The security man on shift stare and squinted his sleepy eyes on the blank screen Aliya was staring at with wide eyes as if caught in a trance.
"Is everything alright ma'am?" The security man asked staring at the screen and Aliya worriedly and scared that someone must've breach the walls again and into the mansion under his watch as he was lazily sleeping during his shift instead of watching.
"Look into these footages of all the camera's showing different places in the mansion" she said to him without glancing at him.
He turned his attention back to the screen but still found nothing there.
"Yes ma'am, but there's nothing" he said confused at Aliya's attentive gaze at the blank location the camera is taking footage of.
"Look at the walls and the floors carefully" she said.
He turned his attention back to the screen again and there he saw the date of which footage they were watching,it was of 18th February the day the murder was confirmed and there it was as he stared long at the walls and floors, fleeting shadows of figure trying to evade the CCTV cameras around 2:00am.
"This was the time the killer was inside the building "the young security man thought aloud, Aliya huffed at his comment before switching back to the current time.
"That means the killer breached in through the side walls and evade all the cameras and entered inside the mansion " he said absent mindly staring at space in thought while Aliya nodded.
"What about the cameras in the living room? The young man asked brows knitted.
"It was black probably blocked " Aliya answered hands on hips staring at the screen at the footage of the house including the living room.
Suddenly her eyes caught sight of another moving shadow figure sneaking into the living room, immediately Aliya barked orders at the young man.
"I just saw a fleeting sight of a shadow going inside the house, call the securities to search there's an intruder" he immediately left the room after Aliya's figure almost vanish before his eyes and went to inform the guards to start a search task in the house.
Aliya ran into the house almost tripping, she switched on the lights making the dim lit living room bright as day and looked around, she marched upstairs after she didn't see anyone and left the search for the guards for now there's something more important to check on.
She banged into a room upstairs and entering it like a gust of wind she stopped few feets from the bed as she watch the person covered under the duvet got up looking at her.
"Aliya what's wrong?" Amanda asked squinting her eyes at Aliya's figure.
"*huff* you're fine. There's an intruder " she said before walking out of the room.
"What? Wait Aliya where are you going " Amanda asked as she got out of the bed wearing her soft purple palms to go after Aliya
"To check on Sofia" Aliya answered from the hallway.
She went on to open the door facing Amanda's when the door click open and Sofia stood in front of her with questioning eyes.
"Just checking on you there's an intruder " said Aliya waving at Sofia as she went on to search the rooms if the intruder is hiding there. Amanda and Sofia also joined her searching till the search all brought them back to the living room including the guards.
"Why am I awake by this time for goodness sake" Rowan whined as he use his free hand to rub on his eyes while the other hold the torchlight.
"Because there's an intruder in the mansion " Reynold the young security man that went to call Rowan the last day and also the one Aliya met earlier in the security room on shift answered to the whining man who's almost in his 50's.
"No one was found?" Aliya voice asked confused with the gathered team.
"Yes ma'am we found no one and we've search everywhere " Rayyan the stone faced older and leader of the guards answered vehemently.
"B-but am sure I saw a moving shadow coming in here hiding from the cameras " she said confused and theoretically thinking maybe she was just hallucinating as she has been talking and seeing shadows since last day.
"It's okay you can all go back to your post or beds" she said messaging her temples feeling pounding headaches assaulting her tired brain.
"Let go back to bed" Aliya said to Amanda and Sofia who were standing at the stairs.
Sofia quickly turned around climbing the stairs hurriedly as she say "yeah, I'm really sleepy after all I deserve it after all the events " she shut her door after bidding proper goodnight to Aliya and Amanda.
Aliya watched Amanda slip into her room before she proceeded to her's shutting the door when inside.
She proceeded to her bed in the middle of the room and climbed back snuggling under the soft duvet hoping that sleep comes and dawn breaks.
~
Huffs and panting filled the dark cold room as Aliya sighed in relief seeing herself back in her room where the reality now exist instead of being the spectator in her nightmare. She brushed her soft curly hair away from her sweaty face and stretched her hand searching for the light and switching it on when she found it lighting up the dark room enough for one to locate things in the room or his way.
She looked at the blinking alarm next to her that shows 4:50am, she got out of bed flinging the blanket away and head to the door attached to the left side of her spacious room starting her morning routine earlier than usual.
Aliya matched out of her room once dressed up and ready for the day around 6:00am and walked into her now office shutting the door and taking a seat behind the desk in the spacious office. She opened up her laptop and searched about the company and its recent news and articles.
Seeing the most recent headline which was posted two days prior to today she clicked on it and the expected reveals itself.
Qasim Malik has taken over the seat of CEO which belonged to his deceased brother Sultan Malik's Textile Production Company that produces all kinds of interlacing fibres,including carpeting and geotextiles. It's the current biggest Textile Company in the states.
So the question people are asking is 'where is Sultan Malik's daughter who he has always pronounced to be his successor?' He said Textile Production Company will grow wider than this, it will start designing and fashion shows when his daughter step on the position of the CEO.
Aliya read article after article and released news of the different channels until she heard a knock on the door which interrupted her reading and train of thoughts.
"Come in" she answered looking at the door to see who knocked her office door this early morning.
Sofia's head peaked in through the small gap she opened before going in herself when she saw Aliya on the desk staring at her confused.
"Morning Aliya" she greeted taking a seat across her.
"Morning Sofy, is everything alright?" Aliya asked.
"Nah! Nothing just checking on you. You were not in your room and breakfast has been made, yours will get cold if you continue what...you're doing " Sofia stated trying to peek at the screen Aliya was looking at earlier.
"Oh" Aliya exclaimed looking out at the closed dark curtains which disallowed her to decipher the time properly, the sun will soon rise as the sky has brightened up already when she was immersed in her world.
Aliya took her breakfast and proceeded with her ride to the company and her friends who insisted on going with her to meet her uncle Qasim Malik who has always been jealous of her father and hated her and her mother,he has always has his greedy eyes on that seat only God knows the drama that will unfold when she shows up to take her rightful position.
A/N: hello lovely readers, what do you think of this chapter ?. Pls vote and feel free to comment, check web novel if you wanna read ahead, chapter 45 already published there.
If you like my style of writing check on my other book 'Dimmed Star'.
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Shadows Of Betrayal
Mystery / Thriller"I-I can't believe it's you!" Aliyah is a daughter of a rich business man who grew up an only child raised by her only father ,after finishing her studies abroad she came back home to meet her father's dead body in his pool of blood murdered ruthles...
