"Why is Vriti calling me now? What if she somehow found out about Bhaiya...?"

My heart tightened at the thought.

"No... how could she possibly know?"

I tried to reason with myself, but another thought immediately followed.

"But even if she doesn't know yet... I have to tell her, don't I? I can't keep something like this from her forever. But how am I supposed to tell her? How do I tell her that the person she had loved since childhood, the person she had once imagined building her future with... is no more?"

I swallowed hard.

"No. I can't do this."

I tried to calm myself as the phone continued ringing. Finally, I picked it up slowly.

"Hello?"

"Hello! Before you start yelling at me, let me tell you that I know you must still be sleeping. And I'm sorry for disturbing your beauty sleep, but I had to call. It was important."

"Kya hua?"

I tried to keep my voice normal, even though my heart was struggling to hold itself together.

"What happened?"

"I don't know. That's the problem."

"Matlab?"

(What do you mean?)

I frowned, unable to understand what she was trying to say.

"I don't know, Annu. Mujhe bohot ghabrahat si ho rahi hai. I haven't been able to sleep the whole night. Kuch samajh nahi aa raha, but my heart feels so restless. I can't even explain it properly, but bohot ajeeb sa lag raha hai. Tu theek hai na? Aur baaki sab?"

(I don't know, Annu. I feel extremely anxious. I haven't been able to sleep the whole night. I don't understand what's happening, but my heart feels so restless. I can't even explain it, but something feels very strange. Are you okay? And is everyone else okay?)

"I know tu soch rahi hogi ki main kya bol rahi hoon, but trust me, this feeling is different. I've never felt anything like this before. But today, I just keep feeling that something is wrong. I tried to keep it to myself, but then I thought of calling you. You're my best friend, the only person I could share this with."

I remained silent.

My throat felt painfully tight.

I didn't know how to say it.

"Annu? Kuch bolegi bhi ya main apne aap se hi baat kar rahi hoon?"

(Are you going to say something, or am I just talking to myself?)

I closed my eyes for a moment and gathered whatever courage I had left.

How was I supposed to tell her that Bhaiya, and the person she had loved since childhood, the person she had once imagined building her future with, was no longer with us?

"Vriti..."

The moment I tried to speak, my voice broke, and tears escaped before I could stop them.

"Why are you crying? What happened? Don't make my anxiety worse."

"Bhaiya..."

My voice barely came out.

"Bhaiya is no more."

There was silence on the other end.

"What? What did you say? Maybe I heard something wrong."

"No. You heard it right. He is no more with us. Someone has killed him."

"No... no, Rakshit, no. Aise kaise vo jaa sakte hain? Nahi, unhe kuch nahi ho sakta. Just tell me you're lying. Please, just say it."

(No... no, Rakshit, no. How can he be gone? Nothing could have happened to him. Just tell me you're lying. Please, just say it.)

"I know... I'm sorry, Vriti. But this is the bitter truth."

"No..."

Her voice broke completely.

A moment later, the call ended.

I didn't call her back.

Maybe she needed time to process it. Just like I had to.

There was no way around it. The truth was painful, but it was still the truth.

I wiped my tears and forced myself to breathe normally before getting up and walking towards the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water and drank it slowly, trying to calm the heaviness in my chest.

I checked the time. It was 6 a.m. I suddenly remembered that I had been thinking about going to Adhiraj's house.

Yes, I should go.

I turned towards the stairs, about to go and get my car keys, but Chachu's voice stopped me.

I turned towards him.

"Vo hospital se call aaya tha ki postmortem ho gaya hai toh ab hum Rakshit ki body le sakte hain funeral ke liye."

(The hospital called and said the postmortem is complete, so we can bring Rakshit's body for the funeral.)

His words made me pause for a moment. I knew Bhaiya was no more, and I had already accepted that painful truth. But hearing that his body could now be brought home made me think about what came next. His funeral. Everything had happened so suddenly that I hadn't even had the time to think about it properly.

"Main sab arrangements karta hoon uske antim sanskar ke liye. Kuch friends aur relatives ko bhi bata diya hai. Vo bhi aate hi honge."

(I'll make all the arrangements for his funeral. I've informed some friends and relatives too. They should be arriving soon.)

I simply nodded because I had no words to say. I went back to my room and sat there quietly for some time.

Soon, relatives and family friends began arriving at the house. One after another, they came to offer their condolences and sympathy. I listened to them quietly and thanked them whenever I could, but my mind was still occupied with everything that had happened.

Meanwhile, every news channel and newspaper had already started reporting that Rakshit Kothari had been murdered in his office the previous night.

In all of this, I completely forgot that I had been about to go to Adhiraj's house. But I still hadn't changed my decision. I took my car keys and came out of my room. As I reached downstairs, I saw the inspector and his team already there.

There were already so many people in the house, and having the discussion there would only create more disturbance. So, I took the inspector and his team to the study and asked one of the staff members to call Chachu there as well.

Once we were inside, I looked at the inspector.

"So, did you find anything about the killer?"

He paused for a moment before answering.

"Yes, Miss Kothari. We have investigated the matter thoroughly, and we have found one primary suspect. All the evidence we have gathered so far points towards one person."

My attention immediately sharpened.

"Suspect? Who is it? Tell me the name."

He didn't answer immediately. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if choosing his words carefully, before finally saying,

"Adhiraj Singh Deshmukh."

"What?"

For a moment, I thought I had heard him wrong.

"Adhiraj Singh Deshmukh?"

"Yes. Chief Minister Adhiraj Singh Deshmukh. Our investigation and the evidence we have gathered point towards him. We believe he might have killed your brother, Rakshit Kothari."

How could he? He was Bhaiya's best friend.

I couldn't believe that the same person Bhaiya had always praised, the person he had never once said anything negative about, could be the one who had killed him.

My thoughts were interrupted by the inspector's voice.

"According to the postmortem report, it has been confirmed that it was murder and not an accident. The vase we recovered from the office, which was also the crime scene, proved to be the murder weapon. The blood on it matched your brother's blood, and we also found Adhiraj sir's fingerprints on that vase."

"But it had multiple fingerprints too, as it could have been the office cleaners' or Rakshit sir's fingerprints, so that alone can't be considered enough," the inspector continued.

"So how can he be the killer on the basis of just those fingerprints?" I asked.

"You are right. That's why we didn't rely only on that. We have more evidence that makes our suspicion clear. Wait a minute."

"Pankaj."

He turned towards the officer beside him and gestured for him to bring the laptop. Pankaj immediately took it out and placed it on the table.

"See."

The inspector turned the laptop towards me and tapped the screen to play the footage.

"This is CCTV footage we recovered from the street and a building near the office. Your office CCTV wasn't working, so there was no footage of what happened inside the office last night. That's why we collected recordings from the surrounding area."

He pointed towards the screen.

"Here. Rakshit sir enters the office at this time. About half an hour later, Adhiraj sir arrives. He stays inside for exactly eighteen minutes. Then he comes out with Rakshit sir, helps him into his car and leaves."

I watched the footage carefully, my eyes fixed on the screen.

The inspector continued,

"According to the footage, there was no one else with Rakshit sir and Adhiraj sir during that time. He was the only person seen entering the office after your brother and leaving with him. The security guard has also confirmed this."

He paused for a moment before adding,

"I asked you earlier if you had any doubts about anyone, but you told us you didn't."

"Yes, I remember. I said I didn't have any doubts because there weren't any."

"You also didn't tell us that there had been a very serious fight between Rakshit sir and Adhiraj sir for quite some time. They had stopped talking to each other and had several arguments. It was a public dispute, and the media had covered it with different theories. We have also confirmed this through your office employees, Rakshit sir's PA and their phone records."

"What? A fight for so long?"

I stared at him in disbelief.

"I don't know anything about it. I only found out there had been some argument between them this evening from my cousin sister. I didn't know it was this serious."

"It wasn't some random argument, Miss Kothari. It was a serious matter, and they hadn't been speaking to each other for months. According to their call records, they spoke yesterday for the first time in months. Your brother was the one who called Adhiraj sir. It appears they decided to meet, perhaps to sort things out. But considering the condition of the office and what we found at the crime scene, we believe their argument may have turned physical and escalated from there."

"No. I know my brother. He doesn't get into physical fights. He was a very calm person. He can't fight like this."

"And everything I ever heard about Adhiraj from Bhaiya was completely different. He always used to praise him and told me that he was also a kind and good person. So I just can't believe any of this. Why would Adhiraj himself admit Bhaiya if he wanted to kill him? And what was the motive? Why did he kill my brother? He was his best friend. How could he do this? There is something missing."

I tried to make sense of everything, but the more I thought about it, the more questions came to my mind.

"Why would Adhiraj himself admit Bhaiya if he wanted to kill him? And what was the motive? Why did he kill my brother? He was his best friend. How could he do this? There is something missing."

The inspector thought for a moment before answering.

"Maybe he never intended to kill your brother, Miss Kothari. Perhaps the situation got out of control during their confrontation and things went too far. When Adhiraj sir realised how badly Rakshit sir had been hurt, he may have taken him to the hospital because he wanted to save him."

"Or maybe taking him to the hospital was simply a way to keep anyone from suspecting him of the murder."

The sudden voice made me pause.

I turned towards the doorway and saw Chachu standing there. His expression was serious, and the look in his eyes made me realise that he had heard everything.

"Chachu?" I stared at him, still trying to understand what he meant. "What are you saying?"

"Yes. Maybe he wanted to make us believe that he didn't kill Rakshit."

"I can't understand anything. What do you mean? And if you knew all this, then why didn't you tell me, Chachu?"

He looked at me for a moment before taking a breath.

"Relax. I'll tell you everything, but first, wait."

He turned towards the inspector.

"Inspector, we need to talk in private. Could you please wait outside for a while?"

The inspector nodded and stepped outside with his team. Chachu followed him out, and after a few minutes, he returned to the study alone.

"Chachu? Aap kya bol rahe the? Aapko pata tha ki Adhiraj ne hi Bhaiya ka murder kiya hai? Aapne pehle kyun nahi bataya?"

He didn't answer immediately. He remained silent for a few moments before taking a slow breath.

"Annu, maine tujhse ek baat chhupai thi."

His low voice made my confusion deepen.

"Konsi baat?"

"I told you that nothing was missing from the office locker. Everything was in its place."

"Yes."

"But that wasn't true. There was one file which was missing."

I frowned, trying to understand why that mattered.

"Then why didn't you tell me before? And what was in that file?"

"Because I thought maybe Rakshit had kept it at home, in his room. I thought I could be wrong, so I wanted to be sure first. But when I checked his room, the file wasn't there either. And after hearing what the inspector said, my suspicion turned into a strong belief that Adhiraj had taken that file with him. Or maybe he destroyed it."

"Wait. I don't understand anything. What file? Why would Adhiraj steal it or destroy it? What was in that file?"

I paused, my mind still struggling to put everything together.

"And first tell me, what was the reason behind Bhaiya and Adhiraj's fight? Why weren't they talking for months? And why didn't Bhaiya tell me anything about this?"

"Rakshit didn't tell you because he didn't want to give you any kind of stress or ruin your trip."

He looked at me for a moment before continuing.

"I know this is confusing for you, so let me tell you the whole thing."

"Last month, our company applied for a government tender to supply food to government schools. It came under Adhiraj's authority as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Our rival company, JS Foods Ltd., had also applied for the same tender, and Adhiraj approved their bid."

"But why would Bhaiya fight over a single contract? He isn't like that. He doesn't take favours from anyone."

"Yes, I know. Rakshit was an honest person. He wasn't upset because the contract wasn't given to us. He was upset because Adhiraj had awarded it to JS Foods Ltd."

"It wasn't about business rivalry or losing the contract. Rakshit was concerned about the safety of the children in those government schools. JS Foods Ltd. had a terrible reputation. They used harmful and illegally banned products in their food, but their owners paid people off, so no one spoke against them."

"Rakshit knew about it because we were in the same industry. We knew what our rivals were doing. Corruption and bribery were nothing new in that business, but Rakshit wasn't someone who could simply look away. For him, business was never more important than someone's safety. And these were children. How could he let it happen?"

"He told Adhiraj about it when he found out that the contract had been given to them, but Adhiraj thought Rakshit was only making those accusations because of the competition. They had a huge argument over it, and Rakshit eventually realised that Adhiraj might have become just another corrupt politician. He believed Adhiraj could have taken a large amount of money from the rival company, and that's why he broke their friendship."

"But even after that, Rakshit couldn't stop worrying about the children's safety. He kept thinking about what he could do to stop the contract. Finally, he decided to take a difficult step. It wasn't easy for him because he never wanted to do anything against someone he had once called his best friend. Adhiraj was his best friend. He never wanted to hurt him, but..."

"But what, Chachu?" I asked, unable to wait any longer.

"But for him, the children's safety was more important. So he hired a detective, who gathered information about Adhiraj's illegal activities and gave everything to Rakshit."

"Rakshit was planning to give all of it to the media. But before doing that, he thought he should speak to Adhiraj one last time and try to make him understand the seriousness of what he had done. He didn't want to destroy his reputation without giving him a chance to explain himself."

"So he called Adhiraj yesterday. Adhiraj agreed to meet him, and we thought maybe he would finally understand and agree to cancel the contract. I told Rakshit that meeting him alone could be risky, but he still believed Adhiraj would listen because, despite everything, he was still the person Rakshit had once considered his best friend."

Chachu's expression changed as he looked down for a moment.

"But I never thought this would happen."

He took a breath before looking at me again.

"I've always hated politicians because vo kisi bhi hadd tak jaa sakte hain khud ko bachane ke liye. Unhe koi fark nahi padta kisi se, sivaye apne aap ke."

(I've always hated politicians because they can go to any extent to protect themselves. They don't care about anyone except themselves.)

"Jab Rakshit Adhiraj se pehli baar mila tha, tab hi maine Rakshit ko warn kiya tha ki politician se dosti achhi nahi hoti. Par usne meri nahi maani. Baad mein Adhiraj se milkar mujhe bhi laga ki vo alag hai aur humare Rakshit jaisa hi hai. Par lagta hai hum samajh hi nahi paaye usse."

(When Rakshit first met Adhiraj, I had warned him that being friends with a politician wasn't a good idea. But he didn't listen to me. Later, after meeting Adhiraj myself, even I felt that he was different, that he was just like our Rakshit. But it seems we never truly understood him.)

He paused for a moment. There was anger in his eyes now, but his voice remained controlled as he looked at me.

"You know, Annu, why I hate these politicians? Because tumhare Mom-Dad, mere bhaiya-bhabhi ki death bhi ek politician ki wajah se hi hui thi."

(You know, Annu, why I hate these politicians? Because your Mom and Dad, my brother and sister-in-law, also died because of a politician.)

"What? But vo toh accident tha na?"

(What? But that was an accident, wasn't it?)

"Haan. Politician ne hi car accident kiya tha. Drink and drive case tha. Saare evidences bhi the, but he was a politician, so he got out of the case and trapped a poor driver. Usne yeh prove karwa diya ki car vo driver chala raha tha aur saare evidences manipulate karwa diye."

(Yes. The politician was the one who caused the car accident. It was a drink-and-drive case, and there was evidence against him. But he was a politician, so he got out of the case and trapped a poor driver. He made it look like the driver had been driving the car and had all the evidence manipulated.)

I looked at Chachu. There was a deep anger in his eyes, the kind that had clearly been buried for years but had never truly disappeared. His jaw tightened as he spoke about the people responsible for my parents' death. It was clear that even after all these years, the injustice still angered him. They had taken his brother and sister-in-law away and then escaped without facing the consequences.

I was left speechless.

All these years, I had believed that Mom and Dad had died in an accident. That was the only truth I had ever known. I had never imagined that their death had been caused by someone, and that the person responsible had managed to escape by using his power and influence.

I didn't know what hurt more, knowing that my parents had been taken away from me because of someone's actions or knowing that the person responsible had never been punished for it.

"Chachu... aapne pehle kyun nahi bataya yeh?"

(Chachu... why didn't you tell me this before?)

"Tum log chhote the tab. Main tum dono ko inn sab se door rakhna chahta tha. Aur phir main vo din yaad nahi karna chahta tha. Mere bhaiya aur bhabhi ki vo accident... abhi bhi sochta hoon toh bohot dard hota hai. Bas isiliye."

(You both were very young back then. I wanted to keep you away from all this. And then, I didn't want to remember that day. Even now, when I think about the accident that took my brother and sister-in-law, it hurts a lot. That's why.)

I understood why Chachu had kept it from me all these years. I had been too young to understand what had happened, and he had only wanted to protect me from the truth.

But now that I knew it, I couldn't stop thinking about how much power could change things. My parents' lives had been taken because a politician had wanted to protect himself, and then he had used his position to escape every consequence of what he had done.

And Adhiraj is a politician too.

He has power and influence. And yet, for money, he is willing to put innocent children's lives at risk and even kill his own best friend to protect himself.

How can someone become so heartless for money and power? How can someone's greed become so important that the safety of innocent children means nothing to them? How can someone betray and kill the very person who once called them their best friend just to protect themselves?

My anger burned through me.

People like him think their power can protect them from everything. They think they can ruin lives, silence anyone who stands in their way, and then walk away without consequences simply because they hold a powerful position.

But not this time.

I couldn't save my parents. I was just a child then. I didn't even know what had really happened to them. But I am not that helpless anymore.

I won't let Bhaiya's death become another tragedy where a powerful person gets away with everything while my family is left to suffer. I won't let his position, his money, or his political influence save him.

My anger burned through every bit of grief inside me.

He had taken my brother away from me. Now I would make sure he paid for it.

I looked at Chachu, my eyes filled with anger and determination.

"Don't worry, Chachu. This time it won't repeat. He won't be saved, whether he is a politician or even the Chief Minister. He will be punished for his crimes."

I told the inspector everything Chachu had revealed. He asked us for proof regarding the missing file, and Chachu told him that he would provide whatever was needed. The inspector noted everything down and asked a few more questions before we finished discussing the matter.

"Now you have every proofs and evidences? So what are you waiting for? I want him to be arrested. He should get his punishment. I won't let him free enjoying after ruining our life's."

"Yes, you are right, Miss Kothari, but..."

He hesitated. I knew why.

"But what, Inspector? You can't arrest him because Adhiraj Singh Deshmukh is Chief Minister, right?"

"Par mere liye vo sirf ek criminal jisko abhi jail mein hona chahiye jaha vo deserve karta hai. Just tell me, are you going to arrest him or not? Should I call the commissioner or even if he is not able to do anything I will go to media and also Kothari's has also good relations with more high level authorities."

(But for me, he is just a criminal who should be in jail right now, where he deserves to be.)

"I know... We will arrest him. You don't do anything. We will do."

"When?"

"Abhi unki speech hai. Uske baad hum khud unse baat karenge."

(He has his speech now. After that, we will talk to him ourselves.)

"Baat karenge?" I repeated, my jaw tightening as I tried to keep my anger under control. "You told me to arrest him. And so what if his speech is going on? And by the way, this is the best time to arrest him. Sab ko pata chalna chahiye ki vo kaisa insaan hai."

(Talk to him? Everyone should know what kind of person he really is.)

My voice grew firmer with every word. I couldn't understand how they could still be thinking about talking to him when, according to them, there was enough evidence against him to arrest him.

"Par..."

(But...)

I looked at him, my eyes fixed on him, making it clear that I wasn't willing to hear another excuse or explanation.

He caught my expression and stopped mid-sentence. For a moment, he simply looked at me before lowering his gaze slightly.

"Hum jaate hain."

(We'll leave.)

"Wait. I'm coming too. I want to see him get arrested with my own eyes. After everything he has done, I want to see him finally face the consequences."

The inspector exchanged a brief look with Chachu before saying nothing more.

"Par Annu, Rakshit ka antim sanskar bhi karna hai. Abhi toh tu kaise jaa sakti hai?"

(But Annu, we also have Rakshit's last rites to perform. How can you go now?)

I looked at Chachu, my eyes filling with tears again, but I quickly blinked them away.

"Chachu, bhaiya ka antim sanskar tab hi hoga jab unke criminal ko punishment milegi. Tab hi unki aatma ko shanti milegi."

(Chachu, Bhaiya's last rites will happen only when his criminal is punished. Only then will his soul find peace.)

My voice trembled despite how hard I tried to keep it steady. I knew the last rites could wait for a little while, but I couldn't. Not when the person who had taken my brother away was still free.

Chachu looked at me, but this time he didn't try to stop me. Perhaps he could see that nothing he said would change my mind.

I picked up my car keys and walked out of the study.

A few minutes later, I got into my car and started driving towards the venue. The police vehicle followed closely behind me.

I didn't know what would happen when I reached there. I only knew that I wanted to see the person responsible for my brother's death finally being taken away.

................

Author's Note 

Okay, so this chapter was originally supposed to be one long chapter, but it became way too long, especially with everything happening after Anvika leaves with the police. 

 So I decided to split it into two parts rather than cut out or rush any of the scenes.

But don't worry, I'm giving you both parts together, so there is no waiting for the second part. 🌷

Do vote and comment on this part too and tell me what you thought about it.