Page 119 of Wicked Trap

Taking a deep breath, she quietly slipped out of the master bedroom. And then, with her heart thudding, she opened the penthouse door and stepped out of Aryan Varma’s life.

CHAPTER 40

It was early morning when Tanvi reached her apartment. She began packing right away.

She didn’t pack any of her clothes. She just put in all the picture frames and antiques that belonged to her mother. She knew she should have left right away without them, but the pictures and antiques were the only things she had of her mother.

Zipping the bag close, she hurried out of her apartment. She had just pulled the door closed and locked it when she saw two large men approaching her.

“Miss Shetty. Your father wants to speak with you.”

Her heart thudded in fear. For the first time, she wondered if she should have stayed with Arjun and asked for his help.

***

“Where are you taking me?” Tanvi asked as the car drove away from the city limits. They weren’t going towards her father’s home.

Her father’s henchmen looked at each other. “Your father asked us to take you to a different place, Miss Shetty.”

The bad feeling inside her grew into panic. But taking a deep breath, she put on a calm look on her face. “Oh, okay.”

It was close to a two-hour drive. The car stopped, and she was led into the massive warehouse. She had never been to the place, so she knew it didn’t belong to her father.

“Good evening, Papa.” Her greeting came out slightly more cheerful than usual.

Her father was seated in the warehouse on a plastic chair with documents placed in front of him on a small table. She could see the trust logo on the top of the papers.

“Where the hell were you all these days?” he demanded.

She pasted a smile. “I went on a vacation with my friends, Papa. We went to Coorg. It’s really lovely this time of the year.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you pick up your calls?”

She put on a heavy frown. “There were no signals at the coffee plantation we were staying at for three weeks.”

Her father looked at her face suspiciously. But a few moments later, there was only annoyance.

“Sign these trust papers. I’m dissolving the trust. I need the money for elections.”

Her heart thudded. She had already started the initiation process of transferring all the trust money to the charitable organizations of her choice. She was only keeping a small portion which included the house that belonged to her mother’s family. It was the house she had lived in with her mother until she was seven.

So far, she had kept the decision confidential, and the lawyer helping her had been working for her mother’s family for several decades.

“What happened to the money from your primary donor, Papa?” she asked.

Her father’s eyes flashed. “That bastard ruined me. It’s all your fault because you protested and made a big stink out of it. He’s building the mall at a different location. And all the other construction projects don’t involve me anymore. He cut me off entirely!”

Tanvi’s heart thudded. She now knew Arjun wasn’t lying when he said she had to stay for her security. It was security from her own father.

“I’m sure there will be other donors.”

Her father looked pissed. “All the donors combined wouldn’t come close to what that bastard had offered me. Because of that, I had even made risky investments, hoping to double the money. Those blew up in my face too.” He glared at her. “It’s my hard work over the last fifteen years that helped grow the trust money. I need that money now.”

She didn’t know how to get out of the situation. If she signed the papers, the trust dissolution would be invalidated, or the trust money would be gone before its distribution.

“How much do you want, Papa. I can sign the checks.”

He shook his head. “No! I don’t want to keep begging for money that rightfully belongs to me. Sign the papers and transfer all the funds. When I win the elections, I will return the amount.”

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