Shadows Of The Past

C H A P T E R - XIII

F L O W E R S    A N D
F R I E N D S H I P


"Did you find out anything about that guy?"

"No- no, sir."

Atharva sat in his office, decked up in a crisp black shirt and black pants as he stared at the man in front of him, with a look that could burn anyone into ashes. His jaw clenched and eyes sharp as he scanned the man in front of him from head to toe. He was lying, and he knew that.

"One thing, I gave you one thing to do. To find a common man who is getting paid to spy on people. And you couldn't do that!" He growled, standing up from his chair and taking steps closer to the
man.

"You know I hate liars, right?"

"I am not lying, sir."

"When did I even say that you're lying?" A sly evil smirk covered his lips. "I will count till five. Tell me the truth, or I will bury you 10 feet below the ground, and no one will ever find out!".

"One. Two. Three." He began counting, moving one step closer to the man with every count.

"Four." And as he reached close enough to the man, enough to punch him to death, the man cried in fear.

"I am sorry, I know who he is. I can tell you!" He said, looking down with shame and fear. "He was in the hospital that day when I saw you in the corridor, I followed him, and I overheard his conversation on a phone call with someone. He was there to gather some information about your fiancée, sir. I was coming to tell you all this when he saw me and threatened me that he would kill my family if I opened my mouth in front of you or anyone else. Please forgive me, sir. Please protect my family!" The man cried as he continued to look down towards the floor, afraid of Atharva's uncontrollable rage, but to his surprise, no bullet, slap, punch or any attack came his way for next few seconds before he heard Atharva finally speak up.

"You're going to partner up with him and bring me every information without letting anyone know. Or I will kill you. And I will ensure that until you sincerely work for me, nothing will happen to your family. But one mistake and you won't see the daylight ever again!" His voice was full of authority as he spoke, moving back to his desk.

"Yes, sir, I understand. Thank you!" The man nodded before running out, and as soon as the man left Atharva's cabin, Krisha entered inside, with a usual smile on her face.

"Good morning, Sir!" She said, placing Atharva's hot chocolate on his desk and handing over his schedule for the day to him.

"Good morning, Krisha! How are your kids?" Atharva asked, smiling at her now. Really glad to see his hot chocolate.

"They're good, sir. My little one is starting secondary school this week." She said as she arranged the papers that were scattered all over his desk.

"Kids grow up really fast." He said with a soft smile as he glanced at his scheduled and the smile faded away. The meetings lined up in the schedule looked like a burden to him today. "Can we cancel the meetings post 5 pm?" He asked, hoping it wasn't something important.

"It's with your international clients sir, they are leaving for Germany tomorrow. You have to see them today." Krisha spoke sadly, sensing Atharva's unwilling mood today as his face completely fell upon hearing how important this meeting was. "We can still try rescheduling it sir, if you want." she suggested, hoping it would help, but actually, it wasn't possible.