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Chapter Eighteen:The Face

Author: Ifee
last update publish date: 2026-09-25 21:35:27

NADIA POV

I saw her.

She was sitting in the driver's seat of a dark sedan. The window was rolled down. Her hands were on the wheel. She was wearing a black coat and dark gloves. She was looking at me.

I did not move.

I did not run.

I did not scream.

I just stood there. On the corner. Under the streetlight. Looking at her. Looking at the woman who had ruined my marriage. Looking at the woman who had stolen my company. Looking at the woman who had helped replace me.

She looked at me too.

For a long moment.

Neither of us spoke.

Neither of us moved.

The city was quiet. The street was empty. The night was cold.

Then she smiled.

A slow, cold smile.

A smile that held no warmth.

A smile that held only satisfaction.

And then she drove away.

I stood there. Frozen. Silent. Shaking.

I did not know what she was doing. I did not know why she had shown herself. I did not know what it meant.

But I knew one thing.

She was not hiding anymore.

She wanted me to see her.

She wanted me to know she was coming.

---

I walked back to my apartment.

I locked the door. I checked the windows. I closed the blinds. I sat on the floor in the corner of the room. I pressed my hand against my stomach.

The baby. The tiny life inside me. The only thing that mattered.

"She was here," I whispered. "She was here. She was watching me. She knows where I am."

I picked up my phone. I called Rachel.

"Serena was here," I said.

"What?"

"She was here. In a car. Outside my apartment. She rolled down the window. She looked at me. She smiled. Then she drove away."

Rachel was silent for a moment.

"Did she say anything?"

"No."

"Did she do anything?"

"No."

"Then what did she want?"

"I do not know. But she wanted me to see her. She wanted me to know she was there."

Rachel was silent again.

"Nadia. I want you to leave. Right now. Do not pack. Do not wait. Just leave. Go to a hotel. Any hotel. Call me when you get there."

"And then?"

"And then we end this."

---

SERENA POV

I saw the fear in her eyes.

It was beautiful. It was exactly what I wanted. She stood there. Frozen. Silent. Shaking. She did not run. She did not scream. She just stood there. Looking at me. Looking at the woman who was going to kill her.

I smiled.

I wanted her to know.

I wanted her to know I was coming. I wanted her to know she could not hide. I wanted her to know that no matter where she went, no matter what she did, I would find her.

I drove away.

I did not look back.

I did not need to.

I had already won.

---

I called Julian.

"It is done," I said.

"What is done?"

"I showed myself. I let her see me. She knows I am coming."

He was silent.

"Julian."

"You did what?"

"I showed myself. I let her see me. She knows."

"That was not the plan."

"The plan has changed."

"What are you talking about?"

"She changed her routine. She knew someone was following her. She was careful. She was watching. So I had to change the plan."

"You were not supposed to be seen."

"I know."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Because I wanted her to be afraid. I wanted her to know that no matter what she does, no matter where she goes, I will find her. I will always find her."

He was silent.

"Julian."

"You are insane."

"I am not insane. I am winning."

"You are going to get us caught."

"We are not going to get caught. We are going to get everything."

He was silent.

"Julian."

"I do not know about this anymore."

"You do not have a choice."

"I always have a choice."

"Not anymore."

I hung up.

I sat there in my car. Staring at the road. Staring at the city. Staring at nothing.

He was weak.

He was always weak.

But it did not matter.

I did not need him.

I just needed Nadia dead.

---

JULIAN POV

I sat on the couch in Serena's apartment.

I had heard everything. Every word. Every threat. Every promise.

She was going to kill Nadia.

She was going to do it soon.

And I was going to let her.

I stood up. I walked to the window. I looked out at the city. The city was bright. The city was cold. The city was full of people who had no idea what was happening.

I thought about Nadia.

I thought about the way she used to smile at me. The way she used to laugh with me. The way she used to hold me.

I thought about the baby. The baby she lost. The baby I did not mourn. The baby I replaced.

I thought about the life I had destroyed.

I thought about the life I was about to destroy.

I did not know what to do.

I did not know if I could stop it.

I did not know if I wanted to.

---

NADIA POV

I left the apartment that night.

I did not pack. I did not wait. I just grabbed my coat and my phone and I walked out the door. I did not look back. I did not stop. I just walked.

I found a hotel three blocks away. It was not nice. It was not safe. It was just a place. A place to hide. A place to wait. A place to plan.

I checked in under a different name. I paid in cash. I went up to my room. I locked the door. I checked the windows. I closed the blinds. I sat on the floor in the corner of the room.

I pressed my hand against my stomach.

"We are okay," I whispered. "We are going to be okay."

I did not know if I believed it.

But I said it anyway.

I had to say it.

I had to believe something.

---

I called Rachel.

"I am at a hotel," I said.

"Which one?"

"I am not going to tell you."

"Nadia."

"I am not going to tell anyone. Not you. Not David. Not Maria. No one."

"Why?"

"Because someone has been feeding them information. Someone has been telling them where I am. Someone has been helping Serena."

Rachel was silent.

"Who?" she asked.

"I do not know. But I am going to find out."

"And then?"

"And then I am going to end this. Once and for all."

I hung up.

I sat there in the dark.

I thought about Serena. I thought about the way she smiled at me. The way she looked at me. The way she drove away.

She thought she had won.

She thought she had scared me.

She thought I was running.

She was wrong.

I was not running.

I was waiting.

And when the time was right, I was going to strike.

---

SERENA POV

I went back to my apartment.

Julian was gone. He had left while I was out. He had taken his things. He had taken the whiskey. He had taken everything.

I did not care.

I did not need him.

I just needed Nadia dead.

I walked to the bookshelf. I moved it aside. I lifted the floorboard. I pulled out the poison. I held it in my hands. I looked at it. I smiled.

This was it.

This was the answer.

This was the end.

I put the poison back. I pushed the floorboard down. I moved the bookshelf back. I stood up. I walked to the window. I looked out at the city.

The city was bright. The city was cold. The city was mine.

Tomorrow, I would find her.

Tomorrow, I would kill her.

Tomorrow, everything would be over.

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