she devil

Chapter-5

The news about the heir of Ash holdings, Madhav Arora's, return has spread pretty fast through the day. Zoya heard a lot about him that day. Madhav Arora was raised by his foster parents, who belong to the working class in the city. They passed away in a car accident last year. He's been working on his own since then and has quit school. He's a year older than the rest of them but has to continue his senior year in phoenix high. Zoya was planning on having a word with him, partly because she was curious about how things work in Arora's mansion. Everyone is Curious about it as their family never made an appearance in the social circle. They were so secretive that people often investigated them to find dirt but ultimately failed. And mostly, because he seemed familiar to her.

The lunch bell has finally rung. As soon as Zoya leaves the classroom, she spots the boys. Zoya approaches them.

"We need to talk. It's about your father." Veer speaks up. Finally!!! Zoya thought. She nods her head and together, they leave to the auditorium.

"So, what is it?" Zoya couldn't wait to hear the news. Hopefully, it won't be bad news. She's been waiting to move her plan forward for a while. She trusted the boys to find leads on her father's case. It's already been a year. She can't wait any longer.

"I looked into your father's case details that you gave me. I checked the area where the accident happened. It's confirmed that it wasn't a normal accident. The way the car got hit and the angle at which it turned, they're too deviated, as if there's no one behind the wheel. It could be that the driver is drunk or unconscious or, in your case, dead. As you mentioned, the time of the death and the accident are too far apart. So, to confirm that it wasn't your father driving the car, we need to trace back your father's activities that day. Where did he go? Who did he visit?"

"Seriously, I already know that part. It definitely wasn't an accident. I know there's more to it. Go on and say it." Zoya says.

"The point is, I've carefully investigated it found something strange but I don't know if it's relevant or not." Veer continues to hesitate. Zoya doesn't get why he's silent. She urges him to go on with a nod of her head. "One the day of your father's death the one person who doesn't have an alibi is Mrs. Akhtar." As soon as he completed the sentence, silence took over the place.

Zoya remained stone-faced. Having no reaction is much scarier than reacting. The boys stayed silent. The first one to break the silence was Aryan.

"So, it's possible that Zoya's mom has something to do with what happened that day."

Zoya still couldn't take what Veer said. Zoya was never fond of her mother. But she knew her mother only cares about the status. Killing is something that her mother won't do. But at this point, Zoya does not know what to believe. Her mother not having an alibi is indeed suspicious. She often attends parties and is always out door. She's never alone. Her not having an alibi is rare let alone on a day like that.

No, you can't let this go. No matter what you believe, you promised your father a fair investigation. You owe it to him. Zoya thinks. Zoya releases a breath letting go of the tension that formed in her shoulders.

"Anything is possible. So, you must investigate it. Get me the list of places my mother visited three day prior to the accident. Ayan, find me the people that are most likely to gain advantage from my father's death. I will contact you guys if and when I need something. So, don't frequently call me when I'm out." the boys give Zoya a nod in agreement. They know that it would be too suspicious if they do something out of the norm. The fact that they don't know who killed her father makes them guard against everyone.

Zoya didn't attend classes for the rest of the day. Instead, she stayed in their room on the roof top of the library to work on the product packaging of the upcoming cosmetics for Avier cosmetics, a subsequent division of Akhtar industries. The roof top on the library was used by titans over the years. they have three rooms. One to the corner beside the fish tank, on the rooftop of the library, that has about nine different species of aquatic animals in it. Siya's mother liked Aquatic animals the most but Siya hated pets. The boys and Zoya usually use the room near the fish tank since it has a good enough view of the beach. Siya insisted on having the room to the south that has a 180-degree view of the beach, which is placed on the top of sports building. Zoya never liked fighting with Siya. So, in the past, she often let Siya have her way, unlike now. The third one, on top of the labs and auditorium, is least liked one since it is noisy and smelly due to various activities in the auditorium and experiments in the labs.

After spending so much time on the product packaging, Zoya felt stuffed and moved to the window to get some air. The view from the window is of the ground below overlooking the beach. The school is not too close to beach or too far. As she looked down on the students leaving their classes, she spotted the rabbit guy among the crowd. Up from here, he looks so tiny. Zoya wished to look into his caramel-colored eyes one more time but had to refrain herself from going down there to do just that. That would be creepy even for someone as eerie as her. So, instead, she stayed back and observed him as he left the grounds and to the gate. He doesn't have a vehicle as he didn't go towards the parking lot. He must be picked up by one of their drivers. Reasonable, considering he was just added into the family. The way he walks and carries himself with such uncertainty is so amusing. It reminded her of her old self. Madhav Arora is such an odd duck. A smile reaches her lips as the thought crossed her mind.

***

The stale smell of blood is familiar. Her hand immediately reached for her chest where the traces of the gunshot lie. Her vision is blurred from the tears. Struggling to get up, she reaches out for help but her hands were touched by nothing but cool air. Suddenly, like magic, bright light streamed in, chasing away the darkness. She stepped forward, hoping to get out of this pain but soon, her legs gave out. She collapsed to the ground, the fall intensifying her pain. Her senses are on full alert as a figure emerged from behind the light. The sound of her blood flowing in her ears is so intense that she doesn't know if it's really the blood flowing or just her imagination.

As the figure approached her, Zoya started to lose control over her thoughts. There were many things that she wanted to do in her life. She wanted to buy her dad the costliest pen in the world. She wanted to visit every country around the globe and do so with the love of her life by her side. What would Veer do if she were to die today? As soon as she thought of that, she regretted it. She regretted it all. She wants to go back in time and change everything from the day she started dating him. She pushes the ground with her hands to fight against the pain. The person who approached her moved a step back. The fact that the person, whoever it might be, would leave her to die here made her want to live all the more. She lifted her head to call out but no sound came. As everything started to go blur the last thing she saw is the pair of caramel-colored eyes.

Zoya was startled by the eyes that she found so similar. What a crazy dream. She thought. It was kind of weird to have such a dream. On that night Zoya was admitted in the hospital by Veer. But the dream felt so real, like a memory. But that's funny since Madhav wasn't even in the town until a few weeks ago. Maybe it's because I got obsessed by that boy. She thought. It was a fair enough explanation. Tomorrow, in the assembly, he'll be introduced to the school. Should be interesting. She thought.