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THE ZODIAC WHEEL – Part III
(Finale)
Story and Character Recap
After the
death of the renowned astrophysicist of ISRC, Aman Agarwal, his friend, Private
Investigator Shibu Mohan, gets framed for his murder in a sharply crafted plan.
The president of ISRC, Varun Agarwal, pained by the guilt of letting his
innocent friend hang for a crime he didn’t commit, secludes himself from the
company and society and becomes suicidal. When Varun’s wife finds out that he
was having affair with Nilisha, she splits up with him. On her mother, Aria’s,
forcing, Nilisha continues to comfort Varun and gets him to name the company to
her in his will.
The tables
turn when one of Shibu’s son, Shivam, comes back to India and starts up a
company named DOBILE, which progresses in the market like a hurricane. The
co-founder and CEO of Dobile, Soumya, is invited for a meeting by Aria where
she tries to scare her into selling the company to her. Failing which, Aria
challenges her that she will destroy her company. By playing the game of
corporate politics and turning away all the investors from Dobile, Aria takes
over their company.
Later on we
find Nilisha killing off Varun by pushing him off the window on her mother’s
recommendation, so that the company gets transferred to her before Varun’s
daughter changes his mind. Fed up of her mother’s dictatorship, Nilisha burns
her alive.
-------
What hides behind curtains is an
enemy unsuspected but what hides within ourselves is an enemy underestimated.
Theme
music of the news channel plays. The news host introduces his
guest Nilisha Choudhry declaring the news of the hour – Varun Agrawal: The Tragedy.
“He had been suicidal ever since he found out that one of
his college best friends was murdered by another.” Nilisha’s eyes were oozing
droplets. She was dressed in a mini lavender shirt and black high waist
leggings. Her shiny red lipstick and nail paints contrasted against the pale
coffee cup that she was bringing close to her lips .
“That night when I went to meet him, he seemed absolutely
fine to me. We chatted for a long time. Then I went back home.” Nilisha took
another sip. “I had forgotten my mobile at his home so I came back. There watchman
was not there at the gate. I could hear people talking in the backyard, I got
the intuition that there was something wrong. I went there and found him lying
on the floor all covered in-” Nilisha broke down. Tears fell till her
waterproof mascara gave away.
“I don’t know when he wrote that suicide letter that they found
at his home.” Nilisha said after a break. “It’s like everyone close to me is
leaving me! Varun, my close friend, and then two days later my mom died in an
unfortunate gas leakage.”
Nilisha sat on the chair of the President of ISRC with
glass half-filled with red wine in her hand as she watched her six-month old
interview, saved in her laptop. She was celebrating the closure of Varun and
Aria’s death cases. She wore a saree.
***
A knock on the door. Shivam nudged Soumya, half-asleep.
Soumya rolled on the bed, taking the blanket along and shutting her ears. Knock
again. Shivam shook Soumya again. Soumya woke up with angry expressions.
“It’s 6 o’ clock in the morning. Who the hell comes at this
time?!” Soumya said in a sore voice tying her hair. She got out of the bed,
wore a robe and opened the door. A man tall and muscular, wearing a foliage
green pixel pattern overcoat stood there.
“Who are you?” The man asked. Soumya gave him an outraged
look.
Shivam was dragging his feet from his room to
the hall rubbing his eyes. He spotted the man and his face lit up, “Divyanshu!”
***
Anurag was dressed in a vest and lose torn pants. He was
mowing an unimaginably large lawn with overgrown grass. His sweat covered face
was compromising his vision. Summer was early and so was Nitish.
“Are you tired, Anu?” Nitish said with the brightest smile.
Anurag kept mowing the lawn looking at Nitish from the
corner of his eyes.
Nitish caught up with him and held his hands. “You must be
tired, right Anu?”
Anurag switched off the machine and sighed, “Yes, sir.”
“But master has told me to get this lawn mowed.” Nitish
said sliding his left hand on Anurag’s back. “If he finds out that it hasn’t
been mowed, he will scold me.” Nitish’s expressions were changing at a rate
faster than Anurag could comprehend, his hands were sliding further down his
back. “And if he will scold me, I will feel bad. And if I feel bad then I will”
he pinched hard on Anurag’s bottom. Anurag let out a short squeak. The pinch
intensified. Anurag took deep breaths and controlled his screams.
“Atta boy.” Nitish said smiling brightly. “Mow fast Anu,
then we will play!”
Anurag fell to the ground when Nitish ran back into the
house. Tears fell out of his eyes. He was gasping for breath. His body was
covered with scars of pain inflicted by Nitish. He had seen their master only
once. He didn’t even know his name. Nitish was master’s favourite. Nitish had
asked for a human toy from his master and he had gifted Anurag to him about
four years ago. Often after raping him, Nitish would talk about his life before
he had been captured. He used to be a pickpocket once. Then Prahalad caught him
and gave him this new life.
Every single day of his life, he had disapproved of
Shivam’s actions, denied his requests and dismissed his achievements. Shivam
had warned him before leaving for Havard that it’s not safe to live here after
dad’s death. But he didn’t consider his suggestions important. He had even
ignored Shivam’s calls from the US too. Police had visited multiple times after
his dad was hanged. One night a man, medium height, dark skinned, had come as a
savior and took him to his house. Only later he found out that he had been enslaved.
He had been gifted to Nitish and Nitish would punch him, slap him, beat him every
day. He tried to run away once, but he had been caught by other servants. It
was the worst night. He had been tied up while Nitish played with his body. There was no running from this. Ever!
***
“Only yesterday I was talking to Soumya about reopening
Aman uncle’s murder case. We’ve even found some proofs” Shivam’s excitement had
still not calmed down. He and Divyanshu were sitting in the backyard basking in
the late winter sun.
“I’m sorry Shivam. I think I believe in Supreme court’s
decision.” Divyanshu said with his usual expressionless tone and placid face.
“Are you saying my dad killed Aman uncle? Are you kidding
me? The man who took care of you all your life. A man who treated you with-”
“I know he loved me. And to be honest, probably that is the
reason why he killed dad.” Divyanshu sat cross-legged on the chair. “Dad never
took care of me. For him his life was his research. He never had the time for
me, my goals, my life, my dreams. He knew nothing about me. Nothing. To me,
Shibu uncle was my dad. He counseled me in every path. Dad only sent money, not
love.”
Shivam’s expressions were frozen.
“Look brother, if anything I’m further indebted by his act.
I never liked my dad and uncle killed him to bring justice to me and to this world.”
Divyanshu said and got up. “Besides, I didn’t come here to fight some
6-year-old futile case. I retired from Major’s post as soon as my requisite
working period ended because my health was consistently degrading and I wanted
to rest and spend time with you guys. Anyway, we have to first figure out the
whereabouts of Anurag.” He got up and left.
Shivam sat rubbing his feet when Soumya came up to his him.
“I think we need to talk about what happened last night.”
“Yeah I know. It’s alright.” Shivam said holding her hand.
“I was depressed of working under people I loathe for the sake of our plan and
you wanted to comfort me. It’s fine. No strings attached.”
Soumya’s mouth opened several times but no words came out
of it. She finally said, “Yeah.” She sat down next to him and continued. “I’ll
take that package that we found in your father’s library to forensics tomorrow.
Our plan can finally be executed. Siddharth is coming to India today!”
***
The room was cool and bright. Nilisha was going through the
contents of a file and signing them. Shubham sat on the other side of the table,
on his wheel chair.
“Nilisha my sweet sister. Even though reluctantly, you’ve
always taken care of your crippled elder brother. I’ve been your adviser all
your life. You can tell me who talked you up to doing this.” Shubham’s dark
grey eyes looked directly into Nilisha’s dark brown. Nilisha continued to
ignore him.
“Is it your new boyfriend, or shall I say old boyfriend?” Shubham sniggered. When
Nilisha placed the file in front of him to sign it, he said, “Are you sure this
is the best idea?”
“I do not do anything without thinking it through. Nothing
has ever felt more right than this.” Nilisha said softly in a high pitched
voice as she handed over the pen to him and tapped her thumb at the point where
he had to sign.
“You do know you’re becoming our mother, don’t you?” He
said. “Her love for the company and her children often blindfolded her. As
smart a businesswoman as she was, she was rarely able to differentiate between
her professional and personal life.” As Nilisha continued to probe at the place
on the paper where he had to sign, he placed the nib there, “Continuing down
this path might show you the same fate.”
Nilisha retracted the file after he had signed it. She
smiled and said softly, “History is cyclical, not Xeroxed. There is a key
difference between me and mother. I love my child and I can see through his
eyes, mother saw only through her own!”
“Power transfer is inevitable, but you cannot decide the
way it gets transferred, Nili! Each zodiac appears in the sky during its
destined time, no one can control it, much like the spokes on a wheel coming on
the topmost position.” Shubham said adjusting his shirt.
Shubham opened his mouth to speak again but his words got
drowned in Nilisha’s racing thoughts. She got an adrenaline rush just thinking
about how her happy days were finally here. She was with a man she had loved
all her life, but couldn’t do anything about because her mother wanted her to be
with Varun. She owned the most famous research corp. in the country. Her
enemies worked under her and she’d often receive sadistic pleasure in torturing
Shivam by cutting off grants and resources. She was finally on the top.
***
“Yes Divyanshu is out right now. He is searching for
Anurag. Nothing that I haven’t done already.” Shivam took a bite of biscuit and
continued. “Anurag was always this careless person. He severed all contacts
with me after I left for college and he recklessly left the house. Without any
note.”
“I know man.” Siddharth said patting Shivam’s knee. “But
he’s your brother and you know you love him. You’re just exasperated because of
all that has happened with you and your family that you’re trying to make
yourself feel like you don’t miss him.”
Shivam bit his tongue and sighed, trying to prevent the
flow of tears. He didn’t speak for several minutes.
“Anyway. Here I am now. Let’s get Dobile back from those
despicable people. You have your plan devised, I assume? You have ensured an
unsuspecting position in ISRC? You have safely hinted Waris that you are up to something?” Siddharth waited for
Shivam’s nod then continued, “You’ll play their treacherous game upon them and
get back Dobile. I’ll finance the company. We’ll do it right from the scratch
like we had planned all those years ago!”
They smiled and hugged each other. The friendship from
college days had rejuvenated strong. The rivalry caused by Aditya, all
forgotten.
***
Soumya sat patiently scrolling on her phone outside the
Forensic Science Lab while the reports were being prepared. She and Shivam were
on the last step of the renovation of his house, digging through his father’s
library, when they had found out a suspicious anonymous package. Inside, they
had found his father’s notes on Aman Agarwal’s death case, Nilisha and Varun’s
intimate pictures and some docs.
“So you found any unmatched fingerprint?” Soumya asked when
Radhika came out with the report.
“What are fingerprints?” Radhika said.
Soumya looked at her, perplexed. “The impressions. You must
have obtained them from the photos or the documents, right?”
“Is it?” Radhika scratched her head. “What are impressions?
How do they occur?”
“Never mind.” Soumya brushed off the vexatious questions
and walked to the head of the forensic committee. On enquiring, she found out
that there were indeed unrecognized fingerprints. On running a match of
fingerprints with police records, they had recognized them with that of a pickpocket
named Nitish. The whereabouts of whom were unknown to them.
It was getting late and Soumya was exhausted from the day’s
work, yet her intrigue kept her going. She had contacts at the Post Office too.
She brought up the Speed Post stamp on the anonymous package. The consignment
number was tracked and it was found that the package was posted from a village
in the outskirts of Mumbai.
***
Shivam was sitting on the bench outside Nilisha’s office,
stretching his back, when she arrived. She ignored him and began unlocking her
office. Shivam greeted her and expressed his wish to discuss some matters with
her. After silent reluctance, she told the security to turn out his pockets for
any item and called him inside her office. Shivam knew it was more of an
attempt to insult him than to ensure safety.
“I have the pro forma. I really don’t see the reason for
your anxiety, though.” Nilisha said in a soft albeit audibly sarcastic voice,
“It’s not like it’s your company anyway.”
She snickered and got up to fetch the document. She had
been wearing saree for eight months now, yet her gait was still clumsy. Shivam
fought back a snort at her inept handling of her attire. As soon as she turned
away, he quickly reached out for his right shoe, felt a bump in it and pulled
out what looked like a USB drive and quickly inserted it in one of the USB
ports of Nilisha’s computer. Nilisha’s saree’s stole, draped along her right
hand, kept sliding off. Her poor handling of her stole bought him more time. He
tapped a few keys and observed the erratic sound of the cooling fan of the
computer. He took out the drive and put it back in his shoe while
simultaneously reaching out for a bump in the left shoe and pressing a button
on it.
When she returned he simply nodded to her statements,
making suggestions in pure scientific terms that would require him to give
explanations repeatedly to her, hence buying him more time. After some time, he
left. He quickly went back to his cubicle and took out the drive in his left
shoe and inserted its card into his laptop. While he was working, he felt
someone’s presence. He looked up. Waris was standing there.
“Coffee?” Waris smiled. Shivam feigned a puzzled look. “6
pm at CCD near your apartment.” He said and left with a smile.
***
Waris was perched upon the bench in a way that looked
awkward for such a grown man. He and Shivam were seated on either side of a
round table in CCD. Waris was continually speaking about how he knew what
Shivam was up to, that he knew Shivam was working under Dobile sector in ISRC
simply for making a living.
Shivam rubbed his nose. Maintaining the silence had already
given him away. There was no way he could deny his accusations anymore. All he
was waiting for was a strong sign that would suggest Waris’ trustworthiness.
“Fine, I guess I will have to make a big revelation to
convince you that I am on your side and have enough power to help you achieve
your aim. You know ISRC’s CFO?” Waris said gazing into Shivam’s eyes. Waris
continued, “Remember my famous interview from a year ago where I had criticized
Nilisha’s policies. Prahalad had asked me to do it saying it was a test of my
devotion for the company and science. Only then did he agree to fund my
previous research. As it turns out, now Prahalad and Nilisha are engaged. I
know Nilisha and Varun’s affair did do rounds,” Waris said when he saw Shivam’s
incredulous look. “But it was a story Nilisha and Aria had fabricated. Nilisha
was fooling Varun to get control of the company. Why do you think Varun’s
children didn’t inherit the company? It was all a plan. Prahalad will soon get
more shares of the company. Before a man as sly becomes too powerful, we’ve got
to stop them.”
***
“THAT BITCH!” Soumya exclaimed standing up!
On returning home from his meeting with Waris, Shivam had
crossed path with a tensed and sleepless Divyanshu, going out of the house,
still searching for Anurag. On coming inside, he found Soumya and Siddharth
sitting in the hall. He shut the door and quickly informed them that he had commandeered
the cooling fan of Nilisha’s air-gapped computer and set up the Fansmitter. He
had recorded the sound in another and used it to transfer all the data into his
own laptop. Then he informed them about taking Waris into confidence and exchanging
the data in Nilisha’s laptop with him on the condition that he will help them.
“I know. It turns out that she’s far slyer that we had
estimated!” Shivam said in a calm voice. “How many lives has she ruined. She
destroyed your family-”
“Killed my father! Took away everything that was rightfully
mine.” Soumya said with her eyes brimming with tears of angst.
“Killed your father? Varun was your father?” Siddharth
said. Soumya nodded as Shivam hugged her. “Didn’t you just say that Varun
committed suicide?”
“No he didn’t!” Soumya screamed. “That bitch killed him!”
“I know, that’s alright. But what was the verdict of the
case? Varun committed suicide! Don’t you see where I am going with this?”
Siddharth said with a grin. Soumya and Shivam sat down on the sofa with confused
expressions.
“What are the two key requisites for a Will & Testament
to be valid? There must be at least two witnesses and-”
“The testator must be of sound mind while drafting the
Will!” Shivam exclaimed! “Genius one Sid! Your Legal Studies minor finally came
of some use.” They kicked each other playfully then Shivam continued, “One of
the witnesses was Waris! I bet that’s what he was trying to talk about through
those heavily veiled words. That’s how he is going to help me. Our case just
got stronger that we’d planned. The other witness was obviously Aria, who is
dead now! Nice!”
Just then they heard the main gate open. They were
discussing whether to tell Divyanshu about the case or not. Shivam was
re-explaining why not including him was the best because he is tired of all the
years of duty on the border and he’d rather stay away from politics. A frail,
infirm body arrived at the door. He was sighing, struggling to keep his scarred
body erect. He was shivering, his eyes watering. Shivam ran to the door and
supported him into a hug. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he fought to say,
“Where have you been, Anurag?”
***
A Few
Months Later
Shubham sat in the living room. He could hear moaning
sounds coming from the adjacent room. He turned up the volume of the TV to
escape the noise. It had become a daily routine. Prahalad would come home every
night and his sister would go with him to her room and make love, loud enough
for him to feel incensed.
The door of the room opened. Nilisha came out wearing a
long shirt, smiling. Her hair was all messed up but the blush on her face
reminded Shubham of her sister from high school, when she used to come home
blushing and smirk at him suggesting she had had a good day. She went to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.
Shubham expressed surprise. She blushed again and sank into the sofa near him.
Shubham was staring at her. Appreciating her beauty. How
blessed he was to have such a beautiful sister. Or was he? Prahalad came out of
the room, mussed Shubham’s hair, which always felt weird because Shubham was
elder to him, kissed Nilisha and whispered something into her ears and went
out.
“Nilisha. Your mood is ecstatic tonight.” Shubham said,
trying to walk her through to what he actually intended to say. Nilisha ignored
him, closed her eyes and rested her head on the sofa. Shubham continued. “You
must be overjoyed to have all you ever wanted. Momentary though it may be.”
Though Nilisha pretended to be in another dimension, he knew she was listening
to him.
Shubham sighed trying to buy time and courage to say what
he was about to say, “Nili, your role in this game is over. Prahalad is
materialistic. Writing the whole company to him and your son wasn’t a good
idea. Now you’re just a hurdle in his ultimate dream.”
Nilish rubbed her belly with her left hand. She looked down
at her belly and said, “My game has just begun. Our game has just begun.”
Shubham looked at her aghast, “Is that why you aren’t
drinking alcohol?”
Nilisha blushed and said softly, “Yes. But it’s really hard
to resist. I might go for those brandies you bought. Shh.” She gushed and
continued rubbing her belly.
A few hours of nap later, Shubham woke up to dead silence in
his room. He called out for Nilisha but no one responded. Assuming she might
have gone out, he struggled to pull the wheelchair closer to the bed and slid
onto it. He turned the handle driving the wheel towards the door. The aroma in
the room reeked of alcohol. He drove forward and found Nilisha lying on the
floor, face first. Greasy fluid with a hint of blood flowed out of her mouth,
down the gradient, to the drain. Her eyes rolled up. Her body stiff with her
legs twisted. A bottle of brandy had rolled next to the wall. She lay there
still and lifeless.
***
Prahalad took off his coat, sat down on a bean bag and
loosened his tie. He had spent a long day at the police station and news
interviews giving statements about Nilisha Choudhry muder case. He turned on the
TV and news flashed.
BREAKING NEWS: ISRC President Nilisha Choudhry Murdered by Her Own Brother!!!
News reporter maintained a feigned shocked face as he read
out the news while showing clippings of Prahalad’s interviews. A beautiful
picture of Nilisha was in the background. He narrated how Nilisha and Prahalad
were betrothed and were, allegedly, living
together. How she had announced about her pregnancy to him, on the evening
before her murder and they had decided to marry each other but it wasn’t
digestible to her elder brother, the ex-CEO of ISRC. He had been bitter at
Nilisha ever since Prahalad took his post. When Nilisha decided to marry him he
snapped at the trepidation of losing ISRC completely and so he killed her. The
brandy that Nilisha drank had poison. Shubham’s fingerprints had been discovered
on the bottle. The reporter added that Prahalad sidestepped on the infamous
Human Trafficking case that had been filed against him.
Prahalad put both his hands behind his head and smirked.
The whole company was his at last. He had lured Nilisha into writing the
company to him and their 24-year-old first son in her will. He turned off the
TV and went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be an adventurous day too.
***
Shivam sat on Anurag’s bed. Anurag was sleeping. He mussed
his hair gently then studied the fading scars on Anurag’s hands. He smiled
dryly. Prahalad had been carrying out Human Trafficking for years. After
Shibu’s death, when he had left for Harvard, Prahalad had come home turning up
the whole house and luring Anurag with hopes of a better life. He had, instead,
taken him as a slave. Anurag had also revealed the leader of his slave group,
Nitish, who was himself a slave too, used to torture and sexually abuse
everyone. A fast track case had immediately been filed against Prahalad which
had become a hugely debated topic in the news.
Anurag woke up. “Judgement day!” They said in unison and
smiled. Shivam got up from the bed and patted on his back. He went on to dress
up. He called Waris. Waris had helped them get the best lawyer at short notice.
Waris had quit the company after Prahalad had taken up CEO’s post. He knew
nothing could save the company anymore.
Soumya, Siddharth and Waris were sitting in the hall when
Shivam came down with Anurag. The housekeeper came running and distributed Prasad wishing good fortune.
“It’s the most important right now, really.” Waris joked. “Prahalad
has hands everywhere. Who knows he might get us murdered before we could even
reach the court.”
Waris and Anurag went ahead in Waris’ car. Shivam told
Siddharth to come with Divyanshu who was having an upset stomach. He grabbed
the keys and went ahead with Soumya. Just then he heard a loud explosion. They ran
outside. A burning car was visible just a few blocks away. It was Waris’ car.
Ablaze in bright flames.
***
“I don’t have anywhere else to go to. A middle aged man
with dysfunctional legs. I heard what Prahalad did to your brother and I knew
if two victims got together, we could fill the holes in the loop.” Shubham said
in a shivering voice.
Soumya put a tray full of cookies and dry fruits in front
of him and said in a dry tone, “But why should we believe you? Saving you is
giving hostage to a fugitive.”
“Prahalad killed my sister, a woman that I loved and admired.
I could still picture her choking. She was probably calling out for me when she
succumbed to death. And he blamed it all on me. I had drunk half the brandy so
my fingerprints were on the bottle. He had put poison in it. He knew Nilisha
wouldn’t open a new bottle risking suspicion that she was drinking despite
being pregnant. A calculative tactician he is.” Shubham’s voice choked. He looked
at Shivam and continued, “You might understand my situation. Your father was
falsely blamed and punished for a crime he didn’t commit. That’s what Prahalad
does.”
“So Prahalad murdered Aman uncle?” Shivam asked in an
uneven voice.
“Not himself. He had his son do it for him.” Shubham cleared
his nose.
“His son?” The three exclaimed in unison.
“Yes, the only man who is suspiciously absent from this
room. Also your brother and Waris’ death wasn’t just a misfortune. If the nuts
of his car’s wheels were indeed lose, how did he drive over to your place?
Also, as far as I know Waris had bought a new car, how did the battery explode
so easily?” Shubham said. Soumya, Shivam and Siddharth exchanged horrified
expressions.
Shubham broke the silence, “Nilisha and Prahalad went to
the same high school. She was crazily in love with him. When Nilisha got
pregnant the summer she turned 18, our mother tried to get it aborted. But
there were complications so she couldn’t abort the child. Mother wouldn’t even
allow Nilisha and Prahalad to meet. She wanted Nilisha to marry Varun, who was
the son of co-founder of ISRC because she wanted the company to remain in the
family. After the child was born, mother decided to have mercy on Nilisha’s
request. She contacted Varun’s friend Aman, who was working as a research
assistant at ISRC. He and his wife were having trouble in conceiving so he
willingly offered to adopt the child. He raised Nilisha and Prahalad’s son as
his own and named him Divyanshu.
“Divyanshu was always a violent child. Aman’s pampered
upbringing had spoiled him. When Divyanshu eventually found out that he was
adopted he got angry. He was a teenager and his friends at school used to tease
him. One day he came home, full of angst, and beat his mother to death. He was
going to kill Aman too, but Aman contacted a friend in psychology department
and sent him for rehab far away. Aman hid his wife’s body and wiped off every
proof and told everyone that his wife ran away. All just to save his adopted
son. When Divyanshu returned from rehab, Aman couldn’t stand him.
Seeing him
every day reminded him of how brutally his wife had been murdered, how to the
world she had become a villain despite being an innocent woman. He talked with his
college mate Shibu and sent him to live with you children. He would only meet
him once in a few months and send money regularly. Meanwhile Prahalad seeked
Divyanshu out. He began using him as his pawn in his long drawn crafty game to
become the owner of ISRC.
“First he reignited Divyanshu’s hatred towards Aman and got
him to murder him. He had already poisoned him at dinner but Prahalad was being
paranoid. So,he deliberately caused fault in the CCTV that night and sent
Divynashu to kill him.
“The gloves with Aman’s blood that had been discovered in
the drain by CBI had leather pieces stuck to them. Nilisha told me she thought
that those leather might have gotten stuck to them in the drain. I, however, have
a hunch that Divyanshu wore two set of gloves that night. Working on Prahalad’s
dual attack plan, he wore leather gloves with Shibu’s used latex gloves on top
of them. That’s how Shibu was framed.”
There was a prolonged aghast pregnant pause.
Shubham continued, “When Varun married another woman,
Prahalad thought Nilisha would marry him and that would pave his way to
ownership of ISRC, but mother didn’t allow that. She wanted Nilisha to keep
trying for Varun. She literally forced her to lure him into extramarital affair
and break his marriage, which she very well did many years past his marriage.
Prahalad, then, must have devised another plan. He obtained the pictures of
Nilisha and Varun and sent them to Aman hoping, as honorable as he is, he’d
stand up against this and talk to his friend Varun. But Aman did nothing of
that sort. When he saw Nilisha and Varun panicking, he used it as the
perfect time to have him murdered hence thickening the plot and throwing blames
on Nilisha and Varun. He knew Shibu would get involved in the case. He had the
pictures sent out to him while simultaneously framing him for this case,
because his next target was his children. He knew you would rise against the
injustice. But his plan failed.
“Nilisha had no idea that Shibu was not the murderer. Nilisha
ensured a fast track case because Shibu was threatening to reveal about her and
Varun’s affair and it pestered her that he was actually blaming her for a crime
that he had committed. The proofs against Shibu were far too strong, so he was
hanged.
“I know Soumya, Nilisha killed your father, but even that
was on mother’s order so that she’d safely get the company before you change
his mind. My sister wasn’t evil she was a noble soul caged in a pretentious hard
exterior. She has committed crimes, no doubt. The crime of falling in love with
a man who, she knew, was using her. The crime of pretending to be a criminal
just to be taken as fiercely seriously as mother. And she paid her debts. Got
murdered by a man she loved. She was a terribly misunderstood teenager, stuck
in an adult’s body.”
“Why are you telling all this now?” Soumya said, clearing
her throat. “You knew of all the crimes and you just stood by.” Soumya raised
her hand to silence Shubham when he opened his mouth, “Do not give me your
I-am-crippled excuse. So many people died, so many lives got ruined just
because you couldn’t speak up? You knew everything. Anurag died, my father
died, Shibu uncle died, Aman uncle died and now you came to help us because you
lost someone close to you? Or shall I say because you were framed for it. Where
are your excuses now? You are just as selfish and evil. Do not pretend to be
otherwise.”
Shubham lowered his face. “It’s true what they say. People
keep note of what you did. They never see all the evil you chose not to do even
though you had the chance... I do not claim to be a hero too Soumya. I know
what I have done is wrong. But I am your best hope to get back what is
rightfully yours. I am the key witness for getting the criminals punished for
their crimes. I am ready to receive whatever punishment you would want me to
endure. But first I need to see Prahalad and Divyanshu punished for their
crimes. If you will, please, let me.”
“You want to see me punished.” said Divyanshu. He was standing
near the door. His expressions were hard as stone. A fury that no one had ever
seen before and no one was alive to report its existence. He made slow steps
towards them. “What happened to Aman’s wife, Aman, Jajodia, Waris and Anurag, you
seem to be too excited to experience them.” He kept walking towards Shubham,
others too aghast to think of stopping him. “I had told Prahalad to finish you
off. But that foolish egocentric dumbass, overestimated his idiotic plan”
Divyanshu wasn’t blinking. His cheeks were up high, his eyes scarily wide.
He pulled up the sofa on which Soumya was sitting, sliding
her down violently, and threw it on Shubham. His wheelchair received the
impulse and slid backwards hitting the wall, throwing him off. Shivam and
Siddharth unsuccessfully tried to manhandle him, Divyanshu pushed them both
aside in one blow. Soumya crawled on the floor till she gained balance and ran
to get her mobile. The housekeeper stood in one corner, crying. Divyanshu ran
to Shubham and grabbed his back, pulled him up and pushed him to the wall, face
first, dragging him along the wall with full force. Blood started coming out of
Shubham’s body. As Shubham helplessly fought to get off of Divyanshu, he pulled
him off the wall and banged him on the floor. Just then, Divyanshu received a
strong blow on his head from behind. He turned around to find Siddharth. He
hazily marched forward strangling him along, picked him up and banged him down
on the floor. He jumped up performing a chop drop on his chest. Blood started
spilling out of Siddharth’s mouth. A vase came flying his way, he ducked. He
caught sight of Soumya and was about to grope her when Shivam kicked him hard
on his backbone. Seeking the chance, Shivam grabbed his head and clinched him
to the ground as Soumya tied his legs.
Police arrived within minutes and prosecuted him.
***
Words were raw in Shubham’s mouth. Joyed emotions vibrant
on his face, when Soumya told him that Prahalad and Divyanshu had been
sentenced to death. Shubham had been in the ICU for the past few months after
Divyanshu had inflicted injuries to him. He had taken several blows to his
brain and had spent a few weeks in coma. He could report to the court only on
special arrangements.
Shivam and Siddharth walked into the room laughing. Shivam
narrated how Prahalad’s expressions were hardening with every proof going
against him.
“It reached its climax when Divyanshu ended up validating
the proofs against him.” Shivam grinned.
“He had to. Prahalad was trying to sneak out to the safe
side. The case against Divyanshu was very strong he was obviously going down;
the game changer was how he took Prahalad down along with him.” Siddharth said continuing
to laugh.
“I felt a little bad for him towards the end, though.”
Soumya said. “His father gave almost all his money to the company. Didn’t even
reserve an important position for him in the company. Poor guy got nudged on
the wrong path because of that.”
Shubham and Siddharth stared at her, annoyed. Shubham
smiled and said, “Agreed. People aren’t born evil. Situations make them." He paused then continues, "The
real enemy, you see, resides within ourselves. It may be in the form of the
ghost of our past or venom of our future. Divyanshu was both the ghost of
Prahalad’s past and venom of his plausible future. Hence his pawn became his
own enemy before the game was even over.” His voice was shaky. Soumya covered
him in the blanket and told him to sleep.
A few weeks later he passed away.
Soumya rightfully inherited ISRC. She renamed the company
to Dobile. She distributed the shares
equally among Shivam, Siddharth and herself.
One night, while Shivam was arranging his father’s library and
reminiscing his childhood, Soumya came in. A newspaper declaring “Shibu was innocent; the court apologized” was lying on the
table.
“Remember all those years ago, you had proposed to me?”
Soumya said to Shivam. “My answer was no because I didn’t want you to settle
down. I wanted you to keep going. I wanted myself to find the will to keep
going.”
“But now you’ve got what you wanted. Now we’ve brought
justice to our parents. And we wish to start our new lives together.” His hands
were on her waist, hers around his shoulders.
“We wish to live our lives together.” Soumya blushed as
their faces came together.
Shibu smiled from his photo above them.
*********
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©Shivam
Murari
Photo Editor: +Manan Pachchigar
