Dedicated to henry5danger heavenvoice24 fmk350

I stepped into the bedroom wearing my bathrobe when a dizzy feeling enveloped me. It took a terrifying moment to steady myself and then I began rummaging my closet to find a decent pair of clothes when a package on the bed gained my attention.

Curious, I discarded my clothes on the couch and plopped down on the edge of the bed and opened the pack with slightly shivering hands.

The pack seemed very light and when I scanned its interior, it was a bit fascinating to find it filled with small colourful beads. I emptied the contents on my bed and wasn't surprised when a small sheet of folded paper came tumbling down.

I opened the paper and scanned the neat handwriting,

The countdown has begun, we haven't got all the time in the world, search the attic as it's the only place still left unsearched.

I re-read the message several times but was still unable to comprehend the message. Did it mean that the person knew that we had searched the whole house and hadn't found anything?

But how?

Naked fear crept through my body and I breathed deeply to stop the blinding panic.

There were only two people in my home whom I could suspect; Mrs Mariam and Noor. But then did I have to suspect Ali too? Could he do something so immoral?

I left out a deep sigh of helplessness.

Whatever the person might have tried to imply by the message he had sent, I couldn't take it lightly. I would have to search the attic but before that, I needed to offer my prayers, therefore, I quickly slipped into my grey salwar and spread my prayer mat, fixing my hijab and concentrating completely on my prayers.

When I had finished, I felt a lot calmer and I continued reading the Holy Quran but slight movement in the creak of the door had me halt my actions.

Raising my gaze didn't gift me, therefore, I returned to the verse I had been reading, but the eerie sound of rubber slippers was making me nervous. I closed the copy of the Quran that I had been holding, gently keeping it on the nightstand. I flung the door widely open and recoiled momentarily.

He was peering through the door and I was taken aback by the sudden sight of him.

"Noor!"

"I'm sorry, Aleena. I thought you heard my knock." I was taken aback by the outright lie and stood to scrutinize him.

He was still in his pyjamas and it was pretty obvious that he hadn't been sleeping till so late in the day. His face looked like he hadn't slept from ages, the dark circles were prominently displayed for all to see, his hair looked like he had run his hands several times through them and had succeeded in making them a true mess. So the question was what was he up to?

"What are you doing here?"

"I was just passing by your room and thought of checking on your health."

I glared at him hoping to make him uneasy.

"What?" He asked throwing his hands in the air.

"I don't believe you."

"And may I know the reason," His face was etched with worry and forehead creased with wrinkles.

Should I tell him that I had witnessed him sneaking into dad's study?

I was in a dilemma.

But surely it wouldn't be a smart move to question him directly. If he really was guilty then it would alert him and it would be a real drawback to the case.

"Because dad has invited us over for dinner and I believed that I heard you saying Aahil that you would leave early, then what has held you back."

"Oh," His facial muscles relaxed and he gave his billion-dollar smile, "I'm leaving within minutes. I thought of asking you whether you're capable of attending the dinner? If you aren't then we could call it off."

"I'm perfectly fine and would love to go."

"Ok then, I'll won't take any more of your time. Hope we will have a pleasant evening."

He retrieved his steps and made his way to the living room as I stood clutching the door frame for support, a shadow on the floor across my room was an obvious fact that someone was either hiding or eavesdropping, but why did anyone need to do that?

_____________

"It is such a pleasure to have all my family at the dining table," Aahil's father said passing the bowl of curry towards his wife.

"I totally agree, we should do it more often," Mom exclaimed with a cheerful smile, as she passed the basket of paratha's to Dilshad.

"Mama I really miss your food in Australia," Noor was piling his plate with chicken.

"No doubt you return looking so lean," Mom added with a sad note to her voice.

"Please mom, Noor isn't a kid anymore. He never returns looking miserable, his perfect lean figure has girls drooling over him," Habeeba mocked.

"Habeeba!" Mom thundered, "Choose your words carefully."

"Fine," She slouched on her chair and began toiling the food on her plate with the fork.

"I must admit that the steak tastes amazing," Dilshad said as he helped himself with another serving.

"Oh, I'm rather stunned to hear that," Mrs Mariam remarked.

The thing that I loved about this family was that all members of the staff and household sat together for dinner, and as they never treated Mrs Mariam as an outsider, she too joined the table along with her daughter Lissa.

Consequently, Dilshad was also invited to join family lunch and dinner's but he always avoided it like a plague and would retire to his quarters as he believed in enjoying his privacy. You couldn't blame the poor man though, as most of his time was spent taking orders from Aahil and he never got time for fun or relaxation, still he never complained, he considered Aahil as an elder brother and was more than happy to be able to work for the family.

Today, It had taken a lot of insisting on my part to make him stay for dinner and he had finally agreed.

"Why are you surprised by the compliment, Mrs Mariam? Don't you usually cook the best meals?" Dilshad questioned promptly.

"As I had been in Aleena's house, I couldn't reach here earlier, therefore, I asked Lissa to do some of the cooking and I was naturally worried about the outcome."

"Oh, Mariam, you needn't worry about your girl. She always excels in the task given to her," Mom stated, her eyes settling momentarily on Lissa, who gave a shy smile. "But I'm a little surprised that Dilshad was the one to complement the taste, as he is rather choosy and hard to please."

At that comment, I noticed Dilshad glance at Lissa, and both kept staring at each other oblivious to their surroundings and I had to drop my cutlery to help them regain their sanity.

Lissa glanced at me and I gave her a wicked smile, which only made her blush harder.

"Aren't you getting enough food," Dad enquired, looking at me, who was sitting on the head of the table. "You definitely don't look healthy."

''I'm recovering from a terrible stomach bug," I answered softly as all eyes focused on me.

The unpleasant feeling of nausea had returned, and I avoided it by taking small sips of water and barely eating anything.

"It's fine, don't stress yourself, if you are done with dinner, then we could excuse ourselves," Aahil whispered in my ears as he glanced at my flushed face.

"I'm fine," I tried forming a soft smile, "Don't excuse yourself until mom and dad finish their dinner. It isn't every day that we share a meal."

"Thank you for being so understanding," He gently squeezed my hand from beneath the table.

"How are doing, Aleena?" Mom questioned with concern.

"Alhamdulillah, I'm feeling better."

"What happened about the case? Did Hamilton come across any discovery?" Dad asked grimly.

Aahil shook his head, "We haven't been able to solve anything. Every single clue leads to a dead end."

"Wasn't Uncle Haroon of any help?" Noor asked innocently and I felt goosebumps appear on my skin, how did he know that uncle Haroon had visited us? He hadn't been at my place on that particular night.

"What do you mean?" Aahil asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"He was Aleena's dads best friend and worked on the UPSIDE project too."

"So?"

"So you should have questioned him."

"And?"

"It would help you find answers to unsolvable puzzles. Maybe we would even reach the research papers."

"And would the information benefit you?"

"What do you mean?" Noor crossed his arms over his chest, glaring furiously at Aahil.

"Stop spoiling the peaceful atmosphere," Dad exclaimed sternly, "You both can argue privately."

"I know Aahil doubts my intentions," Noor answered defensively.

"Stop acting paranoid," Mom interrupted.

"Then let him say it on my face."

"What should I say?"

"Say that you trust me?"

"Why should I?"

"Just say it."

Aahil gave a look of complete disinterest, "I'm not going to do that?"

Noor's face took a pained expression, "Why not?"

Aahil leaned backwards in his chair and scowled, "I apologise for leaving the table in this fashion, but I don't think that I can digest anymore," He stood up from his place.

"I knew you don't trust me and I'm not surprised. After all, we are half brothers. It is to be expected."

At that remark Aahil threw back his chair and fled from the scene, making his way towards his bedroom, taking two steps at a time.

"I have had a pleasant dinner too. Thank you very much," Noor sprang from his chair and left the house.

The pleasant evening turned sour, the house was filled with profound silence and everyone just sat there staring at the food and unable to make any more good conversation.

I skipped outside the dining room as fast as I politely could, but not before I heard Mrs Mariam grumbling under her breath, "Every family needs some drama to keep them alive. Happiness doesn't come knocking on someone's door just because they are a billionaire."