the black vow

~CHAPTER 3~ THE PHOTO

The sound of the disconnected call still rang in Aimaara's ears.

`Tuut... Tuut... Tuut...`

"Don't open the black file... if you still value your life."

The voice was hoarse. Distorted. Like it came from the bottom of a well. Like it came from a grave.

She stared at the phone in her hand. The screen was black now. The number was gone. No name. No record. No call log. It was like the call never happened. Like someone deleted it remotely.

Her fingers were trembling so bad she almost dropped the phone.

"Aimaara?"

Liyana's voice startled her. Sharp. Concerned.

"You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost. You're pale."

Aimaara quickly stuffed her phone into her bag. Her movements were too fast. Too guilty. Like a kid caught lying.

"Yeah... probably a wrong number." Her voice cracked. "Telemarketer kot."

Even though her lips said that, her heart said otherwise.

Her heart was screaming. Banging against her ribs.

That wasn't a wrong number.

That person knew about the black file. That person was watching her. That person was in her phone.

The rest of the day she couldn't focus. Every email, every message, every person walking past her desk felt like a threat. Every shadow in the corner of her eye.

She kept checking her bag. Is the file still there?

She kept checking the windows. Is someone watching?

By 5 PM her head was pounding.

_That afternoon..._

Aimaara drove home to her apartment in Shah Alam. Traffic was bad. 1 hour drive felt like 3. The rain started again. Light. Annoying.

Several times she checked the rearview mirror.

A black SUV was still behind her car. 3 cars behind. Tinted windows. No plate visible. Just like in the movies.

Maybe a coincidence. KL is full of black SUVs.

She turned left into a small road to test it.

The SUV turned too.

She slowed down at a yellow light.

The SUV slowed down too.

Her heart started pounding.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

So loud she could hear it.

"No way..." she whispered. Her palms were sweating on the steering wheel. "No no..."

She quickly entered her apartment parking. Swiped her card with shaking hands. The gate opened.

The moment the automatic gate closed behind her with a loud _clang_, the SUV stopped outside. Idling for 10 seconds. Headlights still on. Then driving away. Slow. Like they were making a point. Like they were saying "we know where you live".

Aimaara let out a breath of relief. Her whole body was shaking.

But someone was still watching her from a distance. She could feel it. On her skin. Like bugs crawling.

She ran upstairs. 3 flights. No lift. Locked 3 locks. Pushed a chair against the door. Checked under the bed. Checked the bathroom.

On the sixtieth floor of Fahren Holdings..._

The office was dark. Only the city lights outside. KL looked like stars from up here.

"Has she returned?" Emmeer's voice cut through the silence. Cold.

"Yes, Dato'." His assistant stood 2 steps behind. Head bowed. Hands behind back.

"Are our people following her?"

"Yes. 2 cars. Rotating shifts. 24 hours."

"Make sure she's safe." Emmeer didn’t turn from the window. His reflection was faint. "Make sure nothing happens to her. Not a scratch."

His assistant nodded.

"But..."

Emmeer turned slowly. His grey eyes were sharp now. Dangerous. Like a knife.

"What?"

"There's someone else following Miss Aimaara too."

Emmeer's expression turned serious. The air in the room got colder. His jaw ticked.

"Who?"

"Still unidentified. Different car. Different team. Professional. Not ours."

A few seconds passed. Only the sound of the aircond. Only the sound of Emmeer breathing.

Then Emmeer said quietly, his voice low and deadly. Like a promise.

"Find them... before they find Aimaara. Before they even think of touching her. I want names by morning."

_That night..._

11:47 PM.

Aimaara finally opened the black file. Her hands were shaking so bad she almost dropped it twice. The lamp on her table was the only light.

The first page only had old, faded documents. Bank statements from 15 years ago. All blacked out with marker. Names redacted.

The second page...

Blank.

The third page...

Still blank.

The fourth, fifth, sixth... all blank. White. Empty.

"That's it?" she whispered to the empty room. Her voice echoed. "What kind of joke is this? People are dying for this?"

She frowned. Her chest felt heavy. Frustrated.

It was impossible for a file everyone was looking for to only contain blank paper. Unless... unless the real thing was hidden.

She started flipping faster. Frustrated. Angry. Tearing the corner a little.

Suddenly a small photo fell out from the back of the file. Slipped from between the pages. Landed on the floor.

An old photo. Edges burnt. Colors faded to yellow.

A luxurious mansion with a carved name on its iron gate. Big. Grand. Haunted. Overgrown with vines.

*DANE ESTATE*

Her breath caught. Her heart stopped.

On the back of the photo, written in faded ink with shaky handwriting:

_"The truth begins here."_

Aimaara froze. The paper felt cold in her hands. Colder than ice.

"Dane..."

That was her family name.

Daneesha.

But that mansion...

She had never seen it before in her life. Mama never mentioned it. Papa never mentioned it. All their family photos were in a small flat.

Where was this place? Why did it have her family name? Why was it hidden?

Memories flashed. Mama on her deathbed, holding her hand.

"Honey..don't opened..don't find it"

_The next morning..._

6:00 AM. No sleep. Dark circles.

Aimaara decided to look up the location of Dane Estate. Her eyes were red. Coffee in her hand was cold.

The moment she typed the name into the internet...

*Zero results.*

No records.

No images.

No address.

No history.

No Google Maps pin.

"How can there be nothing?" She tried again and again. Google. Wikipedia. Old news. Property sites.

Still nothing.

As if that place never existed. As if someone erased it from the world. As if someone paid to delete it.

Her stomach twisted. Fear and curiosity mixing.

_At the same time, 60 floors up..._

Emmeer received an anonymous envelope at his office. No stamp. No sender. Just his name written in black ink. Thick paper. Expensive.

Inside was only one photo.

A photo of Aimaara. Taken yesterday. Getting out of her car. Looking scared. Looking small.

On the back was written one sentence in red ink. Like blood:

_"If you protect her... you will lose everything."_

For the first time in 10 years...

Emmeer's always calm face cracked.

His jaw clenched. His eyes went dark. A muscle jumped.

He gripped the photo until it crumpled in his fist. Paper cutting into his palm.

In a low voice full of warning, full of promise, full of rage, he said,

"If they touch Aimaara..."

He threw the crumpled photo into the fireplace. Watched it burn.

"...I will end them myself. Every single one of them. I don't care who they are."

***_

That night.

2:13 AM.

Aimaara woke up with a gasp. Heart racing. Sweat on her forehead.

The sound of footsteps outside her apartment door.

Slow.

Deliberate.

_Step... Step... Step..._

Stopping right in front of her door.

Her blood turned to ice. She couldn't move.

Then...

Three soft knocks.

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

The sound was soft but it felt like a hammer to her chest.

A cold voice whispered through the door. Close. Too close. Like his mouth was on the wood.

Male. Patient. Amused.

"We know you found the photo."

Silence. 3 seconds.

"We know what it means."

Another pause. She could hear his breathing.

"Open the door, Ms. Daneesha. Or we will open it for you."

Aimaara didn't breathe. Didn't move. Tears started forming.

Her phone was on the table. Too far.

Her hands were shaking.

_And outside, the knocking stopped._

_But she knew they weren’t gone._

_She could still hear them breathing.*

*TO BE CONTINUED...*