CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:

KATHERINE P.O.V.

I stared at Andre unnoticed from my spot in a chair in the corner of the room. He had just exited his bathroom, towel wrapped around his muscular body, and hadn't even looked up. I watched as he went to the draws and pulled out clothes.

I waited to speak until he was just about to remove the towel. "You should really pay more attention to your surroundings."

He looked up, shock on his face. He gripped the towel tight and moved back slightly, looking me up and down. I didn't move from my position, one leg crossed over other in the chair, as he tried to form words.

"What are you doing here, Katerina?" He said, reverting to our native tongue.

"Every time I've seen you, you've wanted to talk." I held my hands up, motioning around the room. "So, here I am. Talk."

"I didn't expect you to want to talk." He said, shifting from on leg to the other, still holding up his towel.

"I don't. I'd much rather be getting to know our daughter. But, I happen to be curious. Especially as to why you sounded pretty adamant that she should be dead." I leant forward, letting my eyes meet his. "But why don't you go and get dressed, we can discuss this once your decent."

He picked up his clothes and then smirked at me. "It's nothing you haven't seen before."

"Nothing being the operative word."

He quickly went and got dressed, and I waited patiently, pulling out my phone and opening the photos I had taken of his and Elizabeth's letters. A couple of minutes later he exited the bathroom fully dressed. He sat down opposite me on the edge of his bed.

"How did you find Nadia?" He asked, leaning his arms against his knees.

I let out a dry laugh. "I didn't find her. After having herself turned, and searching for 500 years, she found me."

He narrowed his eyes at me and looked down at his bare feet.

"Why were you adamant that she was dead? I mean, it's not too farfetched for her to have turned. It happens to a lot of people." I uncrossed my legs only to cross them the other way, playing with my phone in my lap. "But you seemed almost scared to see her alive."

He didn't answer for a moment, and I always bombarded him with another question, but he finally opened his mouth and let out a sigh. "I didn't want this life for her. I didn't want her to have to rely on blood to survive. So, I put measures in place so that she wouldn't be able to transition. Her body would reject the vampire blood before she could even attempt it to transition."

I glared over at him. "Well, that plan obviously didn't work, considering she's here…and alive."

Andre looked up, meeting his eyes with mine. "Do you even know that she is our daughter?"

I snorted, crossing my arms across my chest. "There's not a doubt in my mind."

We both stared at each other in silence, neither of us willing to break eye contact as we waited for the other to speak. I tapped my phone nervously, unflinching with my gaze as he seemed to study me.

After almost five minutes of the two of us looking at each other, I couldn't take it anymore. I looked down at my phone and unlocked it, opening up one of the letters that I had taken a photo of.

"You know, the Andre that I remember was rather intelligent." I said, smiling over at him. "You've gotten sloppy."

A smile flashed across his face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Next time you plan an attack, you should make sure that nobody at the party recognises the hitmen." I said, tilting my head to the side.

His smile dropped and his eyes hardened. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Letting my head tilt back, I let out a shrill laugh. "First of all, I'm close friends with Ysabeau's mother. And although I may have been at the back of the room, I can recognise her anywhere. Second: standing outside a building that has just blown up, having a dodgy conversation with a witch instead of helping with the aftermath, kind of screams 'guilty'."

His jaw locked and his eyes narrowed. I could almost see the faint veins that were threatening to appear.

"You may have lied your way into the trust of their coven, but trust can be broken. Especially when faced with the truth. I got some very interesting information from Ysabeau." I held my phone, waving it slightly so that his eyes landed on it.

"You have nothing." He growled.

"Actually, I have something that even you don't have." I unlocked my phone again, looking down at the last letter he had written to Elizabeth. "Something that Klaus was more than happy to supply me with."

His expression faltered at the mention of Klaus, and I knew I was walking a thin line between having him afraid and intrigued, with him maybe turning violent. I looked down at the screen and zoomed in closer so that I could see the text more clearly.

"My Darling Elizabeth," I started, slipping into a British accent. "My days grow darker each moment that I am away from you. It is my every wish that I will be able to return to the Mikaelson estate, and to you, as soon as the problem at hand is dealt with."

"How did you get that?" He yelled, jumping and lunging for me. I quickly ran to the other side of the room.

"I am glad to hear that the woman Trevor found is, in fact, the doppelgänger that Klaus will need to break his curse. The full moon is soon approaching, meaning that the sacrifice should be successful within a few days' time. And I should be returning to you in a weeks' time, if all goes according to plan." I continued, watching as he stood there growing angrier as I spoke. "Your role in this ritual, although still unnerves me, brings me hope that Klaus will allow our relationship to be public once all is done with. I dream of the moment that I can present you into society as my own.

This correspondence must remain short because I am trying as hard as I can to complete the tasks at hand. I hope all is well, and that you miss me as much as I miss you, my love. Send me word of any progress that becomes of the doppelgänger and the ritual, and let me know of any tasks that Klaus has you undertake. All my love and devotion, Andre."

His nostrils were flared and his hands were clenched at his side. "You have no right having that letter."

"I just have a photo." I said, stepping closer. "Klaus has the original copies of all of the letters." I stopped directly in front of him, our faces almost touching. "Did you honestly think that Klaus is stupid enough not to realise when someone is trying to attack him? You used to be smarter than this Andre. But I suppose heartbreak has turned you soft."

I turned around and headed for the door, which happened to be a mistake. Andre grabbed my arm, turning me around and throwing me against the wall. He had let his face transform, and he bared his teeth as me as he leaned in closer. "I am not the stupid one! You're all cozied up to Klaus now, but what's stopping him from killing you for your betrayal? Do you think Elijah will be able to save you? You were always gullible, Katerina. And that will be your downfall."

I let a smirk appear on my face, grabbing the arm that was holding onto my neck and flipping him onto his back. I ran to the chair I had been sitting on, snapping the let off and then plunging the make-shift stake into his stomach.

He groaned in pain, reaching out to try and pull the stake out, but I pushed back. I leant right and down and whispered into his hear. "It wasn't me who betrayed Klaus 500 years ago. That would be your witch, and she paid the price for that."

I stood up, taking the stake with me, staring down at him trying not to let my swirl of emotions take over. He was holding his stomach where the gaping hole now was. I dropped the stake down next to his body and started to retreat towards the closed door, stopping and turning back just before I opened.

"I may have been a gullible child when you knew me Andre. But instead of letting that make me weak, I took it in my stride and became stronger." I smirked down at him. "I survived 500 years running from Klaus. I wonder how long you'll last."

#

Walking back into the house, In was stopped by the scene in front of me. Everyone was rushing around and talking over each other. I looked around, trying to figure out what it was that was happening.

Caroline caught my eye and pushed past everyone to come and stand with me.

"What happened?" I asked, pulling at my leather jacket.

Caroline sighed and looked back over to where Klaus was yelling at Elijah. "Everything was fine, and then I went to go and check on Hayley and she wasn't there. No one has seen her since she went and had a nap earlier today. We searched everywhere and we can't find her."

Shock filled my system. I knew that Andre hadn't come and taken Hayley, I had just been there and there was no sign that he had kidnapped anyone. "When did you discover her gone?"

"About half an hour ago. We don't think she's been gone for more than an hour or so because I had checked on her a bit before then and she had been asleep."

"Shit." I muttered, just as Klaus looked over and caught site of me. His expression darkened and he came stalking over to us.

"Where the hell have you been?" He growled, reaching out to put a death grip on my arm. I pulled it away and glared at him.

"Where I was supposed to be. I've been at Andre's hotel for longer than an hour. He didn't come and take her." I said, meeting his eyes steadily. He looked like he was on the verge of going on a rampage, so I worded my next question carefully. "Are you sure she hasn't gone off on her own? I mean, she is here 24/7. There's a chance that she wanted to be alone."

Caroline shook her head and folded her arms across her chest. "She wouldn't go out on her own without telling anyone. She's been scared ever since the attack on Marcel. She doesn't want anything to happen to the baby."

I nodded. She was right. Hayley had been hyper sensitive about safety since the attack. She wouldn't leave the house unless it was with someone else she trusted. "Then how did someone get in to break her out? You guys would have heard anyone who even tried to get in."

Klaus edged closer to me and I took a hesitant step back. Elijah had walked over now, and he placed a hand on Klaus shoulder. Klaus let out a feral growl. "What did Andre say?"

"Not much besides confirming that he was the one who orchestrated the attack, and that he definitely doesn't like you. I warned him that you wouldn't stop until he was dead. I don't know if he heeded my warning or not. But, surely he must know that kidnapping the mother of your child would only make that worse?"

Caroline sighed and rubbed her face. "He's not working logically. He wants Nik to suffer. He wouldn't care what he had to do to make that happen."

Klaus' face was still angry, but I could see the sheer panic behind his eyes. I reached out and gripped his hand tightly, making him meet my eyes. "Andre isn't smart enough to do this on his own. There's someone here, someone who knew your connection to Hayley. And we'll trace them, and bring her home. No matter what."