The Guilty Ones

Chapter 10

"Akash I tell you, this guy is hiding something. There is this big room and I saw him coming out of it one day. Eve before I peeked, he closed the door and diverted my mind with some sort of a riddle"

"Khushi, be careful. If closed the door then he must be hiding something. Unless you are confident he is not home, do not try to go into that room"

"Akash, I am thinking of asking them to give me time off so that I can go and grab one stuff. I will see how it works and see if I can set up a meeting with you"

"I am with you all the time Khushi, but you do realise I cannot be there physically right?"

"Akash, don't worry. I know what I am doing. After all the great ASR swallowed my bait. Anyways I have to go now. The doctor will be coming to see me soon"

"Ok, bye Take care"

Khushi ended the text conversation with Akash and as usual, turned the phone off and hid it inside her bag.

Soon after the doctor came and examined Khushi.

"I have to admit Miss. Silva, your wounds have healed pretty well. I don't think you need the notepad anymore. However, please be careful. Do you talk at high volume or with a speed? Take breaks in the middle and use a low volume for a few weeks. Once you feel the pain has gone completely, you can continue with your normal voice"

"Thank you, Doctor. I am glad I no longer have to use the notepad"

"Well, it helped you to heal quickly. Anyways, I will leave your pain medication in case you need it. I will take your leave now"

"Once again, thank you, Doctor"

Khushi was happy that finally she talk again. It was frustrating to use a notepad all the time.

The doctor met with Arnav and informed him about Khushi's situation and gave him the reports before leaving the house.

"Rose, can you ask Miss Kira to come to my office in two hours? I am going out now and will be back in two hours"

"Ok Sir, I will"

Khushi was in the room when Rose came in.

"Excuse me, Miss Kira, can I come in?"

"Oh Rose, come on in and see, now I can talk to you"

"That's great news, Miss. But make sure you rest your voice from time to time. It may be still fragile"

"I know. But I am excited to talk again after a week or so. Anyway, how can help you?"

"Sir wants to see you in his office in two hours"

"Sir, as in NK?"

"No, the big man himself. ASR"

"Oh, my future boss. Why in two hours, I will go now"

"No, he is out at the moment and he will be back in two hours. So do not go before the time. He hates when people walk around his office when he is not around"

"Oh, don't worry, I will wait for two hours and Rose, thank you for your help. I only got this job because of you"

"I am glad I could help Miss. I have been in your shoes so I know the pain"

Rose left Khushi's room leaving Khushi to hatch a plan.

"So, ASR is away. Means this will be the perfect time to investigate that room"

Thinking she tip-toed out of her room and slowly climbed down the stairs. Khushi looked around if anyone is there and so was happy that no one was around. This is the time when the security guards change their shifts. There is a 5 mins gap between this change. So for the whole 5 mins, there won't be any security guards inside the house.

Khushi took this chance and quietly ran towards the room where she saw Arnav that day. Much to her surprise, the room door was now locked.

"That's shocking. He did close the door behind me that day but he left it unlocked today? Maybe no one dared to go inside so he never bothered locking it"

Thinking Khushi walked inside the room and closed the door behind her.

The room lighting was so dull. All the curtains were closed and even the light bulbs were dimmed. It took her a few minutes to get her eyes adjusted to the mild darkness inside the room.

Khushi was expecting weapons, bullets, and even maybe some sort of illegal money stored inside the room. But all she saw were several canvases and paintings.

"Canvas painting? Why the hell he hides Canvas paintings inside a room? Maybe he hid drugs inside these? But how? or maybe these are illegal paintings?"

Khushi was confused. The paintings did not look like they were expensive or stolen. She walked close to a painting and it touched her soul. A small boy standing across the road looking at a happy family in front of him with tears in his eyes. Khushi definitely could relate to that painting.

The initials at the end of the painting gave her the shock of her life.

"By ASR"

"Arnav Singh Raizada pained this?" she questioned herself.

"And the rest of it too"

Khushi heard the voice she dread the most behind her. She was so focused on the paintings that she didn't hear Arnav coming into the room.

"Arnav Ji, you are here?"

Khushi was so afraid that she didn't realise what was coming out of her mouth.

"Last I checked, this is my house. So I can walk into any room I like. But I do have to tell you, I was sick of everyone calling me ASR or Arnav or Sir, Arnav Ji has a nice kick to it"

"I am sorry, I was just...."

"No need to be sorry. But if you are respecting me by calling me Arnav Ji, I should give that respect back to you"

"It's fine, I was just...."

"Let's see, how about I pay back your respect by calling you by your real name Miss. Khushi Gupta or shall I say, special agent Khushi?"

Khushi's mouth fell wide open. This was the last thing she expected. 

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Sorry for the delayed update. Last day at work before Christmas break as was extra busy finishing up :) 

Please enjoy chapter 10 and do vote and comment :)