By your side

Crazyness

"It's been six hours, and there's still no sign of Aadya," Ishaan bellowed into his phone, frustration and worry etched deeply into his voice. "Tell me, when are you dispatching the search party?"

He quickly added, "Okay, please make it quick," and then ended the call.

He anxiously consulted the GPS tracking app, a lifeline to Aadya's last known location. Yet the nagging doubt lingered in his mind—could this be an elaborate trap? Perhaps the kidnapper had discarded her phone, leaving him with only a frail glimmer of hope.

As Ishaan hurriedly left the lodge, he kept his eyes on the phone tracker, hoping to find any sign of Aadya. About 50 kilometres outside of Bangalore, the path had become cold. He was driving so fast down the road that he was sure he had broken literally every traffic rule, and now he could only wait for the cops to show up—they were his only hope in this dark time.

He had used every political link he had to get the search party to come quickly.

Ishaan rubbed his tired forehead with his hand as he felt the pain of waiting for something unknown. He felt the weight of doubt pressing down on him. He could only pray very hard that Aadya would stay safe. He was scared to death about what might happen to her.

**************************

Aadya was jolted awake, rudely shaken from a fitful slumber brought on by sheer exhaustion.

"What?" she mumbled; her voice thick with drowsiness. He had probably drugged her. Since she had fallen asleep as soon as she had her meal,

It took her a moment to get used to the constant glare of the lamps after she blinked against the blinding light that enveloped her. She was in the middle of the intense spotlight, with a camera watching her suspiciously. It looked like a movie set.

As she tried to figure out what he was up to, she felt a chill of fear run through her. Even though she was scared, she found the strength to face him, even if it was just to buy herself some time. She was afraid because she wasn't sure if anyone even knew she was missing.

"What's all this?" She stammered, her voice trembling.

"We're going to make a movie," he replied with unsettling enthusiasm, his fingers deftly adjusting the camera's settings.

"Omar, why are you doing this?" Aadya implored, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and confusion.

"Well, you have a penchant for flaunting yourself, don't you?" he sneered. "Sleeping around with different men, that's your thing. I thought you'd love this," he added with a chilling smile.

As she realised how crazy he was, she got a chill down her spine. "Omar, why me? What have I ever done to you?"

His demeanour turned menacing, and he leant in closer, his eyes blazing with malice. "You ask why? You know the answer, Aadya. Do you have any idea what they did to me in jail?"

She recoiled, her mind racing to make sense of the madness enveloping her. "Omar, I didn't send you to jail. You were held accountable for your crimes. Everyone saw what you did to Priya."

"Yeah, Priya!" he mumbled. A look of bitterness crossed his face. "She will pay for it as well."

"Omar! Please, seeking revenge won't solve anything. I can help you." Aadya pleaded, her voice trembling with desperation. "Revenge will only bring more pain and suffering."

"Shut up, bitch! " He came near her, sitting next to her on the bed.

"Everyone will have to pay. I will punish each one of you. They might think they are unreachable, but I will find each one of them, even your rich lover, boy. But I will start with you. You know why?"