A boy is left behind by his mother and is rescued by a stranger. Soon after, two people are killed.
Twenty five years later, emotions are resurfacing. Ayaan Agnihotri learns that his rescuer is no more but the truth runs deeper than that. So, he emb...
Ankush Agnihotri entered his cabin at AMC. He would normally go over to his chair and start his computer. Today, he closed the glass door behind him and leaned back against it.
The colour-themed suite was filled with wooden details with the lighting provided the minimalist^ undertones. His desk was a custom-made mahogany^ table with a side cabinet providing the extra working space. The white leather executive chair faced the full height windows which were most of the time covered with vertical blinds^. On the other half of the room was the guests seating area with four armchairs around a two-tiered coffee table. However, this was not what he saw.
The room was half the area only with a standard rectangular wooden desk and a simple black executive chair. The wall behind the chair was covered in bookshelves. The wall had half height two door windows opened to let the light in. It was the office of Mr Batra, his boss and his father-in-law once upon a time. Ankush replayed his first day in that cabin. It was his first day at Batra Pharmaceuticals.
Ankush was stuck in traffic and arrived 30 minutes later than his reporting time. The building only had three storeys, and the receptionist asked him to go to the second storey and turn right, then take the first door that led to the cabin of his manager. He ran up the stairs not caring that his clothes were drenched in sweat. “Stop right there!” A voice called out to him. He turned around to find a young woman around his age, wearing a plain dark blue salwar kameez^ with the stole on one side.
“Where are you going?” She demanded. She didn't shout but her tone was authoritarian.
“It's my first day here and I'm late. Any more questions?” She gave him a once over as he answered.
“You are wearing short sleeves with sandals. The company is very strict on dress code which is long sleeved shirts and shoes for men.” She laughed to herself and then added, “Are you Aakriti's brother?” He nodded. “Come, I will introduce you to my Papa. By the way, I am Layana." All the way to the third storey office, the woman chattered about how she and Aakriti were friends and how he had got this job as the chemical engineer at Batra Pharmaceuticals. Then she brought him to this cabin, made the introductions and left immediately.
Without knocking, Aakriti barged into his cabin bringing him to the present. "Ankush, we need to talk." She pulled him with her to her cabin on the opposite end of the corridor.
”What's wrong with you?“ He asked in an impatient tone.
”I should be asking that. You are relying on Chhaya for everything. She can't refuse Ayaan of even small things when he is adamant, but you left it to her to do the property transfer. Are you in your right mind?“
Ankush sat down on the sofa and started to explain. Chhaya knew Ayaan's strengths and weaknesses better than him, so she was the correct choice for the job. Moreover, she kept a close watch on Ayaan's movement. She even informed him of Ayaan's regular visits to the old bungalow during late nights. She had a better idea as to when the iron was hot enough to strike. But it took Ankush about half an hour to convince Aakriti.
”Fine. I will trust your judgement. But be careful with Chhaya. She might act like an ideal wife and mother which she clearly is not. The bloodbath started with her.“
”No, the bloodbath started due to your friend. Of course, you will not agree, and I am grateful for your support all these years, so I will let this slide. I don't want to have this conversation with you again.“
As Ankush was about to leave, Aakriti reminded him, ”I am bringing a patent^ expert on board. Her name is Deepshika Verma, and she will stay with us on the retainer^ for three months. I have completed the formalities with her consultancy. I will bring her to meet you today.“
”Good. Just get on with the work and close the cases soon. Out of court settlements would be best. You already are expert in covering the money trails. Deal with the competitors first. Production has to stop if the charges go into litigation.“
---
Dhruv tapped on his laptop thinking of possible passwords. “The lesser you know, the safer you are”, Aakriti said when he asked her about the tension surrounding the old bungalow. Since he was running out of people to ask and receive information, he turned to the company servers. From the day he overheard his parents, he had been working on exploring the company information. By exploring, he was actually hacking into the protected areas. He did try to legitimately enter through Ayaan's credentials which gave him no relevant data. He was only left surprised how much of AMC was a locked gate for Ayaan Agnihotri. His own credentials had even little access.
The next possible key was Ankush Agnihotri. His credentials must open the locked gates; hence Dhruv was here to try his luck. He didn't trust his father to give him what he asked like Ayaan. In his stealth ways, he requested his Aunt to help bring his father out of the cabin.
The challenge was that the cabin operated on a key card. The cabin door would only open with the key card. The laptop and the desktop both responded only to that key card. Even the lights and aircon could be switched on using that card. Naturally, Ankush kept it close to him, in the cardholder of his phone cover. Dhruv had tried to frisk away the phone at the breakfast table that morning but failed in his repeated attempts. When Aakriti joined them, Ayaan had subtly warned Dhruv to stop his stunt. He wondered if Ayaan knew why he was trying to steal the phone.
Once they reached the office, Aakriti took Ankush away stating an urgent matter as an excuse. Dhruv sneaked in and found the keycard in its place next to the door. The lights were on. He took the card and powered the laptop. He tried a few passwords only to face the red warning of 'Password did not match!'
Time for Plan B - the keylogger^. Dhruv found the central processing unit of the desktop computer beneath the desk and checked the cables. He found the keyboard cable, mentally thanking his Dad's hatred for wireless keyboards. He plugged out the cable, added the cylindrical inch-long adapter to it and plugged the set back in its slot.
---
Ankush thought of the similar warning received from Chhaya regarding Aakriti. While Aakriti supported him over the years, she had not warmed up to Chhaya. They maintained only a decent relationship enough to cooperate, but no loyalties were exchanged.
“Hey, Ms Charming!” Ayaan was at his secretary's desk. “Just saw the calendar. I have too many appointments. Can you see if they can be postponed? Also, find me a good evaluator for property sale and check the process and timeline for auctioning. By the end of business hours.”
Ayaan hopped into his cabin without spotting Ankush. Why was Ayaan looking for evaluator? He had clearly said there would be no sale. He asked Ayaan the same for which the reply was, “Why don't you ask Mom? I am doing it with her consent.”
How could Chhaya decide against him?
Ankush moved quickly to his cabin wanting to have some private space to let out his frustration and anger. He spotted Dhruv going out from his cabin. Only then he realised his cabin keycard was left inside.
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The action starts now. What do you think of Aakriti? Is she positive or negative?
Ankush still thinks of a certain Layana. What is your first impression of her?
