AMANTARA

The collateral damage I never saw coming!
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The next morning, as I strode into my cabin, chaos engulfed the room like an unexpected tempest. Documents lay strewn across the desks, voices buzzed with urgency, and an undercurrent of tension clung to the air, thick and suffocating.

Before I could assess the situation, Feroz charged toward me, his face a blend of apprehension and haste.

"Khurana’s made his move," he blurted out, his words hurried and laced with unease.

I straightened, my gaze narrowing. "What move?" I asked sharply, my eyes sweeping the room, catching every pair of expectant eyes fixed on me, desperate for direction.

"He hasn’t made an overt strike," Feroz clarified, his tone grim. "But he’s pulled strings through the ICCC. They’re on their way here as we speak."

A knot of anger coiled in my chest. Khurana hadn’t just fired a warning shot. He’d launched a covert attack, one designed to unsettle me without exposing his hand entirely.

I scoured the news article with a mounting sense of fury, each word tightening the noose of suspicion around my company. The headline screamed of scandal, boldly claiming that IP addresses linked to my firm had been involved in illicit activities. Khurana’s dirty fingerprints were all over this, a masterstroke of deception aimed at shredding my reputation.

Fine. If it’s war he wants, war he’ll get.

But before the authorities arrived, I needed to unearth the IP address in question. If Khurana had set the stage, he’d undoubtedly planted evidence to lead them straight to me. I approached my laptop, every move calculated, my mind racing through possibilities.

Before I could type a single command, a voice boomed like a thunderclap, snapping the tension in the room. "Nobody move!"

I whipped around to see the authorities storming into my office, their presence looming like an ominous shadow. My teeth clenched, and fury burned in my veins.

"We are here to seize all company devices," one of them announced with steely authority. "Stay seated and comply."

One of them strode toward me, his movements deliberate, and handed me a document. My eyes narrowed as I unfolded it. A warrant. Of course.

The words Search Warrant stared back at me, mocking my predicament. Rage clawed at my chest, but I swallowed it, forcing my face into a calm mask. This wasn’t just about clearing my company’s name. It was about dismantling whatever trap Khurana had so meticulously laid.

I would fight this tooth and nail. And when the dust settled, Khurana would wish he had never crossed me.

The air in the room crackled with tension, and every employee glued to their seats as if the weight of the situation had pinned them in place. My steps faltered, and I froze momentarily, scanning the chaos unravelling before me. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Tara, confusion etched onto her face as she cautiously settled into her seat.