Chapter 67: The Evidence

It was seven in the morning when she had awakened and went for a morning walk to a

nearby park. With her earphones plugged in, she continued to jog. She had developed the

habit of jogging and exercising regularly for some days. She considered exercise and

morning walks as stress busters because these days she was really stressed—stressed

about her future, stressed about handing evidence to Khaleda, stressed about trying not to

get caught by Shehryaar, and stressed about how to escape Shehryaar. She could not live

her entire life in fear, and Shehryaar was the epitome of making people fearful of him.

How ambitious she had been about her dreams, and now these days all she could think of

was getting rid of him. Where had her life led her, she thought.

The focus of her whole life became him. She was too engrossed in freeing herself from the

web he had set for her that during this while she completely forgot who she was and

whatshe wanted to achieve in her life.

She believed in true love.

Believed in settling herself with a man who would understand her, respect her. She

dreamed of having a company of her own so her children's stomachs would be filled before

every night, and she would never leave her kids alone just like her parents had left her

alone.

In this dilemma, she truly forgot who she was and what dreams she had.

She was walking when suddenly a sweeper passed by her, cleaning and gathering the dead

leaves from the ground.

He accidentally pushed her, making her phone fall to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry, madam," he uttered and bent down to pick up her phone from the floor.

When he rose, handing herherphone, he looked in her eyes.

"Khaleda sent me," he uttered, and a look of realization came over her as she took her phone

from him.

The man went away, and when she turned over the phone, she found a note and a USB.

"Don't open it now," the note said, so she just placed her phone in the inner pocket of her

jacket while sneakily placing the USB and note too.

Completing her jogging time, she went back home, calmly and casually. She didn't want to

hurry because she could become the center of suspicion.

As soon as she entered, she went inside her room and immediately retrieved the note and

USB before unfolding the paper.

"Whatever evidence you have, install it in the pen drive and go to the restaurant near the

company and give the USB to the manager. Don't—I repeat, don't—give it to the man you

took this pen drive from, as Shehryaar has his men stationed around you. If youcome in

contactwith him once more, the suspicion would land on you. I can't take the evidence in the

company, as there are always people around and hidden cameras in every nook and corner.

Just do as I say, and you will be fine. I took this long to contact you because we've been

monitoring your activities and finding the right time and moment to pass it to you. And

don't forget to remove the evidence from your phone—he may have your phone tapped.

Follow the instructions carefully. Sorry for the delay, and just follow what I said. And act

normal around him. Act normal. I repeat, act normal. You haven't seen anything. Do not, do

not, do not forget to destroy this note and delete whatever you have on your phone or

laptop. I repeat, do not forget to destroy the note and remove the evidence from your

devices. Waiting for your move."

The note said, and the first thing she did was transfer the recording to the USB before

deleting it from her phone and burning the note.

Then she went to the company and continued to work like any other day, as if nothing had

happened and she was not on a mission.

One thing that bothered her was leaving the building. Shehryaar had restricted her from

stepping out without his permission, and as Khaleda told her, there were cameras

everywhere; she couldn't possibly go without his knowledge. The only way she could think

of was to ask for his permission.

Gathering every ounce of courage, she stood up and went to his office.

Act normal, she chanted these words like a mantra in her mind.

Knocking on the door, she entered the room and found him working on something. Most

probably, it was something from the meeting he had just attended.

"Come in," he said upon finding her standing near the door.

"I needed your permission," she said, looking down, feeling suffocated by how slickly he had

gained control of her life.

His brows rose in a questioning manner as he leaned back against his chair.

"Can I go to the nearby restaurant?"

"For what?"

She suppressed the gulp that was making its way up her throat. She needed to act normal.

She had to act normal.

"I was craving brownies I once had there, so I... I thought to get some for myself."

"I'll ask one of the peons to bring them for you."

"No, no," she said abruptly. "I was feeling a bit claustrophobic in my office, so if I go, I'll also

get to walk and breathe in fresh air," she tried to explain.

"Didn't you have your morning walk today for the fresh air?" he asked, making her go pale

in seconds as the incident in the park ran through her mind.

"I—I d-did," she stuttered, cursing herself for doing this, "I did," she replied again, clearing

her throat, "but I just wanted to go out for a while."

"Hmmm," he said, pensively, while drumming his fingers against the desk. "You didn't have

them yesterday when you went to dinner with your dearest brother."

Her mouth hung open. "How do you know?"

That was where she had made the error without even realizing.