Mumbai
DM Empire
In the heart of Mumbai stood a magnificent glass skyscraper that seemed to touch the sky—DM Empire, one of the city's largest and most prestigious companies.
On the 24th floor, inside the spacious CEO's cabin, a man stood silently in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass window, both hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers, watching the never-ending rush of the city below.Devansh Malhotra.
Silence filled the room.
On the sofa behind him sat two people—Kartik and Sameer, the company's manager.
Without turning around, Devansh finally spoke in a calm yet firm voice, "What did you find out...?"
Kartik :- "Not much... We only discovered that she always logs into her account from the same café in Delhi."
Devansh (eyes narrowed slightly) :- "That means... she lives in Delhi..."
He paused for a second before suddenly turning around to face Kartik.
"Wait...what... she? You mean...a girl..??"
Kartik (nodded) :- "Yeah..A girl..!!"
Devansh :- " Are you sure..??"
Sameer :- "100 & 10 sure boss..We couldn't believe it at first either, but according to everything we've gathered so far... it's true..!! "
Devansh stared at both of them for a moment.
Devansh :- "Hmm... Anything else..??"
Kartik picked up a file from the table and handed it to him.
Kartik:- "That's all for now. The café's name, location, and every detail we've collected are in this file. Our team is still trying to gather more information about her...!!"
Devansh accepted the file and slowly began flipping through its pages....An unusual restlessness appeared in his eyes.
For a long while, he remained silent, reading every page carefully. His fingers tapped rhythmically against the table, making it obvious that countless thoughts were racing through his mind.
Without looking up, he finally said,"Call Kabir."
Kartik and Sameer exchanged glances.
Kartik :- Right now..??
Devansh :- Yeah... Tell him to try contacting Asteria once again..!!
Sameer let out a small laugh.
Sameer :- "Seriously Boss..?? That's exactly what we've been doing for the last five years... Every single time we get the same answer."
Kartik :- "Sometimes a direct rejection... sometimes no reply at all. She's never met a single client face-to-face, and no one knows her real identity...!!"
Devansh :- "I know... but we're going to try again...!!"
His voice grew firmer , "I need that girl... no matter what it takes. We've already wasted too much time. I won't wait any longer."
Sameer sighed, "Boss, we understand... but Asteria isn't an ordinary hacker. She's one of the world's top hackers. No one has ever seen her face... no one knows her age... and until now, not even her gender. After all these years, the only thing we've managed to find out is that she's a girl."
Devansh quietly closed the file.
Devansh :- "Get me in touch with her once... somehow. I'll handle everything after that..!!"
Kartik :- "Relax. Our people are doing everything they can. This time... she won't be able to stay hidden from us for much longer..!!"
Meanwhile
Delhi
A&P Enterprises
The atmosphere inside a modern office cabin couldn't have been more different.
In the middle of the room, a young man and a young woman were arguing loudly.
Meanwhile, another girl sat comfortably on the chair in front of them.
There wasn't a trace of anger—or even interest—on her face.
She continued scrolling through her laptop peacefully, as if the heated argument happening in front of her had absolutely nothing to do with her.
"Abhinav... why won't you understand?" Deepti said, her voice trembling, almost on the verge of tears.
"I really love you..."
Abhinav [closed his eyes in frustration] :- " Deepti... I don't know how many times I've told you that I don't love you...!! "
Deepti :- No, No ,No...please don't say this... that's impossible. I know... you love me too...!!
Abhinav [let out a dry laugh] :- "Love? That's far from reality, Deepti. I don't even like you...!!"
The words hit her hard...Suddenly, Deepti's eyes fell on the girl sitting quietly with the laptop.Pointing at her angrily, she shouted,
"Now I get it! This... this is all because of Priyanshi!"
The girl finally lifted her head.Her calm eyes met Deepti's furious gaze.
Deepti :- "Even back in school, he never talked to me because of you! The moment you left, he changed schools too! And just when I thought Abhinav would finally become mine... you came back into our lives and took him away from me!!"
Priyanshi remained perfectly calm.She didn't even bother getting up.
Instead, she asked quietly, "Are you done... or is there more?"
Grinding her teeth, Deepti snapped,
"Who do you think you are?"
Without wasting even a second, Priyanshi replied, "A human being."
Her simple answer made Abhinav burst into laughter.
"You...!!" Deepti screamed.
Before she could continue, Abhinav interrupted.
"Deepti... you should leave now. Please."
Giving Priyanshi one final furious glare, Deepti stomped her foot, slammed the cabin door shut, and walked away.
Silence returned once again.Priyanshi closed her laptop and looked at Abhinav.
Priyanshi :- "Why don't you just accept her feelings..?? She's been chasing you since school..!!"
Abhinav [ wrinkled his nose] :- "Because I have no interest in spending my life with a lizard."
Priyanshi [chuckled softly] :- "You're the one rejecting her, yet somehow I always end up getting blamed. Sometimes I feel becoming your best friend was my biggest mistake..!!"
Abhinav [immediately fired back] :- "Oh really? Then what about Ritesh, who used to follow me everywhere because of you?"
Priyanshi quickly changed the subject.
"That was all in the past. Forget it. Let's talk about work."
Abhinav [ smiled ]:- "Alright... listen."
Priyanshi :- "Hmm..??"
Abhinav :- "DM Empire liked our proposal...!!"
A spark of excitement appeared in Priyanshi's eyes.
Priyanshi :- "Really? When's the meeting...??"
Abhinav :- "The day after tomorrow...!!"
Priyanshi :- "And where..??"
Abhinav :- "Here..They're coming to our office...!!"
Priyanshi :- "Oh... okay."
Abhinav [frowned] :- "Okay'?? You'll be preparing the presentation."
Priyanshi [narrowed her eyes] :-" And why exactly?"
Abhinav :- "Because this is your dream project madam...& entire project was your idea. No one can present it better than you...!! "
Without replying, Priyanshi stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder, and headed toward the door.
Priyanshi :- "I'm going home."
Abhinav called after her, "Hey! Did you even hear what I said..??"
Without looking back, she simply waved her hand.
"Bye-bye!"
She walked out of the cabin, leaving Abhinav shaking his head with a helpless smile.
To Be Continued...
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