To Where It All Began ✔

29. The Real Culprit...

11:40 PM, 8th April

The news of Anant Mhatre surrendering to the Police took the whole Mhatre household into utter doubt and skepticism. Every member of the house had a painful silence in his or her voice and all the faces of the family members had started to sink after the disclosure. All of them were totally tongue-tied while the shareholders of ROYMHA and Mhatre Group were visibly angry over all the developments that had taken place. Most of them wanted to withdraw from their partnership.

The news also came as a shock to Disha and her mother who couldn't believe what was happening. As Disha, Sarita and Amna had gathered around to the TV watching every bit of the new development, Sarita was visibly happy with glistening eyes. Disha too was pleased but wondered to herself, "The kind of man Mhatre is, this action doesn't suit him at all. Instead of a roaring lion who has been caged forcefully, he is behaving like a caged parrot"

Amna was confused more than anything because she too felt that something was not right. She was also worried about Shreekant's emotional wellbeing. The thing about which he was afraid of the most had ultimately turned out to be true. His father was indeed involved in the murder of his own son's wife.

Moments later she went back to the guest room. Switching off the lights, she spread herself on the bed. An hour had passed and she only kept on changing her position. She even tried sitting upright over her bed and scrolled her phone thinking whether she should call Shreekant or not. She was well-aware of the fact that what cyclonic events might have been taking place in his house, especially if anyone had the faintest idea that Shreekant himself was the whistleblower for his own father's company.

All these strange thoughts were breaking her sleep now and then. It was almost half-past two and by now she also was having a splitting headache. She thought of taking some of the leftover painkillers she had from the time she was admitted to the hospital.

Quickly switching the lights on, she searched for the painkillers when her eyes glanced over the small jute bag and she recalled that it was the same bag in which Ratna had packed the clothes she was wearing on that horrifying day. Those moments were so terrorizing for her, that she didn't want to open them ever. But now things were slightly better, her mind was calm and comforted by the presence of some loving people around her.

Popping up the pill with a little water, she took that bag and opened it. Apart from her clothes, she found a light blue full-sleeved shirt among the belongings. Her lips arched a tiny smile as she knew the owner of that shirt. Just then her eyes glanced upon a thin, shiny object that was carefully placed in a small plastic pouch.

Gazing intently at it she thought to herself, "It's a broken gold bracelet... Perhaps it belongs to Shreekant. What a person he is? Did he forget about the gold bracelet?" As she was keeping the things back, a sudden flashback erupted in her mind, "I have seen the bracelet before... But not on Shreekant's hand. When that man was dragging me through the forest, I had seen it in his hand, but how is it here? With me?"

Just then she recalled the final moment of her struggle, with the man when he was about to throw her off the bridge, "I had grabbed his forearm tightly before falling, perhaps it was then when it came into my hand"

Wiping off the beads of perspiration that had begun erupting over her head, she quickly reached for her phone and dialed a number immediately.

10:20 AM, 9th April, Police Headquarters

Manoj went over the file that Kritika had just submitted to him and he sneered, clasping her upper arm in the tight grip, "Excellent work, Now nobody can stop us from interrogating Yadav. Tell officer Shiva to bring him immediately under judicial custody"