The Essence Of The Darkness
Episode 50: Poisoned

As soon as Elana's eyes merged with Xavier's, a real beam of fear instantly appeared throughout Elana's posture, making her hand grip the handle of the umbrella in her grip so firmly that her knuckles turned white.

The raindrops grew more and more like curtains that surrounded the two of them and separated them from the outside world. Elana's heart skipped a beat, thinking of every means she could to escape from the terrifying figure before her.

What's he supposed to do? Would he need to use the umbrella in his hand to be the weapon he would swing if Xavier approached? Is it effective to protect itself? What if Xavier has a lot of men like Akram who are ready to subdue him when he runs? Moreover....what happened to the driver and his bodyguard that seemed to disappear just swallowed by the earth?

Various difficult questions like the test of life and death, appeared mercilessly in Elana's mind, flashed on her face and created an uncontrollable anxiety that ignited trembling coming to dominate her body.

Xavier studied Lana's face intently, her lips turning back to her gentle, sweet smile.

"Lana," he said in a tone of voice no less soft. The man stepped forward to get closer to Elana.

At the same second, Elana immediately stepped back away.

Xavier was stunned for only a split second. The fear that smeared Elana's face felt so bothersome to her, making her put a grin full of irony on her face as she looked back at the woman with a meaningful deep gaze.

"You know, yeah?"

In that instant, like waiting for the most opportune moment, the sound of thunder rang through the sky in a deafening thunder, spliced with a dazzling whirl of white lightning. As if it was not enough to dramatize the atmosphere, the black clouds did not seem to be willing to be merciful, spilling all their contents just flooding the earth, in a sudden torrent of rain.

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Akram finished his work and prepared to go home. He stepped out of his study and almost collided with Elios who seemed to be rushing in.

"What's wrong?" Akram reprimanded while raising an eyebrow after Elios managed to adjust his balance so as not to fall.

"One of the people we put in place to watch Gabriella's rented house started to get suspicious because until the night before she didn't come home either. Gabriella was always drunk every night at the club where she worked, but at most in the day she had gone home. That's why our guy decided to check into the club where Gabriella worked," Elios frowned with an anxious expression. "Witnesses he questioned said the same thing, that Gabriella was picked up by a very striking figure because of her physical beauty."

"Xavier," Akram concluded while squinting.

"Xavier must have heard rumors going around about you destroying Gabriella and she was trying to find out about Miss Elana from him. Given that Gabriella had interacted with Miss Elana, then it could have been...."

"It is possible that Xavier already knew about Elana and I believe Gabriella was killed" Akram's expression sharpened. "I want you to arrange to provide an additional escort for Elana. Has he reached home yet?"

Elios glanced at his watch then nodded his thin head. "It should be that by this time Miss Elana has already reached home. I'll make sure..." Elios picked up the phone and called apartment security. When he heard the reply from his interlocutor, his expression turned unusually anxious. "Mr Akram, the car that took Miss Elana hasn't reached the apartment since...."

"Call the driver Elana and the bodyguard!" Akram interrupted quickly, his eyes glancing anxiously at the large window on the wall. It could be that the car carrying Elana is only being held back by heavy rain outside. But somehow Akram could not calm down and even felt a bad feeling that crawled his soul.

Elios tried hard to contact the people who were supposed to be near Elana and look after her. However, it seems that Elios did not manage to achieve both. His expression grew even more anxious as he tried several times and remained unsuccessful. Akram's men always answer their phones if contacted by the boss on the first ring. If they are contacted many times and they still do not lift, it means....

Elios raised his head and looked directly at Akram who came to the same conclusion as him.

Akram's expression darkened as he moved quickly towards the elevator, giving Elios a series of commands.

"Prepare the fastest cars and also bring some of our most skilled men, equip them with the best weapons!"

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"You can't run, Lana. Not if you want to save the lives of your bodyguards and drivers. I knocked them unconscious and now they're under the watchful eye of my men" Xavier raised an eyebrow at the light of accusation and horror in the clear eyes of the woman in front of him. He immediately raised both hands up as if trying to defend himself. "Oh, no. Get those horrible thoughts out of your head, Lana. I didn't kill them. I told you, didn't I? We'll just talk and I'll release them as soon as we're done."

Elana scanned Xavier's expression intently. The man's expression that was extremely gentle and full of smiles was completely impenetrable to read. However, Elana somehow knows that Xavier is not a person who likes to lie. She clenched her fingers tightly, while Elana held herself back to stand rigidly in place.

"You... What do you want to talk about?" Elana asked in a stifled voice filled with vigilance. However, with their current situation, it could be concluded that both Elana and Xavier had both known their respective positions.

Elana already knew that Xavier was Akram's evil foster sister, and Xavier already knew that Elana was the woman Akram had hidden away from her cruelty.

"I just want to finish my curiosity," Xavier narrowed his eyes. "How did you end up with Akram? Plain women like you... Would you be willing to pawn your innocence because of the glare by the treasure? Are you tired of living poor to decide to sell yourself to Akram?" Xavier uttered a sentence of questions peppered with accusations in a row, leaving Elana fixated, confused as to what to answer.

Right now, in the eyes of Xavier, in the eyes of anyone, in the eyes of those who saw Akram's relationship with Elana, all would definitely conclude the same thing: That Elana is a materialistic woman who uses all means to ensnare Akram, and Akram may have been exposed to strange magic to be entangled by women like him.

Elana may be able to explain the whole beginning of the story, about how Akram trapped, captivated and forced her into the man's possession. But.. who would believe it? After all, somehow Elana did not want to expose Akram's ugliness in front of others...

When Elana did not answer, Xavier stepped closer impatiently, instantly slashing the distance between them. Meanwhile, Elana who was busy with her own mind as if unaware of Xavier's closeness so that it did not move backwards at all.

"Why don't you answer? Are you so ashamed to admit the rot you keep behind your innocent appearance and sanctity? More importantly, what did you do to make an Akram Night infatuated with you? Another woman said you used magic, but I'm very interested in guessing for myself the answer,"

Xavier's question made Elana again widen confused eyes.

How should he answer that question while he himself also did not know what caused Akram to be attracted to him? After all, what kind of misfortune actually surrounded him that he had to end up with such horrible people as Akram and Xavier?

Xavier grabbed Elana's chin, facing the unwilling woman's face towards her, forcing Elana to return her sharp eyes.

It was too late for Elana to try to escape. Xavier was already standing too close and his grip on Elana's body was no joke. All Elana could do now was stand stiffly with her hands clenched, while vigilance flooded her bloodstream, making her heart beat unusually fast, pounding her chest cavity to the point of almost pain.

Xavier's eyes traced all over Elana's face, scanning and studying her carefully. Then, unexpectedly, Xavier let out a long sigh as if giving up on one conclusion.

"I guess you do have natural magic in you. Your disinterested attitude, makes us men feel challenged to subdue you, determined to fascinate you with us..." Xavier spoke slowly as if he were talking to himself.

The sound of a loud slap rang out through the sound of the rushing rain encircling them. Without a second thought Elana had swung her hand with all her might to slap Xavier hard. His breath was filled with anger and painful humiliation. So angry was Elana that she forgot her fear of Xavier.

"Stop saying dirty words from your filthy mind!" Elana exclaimed furiously, snapping with the loudest voice possible to beat the torrent of rain.

Xavier's stunned. His cheeks were hot from the slap of a thin hand that he did not suspect had such great strength when angry.

Xavier's heart was pounding with a feeling he couldn't define before. Xavier always looked so dazzling as an angel that no woman could slap him. This was the first time a woman had slapped him so angrily. And do not forget, this is also the first time a woman does not drift in her charms but instead rejects them outright.

Xavier knew he should be angry. But somehow there was no trace of that feeling in his soul. He even felt a beam of admiration wrapped in admiration for this woman in front of him.

He stared at Elana with a narrowed gaze full of calculations. His gentle demeanor faded, as did his tone of voice.

"You slapped me when I revealed the truth" Xavier sighed slowly. "So you refused my offer? What does Akram Night have that I don't have? Why do you look at him as better than me? A girl like you shouldn't be picky, right?"

Elana raised her chin and looked at Xavier arrogantly. Xavier's insults have disturbed his anger, making Elana forget Akram's message that this man in front of her is a dangerous figure that should be avoided as far as possible.

"Kram Night, even though he was ruthless and always took whatever he wanted without a second thought, clearly he was better than you! Akram has his own trauma but he chooses to face it! While you were, you were running away your fear by busily blaming and spilling your hatred on others! You always feel you are better than Akram Night, when you are nothing more than a weak spiteful figure who has no big heart to accept defeat!'

Elana's last words created lightning in Xavier's eye. The man moved his hand quickly and in an instant, his fingers were already gripping Elana's neck. Xavier did not press Elana's neck hard as if to strangle her, the man simply stuck his fingers there, with a touch as light as a spider web. However, the effect it produced was very pronounced.

Elana immediately gasped and stopped her words. His face looked up for a moment, staring at Xavier. The man's expression was dark, though his eyes still shone in shade, as if they were harboring immense sadness.

"If you've experienced what I've experienced a little bit, maybe you've killed yourself" Xavier whispered slowly in a stifled voice. "Hating Akram is the only way that I have a purpose to survive...."

The sound of the car roar overturned suddenly eroded the sound of rushing rain, distracting Elana and Xavier simultaneously. The two turned their heads and their eyes immediately glued to the series of black cars that filled the parking lane in the park, then stopped when the front car was close to the position of Elana and Xavier standing.

The door of the car opened abruptly and Akram Night came out from there, followed by dozens of his men from the car behind him who immediately took aim at Xavier with firearms in their hands.

The heavy rain was pouring down on everyone, but no one seemed to care about it. Akram stopped step by step for Elana's safety, the man standing right in front of Xavier and Elana, his eyes darkening as he looked at Xavier's fingers anchored around Elana's neck.

"Take him off, Xavier. Just the slightest bit of you daring to leave a mark on his skin, I'll make sure you're having the most painful death ever." Akram growled from his draped teeth, his molars hardened withholding emotion, while the gun in his hand was aimed playfully at Xavier.

Never before had Elana felt this happy to see Akram. His lips sighed Akram's name in great relief, his body automatically moving about to scatter towards the man. Unfortunately, Xavier's hand still around his neck held him back. With an extremely skillful smooth motion, Xavier pulled Elana behind him and dragged her backwards until Elana's back hit her chest. Xavier's hand was still on Elana's neck, nailing her from behind to make Elana unable to move while the umbrella in her hand was thrown off, making a heavy rain flutter her body without defense.

Elana's eyes widened, staring in fear at Akram whose expression grew increasingly dark with anger.

Xavier has positioned Elana as his shield!

"There is no point in telling dozens of your men to take aim at me, Akram. Do you think I came here unprepared? Dozens of my men were in various strategic places surrounding this place and they were all snipers instructed to shoot in case something happened to me."

Akram did not lower his gun and still aimed at Xavier. "Do you think I'm not doing the same? If you want bloodshed, then I'll give it to you" he replied threateningly.

Xavier smiled broadly as his eyes flashed, completely unperturbed by Akram's threat. Her hand that was holding Elana's neck tightened as she spoke.

"You seem to like this woman so much that you're willing to give it your all, huh?" Xavier shifted his fingers around Elana's neck with deliberate provocative gestures. "What if I crumble this fragile neck in front of your eyes? You'll have the honor to witness with your own eyes the death of this woman...."

"Keep your hands off my woman, Xavier! The second you hurt Elana, I'll shoot your head to pieces!" hardik Akram fast. He tilted his head slightly, earnestly aiming while his finger prepared to press the trigger.

Akram tried to be calm even though his heart was pounding faster with great fear. Really, if Xavier's hand really did what he was threatened with and hurt Elana, Akram would not be able to imagine whether he would be able to bear it or not.

"So your name is Elana" Xavier whispered slowly in Elana's ear. "But you will always be my 'Lana'" he continued.

Xavier then turned his head back to look at Akram. "I will return Lana to you, Akram. Because, it's less fun for me if I end things easily here, right now." Before it could be prevented, Xavier moved quickly and stuck something with a syringe in the form of an automatic injection machine the size of a pinky into the curve between Elana's neck and shoulder. I don't know what Xavier injected into her body, but Elana instantly felt a cold stream of freeze speeding up in her neck veins and flowing all over her body.

Xavier turned Elana's body towards her, hugged her tightly and drowned her face in the woman's hair.

"I'm sorry. But we'll see each other soon, Lanaku. I promise you'll be fine" she whispered softly in Elana's ear.

Xavier then bent down and landed a gentle kiss at the same point where he injected Elana, then removed his grip from Elana's body and pushed her forward until Elana's body turned toward Akram. Immediately Akram moved forward and caught Elana in his arms.

"What did you do to Elana?!" Akram hugged Elana with one hand, while his other hand again aimed angrily at Xavier, preparing to shoot.

"You can't shoot me, Akram," Xavier grinned with satisfaction. "The poison I injected into Lana's body, only I had the antidote." Xavier's eyes watched over Elana who was absent in Akram's arms. "The time for Lana to survive without a cure is seven days. I'll call you back later to negotiate a cure for Lana. Let's see how much you're willing to sacrifice to save your woman this time,"

Xavier bowed his body in an actor-like manner that paid tribute after a hugely successful big performance, then turned around wordlessly, before then the man disappeared swallowed by the torrent of rain that combined with the dim lights of the park.

Akram himself no longer paid attention to Xavier, the man focused his entire gaze towards Elana. When Elana's eyes looked foggy and almost lost consciousness, Akram's whole self was immediately filled with extreme anxiety. The cold hand of Elana was clutched in despair, trying to shout the woman's name in order to stay conscious.

"Elana! Hannah!"

Unfortunately, it's useless. Akram's call so loud was only heard as a faint sound in Elana's ringing ears. Then, Elana was finally unable to hold on, her consciousness being taken away instantly as a stubborn black shadow came suddenly, embracing it tightly and dragging it to the bottom of the deepest darkness

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