21. CCTV

Taliya stormed through the hotel lobby, her heels clicking angrily against the polished marble floor. She had barely set foot in Goa, and already things were going wrong. Her room reservation, which Haroon had assured her was confirmed, but someone had broken into her room. That was beyond her patience. Her confrontation with the receptionist had been heated, and now she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

She made her way to the security room, her frustration bubbling over. She knocked sharply on the door, and a guard opened it, his expression one of surprise.

“I need to see the CCTV footage,” Taliya demanded, her tone brooking no argument.

The guard hesitated for a moment before stepping aside to let her in. The room was dimly lit, filled with monitors displaying various parts of the hotel. Taliya strode in and took a seat in front of the main console. The guard hovered nervously behind her.

“Which room?” he asked.

“Room 502,” Taliya replied, her eyes fixed on the screens.

The guard quickly pulled up the footage from outside her room. Taliya watched intently as the time-stamped images flickered past. She saw herself arriving, her staff bustling around her, and then nothing. Hours of footage showed an empty hallway, save for the occasional hotel guest passing by.

“No one entered the room,” the guard confirmed, a puzzled look on his face.

Taliya’s frustration grew. “Rewind to the previous night,” she instructed.

The guard complied, and they watched as the footage rewound. The night was just as uneventful, with only hotel staff and guests moving about. Taliya leaned closer, her eyes narrowing. There had to be something she was missing.

“Play it again, slower this time,” she said, her voice tinged with determination.

The guard adjusted the playback speed, and they watched the footage again, frame by frame. As they reached the early hours of the morning, Taliya noticed a flicker on the screen—a shadow that seemed out of place.

“Stop! Rewind a few frames,” she ordered.

The guard did as she asked, and they saw the shadow again. It was fleeting, but it was there. Someone had been near her room, but the angle of the camera didn’t reveal who it was.

“Can you get a different angle?” Taliya asked, her frustration giving way to curiosity.

The guard switched to a different camera, one that covered a broader section of the hallway. They replayed the footage, and this time, the shadow became clearer. It moved past her room but didn’t stop or enter.

Taliya sat back, her mind racing. Whoever it was hadn’t gone into her room and she knew that it was lie. A hardcore lie. She needed to find out more.

“Thank you,” she said, standing up. “Please keep this footage secure. I may need to review it again.”

The guard nodded, and Taliya left the security room, her mind buzzing with possibilities. As she made her way back to the lobby, she replayed the events in her head. There was something more going on, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Back in the lobby, she found Haroon waiting for her, his face a mask of concern. After having her breakfast in the room, Taliya messaged Haroon about the accident last night. It was nothing to be ignored.

“Did you find anything?” he asked, his hands reaching out for her but she alert while talking and moved away without letting anyone notice.

Taliya shook her head. “No one entered the room, but there was someone in the hallway. I need to figure out who they were and what they were doing.”

Haroon frowned. “Do you think someone is trying to sabotage you?”

“It’s possible,” Taliya replied. “But I won’t let them get away with it. We have a collection to launch, and I won’t let anyone stand in our way.”

Haroon nodded, his expression resolute. “I’ll keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”

“Good,” Taliya said. “And make sure our staff is aware. I don’t want any more surprises.”

As she headed towards the elevator, Taliya couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She glanced around the lobby, her eyes scanning the faces of the hotel guests and staff. No one seemed out of place, but the nagging suspicion remained.

She stepped into the elevator, her mind racing with thoughts of who could be behind the missing reservation and the intruder in the night. She chased those thoughts away for now and sauntered out of the lift with Haroon as he guided her towards the brand new Limousine where her staff was waiting for her.

"I will be in my own car." She informed him rounding the Limousine and going to her own car where the driver was waiting for her.

"Good morning, Miss Khan." Greeted the driver and opened the door for her. Nodding back she climbed in the car and shut slam the door softly.

Leaning further into the soft leather, she sighed and checked her emails. Going through every important thing to not miss out any detail.

This launch has to be the succesful launch and she was going to make sure of it. Determination shone in her eyes as she felt the wind rushing into the car with speed and sighed with the new feeling of determination she was not the girl she was feeling at night. Every morning Taliya arose with new determination and feelings as while night brought the darkness she didn't wanted to feel.

If she is going to do anything, she have do it with all her power and determination.

As the car drove into the main city, the blaring horns rang in the atmosphere forming a head in the back of her head.

"Why are we stuck?" She asked with her bored and looked out of the window just beside her car was Murad's car who was also stuck in the traffic like her.

She avoided looking at him but his ignorance was more stronger than her.

"The freaking audacity." Hissing under her breath she turned away from his sight.