Page 9 of Empowered

“Thank you, brother,” I replied. It was good to see him, too. He had a warm quality he showed to those closest to him that countered his threatening physique. He was the tallest of our men and probably the most lethal. He was heavily trained in mixed martial arts and had even left for Thailand to train as a Muay Thai fighter a few years back. He prided himself on always being honest and fair and had been the voice of reason whenever Jai and I argued when we were younger.

We boarded the cars and started our journey home. Zayn knew that I wanted to get straight to work and didn’t stall for another moment.

“We have men staking out all locations listed on the sales log, with heavier surveillance on Mongoose Inc.like you asked.We know that Tarun’s men are monitoring each location, too, and have set up camera systems outside of each business to monitor activity.” He stilled for a moment, as if considering his next words carefully. “How sure are you that this woman is alive?”

I hadn’t told him the details of my relationship with Amelia, but he knew me too well to not realize she was a person of significance in my life since I was doing everything in my power to find her.

“I just know,” I said bluntly.

He pressed further, despite knowing that I wasn’t in the mood to be argued with. “Have you considered that this might just be a trap? Tarun is itching to get his hands on you.”

I had thought of that, but he couldn’t have known about my discussion about the mongoose with her. It was too random of a conversation, which was how I knew Amelia was using it to send me a message that she was still alive. “The sales log wasn’t hacked. Someone who had administrative rights accessed it. Tarun wouldn’t have been able to access it without hacking unless he had someone from our team to do it for him.”

My explanation seemed to be sufficient for Zayn. “Fair enough. However, I don’t think we should act rashly. He has eyes on each location and someone that we want back…alive.”

I rubbed the scruff on my jaw. I didn’t reply, even though he was right. Instead, I just turned my body to stare out the window.

We had made our way out of the crowded city and into the countryside. The air was clearer here, allowing the blue sky peek out from behind pillowy white clouds. Lush green grass lined either side of the village road. In the distance, I could see farmers tilling their land with bulls with sharp horns. The familiar sound of cowbells chimed through the windows of the car.

We passed through the steel gates, stopping in front of our palace. Since we were in the village, the ornate building spanned acres of land that would never have been possible had it been in the city. Here, I never had to worry about looters invading the house. The villagers were trustworthy and were not ones to rob their neighbors.

I hadn’t been back for some time, but the house continued to run in my absence with the help of caretakers and staff to maintain its pristine condition. However, since hearing about our visit, the staff had doubled in size, judging from the line of people waiting to greet us out front. The head of staff, Raj, stood with his hands folded over his large waist. He had been my father’s butler and had taken care of Jai and I as his own children over the years.

I stepped out of the car and Raj approached me, bowing as was customary for staff to do to their bosses out of respect, even though Raj was decades older than me. I stopped him before he touched his hand to my shoe. “You don’t need to do that, Raj.” I had never been a fan of this tradition, though it was the custom, and especially not with Raj, since he was a father figure to me.

“Welcome home,saab.”Sir. Raj was a man of etiquette and decorum, so I knew he would never stop bowing to me, even when he reached his eighties. He grabbed my hands in his and squeezed them, showing his gratitude for my return. Jai joined my side and Raj performed the whole ritual of bowing again, though Jai stopped him from doing so too. “Please, come inside. I will have your bags carried to your rooms and dinner will be ready in one hour.”

I roamed the spacious hallways, decorated with art pieces depicting various scenes of Indian life. My mother had always loved that we lived in the village with lots of greenery and open skies, so she had decorated the walls with pieces reflecting the lifestyle. Paintings of women preparing butter in old-fashioned churning apparatuses and men using machetes to cut down trees adorned the halls.

I wandered into what used to be my father’s office before I took over the business. Dark mahogany trims framed the space. The smell of dust and leather from years of being abandoned assaulted my nostrils as I stood in the doorway. The curtains were drawn, limiting any natural light into the room. I flicked on the switch for the light before venturing inside.

I sat behind the wood desk, the leather chair creaking under my weight. I smoothed my hands over the tabletop. Years later, and it was still difficult to adjust to the idea that my parents were gone. It was easier to ignore it all in New York, where city life and Sethi Tech served as a distraction. But here in the countryside, in my parents’ home, I couldn’t hide from the memories of being raised by two loving parents.

I understood how my father had felt when Tarun brutally raped and murdered my mother. His heart had died. I had felt it when I thought Amelia was dead. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could have lived knowing that she had left this Earth.

But now Iknewshe was alive. I swore to myself that I wouldn’t let history repeat itself and I would bring her home and always keep her safe.

Chapter IX

Amelia

“Do you think Shyam will figure it out?” Salena whispered across her cell. After Tarun discovered the altered shipping addresses and subsequently slit my cheek open, needless to say, Selena had a few questions for me. She had heard most of the story, but I filled in the most pertinent details.

“I hope so,” I whispered back carefully, making sure no one could hear me. My incision stung whenever I moved my mouth to speak. “Do you know exactly where we are right now? I tried to access our location through the Wi-Fi, but I wasn’t able to, and I’m not sure the VPN was accurate.”

“When I was younger, I used to travel to Jaipur often with my father. I believe we’re somewhere on Chandni Road.”

I had seen that location on the map when I was looking up addresses to add to the sales log. “This house is huge. How do people not suspect that Tarun lives here?”

“The rest of the city thinks an old man lives in this house. No one can get in or out of the gates without him knowing, so people can’t really get a good look inside. Tarun had a rumor spread that a reclusive widower lives here and wants privacy. They made it sound like the person was eccentric, and the public never bothered to figure out more information since they believed it was an elderly person.”

“How do you know all of this?” I was astonished because I was fairly sure that Tarun hadn’t openly told her everything.

“They trust me because I don’t put up a fight. I overheard the guards talking one day when they were carrying me upstairs. They figured that I had nobody to talk to, and since my father basically handed me over to Tarun, I wouldn’t be able to run away or rat them out anyway. My father would make sure of it,” she replied, sulking in disappointment.

It had to have been hard knowing that your own father thought of you as his property to give to another man. “I’m sorry about that, Salena. You don’t deserve this life.”

Her eyes watered as she stared at me. “Thank you. I wish I were as smart as you to try to escape. I never tried because I thought it would be pointless. I would have nowhere to run to. They would find me wherever I went.”

---