The Beginning of an Obsession

The alley became silent again.

Avika was gone.

Only her footprints remained in the freshly fallen snow.

Valerian stared at them for a moment before slowly turning around.

The man kneeling before him lowered his head.

"Boss..."

Valerian's expression hardened.

The brief interruption was over.

Whatever curiosity the stranger had sparked in him could wait.

There were more important matters to handle.

He looked at the man in front of him.

"You were saying?"

The man swallowed.

"I—I told them everything I knew."

Valerian's gray eyes remained cold.

"Everything?"

"Yes."

A faint silence followed.

Valerian slowly reached inside his coat.

The men around him immediately became still.

A sharp sound broke through the quiet alley.

The kneeling man collapsed into the snow.

No one spoke.

Valerian calmly lowered his hand.

"Clean this up."

"Yes, Boss."

Two men immediately stepped forward.

Valerian turned away.

He took a few steps before stopping.

His gaze drifted toward the corner where the strange woman had disappeared.

For some reason, her presence still lingered in his thoughts.

The way she had looked at his men.

The way her eyes had moved through the alley.

The fact that she had been calculating instead of panicking.

And that strange sarcastic comment under her breath.

Valerian's expression remained unreadable.

"Boss?"

One of his men waited for his next order.

Valerian finally spoke.

"The woman who was here."

The bodyguard straightened.

"Yes?"

"Find her."

The man's expression changed slightly.

"Do you want us to follow her?"

"No."

Valerian's voice remained calm.

"Find out who she is."

A pause.

"Her name. Where she's staying. Where she came from."

His eyes narrowed.

"And why she was in that alley."

"Understood."

The bodyguard nodded.

"How far should we go?"

Valerian looked at him.

"Everything."

The single word was enough.

The bodyguard immediately lowered his head.

"Yes, Boss."

Valerian turned away.

The snow continued to fall around him.

Within minutes, the alley returned to silence.

But somewhere in Moscow...

A search had already begun.

And the woman who thought she had simply taken a wrong turn...

Had unknowingly caught the attention of a man who rarely became curious about anyone.

Later That Night

Avika had no idea.

She was sitting inside her hotel room, completely unaware of the events unfolding elsewhere.

Her wet coat hung near the heater.

Her novel rested on the bedside table.

And her phone was finally charging.

She looked at the time.

11:47 PM.

"Tomorrow is going to be exhausting."

She rubbed her eyes.

The strange incident from the alley crossed her mind again.

Those men.

That kneeling stranger.

And the man with the cold gray eyes.

Valerian.

She still didn't know why she remembered his gaze so clearly.

Avika shook her head.

"Enough."

She reached for her medical notes.

Tomorrow's forum was far more important.

She had no idea that, at that very moment...

Someone was already searching for her name.

End of Episode 3.

She thought the encounter was over.

Valerian had other plans.

To be continued...

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