose the last stred of dignity and use another human being in the worst way imaginable.

However, his heart twisted and lurched to his stomach when he saw the girl they brought.

It was Noura, the orphan girl he had being taking care of. She was just ten when she managed to escape from the orphanage, but unfortunately for her, she had nowhere to go and landed herself in the hands of some ghetto bumpkins who tried to rape her.

Luckily, he was nearby and saved her just in time. Since then, he never let her out of his sight and protected her from every trouble. Though there was not much he could do in his current position, he still made sure no one laid their hands on her and defiled her.

Viktor knew that and he waited for this moment to shatter whatever bond he had with the little girl.

"FUCK YOU VIKTOR!! FUCK YOU! I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU! I SWEAR!!" Alexander’s voice was raspy. He wanted to break through the glass and tear Viktor into pieces, but the intense desire he was feeling clouded his mind. He needed to get out of there immediately. He needed to stay away from her, before he hurt her.

Noura looked around, confused and nervous. They made her wear a little dress that left little to the imagination. She was sixteen now, but Alexander always saw her as a little sister. She usually clung to him, because he was the only one she could call her family. How could he forgive himself if he ruin her innocence?

"Big brother," Noura called as she rushed to him. She had been so afraid when the two men came to drag her out of her room when she was sleeping, but now that she saw Alexander, she felt so relieved.

"No! Stay. Away. From. Me!!" Alexander roared at her. She shook and stopped on her tracks. He had never yelled at her before, and the shock in her expression cut him deeply. But he couldn’t let her get closer.

Noura pressed her hands against her chest, her heart racing. His eyes were dark and intense, and it scared her. But even so, she wanted to be near him. He was the only person who made her feel safe.

"Big brother, are you okay?.."

"DID. YOU. HEAR. ME?! DON’T. COME. CLOSER!" Alexander growled, enunciating each words to her hearing.

The force of his voice made her step back, three steps away. But it was not far enough. He could still catch her unique scent. The same scent which would always assure him that she was safe, now aroused him. He felt disgusted.

The drug was working through his system like fire. Just how may shots had they forced down his throat? Twelve? Fifteen? Most people only needed one to last an entire night.

So, for him right now, it was a nightmare. Alexander clenched his fists, his body trembling with the effort to keep himself in check. He would take anyone else. Anyone but her. He would beg if he had to. Hell, he would even get on his knees if it meant she did not have to be here.

"Stay away from me, Noura," he said, glaring at her, hoping it would scare her enough to listen. "Sit at the other end."

Noura did not understand what was happening, but she didn’t question him. She moved to the far side of the room and sat down.

This was the farthest they could be from each other in the small room. He pressed his back against the glass wall and shut his eyes. For now, all he could do was hold on and let time wear off the drug.

However, Viktor and the rest of the gang members did not like it.

"Drug the girl!" Nicole shouted in annoyance.

Then two men entered the room and gave Noura two glasses of aphrodisiac drink.