Chapter : 22

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Ananya walked into the dimly lit room, her heels echoing against the cold concrete floor. The atmosphere was tense, charged with the anticipation of what was to come. The room was sparse, with nothing but a metal table and two chairs—one occupied by a man whose wrists were cuffed to the table, the other waiting for her.

The man sitting across from her was in his mid-thirties, with a scruffy beard and disheveled hair. He looked exhausted, his eyes betraying fear and resignation. He had been caught red-handed, and he knew there was no escape from the situation he now found himself in.

Ananya closed the door behind her, her expression calm but calculating. She took her time walking to the chair, letting the silence stretch out, making the man sweat under the pressure. Finally, she sat down, placing her hands lightly on the table, her eyes fixed on him.

“So,” she began, her voice deceptively gentle. “You’ve had quite the morning, haven’t you?”

The man swallowed hard, his eyes darting around the room as if looking for a way out. But there was none. He was trapped, and he knew it.

“I—I didn’t mean any harm,” he stammered, his voice shaky. “I was just following orders.”

Ananya’s lips curved into a slight smile, but there was no warmth in it. “Following orders, were you? Whose orders?”

The man hesitated, his eyes flickering with indecision. He knew the consequences of speaking out of turn, but he also knew that he was in deep trouble. The only thing that could possibly save him now was cooperation.

“I... I can’t say,” he finally muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ananya’s smile faded, and her eyes hardened. “Let me make something very clear,” she said, leaning forward slightly, her tone cold and authoritative. “You are in no position to withhold information from me. You tried to breach the security of my company, you threatened my business, and you were caught in the act. The only reason you’re sitting here and not rotting in a cell is because I want answers. Now, you can either give them to me willingly, or I can make this a lot more unpleasant for you.”

The man flinched at her words, his face paling. He could see that Ananya was not bluffing. The air of power and control she exuded was suffocating, and he knew he had no choice but to comply.

“Alright, alright!” he blurted out, desperation creeping into his voice. “It was Dhiraj Khurana. He paid me to hack into your system, to find anything that could be used against you.”

Ananya’s expression didn’t change, but internally, she wasn’t surprised. Dhiraj Khurana had already tried to undermine her once today, and this was just another attempt to destabilize her position. But there was something more here—something she needed to uncover.

“What exactly were you looking for?” she asked, her tone sharp.

The man hesitated again, but the coldness in Ananya’s gaze pushed him to continue. “He wanted files—sensitive ones. Contracts, financial records, anything that could be used to blackmail you or ruin your reputation. He... he thought–”

The man hesitated, glancing at Ananya as if weighing his options, but the icy determination in her gaze left him with little choice. He swallowed hard, the words catching in his throat before he forced them out.

"He thought he could find something that would make you vulnerable," the man finally confessed. "Something that would give him leverage, maybe even push you out of your position as CEO. He figured that if he could dig up dirt on you, or even fabricate something incriminating, he could turn your board against you or, at the very least, damage your reputation beyond repair."

Ananya sat back slightly, processing the information. She had suspected Dhiraj would retaliate, but this level of desperation and recklessness was almost pathetic. Yet, what really interested her was the man's mention of "sensitive files." Dhiraj must have believed there was something hidden, something worth the risk.

"Did he tell you what specifically he was after?" Ananya probed, her tone deceptively calm, masking the storm of thoughts brewing beneath the surface.

The man shook his head. "No, just that he wanted everything. Anything that could be twisted or manipulated. He didn't care if it was true or not—he just needed something to throw at you."

Ananya narrowed her eyes, studying him for any sign of deceit. But the man appeared genuinely terrified, his fear giving his words an air of truth. She knew there was more to this—Dhiraj was no fool, and he wouldn’t act without a plan. If he was this desperate, it meant he was close to losing something, or he was already in too deep.

"And Mr. Sharma," Ananya continued, shifting the focus. "Was he involved in this as well?"

The man’s eyes widened at the mention of Sharma, and he shook his head vehemently. "No, not that I know of. This was all Dhiraj. I... I think he wanted to act quickly, to get something on you before anyone else could."

Ananya allowed a moment of silence to settle in the room, her mind working through the implications. Dhiraj’s haste indicated he was acting out of fear, perhaps aware that he was running out of time or options. But Mr. Sharma was another matter. If he wasn’t directly involved in this particular scheme, it didn’t mean he wasn’t plotting something of his own.

Ananya leaned forward again, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Listen to me very carefully," she said, her eyes locking onto the man's with an intensity that made him shrink back in his seat. "You’re going to cooperate fully. You’re going to give me every detail about Dhiraj’s plans, every scrap of information he fed you, and you’re going to do it without leaving anything out. In return, I might consider going easy on you. But if I find out you’ve lied, if I even suspect you’re holding back, there won’t be a place on this earth where you’ll be safe from me. Understood?"

The man nodded frantically, sweat beading on his forehead. "I understand. I’ll tell you everything, I swear!"

"Good," Ananya replied, leaning back with a cold smile. "Let’s start from the beginning, then."

*****

The interrogation stretched on for hours as Ananya extracted every detail she could from the man. By the end, she had a comprehensive understanding of Dhiraj’s tactics, his desperation, and his increasing recklessness. She also noted that while Mr. Sharma wasn’t directly linked to this particular scheme, the mere mention of his name had sent a ripple of fear through the man.

As she left the interrogation room, Ananya’s mind was already working on her next steps. She needed to secure her position further, not just against Dhiraj, but also against any unseen threats Mr. Sharma might pose. The merger deal with Prakash Industries had been a significant win, but she couldn’t afford to rest on her laurels. This game of power was far from over, and she needed to stay two steps ahead.

But for now, she had what she needed. Dhiraj Khurana had made his move, and she had countered it effortlessly. Mr. Sharma’s hand would be forced soon, and when that happened, she would be ready.

As she walked back to her office, her phone buzzed with a notification—a message from Mrs. Mehra, reminding her of the business party they were hosting that evening to celebrate the successful merger. A small smile played on Ananya’s lips.

She still had the power, and she intended to keep it that way.

And as for Dhiraj and Mr. Sharma—well, they had no idea what they were up against.

No goddamn idea.

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