The Mystery Files - Chapter 13:An Ominous Thought

That evening, Ali sat at the dining table, absent-mindedly eating from a bowl of mixed dry fruits while Amanah worked through a stack of her students' notebooks.

She finished marking one exercise book, closed it, and placed it neatly on the completed pile before reaching for the next.

After a few moments, she glanced at the bowl.

A frown appeared.

"Leave some for me."

"You never care about your sister."

Without looking up, Ali slid the bowl towards her.

"I do care."

"That's precisely why I've been keeping a lot of questions to myself..."

"...even though I know you'd probably have interesting answers."

Amanah finished writing the last remark in red ink, closed the notebook and placed it on top of the pile.

"So..."

"...the corrections are finally over."

She stretched her arms before rubbing the stiffness from her fingers.

"I can't eat those yet."

"These notebooks go back to my room first."

"Then I wash my hands."

She looked at him curiously.

"What questions have you been keeping to yourself?"

Ali tossed another peanut into his mouth.

"The Boss's unusual behaviour... for starters."

Amanah let out an exaggerated sigh.

"Oh no."

"Not him again."

"I've spent years listening to you admire your tech idol."

"His dressing."

"His personality."

"His speeches."

"His mannerisms."

"And now you've found another reason to talk about him."

Ali looked up.

"You didn't hear me."

"I said..."

"...his unusual behaviour."

The teasing expression disappeared from Amanah's face.

"What happened?"

Ali leaned back in his chair.

He began recounting everything from the beginning.

Sajjad's encounter in the deserted alley.

The strange reaction it had triggered during the HT Corridor meeting.

And the sudden decision to relocate the entire project site.

Amanah listened without interrupting.

By the time he finished, she looked genuinely puzzled.

"I understand why Mama believed that story."

"And why Sajjad believes it."

She paused thoughtfully.

"But your Boss?"

"The nation's most celebrated technology icon?"

"A man who's spent decades making decisions that shape industries?"

She slowly shook her head.

"And he relocated a project of that magnitude because of a ghost story?"

"I find that difficult to believe."

Ali smiled faintly.

"It sounds unbelievable."

"I know."

"But Omer and I both saw something we had never seen before."

"What?"

"For the first time..."

"...the Boss didn't seem like himself."

Amanah frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Ali thought for a moment before answering.

"The confidence was there..."

"...but the composure wasn't."

"He looked..."

"...unsettled."

"He struggled to justify relocating the site."

"And that wasn't like him."

"He always has an answer."

"This time..."

"...he didn't."

He paused.

"But according to Sajjad..."

"...when the alternative site was presented..."

"...the discussion ended almost immediately."

"The overseas executives accepted it without argument."

A faint smile crossed Ali's face.

"That sounded far more like the Mr. Haider everyone knows."

For a few moments, neither of them spoke.

Then Amanah quietly asked,

"Do you think..."

"...the mention of that deserted road reminded him of something?"

Ali met her eyes.

"I've been wondering the same thing."

Ali spoke almost to himself.

Amanah fell silent.

For several moments, only the ticking of the wall clock filled the dining room.

Then she spoke again.

"Maybe it's just the cold..."

"...or maybe this conversation is giving me the creeps."

She hesitated.

"What might Mr. Haider's first name be?"

Ali looked at her, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

Amanah folded her arms.

"The drifting head doesn't call out to everyone."

"It calls only one name."

"Raza."

She paused.

"The people we've heard about all had one thing in common."

"They were all connected to that name."

Her eyes settled on Ali.

"The whole republic knows your Boss as 'Mr. Haider.'"

Ali nodded.

"Even everyone at the firm calls him either Mr. Haider..."

"...or simply the Boss."

Amanah frowned thoughtfully.

"He's been one of the country's most recognizable public figures for decades..."

"...yet I can't remember anyone using his full name."

She looked at Ali.

"Could 'Haider' actually be his first name?"

Ali slowly shook his head.

"I'm not sure."

He rubbed his forehead, trying to remember.

"His signature won't help."

"It's so elaborate I can barely tell where one letter ends and another begins."

He suddenly looked up.

"Wait..."

"The nameplate outside his executive suite."

Amanah leaned forward.

"What does it say?"

"'CEO — Mr. R. Haider.'"

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Amanah broke the silence first.

"So Haider isn't his first name."

Ali nodded.

"No."

He stared at the table.

"Which means..."

Amanah immediately pointed a finger at him.

"No."

"No mysterious expressions."

"You know that whenever you start looking like some detective from a mystery novel..."

"...I get nervous."

"Just say it."

Ali laughed softly.

"Fine."

"I'll try to sound as ordinary as possible."

"I'd appreciate that."

He nodded.

"What if..."

"...the Boss's first name is Raza?"

"What if he's..."

"...Raza Haider?"

Amanah remained quiet for a few seconds.

Finally, she nodded.

"That's a strong possibility."

A look of satisfaction crossed Ali's face.

"Then everything starts making sense."

"He wasn't disturbed by Sajjad's story alone."

"He was reminded of something."

"Something he may have experienced himself."

"And that's why he changed the location."

Amanah nodded slowly.

"That would certainly explain his reaction."

Ali remained thoughtful.

"Exactly."

"The more I get to know Mr. Haider..."

"...the more he puzzles me."

He paused before asking,

"Do you know what he called the old airport site when I questioned the relocation?"

"What?"

"'The Dead Zone.'"

Amanah's eyes widened.

"'The Dead Zone'..."

She let the words linger for a moment.

"I have to admit..."

"...that's probably the most fitting name anyone could have given that place."

Ali remained silent.

A few moments passed before Amanah spoke again.

"Wait..."

She looked at him thoughtfully.

"That's actually rather strange.

She folded her arms.

"Think about it."

"All Sajjad did was describe what he had seen."

"He never called that place 'the Dead Zone.'"

She paused.

"But your Boss..."

"...reacted as though the place already meant something to him."

"He wasn't merely disturbed by Sajjad's account."

"He seemed familiar with the road itself."

"Familiar enough to change the site..."

"...and familiar enough to give it a name."

Her voice grew quieter.

"'The Dead Zone' doesn't sound like a name someone invents on the spot."

"It sounds like a place he had already understood..."

"...long before Sajjad ever spoke about it."

Ali regarded her for a long time.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVD02tIsb2

"There's still one thing I can't understand."

Amanah looked at him.

"What?"

"What exactly is that apparition?"

"How can a floating head appear in a deserted alley after sunset..."

"...only to call out the name Raza?"

"Why that name?"

"What does it want?"

"I don't even know what such a thing should be called."

As he spoke, the thoughtful look in his sea-green eyes slowly deepened into something darker.

Amanah knew that look.

Whenever it appeared, Ali's mind had wandered into questions that rarely had simple answers.

Without another word, she began gathering her notebooks.

"Ali..."

"I think you're becoming stranger as this conversation gets spookier."

She picked up the empty bowl and held it out to him.

"Please take this to the kitchen and wash it."

She peered inside and sighed dramatically.

"You didn't even leave a single peanut..."

"...or one lonely pistachio..."

"...for your poor sister."

"And I'm going to Mama's room."

"I'll stay there until my heartbeat returns to normal."

Ali smiled faintly.

Realising he had frightened her more than he intended, he accepted the bowl.

"Fair enough."

"I'll stop here."

He carried it into the kitchen.

After rinsing it, he placed it neatly on the drying rack.

Just then, his phone vibrated.

A message from Omer appeared.

watch this clip man12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Zk70k0txx

boss's latest interview

Ali glanced at it and smiled to himself.

Nothing new.

He walked towards his room, already thinking about pressing his clothes for the next day at the firm.

Before he reached the door, the phone vibrated again.

did you watch it

This time, curiosity got the better of him.

He hung his freshly pressed shirt inside the wardrobe, switched off the iron, and tapped the message.

The video began to play.

The screen filled with the brightly lit studio of Channel 7.

The anchor sat opposite a large digital display showing Mr. Haider.

The camera framed him from the chest upwards.

His hair was perfectly in place, and behind him, embossed in gold against an elegant wall, were the words:

HAIDERON TECH

The anchor smiled warmly.

"Mr. Haider, the nation knows you as a titan of industry—a visionary whose philanthropy rivals his innovation."

Mr. Haider acknowledged the compliment with a slight nod and one of his rare smiles.

Ali almost looked away.

Then the anchor asked,

"Mr. Raza Haider... if you don't mind me asking... why is it that you never married?"

The phone nearly slipped from Ali's hand.

Raza.

His heartbeat stumbled.

So......his name really is Raza.

The camera slowly moved closer.

For the briefest instant, Mr. Haider's eyes wavered.

Only slightly.

A tiny crack in an otherwise flawless composure.

Perhaps nobody else would have noticed.

Ali did.

"Well," Mr. Haider replied smoothly, "I've always preferred to keep my private life... just that. Private."

Ali's eyes narrowed.

It was the same fleeting unease he had noticed during the discussion about the original HT Corridor site.

The same hesitation before the first agreement had been signed.

The anchor smiled again.

"It's difficult to imagine someone of your stature still being the Republic's most eligible bachelor."

"The entire nation admires you."

"People have often wondered..."

"...was there ever someone?"

"...a love from your youth?"

Ali instinctively waited for the familiar response.

A raised eyebrow.

A perfectly timed smile.

Perhaps even the habitual adjustment of Mr. Haider's gold cuff links before delivering one of his polished replies.

None of it came.

Instead, Mr. Haider's gaze drifted beyond the cameras...

...towards something only he could see.

When he finally looked back...

...the smile remained.

The warmth behind it did not.

"Let bygones be bygones," he said quietly.

Far too quietly.

Not like the Mr. Haider Ali knew.

Ali replayed the interview.

Again.

And again.

He studied every expression.

Every pause.

Every blink.

Every tiny movement.

One detail, however, unsettled him more than all the others.

Not once......did Mr. Haider adjust his gold cuff links.

Ali lowered the phone.

A chill passed through him.

Mr. Raza Haider.

For several long moments......he simply stood there.

A sudden gust of icy wind swept through the open window.

He flinched.

Crossing the room in a few long strides, he pulled the window shut.

The winter cold remained outside.

The questions did not.

12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOYupS5L9KR

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