Chan excused Mr. P and drove the car by himself. He brought Jina to the hill famous for sightseeing. It was already evening and Chan planned to see the sunset at the hilltop. It had twelve hair pin bends and Chan was careful to not make Jina nauseous during the whole travel.Jina was silent all along the journey. Her mind was filled with the reports of fire that occurred at her mother’s laboratory. She was abroad doing her research during this time and by the time she came back, everything was destroyed.Live – On was her parents’ company that produced drugs. Under its research wing, her mother, Jie Hain was developing new drug from Curcumin that could treat cancer patients. From the reports that Chan had given, the experiments were in the last stage and the patients who had volunteered for the human trials were the ones who died in the fire.The whole lab was caught fire two times. First was minor, only laboratory was included, but the second time, it engulfed the whole building. Eve
1 “A lie is a curse that you put on yourself. A curse that makes you remember your words forever,” a sweet voice echoed in Chan’s ears. He shook that thought out of his head and laid back on his chair staring at the false ceiling of the office. “Her words pop out at the most inappropriate times. Seems she is the curse on me,” he mumbled to himself and took a deep breathe. He straightened back in his chair and mailed the file he has been checking, to the chairman. Then he collected the papers that had been spread around on his table, put them in a file and went to see the chairman. The Lilac Works was an emerging entertainment company that primarily focused on casting actors and cosmetic products on the sideline. The company had a history of only few years and was still struggling to compete with the giants in the field. In the middle of losing profits, the company was now under auditing for fraudulent t
2 They drove to the nearby shopping mall that Anaya and her friends frequented and parked in the underground parking lot. As they walked towards the entrance to the mall, a group of five approached them. Chan could recognize the company as Ron and his gang. Ron Hailey was the second son of Hailey Constructions that ruled the real estate and constructions sector in the whole Ochre city. His friends were also from influential families that were not to be trifled with. It seemed that they were waiting for Anaya. As they came face to face with each other, Ron scanned Anaya in a frivolous manner and said, “Lucky that you are a beautiful girl and I don’t beat such sweet faces. But you harmed one of us and I don’t like to delay settling scores. So your friend stays and you are free to go.” He tapped Anaya’s chin lightly with a smirk and pulled Chan by his collar. Anaya reacted and grabbed on to Chan’s hand, trying
3 The handsome face of Chan was now purple on one side and he had bruises all over his body. He stood at the entrance of the mansion and saw that the garden was in full bloom with purple lilac flowers. When he left three days before, the plants weren’t in bloom. Now it was a purple show, so was his body. He strained himself to walk through the hallway and lounge to reach the stairs. It was an old fashioned mansion with cellar and attic. It had huge hallways and corridors along with big wooden furnished stairs spiraling its way up. The whole mansion still maintained its old furnishing and decorations which made it look like a cursed castle from ancient times. And unknown to him a figure in the shadow of a pillar was watching his struggles. Chan only remembered reaching his room and he fell into a deep sleep the next moment. The work and injuries along the analgesics pushed him into an unconscious state. Anaya and
1 Chan woke up only at five o’clock in the next morning. After a deep sleep he felt relieved but famished at the same time. He hadn’t had a proper meal since yesterday morning and now his stomach was revolting because of that. He got freshened up and went to the kitchen to find some food. On the way, he looked at the closed door at the end of the hallway for a moment and then continued walking. It was still early for anyone to wake up and the whole mansion had an eerie silence. When he reached the kitchen, he saw nanny Shu already busy in her works. He went to the fridge to look for something to eat but was stopped by nanny Shu’s words, “Cold food will be bad for you now, young master.” Chan turned around with an awkward smile and said, “Good morning nanny Shu!” “A very good morning to you too, young master! I was waiting for you to wake up. This is specially prepared for you. Have a warm breakfast, young master
2 While Chan was thinking about Jina, he saw a person walking through the garden along the Lilacs as a cover and entering the house. The lazy shirt and jeans outfit with a bag on the shoulders and high tied hair made Chan recognize that person as Jina. Her always calm face was now tired and she seemed to be tensed. She hurriedly went inside her room before anyone could notice. Chan saw all these and doubts filled in his brain. She wasn't home last night and it seemed like no one else knew. So, where was she and why all the secrecy? Chan also noticed some ash marks on her white face and hands that stood noticeably. It was obvious that she was up to something and Chan couldn't help but worry. Though Jina was one of the daughters of the Shaw family and meant to be pampered like Anaya, she was instead considered as a jinx by all others. She was always a weird and closed person. And whenever she spoke, something ba
3 By the time he sorted his thoughts and emotions, the bus from downtown to the Ochre city hub came. He got in and his thoughts again wandered off to Jina. “Curiosity killed the cat!” He had heard her saying this before, but never gave much thought to it. She always talks in riddles and those keep ringing in his ears from time to time. So he usually avoided giving much thought on her words to keep her voice off from his head. Now that nanny Shu said it, especially when he was asking about Jina, he felt that something was amiss. What is the secret that she holds, which can cause him his life? He needed more information on her to make plans ahead. So he took out his phone and sent a message to Mr. P, to dig on Jina Shaw’s details in a very detailed manner. Chan reached the office in an hour. On seeing the files piled on his desk, he regretted coming. The tax investigations were getting on his nerves. Everything
1 It was Sunday and was meant to be a holiday. But for Chan, it’s the worst day of the week. It was the day Anaya went for shopping and clubbing with her friends. Naturally, Chan was the escort for the party team. Escort was just in name, and Anaya used Chan as her maid, personal assistant to carry everyone’s bags and even as a server in the party hall, when required. Moreover, he was the best cover up for everything she did, as he won’t tell on her to Mr. Shaw and can solve all the issues she made. Chan woke on time as usual and got dressed. He was planning to escape before Anaya’s call came. He got out of his room and found that Jina was room was still locked. Her absence made him wonder, if Jina had met some trouble yesterday. Then he shook off that thought and decided to focus on himself. When Chan reached downstairs, he saw Shen Shaw and his wife already leaving the house. There must be some gathering to a