DESTINED TOGETHER

Chapter 68 - After the haze

Abhimanyu rang the doorbell and waited anxiously. When the door finally opened to reveal his friend Rehaan, he sighed in relief.

"Hey, man," Rehaan greeted him, pulling him into a friendly hug and patting his back. "Come on in, Abhi." Abhimanyu nodded and followed him inside, collapsing onto the sofa, rubbing his eyes as the exhaustion from lack of sleep started to catch up with him.

A moment later, Rehaan returned with two cans of Red Bull and handed one to him. "Sorry, man, I couldn't make it to Parth Bhai's wedding."

Abhimanyu shook his head. "It's fine, buddy. Just come home when you're done with work. Parth Bhai will be happy to see you." He said, before adding with a frown. "I get the workload, Rehaan, and I'm sorry for adding more to your plate."

"Shut up, Abhi. I'll get mad if you say sorry." Rehaan chided, his tone light but firm. "You're my friend, you've done a lot for me without expecting anything in return. Now, it's my turn to be a good friend to you." 

Abhimanyu eased a small smile, playfully punching his friend's shoulder. "Thanks, man, that means a lot. I don't know what I would've done without you. I don't trust strangers enough to confide in them about this, and you're the only friend I have in this field."

Rehaan had been a trusted friend for years, ever since their high school days. He was now, an investigator specialized in cybercrimes, and he was working for a private detective firm. When he called him two days ago, he immediately asked to meet him, and that was exactly what he did on his return from his weekend getaway. He had confided in him about Avantika blackmailing him using his girlfriend, and asked for his help in tracking her down.

His friend agreed but warned him that he was limited as rules didn't permit him to investigate as much as his knowledge did since he couldn't directly intervene. Abhi understood, hesitant to involve the police or other legal authorities in the matter, he proceeded with the plan.

And so, Rehaan was the one who helped him figure out Avantika's true identity, and her involvement in the medical scam. He managed to gather some evidence, but it wasn't done—not until his Akshu was safe.

"Anything for you, man." The said man chuckled, wandering around the room to grab his laptop. "So, I've got some good news and some bad news. What do you want first?"

Abhimanyu grimaced as Rehaan reappeared with the computer. "Hit me with the worst." He muttered, shifting over to make room for Rehaan beside him.

"Avantika must have paid someone off to get access to your girl's clip...the person who handed it over to her is just as liable under the law."

Abhimanyu raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it. I talked to the pub owner with police authorization, asked him to give me the footage, and delete it from their CCTV. Did he lie to me?"

"No, Abhi, he didn't. He really did delete it. But big pub's security is managed by a data center, and they always keeps everything backed up on their servers." Abhimanyu pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to keep his frustration in check.

"She got the clip from the archives of the data center, not from the pub. However, their professional ethics strictly forbid sharing a client's personal information—in this case, Mystic Vibes."

"How on earth can the data center let this happen? And Avantika went that far to track down this footage? Seriously?" Abhimanyu muttered, both baffled and furious.

"Don't forget who she is, Abhi." Rehaan reminded him, his tone somber. Abhi nodded, his expression darkening as the reality sank in.

"Okay, so that was the bad news What about the good news? Have you tracked down that friend of hers?" He asked, probing further.