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Saira was stunned and still shocked. Shaurya looked at her and lightly seizing her hands he pulled her closer and made her sit on his lap. A tear passed out of her eye and he brushed it.
After a long moment of silence, and contemplation she articulated, "She wanted to kill me, Shaurya?" It sounded more like a question.
"Bear!" He pulled her in a hug. He could apprehend how alone she might be feeling now after knowing that the person with whom she lived for more than a decade was trying to kill her.
"This is unbelievable. I mean, she despised me since she stepped into our life as my father's wife but why did she plan to kill me? Why?"
"Even I have no answer to your question, Baby Bear!"
"What if she is trying to kill my other family member? My brothers and even Mohit..." Saira ranted.
Shaurya kenned the danger that's why he better thought to bring Mohit with them.
"How did you come to know that she is behind my attacks and abducts?"
He sighed before beginning his narration. "It didn't convince me that Rudhra was behind all those attacks, so I watched once again all the CCTV footage we collected from the crime scenes. First was the fire attack in the recreation room of that hotel. Your first attack, where a white-mask man set you on a fire. I watched the whole hotel footage in order to know from which way that man stepped on that floor."
Shaurya shifted Saira on his left thigh so that he can have access to his laptop. He opened the folder of footage and showed the one, in which the white mask man was setting fire to the room.
"Look at this one, you entered at 9:15 p.m. and the attacker at 9:20. But before setting fire he went to room 205, which was allotted to you. It seems he knew which room you will be using, and he even opened it with a spare key but not finding you there, he came to the recreation room to search for you, Saira." Saira's eyes were fixed on the screen, watching the movements of the attacker. "After he found you there, he sprayed a chemical and lit the fire." Shaurya tilted his head at Saira to study her expressions and resumed, "We only know the story of a recreation room, we never saw what happened before or after. An important point is, if he knew in which room you will be and even have the keys then there should be someone from your family to help him.
"When I gave a thought to watch the footage of the whole engagement party, I called the hotel people and asked them to send me all footage of that night." Then he clicked on new footage, "Look at this one!" Shaurya informed her. Saira waited with patience and watched the back exit footage. After a couple of minutes, she saw the same white mask man and even her stepmother. They spoke for a minute and after hugging each other they parted. Saira exchanged an astounding glance with Shaurya. "We Should have watched this long ago, Bear!" There was a sting of regression in his tone.
"She planned everything, didn't she?" Saira probed with a low and painful tone. Shaurya rubbed her back alleviating her. Then he nodded. "Can I see the footage of the party before I fought with that sorcerer?"
"Yes," he went through the other footage and opened the one. Saira saw herself and Mohit. They were happily conversing and enjoying their meals. And like a black cloud, her Stepmother stepped with a filthy old man, Mr. Dixit, who was once her agent. After they had a heated argument which could be appreciated by Saira's countenance, Saira slammed her plate on the table and made her way to the reception. And instantly, her stepmother excused herself, dialed a number on her mobile, and escaped from there.
"Do we have footage of where she wandered?"
"Unfortunately, no! Not even the hotel people have it cause some places were without surveillance."
"Ok, what happened after this?"
A crease formed between his brows as he went through the footage. He played one footage from 9:20 p.m. Saira and Shaurya saw her Stepmother speaking with Saira's father. And after a couple of moments, Saira's father calls a guard dressed in a black tuxedo. He takes out the key card from his trouser's pocket and hands him. Then he wanders from the screen as he was called by one of his friends. Saira's stepmom stops the same guard and takes the keys then she tells something to him. The bodyguard lifts his hand and points in a direction. Then she communicates again with him and the guard leaves from there with a nod. After a few seconds, Shaurya approaches...
Saira and shaurya exchanged a glance. "One of the guards informed me that Mrs. Mehra was calling me. When I went near her she handed me the keycard..." they saw the exact scene according to his description "...and she said that Mr. Mehra wants me to get a file from room no. 215, which was in the opposite direction of the recreation room."
Saira paused the video, "Wait. I can't get it. She planned to kill me and even wanted me to be saved."
Shaurya didn't deem the footage in that way when he saw it the other night.
Saira continued, "Why didn't she let the other bodyguard go to the same floor? Why did she explicitly send you, Shaurya?"
"Maybe..." Shaurya trailed off. Even he gave a thought to her words. He replays the footage and watched it again by pausing it multiple times. He can clearly see that she wants Shaurya to go to get the file. In short, she wanted Shaurya to appreciate the fire and save Saira.
"Yes. She wanted me to go there. But why?"
Saira stood on her foot and ambled to and fro. Did her stepmother plan to kill even Sahurya in that fire?
Contemplating and pondering Saira wandered. "Did she know who were you?"
"Even if she knew, why did she want me to save you?" Shaurya argued.
"Shaurya, you saved me that night and that's the reason we are alive. What if we didn't get any option to escape from the fire? We would have burned alive. But we didn't so she decided to hire you as my personal bodyguard. She wanted you to stay with me."
"But what she will get by it, Baby bear!" Seems like Shaurya's brain's cells got shut down.
But Saira was thinking actively, so she explained to him, "Shaurya, you are the hire of Chauhan Industries. You were so stupid to risk your life by living in a bunch of foreign guards. Any money sucker if they knew who are you they would have kidnapped and demanded a big ransom. So what is a big thing for my stepmother to plot your kidnaps in lieu of mine?"
Now, it clicked to Shaurya, "You mean your kidnaps were plotted to kidnap me."
"No bear that can't be possible. She can never know me? I never visited India for the last ten years. Before our wedding, I never made my profile on any social media website. Then how will she know me? First tell me, how your father met her."
"She worked as my father's assistant and then my father brought her one day and declared that she will be our mother."
"And her family?"
"She said that she has no one and she never left Dad's side, or even the mansion."
After a moment, Shaurya inhaled sharply, "To know the mystery behind your abducts, I have to follow your stepmother and go to the farmhouse, where she is meeting this man. We need to end this, Bear!"
"No. You will not," Saira objected kenning the danger, "What if this is her trap? And how come we are able to hear her mobile conversations."
"I inserted a spy chip in her mobile when Pooja dropped dessert on her. Actually, I took the help of Pooja in this."
A small smile crept on her lips, "and Pooja helped you."
He nodded. "She was indeed happy to help us. Seems like she likes you, so much."
"What about Papi?"
"He is safe. He is being guarded by ten guards day and night. It's better if he stays in Delhi until I find out both criminals. Your abductor and mama's kidnapper.
"I think I should go to Manav Das's house. I feel we can find a clue about Mama's murderer from there."
"Obviously no!" Shaurya rejected.
"He is dead shaurya. We don't have any danger."
"What if they knew you and attack you or harm you?"
Saira thought for a couple of moments and smiled with excitement, "I have a plan. What if I go in disguise like I did to find you?"
"And even if you go will anyone let you in?"
"Yes, they will. During my thesis survey as a nutritionist, I visited multiple houses to know about their eating habits, body build, and stature. Why don't I do the same?"
Even though Shaurya didn't look convinced by her advice, "You will not go alone. Naveed Sahab will guard you."
She smiled and added, "Absolutely, I need him!"
***
And don't forget to comment with your views and guesses. Seems like things are being connected. Who of you agrees with Saira?