Chapter 29: The Night That Changed Everything
852 Words
It was past ten when Lina’s phone vibrated.
She had just finished dinner with her parents, the quiet comfort of home wrapping around her like a familiar shawl. Savriti was clearing the table when she noticed Lina staring at her screen, her expression tightening.
“You’re not going anywhere, are you?” her mother asked cautiously.
Lina hesitated. “It’s… a meeting.”
“At this hour?” her father looked up sharply. “Since when do business meetings happen at night?”
Lina forced a smile. “It’s important. I won’t be long.”
But Savriti felt it instantly—the unease, sharp and uninvited.
“My daughter,” she said softly, holding Lina’s wrist, “you have never gone for a meeting at night. Not once.”
“It’s just this once, mother,” Lina replied, gently freeing her hand. “Please don’t worry.”
Yet worry settled heavily in the room as Lina picked up her bag and keys.
The email still glowed in her mind.
From: Anonymous
Subject: Final Clarifications – Lina Design & Co
Location: Silver Crest Office Suites
Time: 10:45 PM
The mysterious buyer.
The one who had saved her company at its lowest point.
The one who had never shown their face.
This is just business, Lina told herself as she drove into the quiet city.
---
Silver Crest Office Suites stood eerily silent.
No receptionist.
No security guard.
Only dim corridor lights humming overhead.
Lina checked her phone again. No new messages.
“Hello?” she called as she entered the conference room mentioned in the email.
The room was dark.
She stepped inside, the door clicking shut behind her.
“Is anyone here?” she asked, her voice echoing back at her.
Silence.
A chill crawled up her spine.
She turned to leave—
Pain exploded at the back of her head.
Lina gasped as the world tilted violently. She stumbled forward, crashing against the table.
Before she could scream, strong hands grabbed her.
Everything went black.
---
The night stretched on endlessly.
At Sharma house, Savriti paced the living room, her phone clutched tightly in her hand.
“It’s past midnight,” she whispered. “She should have called by now.”
Her husband checked his phone for the tenth time. “Maybe the meeting delayed.”
“She would never stay out without informing us,” Savriti said, fear breaking through her voice. “Something is wrong.”
By dawn, Lina still hadn’t returned.
Savriti sat on the sofa, silent tears sliding down her face.
“My heart is restless,” she whispered. “Something terrible has happened to my child.”
---
Pain pulled Lina back into consciousness.
Her head throbbed violently.
Her vision blurred as she slowly opened her eyes.
The smell hit her first.
Metallic. Heavy.
Blood.
Her breath hitched as she tried to move—and felt something sticky beneath her palms.
Lina pushed herself up slightly.
And froze.
A body lay in front of her.
Motionless.
Eyes open.
Blood pooled beneath him, soaking the carpet.
“No… no… no…” Lina whispered, her voice shaking.
Her gaze dropped to her hand.
A knife.
Clutched tightly in her fingers.
Her scream tore through the room.
Before she could drop the knife, the door burst open.
Cameras flashed.
Voices exploded around her.
“Miss Lina, did you kill him?”
“Why were you here at night?”
“Is this about Lina Design & Co?”
“Are you being framed?”
She backed away, shaking uncontrollably. “I didn’t do this… I didn’t—”
Uniformed police officers pushed through the crowd.
“Ma’am,” one said sternly, “drop the weapon.”
The knife slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor.
Her knees gave way.
Hands grabbed her arms, pulling her up.
“You are under arrest for the murder of Mr. Rajiv Khanna,” the officer said.
The name meant nothing to her.
Cold metal snapped around her wrists.
“No… please…” Lina cried. “I was attacked. I don’t even know him!”
Her words drowned beneath the clicking cameras.
Outside, news vans had already gathered.
BREAKING NEWS: Successful businesswoman Lina Sharma arrested for alleged murder.
At Sharma house, Savriti collapsed as the news played on television.
“My daughter…” she sobbed. “My innocent daughter…”
---
Miles away, Arjun stood frozen in his hotel room overseas.
The screen replayed the image again and again.
Lina.
Blood-stained.
Handcuffed.
Terrified.
His phone slipped from his hand.
“No…” he breathed. “Not again.”
The nightmare had returned.
And this time—
Lina was trapped inside it alone.
---
The prison cell door slammed shut behind her.
Lina slid down against the wall, her body shaking uncontrollably.
She stared at her hands—still trembling, still stained in her memory with blood.
I was set up, she thought dimly.
But this time… would anyone believe her?
She closed her eyes as tears streamed silently down her face.
Outside those walls, enemies smiled.
And the true game had finally begun.
- Writer
