Dedicated to payalJindal, For passionately following this story, Thank you dr😊

Arjun.

I was still in the bed when the phone was ringing continually.

I was in my suit, I had been working late yesterday and just slept a couple of hours only.

"Hell..o?" I attended the call "what's it karan" I asked groggily "it's only 6 in the morni-"

"Sir bad news!" he said and I opened my eyes.

"What happened?"

Did Abiram or Mahesh do anything stupid again?

"It's trishana!" he said and I was wide awake now "she published the truth magazine and you should see what she wrote there!" he said.

"Truth magazine!?" I asked him unbelievably, it was discontinued after they set up the news channel.

So when the mic was taken away,She found another route to report the news!?

I didn't expect that!

"Bring me a copy" I said.

"Yes, I am already on my way" he said.

I disconnected and went online.

Sure enough, It was there.

Varsha, A kidnapper or victim?

And just below that was the details on her story.

And worse- The pictures were arranged from the moment she was arrested along with the series of events that happened that day.

The police arresting her from the hotel.

The police handing her to another group on a deserted road.

The police announcing that varsha escaped with her unknown helpers and put her on wanted list.

Then shahid khan's statement that he was not kidnapped by varsha.

I read the news.

If you are still wondering about the credibility of the news, we have videos of the same...

I slammed the phone to the bed.

Shit!

This is a major setback for us.

Even though she didn't mention surya group directly,It was obvious to anyone with brain what she's hinting at.

She mentioned the name of police officer!

'It was assumed that the SI thomas who arrested varsha was working with a "major" corporation "s" and they are "reportedly" trying to get their hands on Latest fashion world, where varsha Abraham is the only legal successor'

She just had to ruin even the acquisition of " latest"!

she ended her article with ;

'Are we safe with the police? If varsha is Arrested and handed over by police, how safe are we with our police and law?

I looked around the papers scattered around the bed and the picture in the middle of it.

Trishana..

I picked it up and watched her smiling face.

I knew it...I knew you will create trouble.

"Arjun" my housekeeper uncle opened the door and came in with the receiver "You have a call" he said.

I put down her photo "Disconnect all the phones, I am going to the company"

Just when I was downstairs, karan hurried inside.

"Did you see that!? She even took a dig at the ice factory!"

"Karan, I need to attend an emergency meeting, Her car is still at her house, watch her closely and tell me when she moves again" I said.

The red dot on the monitor showed that her car is still at her house, Which means she's still not back yet.

"You think she will appear today?"

"I am positive that she will appear today" I said grimly.

I feel that her days are numbered too.

Trishana.

"The viewership is increasing, it's going viral" Shahid said happily.

"I was worried because we didn't even get a chance to announce the rebirth of truth magazine, but it seems like it's widely accepted.

"And varsha's name is cleared" karthik said "see this, people even started "#Find Varsha" campaign"

"Now we just need to oil the flame" Trisha said "I will arrange you a private meeting with officer Suresh kumar, Shahid"

"And I will tell them that I was attacked by surya group"

"No, if you mention their name, they will take it down or sue you for defamation, we can't act recklessly, They have that evil surya law firm with them, don't forget"

"Ok, we will proceed with next step now"Aditya said.

"I will go back today, I need to-" I started.

"You will be targeted by them" Aditi said "I think it's better you take a couple of days off"

"That's right" varsha agreed "they won't let you off so easily" she said.

I shook my head.

"We only have a small team at truth magazine, Without me, I am afraid they can't handle the pressure" I said "I need to go there and make sure everything is under control or they will find ways to stop the magazine too"

"What do you think will happen now?" varsha asked worriedly.

I smiled.

"With my understanding of surya group, They will cut off their problematic parts" I said "just wait and see"

Arjun.

"That's the only way" I said "we shouldn't get involved in this mess"

In other words, Cut SI Thomas mathew out, Make sure that he's not linked to the surya group.

Since the damage is already done, the only solution I find safe is to avoid it at all costs.

"What are you talking about!" SI thomas mathew looked at me "You want me to go down alone!?" He asked me.

"Then do you want to drag surya group down with you?" I asked back "I thought you knew the risks when you were getting involved"

"I don't mean that.." Thomas gave a nervous look at father "But is there any way I could..you know, escape this situation?"

"Your picture have been revealed all over the press, The people are watching closely, They want someone to blame and I am afraid that it will get messier if you try to get away " I said.

Yes, I know, I'm asking him to be the scapegoat here.

"Okay, I understand" he said and got up "I will take my leave now" he turned to father and said as politely as he could and walked away.

If it was not for the power surya group held over them, I Am sure that he would make it a big issue, But since he had worked with surya group, He would know how we deal with problems..he wouldn't want it for himself.

"Do you have to be like this!?"Mahesh asked me "you are so-"

"Then do you have a nicer way to tell him that he should be the scapegoat for us?" I asked back.

"Just because father gave you freedom, do you have to be negative all the time?"

"My job is just that" I said "I am the strategic manager here" I added "And I did that accordance with our rules"

"Enough" father said "you need to be more careful with your words Arjun" he said and Abiram and mahesh looked satisfied.

"I will keep it in mind" I said

"Even though Thomas mathew admits the crime that he handed varsha to some private goons for money, They will target surya group next" father said.

"I know" I nodded "people are already pointing at us -thanks to that article, But Don't make any statement on this and ignore it, They can't do anything unless they have clear evidence" I shrugged.

"That bitch!" Abiram cursed "I am going to kill her" he announced "I had had enough of her!" he said

"She's mine to deal with" Mahesh growled angrily "She not only helped varsha to escape from my men, But also made it look like she's kidnapped by them" he looked around "leave her to me" he said.

"Do you want the situation to be out of control?" I asked both of them angrily "She's working with that officer suresh kumar now" I said "Don't forget that she already have a complaint filed against us, we can't touch her now" I said.

I rather admire her.

"We need to take care of this reporter" father said thoughtfully "Or she will be as difficult as her father, You remember hariprasad,right?" he looked around and Abiram snickered.

"Of course, He ended up in my hand" he said "so much for fighting for the truth" he said.

"Don't underestimate the power of that magazine" I said "so many people are following it closely"

"Can we buy it off?" Raghav sir asked.

"No" father shook his head "it doesn't have any partners, it belongs to that reporter, we can't do anything for now"

"I will look into it and see if there is any way we could stop them" I said and father nodded, then looked around.

"So everyone stay calm and do nothing, this is an order" his eyes lingered at Abiram and he scowled.

"I still think that we need to take care of her" he said

"Yes, we need to" I agreed "But use your brain before you use your strength, Abiram" I said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If we want to bring her down, we need to set a trap and wait for her" I said "If she get trapped by herself, we can avoid all the trouble" I explained "But if we just go and attack her directly, it will surely backfire"

"I don't understand-"

"He means to wait for her to take the wrong step, so we need to wait patiently" raghav sir explained "the only thing is...we don't know how long she will take to mess up things"

"I will observe her for now" I said.

"Okay then" father said "Abiram,you need to complete what you started-shahid" he said "and Mahesh, You need to take care of varsha, you let her escape twice" he said and turned to me "watch her closely" he told me, referring to trishana "or I am sure that this will not be the last time" he stopped and I nodded.

I completely agree with you there..

Trishana.

As soon as I entered my office, there was loud applause. My small team was celebrating the victory of our come back.

"We did it!" Nitin said happily "our comeback is well accepted, it's going viral"

"And there's huge response! See..we are having calls and messages all along" the senior editor said.

"You were right!" another one said "we didn't actually need to advertise the comeback!" she said.

I smiled at their enthusiasm. We have been suppressed for a long time when we worked at the Truth Tv, Now everyone will be feeling free.

"Guys" I said, My voice turned serious when I looked around "we have only started our war" I said "But you should know the strength of our enemy, Don't underestimate them" I said

"Everything is going to be difficult now, So I want all of you to take care, especially in preventing any leakage of the news" I said.

"We understand" They all nodded and I walked to my cabin.

"Hey, you have a call" Nitin brought me a receiver.

"Tell them that I am not availab-"

"It's suresh kumar, The police officer" he added undertone and I looked up.

Karthik's father?

"Hello?" I answered the call.

"Congratulations on your come back" he said and I smiled.

"Thank you, It's all thanks to your support, I can do this without worry now" I said.

"That's great trishana, You are truly like your father" he said and I was overwhelmed.

"You know my father?" I asked.

"Not personally" he said "but I have always admired his reporting skill, All the rest was just trash that time" he said.

"Thank you so much sir! It means a lot to me"

"I talked to shahid khan and have withdrawn all the charges against Varsha too" He said

I was already aware of that, Now shahid and Varsha is free.

"Even though I asked him about his wife's death and his accident, He said he don't know anything about the people who attacked them, Which was obviously a lie, You have talked to them before trishana, what do you think?" he asked me.

Officer suresh kumar wants to take action against surya group, He already know that it's surya group behind it.

"What you think is right, Sir, But Shahid khan is not in a condition to file a case aginst them now" I said slowly.

Because he still don't know where his daughter is, He don't want to fight with surya group directly before finding his daughter.

"It was a private meeting, I offered him protection, But he denied" officer suresh said.

"Your article ends like varsha is kidnapped, people are turning against the police, Asking us to find her" He said "SI Thomas is already questioned about her whereabouts" He said "So even if she's taken out of the wanted list, Police Will be still keeping an eye out for her" He said "It will be better for her to be enrolled in witness protection program" He added.

I suddenly understand what he's trying to tell me.

He suspects that I know her whereabouts!

He knew that I have followed her and watched the exchange, So he guessed that I have helped her out?

So he is indirectly telling me to enroll her in witness protection program!

Uh...too many theories...

"I understand" I said quickly

"You can call me If you are facing any difficulty" he said

Whoa,I think my theories are right..

"Sure" I smiled "I will call you if I need help with anything" I said.

"That report on ice factory, I was trying to investigate it too, but the higher ups are blocking it" he said.

Of course they will block it, It's surya ice factory after all!

"So I was thinking about finding the evidence first, before asking for a warrant" he said "what do you think?Are you interested in the operation?" he asked me and my heart skipped a beat.

"Yea!of course!" I Said "I had never worked with the police on a live operation, I would love to do it sir" I said.

"Good, then I will try to set everything, it might take some time since there is a lot of resistance to go against surya group" he said.

"I understand, But count me too, I don't care how long it will take" I said and he laughed.

"Ok, take care then, call me if you want any help" he said before disconnecting.

I turned to the picture of my dad on the wall.

"Did you see that?" I said happily "there are still people who believes in your news magazine, There are people waiting to fight for justice, Don't worry dad, I will finish what you started, I will bring them down, surya group, this is my promise to you"

I turned back to my laptop as nitin opened the door again.

"Trisha, you have a visitor"

"I told you to turn away all the visitors-"

"He's a special person" Nitin said and I raised my eyebrows.

"Hey, may I come in madam?"

I looked at the door and saw the smiling face.

"Karan!" I exclaimed.

He was the one who took me to the city hospital and helped me escape when mahesh kidnapped me.

"Come in, it's nice to meet you" I said and he walked in.

"I read the news, That's a wonderful comeback" he said and I smiled.

"And that's the reason I'm here, I would like to work with you madam" He said and I looked at him in surprise.

"Work with me? Are you a journalist then?" I asked and he nodded.

"Yes, I told you last time that I admire your works" he said and I leaned back to my chair.

"But you didn't tell me that you are a journalist" I said.

"I was going to, but it was not an ideal time" he smiled.

And I know he was right, I was bleeding and only half conscious when he finds me on the street.

"Where are you working now?" I asked.

"Abroad, I was actually their cameraman" he said as he gave me his card.

Karan.

I waited, tensed as she look at the card.

And then looked back at me.

"This is a small company and we can't even report live" She said "we are only based on our articles karan" she added.

I took a breath, relieved ,She didn't suspect it's fake.

Of course she won't, Boss was the one who sent me here, so there is no way he will make mistakes.

"It's no problem, Even if it is small, I need to stay truthful, instead of diverting public's attention from more pressing matters" I said word-by-word what my boss has taught me.

"Karan, I am sorry to turn you down like this, but we are not in need of a reporter now, we have enough people here and we are just starting" she said.

"Do one thing, leave your details and go, I will call you when I need an additional hand" she rejected me nicely.

"She won't agree even though you have saved her life karan, She will be more concerned about keeping her datas confidential, so she won't accept newbies as quickly..so you need to take our most important card"

Boss's voice echoed in my head.

I nodded.

"Okay, it cannot be helped then" I said "I should have come here when hariprasad sir was still here" I said while I got up.

Her eyes focused on me.

"You know my dad?" she asked me.

"We met once at the silver cloud" I said and took another card out of my pocket "And he offered me a job here" I said.

Silver cloud is the place where the most powerful and high status people hang out and her father was often there, It was kind of his source of informations too.

I watched as trisha's eyes widened slightly while she looked at the card I showed her.

Boss was right..she fell for it!

"This is..indeed my dad's special card" she said and looked at me again.

"Then why didn't you come and work for him before?" she asked me.

"Tell her that it was the time when the problems started and the truth tv management was changed"

"It was the time when the problems started madam" I said.

I waited there as she regarded me thoughtfully.

I felt like it was forever before she nodded "You can join tomorrow" she said "nitin will be your senior, Stick close to him" she said and I almost danced in glee.

"Thank you soo much ma'am!" I thanked her.

As I walked back with nitin I just had a strange thought.

Boss was right, in fact..too accurate about trishna's responses, it almost felt eerie.

It was the first time he was breaking his own rules and got engaged in the chasing...

It's also the first time that he is taking interest in a girl.

He told abiram and mahesh to stay away from his "case"

I closed the glass door to her office and looked at her one last time.

Hey...I'm over reacting..It's my boss,He only knows how to be a workaholic.

Arjun.

I was in office when Abiram opened my cabin door.

"Arjun! we got him! Mr.Abraham of latest industry" he said.

"where is he?" I asked, now getting up from my chair.

"I don't know, but he's talking to mahesh now" Abiram said "we need to find his location, we need your ..help" He added. So I hurried outside with him.

It looks like it was the ex-ceo of latest, Abraham who contacted surya group first and he wanted to know what we have done with his daughter.

Apparently, The news that published showed that varsha is kidnapped and her dad thinks she's still under surya group.

When I reached the main room,raghav,Father's PA and the Executive director, Pramod was already there.

I opened my laptop where the city map appeared and started my work.

"I told you, Your daughter..." mahesh trailed off as I lifted up my hand and wrote in the paper.

"Ask him what he can do for us in exchange of his daughter"

I turned it around and mahesh hesitated, but I looked at him firmly.

"Ok, if I give you your daughter back, What will you do for me?" Mahesh asked.

"You bloody...Don't touch my daughter" Abraham shouted "What do you want from me ? You already destroyed my company"

"A press meeting where he himself announce that he's ready to merge with surya group to save his workers"

I wrote again and turned it around.

"I want you to come open and declare that you are merging with the surya group to help your employees keep their job, we are ready to take care of your company" mahesh said.

"Ha! you expect me to believe that?"He asked "the moment I come out from hiding, you will not spare my daughter or me!" he said and mahesh looked angry.

And as I started to write, mahesh changed the settings on the device where he had been listening and gave the speaker to me.

He set the frequency of the voice according to his.

"This is the only way out for you" I said now, The converter made a good imitation of mahesh's voice "But I guarantee that you will be safe"

"I don't trust you" he said again.

"How about this? I will arrange a way for you to escape India with your daughter, your company is already destroyed and the shareholders are going to hunt you down" I stopped "I will arrange a foolproof way for you to escape here, All you have to do is to come forward and announce that you are merging with surya group" I said.

And there was a moment of silence at the other end.

"You know, you can't hide forever, sooner or later, we will find you, or you will end up with your shareholders, This is the last thing I want to offer you, take it or leave it" I said.

"I don't trust you" he whispered.

"A deal is a deal, How about this, I will arrange everything first and you can back out if you think it's not safe enough" I said "besides, think about it, if something happens to you after your merging, People will surely suspect us" I said "so it's your ticket to escape here, think about it well"

"What about varsha?" he asked slowly and I sighed a relief.

"She's safe" I said and looked at my laptop where the location was finally tracked, I turned it to mahesh who asked pramod to take charge and pramod moved out of the room quietly.

"Think about my offer and give me a reply in 24 hrs, I won't wait more than that" I said before disconnecting the call.

Or I know, He will ask about his daughter again.

As soon as the line was disconnected, Abiram and Mahesh started to attack me.

"What the hell was that!?"

"How are you going to make varsha appear? He will ask about her whereabouts and when he knows we were lying, he will go into hiding and never come forward"

"Did you just try to settle a Merging of the company using me?" mahesh looked angry.

"That's...that's a brilliant job, what you have done, Arjun!" Raghav sir said and all of us turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Abiram asked, indignant.

"Trishana hinted in her report that A big corporation kidnapped varsha to get her company latest" raghav sir explained "so she was basically trapping us, making sure that we can't go after latest anytime soon" he said.

Whoa! I am surprised that he understood me!

No wonder he had been following my father all these years!

"So...if varsha's father Abraham himself come forward and announce that he is merging with our company, It will not be a problem anymore" Mahesh said slowly.

"But I don't think he will admit to it that fast" Abiram said "why did you give him 24 hrs? Our people are on our way to catch him, he will be here before that" he said.

"He won't easily get caught, Abiram" I said "he is probably using a pay phone and He was the ceo of latest fashion world, Even if he doesn't have any power now, I won't underestimate his backup" I said.

"That's right, he was able to hide himself from his own shareholders and that's something!" Mahesh looked at me "But what happens if he demands to see varsha?" he asked me.

"That's the risk, he should not suspect anything until we show him the escape plan"

"What are we going to do to convince him?" raghav sir asked.

"Leave it to me, I will prepare a foolproof plan to help him escape and he won't have any doubts" I said.

"You are planning to let him go?" Abiram looked at me "Are you crazy, Do you think he will be thankful?" Abiram shouted.

"I told you that I am not interested in murdering people, Are you planning to murder everyone after acquiring their company?" I narrowed my eyes.

"But it's great risk to leave him like that" Mahesh said.

"Instead of killing him, let's trap him in some legal issue while he is abroad, It will not be a problem with the situation he is in now" I said .

"I still disagree" Abiram said.

"Yea, how long can we keep him inside? It will become a headache, See trishana and her gang" Mahesh said.

"Don't fight among yourselves, let's leave that decision to narayan sir" raghav sir said.

Great! That's as good as saying that Abraham is a dead man.

.......

It was late when I reached home, I was already irritated and angry with the conference.

"Hello boss" karan opened the door for me "you are late, I was waiting for you" he said.

I walked inside and loosened my tie.

"How was your day?" I asked him.

It was his first day at Trishna's office.

"Busy, I am more like an errand boy than a reporter there" he said rather annoyingly "And none of her team is allowing me anywhere near the real thing, they are very careful" he said, now following me to the project room.

"Did you do it?" I turned to him, I had asked him to bug her office and he grinned.

"Done" he handed me a receiver and I tuned in.

"There's no one there now"

"Good work karan" I said "stick close to her all the time" I said "And listen too, I'm sure that she will contact her gang" I said and he nodded.

"Then-" I stopped as my phone started to ring.

"Hello?" I attended the call and listened.

"What's it?" karan asked as soon as I hung up.

"It seems that the SI Thomas mathew who handled Varsha case is suspended from his job" I said and turned to the project board.

"She really is something,Boss!" karan exclaimed and I watched her picture.

Yes, She is...

"How's things at her office?" I asked him.

"She's holds so much power there, everyone respects her" karan said "she's bright and brilliant" he stopped

"Bright and brilliant?" I said thoughtfully.

"Yes, And beautiful too, What do you think sir?" Karan asked me rather curiously.

"I think That she's going to end up in Abiram's or Mahesh's hand" I said.

"Do you know something?" Karan said "Her attitude and passion to her job reminds me of you, She's like a female version of you sir" karan said.

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