A boy is left behind by his mother and is rescued by a stranger. Soon after, two people are killed.
Twenty five years later, emotions are resurfacing. Ayaan Agnihotri learns that his rescuer is no more but the truth runs deeper than that. So, he emb...
Aakriti Agnihotri was briefing Deepshika on the current situation of AMC. Arriving at the office Deepshika was nervous about her plan. There was even a hint of doubt whether her plan will even work. She had not informed her mother until she was seated on the plane. She should have gone over her plan with her mother, but she also knew there were high chances that she had to abort the whole scheme. So, she followed the route of asking forgiveness than permission.
It surprised Deepshika that a company like AMC did not have an in-house legal counsel. Everything was managed by Aakriti, who hired lawyers on a case by case basis, not keeping one further than the case they were recruited for. The arrangement was partly the reason for the chaos she was briefing about which only she knew. Deepshika was looking forward to meeting at least Ankush Agnihotri or Ayaan, but Aakriti said they were not involved with 'administrative affairs'. Deepshika wanted to scream, which she did in her head internally, "Legal matters are not administrative affairs; they can shut down the whole company. Don't they understand that? Is Ayaan actually that stupid to not know what's going on?"
Deepshika opened a mini water bottle on the meeting table. She took a sip calming her emotions to stay on track. She was given eight cases mostly regarding patent claims which were common in the pharmaceutical industry. The similarity was that these patents were co-owned by U.S. companies which claimed that AMC has not paid their licensing fees over the years. At first look, she concluded them to be a classic case of patent trolling^ which were not common in India. Later she would know that they indicated an ally hidden from the public eye over the years.
~~~
Ayaan observed the action in the meeting room through the glass wall of his office. It was the same for a week now. Aakriti would move in and out while their visitor was hardly seen out of the room. The few moments that she would step out, she was escorted by Aakriti. He could have met the visitor at her hotel but he wanted to know her purpose of visit before stepping forward. When Aakriti asked Ankush to find time to meet her recruit, Ayaan pushed the envelope by suggesting to invite her for Friday dinner.
On Friday evening, Chhaya prepared for her role of best host with exquisite dinner sets that were saved for entertaining guests. She decided on everything from the menu to the seating plan. At around 8 pm, the family was at the table, breaking their routine of having dinner alone in their rooms. Their guest arrived thirty minutes later.
In an all-white ensemble of a crop top and a skirt, Deepshika walked in with a smile plastered to glossy lips. Aakriti introduced her to everyone. When Ayaan was introduced, she simply said hello but her smile spread broader in recognition.
~~~
Deepshika took in each family member and compared to what she knew about them. Her mother had told her what the Agnihotris were like in their past when she decided not to pursue the accident. She had instead relocated and focused on building a new life for herself and Deepshika.
After the dinner, Deepshika took Ayaan's offer to drop her back at the hotel. They had to discuss their further plan of action. Once in the car, Ayaan relaxed as they travelled away from Mahanidhi. "How was your first week?"
"Somewhere between shock and surprise, but mostly towards the shocking side", she answered.
He smiled and continued driving in silence. However, he slid his palm over hers, holding hers in his, caressing with his thumb. Deepshika had learnt from the past four years of her long-distance relationship that this gesture of Ayaan was a way of dissipating his anxiety. They occasionally met for a few hours when she was in India for work or conferences. At one such conference in Kolkata two years before, Ayaan had introduced her to Aakriti.
Once they were in her room at the hotel, Ayaan asked, "I didn't know you were coming until you called when you landed. I thought we were going to play this without you appearing as the buyer."
"Even I don't know what your Aunt is up to. She called me a month back, asking if I can help her with the patent claims. I thought it's a good idea if I stay close so that there would be more pressure for the sale."
"I managed to set a three-month deadline with Mom. She must be trying to know exactly who you are. So, it's good that you are here with an alias^."
"Isn't it cool? Deepshika Verma. Aakriti gave me this alias. Mamma was so freaked out when she found out I am here but when I explained I am on an alias and no one will be able to connect me with my dad, she relaxed."
"Yeah, I must thank Aunt for that." He was brooding over the menace that was unfolding. He owed her father too much to put her life in the line of danger.
The rough knock on the door alerted both of them. Ayaan saw Dhruv from the peephole and opened the door, letting him in. In greeting, Dhruv said, "Mom knows you were visiting Aashayein almost every night and are here now."
###
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Please keep your votes and comments coming. Even a word is a huge encouragement and I need it to keep going.
