Chapter 284: I’m The Terror In The Knight

[FROLO]

The world went quiet for Katya.

One moment, he was trying to find a woman in the masses, and the next, he was the subject of betrayal. And not just any betrayal.

The betrayal of the devil of Frolo.

For years, growing up in Frolo, children had been taught the philosophy of the one man who made it his mission to exterminate people as if it were his greatest calling. The man who despised traitors with every fiber of his being.

Kids were taught to be careful of what they would be doing if ever they were unlucky enough to land in any Moskowsky subsidiary.

And for years, Katya had followed every rule faithfully.

Not because he was planning on joining Moskowsky, but because he, just like every other teen growing up in Frolo, understood that the Moskowskys had their hand in almost everything.

It wasn’t hard, really.

And more than once, Katya had proved it.

But something had changed. Something he would never really be able to explain.

Because one moment he was looking at himself and the Kumarin bratva’s second in command talking about dismantling Moskowsky from within, and the next, he was choking on dust and cement while there were screams and shouts around him.

He couldn’t see anyone or anything, really, yet he didn’t even have the strength to push the table that was pressing on his back.

Katya had fallen on his belly from the impact of the explosion, and he was just lying there waiting for his fate. He wasn’t even in a hurry to save himself. Because for the first time, he didn’t even feel like doing anything.

"Bring. Me. Romanov!" he heard Sergei rage moments after the explosion, and frankly, that was all Katya needed to know he was doomed. He didn’t even have a proper defense.

Because how the fuck was he supposed to convince Sergei Moskowsky that he didn’t know Kenzo, the man everyone in the city knew was the second in command of the bratva?

How was he supposed to even try to defend himself without having Alek implicated in the bratva accusations that had been spreading all week?

If he got up early, the Moskowskys would kill him.

If he stayed there and tried to think of what had happened, maybe he would get a little clarity before the Moskowskys killed him.

Oh, how life was so unpredictable that the only thing he was sure of right now was the fact that the Moskowskys would kill him.

It wasn’t even an exaggeration.

So, he lay there, defenseless and pinned, while people ran around him. He’d covered his nose with his shirt to slow down the dust inhalation, but would it even matter when he was a dead man regardless of the outcome?

Somewhere along his thoughts, Katya started feeling dizzy, and he didn’t even call out for help. Instead, he let the darkness take him because that was an easier way out than facing Sergei Vladimirovich Moskowsky as a traitor.

Meanwhile, the evacuation process had begun around Katya.

Journalists, executives, the senator, and the Moskowsky staff on the R&D floor had started walking out with the aid of firefighters and rescuers. They had minor injuries, most of which could be fixed by quick patches.

"Find him!!" Sergei’s voice tore through the confused room. There was debris everywhere, and the firefighters were putting out the fire.

"Chairman Romanov is a dead man."

"How could he betray the devil of Frolo of all people?"

"This is what greed looks like."

"Poor senator got blamed for the bratva involvement when he was just being framed by his boyfriend."

"Who needs enemies when you have such a partner?"

The whispers didn’t stop.

Sergei didn’t stop demanding that Katya Romanov be found. It had been the same call for over ten minutes now. Most of the people had left the room.

"I have to find my Katya! Let me in!!" Alek shouted over the sound of water being sprayed and rescuers trying to fight through the chaos.

The senator wasn’t hurt in the explosion.

Sure, he looked dirty and was covered in dust, but he was fine. And right now, the senator was trying to come back to find his boyfriend as if he had just remembered he had someone important in the building.

It was painfully hilarious, though, because he knew what he had done. What had triggered this? The explosion was all his, and he was trying to figure things out, too.

"Stay out of my way, Aleksandr, and wait for your traitor boyfriend outside," a disgusted Sergei said, and Alek stared at him in defeat. He knew this was one he couldn’t win.

There was just no way to get out of this shit hole right now, and it hurt to an extent because this wasn’t the life he wanted for himself and Katya.

Not like this.

Kenzo had warned him to get out.

Kenzo had told him to leave the coat and leave, and Alek had left the bag and mingled. He wanted to stay and spend some more time with Katya.

Now, as the senator looked at the people trying to find survivors under the mess on the entire floor, he couldn’t help but wonder if this could have happened if he hadn’t gone to the Bratva.

He knew the video of Katya and Kenzo was fake. Because that was a video of Kenzo and one of the Bratva associates.

Alek had been there when they were editing the video, and he had done nothing. He had been there when they were trying to frame his boyfriend, and he didn’t even warn Katya about it.

Now it was out in the world for everyone to see, and no one would ever trust Katya again.

Alek had had the chance to save his relationship and his boyfriend, yet he’d let both dwindle and be forced into a chess game by Kenzo. What did that make him then?

A coward?

A bigger traitor?

"Mr. Moskowsky, please step out and let us do our jobs," one of the firefighters said when Sergei was still looking around the room.

He was scanning for Katya, and frankly, it was unsettling to Alek. Because he could see the anger on Sergei’s face. He could see the spite and rage, and he knew this was one that Katya wouldn’t survive.

"I need to find that traitor," Sergei insisted, and the firefighter sighed.

"Everyone has been evacuated, sir. Other than you and me here, there is no one else in this room. Look around; do you see a place that anyone can hide from you?

"I believe the person you’re looking for has already left the room," the firefighter said in earnest, and Sergei sighed.

This wasn’t how the day was supposed to be, and yet again, it wasn’t like he’d woken up that day thinking Katya Romanov would be a traitor.

"Fine. Do your jobs properly," Sergei huffed before leaving, only to run into Alek at the entrance.

"Where is Katya?" Alek asked, and Sergei growled at him.

"Your omega already left the building, senator," Sergei said before he brushed his shoulder against Alek and left, pissed.

And Alek...

He let out a sigh of relief.

Katya Romanov had escaped.

Now Alek would find him and keep him safe. He would protect his boyfriend from Sergei, and they would be happier together now that Sergei wasn’t in their lives.

And happily, the senator left too.

But deep inside the expo room, under a pile of tables and a bent piece of the lab wall, was an unconscious Katya Romanov.