by M. V. Kasi
Just as he made up his mind, his phone began to ring.
He reached for his phone intending to cut the call, but as soon as he saw the number flashing on the screen, he answered it immediately. It was a call from Russia.
“Mr. Jaipal, I think we spotted him.”
CHAPTER 8
“How the fuck has he managed to escape only a few hours before we reached him?”
Shiv let out a frustrated breath that fogged in the cold climate of Russia. He was standing inside an old, dilapidated wooden cabin in a remote area.
There was a dirty kitchen, soiled mattress on the narrow cot and a rickety table. There was no bathroom, which meant the person living inside had to go outside in the freezing cold.
Shiv should feel satisfied that Vicktor was reduced to living in such conditions when only a few years ago, the man was a billionaire who lived to the excess.
“We need to find out who the mole is,” Shiv ordered. “Vicktor might be a fugitive, but he still has powerful friends who are helping him escape.” He was about to add something when someone cursed. It was one of the Russian policemen who were helping trace Vicktor.
“Mr. Jaipal. Take a look at this.”
Shiv looked at the screen and saw a middle-aged man and an extremely pale young woman caught on the camera. For a moment, he didn’t recognize the man and wanted to ask what the policeman was showing him, but he froze.
Shiv recognized the almost hidden tattoo on the man’s neck. He could only see the tip of the long snake tattoo, but it was enough to identify as Vicktor.
“He changed his face,” Shiv stated grimly.
“Yes, Mr. Jaipal. That’s why the politsiya didn’t stop him at any of the checkpoints.”
Shiv felt frustrated. Now he knew why it was harder to track him for so long. Shiv had almost caught Vicktor six months ago when someone identified him by his fingerprints. But Vicktor still managed to escape, and later, he even began manipulating the biometric machines by giving fake fingerprints.
“He has crossed the border, and we think he left Russia.”
Shiv clenched his teeth. “Send me the images captured on the surveillance. I’ll send them across to my team. Find out who helped him with the plastic surgery.” And then, his eyes fell on the pale young woman’s face. The woman looked haunted with blank eyes just like how all of Vicktor’s victims did—just like Tara’s.
Shiv got out of the car and hurried towards a large house. Two uniformed nurses were anxiously waiting for him near the doorway.
“What the hell happened?” he demanded.
The nurses looked worried. “She somehow found a small knife, Mr. Jaipal. We had stepped out for lunch when we found her wrists cut.”
Anger spiked inside him. “Why did you go on a break together when you know what might happen?”
The nurses looked shamefaced. “She was speaking normally and was even eating well for the past two weeks. So we thought it would be okay.”
“This isn’t the first bloody time! It’s been two years!”
“But, Mr. Jaipal—”
Ignoring their excuses, he went up to the bedroom. Slowly, without making too much noise, he pushed the door to the bedroom open. The room was airy and brightly lit with sunlight streaming inside. Bright yellow and pink flowers were kept in a vase next to the bed adding to the cheer. And yet, dark gloom hit Shiv when he stepped inside.
A pale and sickly thin woman lay on the bed sleeping with deep breaths. Shiv went closer and held her delicate hand where thick bandages covered the thin, bony wrists where the woman had slashed her vein earlier that day.
The thin, gaunt face with purple shadows under her eyes made the woman appear much older than her age. She was only two years older than him, but horrific experiences made her look as though she were in her forties. Shiv recalled how beautiful and vivacious she had always been before she became a shadow of her former self.
Slowly, the woman opened her eyes, and she saw him. “Shiv?” she said in a weak tone.
“I’m right here, Tara.”
There were tears in Tara’s eyes. “Please, Shiv,” she pleased. “Let me die. I can’t live with memories of…” Her voice choked, and her body shuddered. “Let me go. I want peace. Let me go to Mamma and Papa.”
Helpless rage and pain filled him. “No, Tara. You will forget everything soon. I killed that animal who did this to you. He can’t hurt you again.”
She didn’t say anything. She just closed her eyes again.
Leaning down, he gently kissed her pale forehead.
That was the last time he saw his sister. After trying for two years, his sister finally succeeded in taking her own life the next day. Shiv had lost his parents in an accident. The same accident during which his sister was abducted and taken.
Shiv was reminded yet again of why he needed to stay firm on the personal path he chose. Which meant he could not afford any distractions or attachments.
CHAPTER 9
“Good morning, Naina.”
Naina was standing at the reception area of a sprawling building outside the city. She visited the place once a week. She wished she could visit more often, but her classes and studies took up a lot of her time.
She smiled at the cheerful face of a middle-aged woman. “Good morning, Miss Kathy. How are you?”
“I’m doing great. Thank you so gifting me Gone with the Wind. I loved reading it again after so many years!”
“You are welcome. Sorry that it’s a little worn.” Naina had hunted quite a few secondhand book stores to buy a copy of that book. She didn’t have enough money to buy a new version. But she did promise herself that as soon as she began earning, one of the first things she would do is gift the kind caretaker a new hardcopy version of the book.
The older woman smiled. “Not a problem at all. Old or new, it brought me joy. That’s all I care about.”
Naina followed the caretaker to the garden area.
“Sarita is excited to see you,” the caretaker said. “She won in Snakes and Ladders when we played a few days ago. She even helped me ice the cupcakes I made for everyone.”
“That’s great.” Naina felt happy. “If possible, please take her to the kitchen sometimes. She loves to bake and make desserts.”
“Yes, I’ll definitely try. I just need to get permission as inmates are not allowed into the kitchen.”
Even though Naina understood, she still felt a twinge when her mother was referred to as an inmate. The place catered to elderly people who had mental health issues. So, even the kind and friendly caretakers had to follow the rules and protocols.
Naina was reminded of her childhood when her mother still hadn’t slipped completely into depression. Her mother loved to cook, especially desserts. Her happiest memories were when she helped her mother in the kitchen. She remembered one particular day. It was her tenth birthday.
“Don’t mix it so fast, Naina! You’ll get the flour on your new dress.” Her mother laughed because it was too late, Naina’s new dress was covered with a dusting of flour.
Naina loved to see her mother laugh because it meant she wasn’t crying. Her mother looked beautiful when she laughed. She always looked like a beautiful movie actress. But lately, since she stopped eating well, she began looking weak with dark circles under her eyes.
“Mamma, can I taste some?” Naina asked when her mother mixed the batter with lots of other things added to it.
“Patience, my love.” Her mother poured the batter into a cake pan and placed it into the oven. Whatever was left over in the mixing bowl, she gave it to her for licking.
“Yumm!”
Her mother laughed. “You need to shower again. Your face is sticky covered in batter, and your dress in a mess.”
Naina grinned.
Suddenly, her mother’s smile died. Naina frowned, and her body tensed. She heard her father’s voice from outside, and it was accompanied by a woman’s laughter. Naina knew it was her father returning home after spendin
g the night somewhere.
Soon, the bell rang, immediately followed by banging on the door. Naina didn’t want to open the door because she knew it would make her mother cry. But the knocking on the door continued. Naina also knew if her mother answered the door, things would get worse.
Having no choice, Naina ran to the door and pulled it open.
Her father looked angry and drunk with reddened eyes. He smelled of cigarettes and strange perfume.
“Why didn’t you answer the door sooner?” he demanded. “Don’t you know you are supposed to come immediately! I’ll teach you manners!” He raised his hand and slapped her hard on her cheek.
Unfortunately, most of her happiest memories also contained dark elements that she wished she could erase.
“Sarita, look who is here.”
At the caretaker’s cheerful voice, a thin, gaunt woman with pale skin turned towards her. There was a small, lingering smile on Sarita Bhasin’s face which made Naina happy. Her mother never smiled. She was always anxious or just stared blankly for hours until she was exhausted. And then, she simply fell asleep.
Three years ago when her father divorced her mother to marry again, her mother was shifted to the current facility. Most people thought Narayan Bhasin did it because he cared about his ex-wife. But Naina knew her father shifted her mother to a decent facility because of his political position. He didn’t want people to point fingers at him saying that the Home Minister threw his sick wife into a shoddy facility while his new and much younger wife moved into the huge mansion.
Whatever the reason, Naina was grateful. At sixteen-years of age, she was hardly in a position to help her mother. Even now, at nearly twenty, she was still desperately trying to work towards building a decent future where she could afford to live with her mother and provide the care her mother needed.
“Hi, Mamma. I love that rose in your hair. You look so pretty.” Naina kissed her mother’s pale cheek and held her cold, thin hand in hers.
“How is your father?” her mother asked.
Naina wished she didn’t feel the deep anger and pain when she heard her mother still doting on a faithless husband. Narayan Bhasin made his beautiful, kind-hearted and vibrant wife into a meek shadow of her former self with his multiple affairs and mental abuse. And yet, her mother forgave him each time. Even after the divorce, her mother still thought of him.
“Papa is fine. I heard you won a board game. Congratulations, Mamma!”
Her mother tugged her hand out of her hold to adjust her hair. “Do I really look pretty with a rose in my hair?”
“Yes, Mamma. Very pretty.”
Naina resembled her mother when it came to looks. They had the same facial features, hair and even the body. Although over the years, Sarita Bhasin lost the sparkle in her eyes and became thin and gaunt.
“I saw your father on TV. He looked very handsome. His new wife must be very beautiful.” There was pain in her mother’s voice during the last sentence.
“Not as much as you, Mamma. Remember how everyone used to say you resembled an actress? You even got a movie offer once.”
The darkness left her mother’s eyes, and it was replaced by wistfulness. “Yes. I remember getting that offer.”
Naina often repeated the same things during each visit. Her mother forgot the conversations, but Naina didn’t care. She would repeat them a million times as long as her mother felt happy and didn’t suffer from crippling insecurity and low confidence.
“Remember the time, Mamma, when we…”
For the rest of the visit, Naina spent time digging up the old memories she and her mother had during her childhood. They weren’t all happy memories and were often marred by the presence of her father, but Naina only narrated the good parts.
Two more years, and then I’ll graduate and find a good job.
Every minute spent with her mother made her more determined to work towards her escape plan.
CHAPTER 1 0
Whenever Naina thought her father couldn’t stoop any lower, he always managed to surprise her.
“Isn’t whoring your wife enough?” she asked her father. “Must you ask your daughter to whore herself too?”
The oncoming slap was sudden but not surprising. Naina resisted from touching her burning cheek.
“How dare you speak to me like that! I’m your father! Show me some respect!”
Naina threw her father a challenging look. “Respect has to be earned, Papa. Didn’t you just ask me to visit Anirudh Shaurya at his home, offering to sleep with him?”
“That’s the least you can do to stop him from marrying some other girl!”
“Why should I stop him?” she demanded. “You told me he is a monster. And even if he isn’t, I have no intention to marry anyone.”
Her father looked at her in rage. “I’ll see how you won’t marry the devil.”
With that final ominous warning, her father walked away in anger, leaving her alone with her stepmother, who had witnessed the ugly confrontation.
As usual, her stepmother hadn’t stopped her husband from abusing his grown daughter.
“You know, you should take up the offer to seduce the devil when you have the chance.”
“I don’t care. I don’t want to be married to anyone, much less to a violent man who is practically a criminal.”
“He may be a criminal, but he is such a delicious one. In fact, all the devils are delicious, especially one whose exploits are legendary.” Monica shuddered dramatically.
Naina felt disgusted when she saw lust blazing in her stepmother’s eyes. Vaguely, she wondered what Monica meant by all the devils. But she didn’t want to prolong the conversation. She turned to leave.
“You should go to The Dungeon today. It might be your last chance to stop that marriage. I’ll put in a word at the reception, and I can give you another dress.”
Ignoring her stepmother’s offer, Naina headed back to her room. On her way, she stopped in the kitchen and grabbed some ice for her bruised cheek.
When she finally got into her room, she locked the door and sat on her bed to resume her studying. But as she looked at her books, tears of humiliation prickled her eyes which she blinked away rapidly.
She felt humiliated that despite constant verbal and physical abuse from her father, she still remained at his home. The only reason she stuck around and hadn’t left home long before was because she wanted to complete her education. Once she graduated, there would be nothing stopping her from leaving her current messed-up life.
However, there were times such as that day when she was tempted to even ditch her education and escape right away. She could take her mother and go somewhere far away.
But she knew that without proper education, she would have to work odd jobs and wouldn’t be able to afford the care her mother needed.
She took a deep breath and tried to control herself.
One and a half more years, and I will be done.
But the thought of being defenseless for so many months depressed her.
Suddenly, a thought entered her mind. Was she entirely defenseless? What if she were to take the help of someone?
The image of a handsome man’s face with dimples flashed in her mind. Her heart began to thump wildly recalling his kisses and touch.
Her lips still tingled. Shiv. She didn’t know his last name, but she knew he was the manager of the club. Maybe he would have enough money to lend her some to help her complete her education. He did like her enough to have risked breaking into her bedroom.
It was entirely crazy, but she liked him despite not knowing much about him. With her heart thumping wildly, an idea began to form in her mind.
She called her stepmother on the phone. “Monica. I need a pass for The Dungeon tonight.”
CHAPTER 1 1
Shiv was seated across from Anirudh and Vijay in the club office.
“Estaban is going to be pissed. Do you really want to meet him immediately after your marriage next week?”
>
Anirudh nodded. “He lost half a billion dollars. I don’t think it’s advisable to postpone the meeting. I’m planning to—” Anirudh broke off when his phone began ringing. “Yes?”
There was a frown on Anirudh’s face which turned into mild shock. “Okay, I’ll be down. Handle the situation. Don’t let her out of your sight.” Anirudh ended the call.
“What happened?” Vijay asked.
“Sunaina Bhasin is here at the club. She apparently came alone a while ago and…”
“And what?” Shiv demanded.
“I’m not exactly sure. Reshma thinks she is either drunk or drugged. She’s apparently behaving strangely.”
“Where is she exactly?” Shiv asked, getting up from the couch.
“At the main bar area downstairs.”
Not wasting any time, Shiv hurried out of the office.
What the fuck are you doing, Shiv?
Shiv suppressed the voice inside his head. Barely a day ago, he received the news of the woman accompanying Vicktor being found murdered brutally. He had once again reminded himself that he needed to stay on the path of his goal without any distractions.
And Sunaina Bhasin was a huge distraction.
He knew Anirudh or Vijay or someone from his staff could handle the situation. But the moment he heard she was at the club and possibly in trouble, he lost his goddamn mind and was running to her rescue.
Dammit.
As soon as he stepped out of the private elevator in front of the bar area, he saw her.
It was hard to miss her. She was dressed in another short, tight dress like the last time. But instead of red, this dress was deep blue. Her slim legs were exposed, and he noticed that she had worn her high heels again.
Her long, waist-length hair was left loose, and she was holding it up on top of her head and waving at her neck as though it was too hot inside. She was laughing at something the bartender was saying.
