Ava was busy looking outside the window when she heard the sound of the door being unlocked once more. She quickly scanned the room for something she could use as a weapon. Her eyes settled on a glass vase, and she grasped it firmly, holding it as if it were her lifeline.
The door slowly swung open, revealing an elderly woman with a tray filled with various dishes. She appeared to be a maid, dressed in a neat uniform with a name tag on the right side – Aziza. Her smile was warm, her demeanor friendly.
Aziza gently spoke, "Good morning, dear. I wasn't sure what you'd like for breakfast, so I prepared an assortment of dishes for you."
Ava remained silent. She didn't respond to her. Aziza carefully placed the tray on the tea table and glanced at Ava. Aziza asked, "Is there anything else you'd like, dear?"
Ava slowly approached the lady, taking her hands gently. She asked, "Aunty, can you help me escape from here?"
Aziza looked taken aback by Ava's plea and gently pulled her hands away. She replied, "I'm sorry, dear, but I can't do anything. My job is all I have, and my family depends on me. If I help you, I'll lose my job, and I can't afford that."
Ava held Aziza's hands once more and pleaded, "I promise I'll help you find a better job. My brother is a police officer, and he can assist you. Please help me escape from this place."
Aziza hesitated for a moment, but then she gently pulled her hands from Ava's grip. She said sadly, "I'm truly sorry, but I can't assist you. My hands are tied."
With those words, Aziza turned and left the room, locking the door from the outside. The room now felt even more like a prison to Ava.
....
Faisal rushed into Ibrahim's office with a worried look on his face. He closed the heavy wooden door behind him.
Ibrahim was sitting in a black leather chair. He was on a serious phone call, looking busy. The office was luxurious, with his fancy wooden desk, a phone, a shiny nameplate that said "Ibrahim Rahman," and some important papers.
Once he was done with his call, Ibrahim put the phone down and turned his attention to Faisal, who was sitting across from him.
Ibrahim raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's bothering you so much, Faisal?"
Faisal, looking very frustrated, let out a big sigh. He leaned forward in his chair, looking intense.
Faisal retorted with a sigh, "Don't you know why I'm angry?"
Ibrahim, with a bit of a smile, acted like he didn't know what was going on. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
"Why did you kidnap that girl? How... how could you even think of that?" Faisal said in a voice that showed he was mad and shocked.
Ibrahim took a deep breath and replied, "I have Ava now, and I'm planning to marry her."
"You're not doing this the right way. Elara, Ava's brother, has been searching for her everywhere since last night." Faisal pointed out.
Ibrahim brushed off the concern, saying, "Let Elara search. He'll come to know about his sister soon enough."
Faisal continued, "Do you think Ava will accept you with the way you're treating her? And what if she discovers all your illegal activities?"
Ibrahim remained silent. He knew that Ava would never accept him if she found out about his connection with the underworld.
Ibrahim reached for the drawer and retrieved a pack of cigarettes. He lit one and began to smoke.
Faisal took a moment to let the smoke swirl around Ibrahim before he continued, "Ibrahim, you need to think about this carefully. Ava is still so young. And these actions of yours will only hurt her."
Ibrahim took a deep drag from his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke. He finally spoke, "I know she's young, but I can't let her go now. I've set things in motion, and I won't allow her to slip away."
Faisal leaned forward and said firmly, "Forcing her into something she's not ready for won't end well. You can't control everything, especially when it comes to matters of the heart."
Ibrahim took another drag from his cigarette and looked out of the window, lost in thought. He knew that Faisal was right, and yet he couldn't shake the obsession he felt for Ava. He knew, deep down, that it was irrational, even dangerous, to pursue her in this way, but his intense desire for her blinded him to reason.
...
Elara had watched the CCTV footage from their apartment last night, his worry growing by the minute. The disappearance of his sister Ava had unnerved him to the core. He had meticulously gone through the footage, looking for any signs or clues about what might have happened to her. He saw the security guard had mentioned something to Ava that prompted her to use the stairs instead of the lift, but all the footage from the stairwell had mysteriously disappeared.
In the morning, Elara waited for the security guard's shift to end, determined to get answers. When the guard finished his shift and was about to leave, Elara approached him.
"Hey, you!" Elara's tone was sharp as he called out to the guard, who paused in his tracks.
The security guard tried to act like he didn't know what Elara was talking about, "Can I help you with something, sir?"
Elara was not in the mood for games. He approached the guard aggressively, "You're the one who was on duty from last evening, right?"
The guard hesitated and then muttered, " Yes sir, but I don't know what you're talking about."
Elara's patience was wearing thin, and he made a swift decision. He grabbed the guard by the collar and pinned him against the wall, his voice steely, "You do know! You know exactly what I'm talking about."
The guard was clearly frightened now, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as he stammered, "I... I don't know who told me to say those things to your sister."
Elara's grip tightened, and he raised his fist threateningly. "You're going to tell me everything you know, right now, or things will get much worse for you."
Realizing that he was caught and that Elara was serious, the guard admitted, "I don't know the person's name; they never told me. I was just given money to do what I was told. I needed the money, and I didn't think it would lead to all this."
Elara raised his fist and landed a blow on the security guard's face. The force of the blow stunned the guard,
"How did they contact you?" Elara asked. His voice was so loud.
The security guard was still reeling from the punch. He hesitated before answering, "They messaged me."
Elara's eyes narrowed, "Text messages?"
The guard nodded. "Yes, text messages."
Elara knew he had to dig deeper. "Do you have those messages? Show me those."
With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone, a cheap and outdated model, and opened the messages.
The text messages were simple and to the point. They instructed the guard to tell Ava that the lift was broken and promised him a sum of money in exchange for his cooperation. The sender's number was unregistered and had no identifying information.
Elara took a deep breath, realizing that this was the only lead he had. He noted down the phone number and then asked, "Did they mention anything else? Any specific orders?"
The security guard shook his head. "No, just the message about the lift and the promise of money."
Elara pocketed the number and handed the guard's phone back to him. But Elara wasn't done. Now he just had a phone number to trace, and he had to find out who was behind Ava's disappearance.