Read the previous chapter- Hearing Day 1.
Previously on Missing: On investigating the two suspects, the case is taken to the court where the two suspects give statements against each other and the court is confused on who's account of events is true. The court gives time to investigate the case.
9th Day since Inara’s return (Two days before the final hearing).
It was a fine morning for Pranav Avasthi. After the first hearing he had to go through a lot of research in order to get Vinay out of all the mess and a chain of conspiracy that was being built around him. After everything he went through, the first person he was suspicious about was Inara’s father, or rather her step-father. Inara’s step-father, Mr. Manish, did have a motive to kidnap her. And if he could somehow prove that it was Inara’s step-father who had abducted and did all that to Inara, then it could also be proven that it was the same person who abducted Mr. Sriram, Inara’s real father. And after he and Inara were out of his way, he could marry Inara’s mother peacefully.
It wasn’t this theory that intrigued him. It was the second suspect who made his thoughts go wild. If he was right about this theory, then he was in tremendous trouble. In order to be sure, he had to play the right cards.
Later that afternoon, when Pranav was planning out his strategies to talk to the second suspect, Ruhi arrived.
“Dad? What happened, you said you’re unwell. What happened?”
“Come, sit. I’ll get something for you. What will you have? Sandwich or bread toast?” he asked, walking towards the kitchen. “Actually the bread toast is out since morning, so, I’d rather you have a fresh sandwich than the almost fermented toast.”
Ruhi shot a suspicious glare at his father, as he handed her the sandwich.
“Just as you like it. No capsicum, less tomatoes and filled with cheese,” he said as he sat on the other end of the couch.
“What is it dad? You said, you were unwell and that is why I had to rush back here and now I see you’re as fit as ever!”
“It isn’t the physical pain that is hurting me Ruhi. It is the mental pain that I am dealing with,” he said, looking away from her.
“What do you mean dad? What is the matter?” Ruhi asked placing the sandwich on the tea table in front of her.
“After the first hearing, I have made a lot of research and I’ve run everywhere for evidence. You said that I was the best lawyer. I believe you were right. I know who made all that happen to Inara. And I suppose you do too,” Pranav said with a hint of suspicion and a touch of smile on his face. A smile that was mingled with hatred and pain. But, he had to be strong. He wanted his theory to be wrong.
“What do you mean dad?” Ruhi asked. Thunderstruck.
“Do you wish to confess or want me to tell how you did everything?” he said, walking up to the window with a coffee mug in his hand. He didn’t look her in the eye before accusing her. If…he was wrong. He wished he was wrong.
Silence hung between them like a thick fog. Out of the dark, he wanted her to shout and yell that she did not do anything to Inara. For the first time Pranav might have wanted her daughter to prove her wrong, by telling him he wasn’t the best lawyer. That all this time, she was wrong. But, whatever came from her was something he had least expected.
“You’ve always been the best dad. Everything I did, in the last two years, was carefully planned and executed. But, you got me. Before I confess, may I know how you got the link between us?”
Pranav tried his best to suppress the tides within him, but his voice quivered. His heart was heavy. He didn’t want to speak, but, he had to…
“Did, I ever mention to you that I have a sharp memory? It did not occur to me until the hearing. All the evidences lay in front of me, but, I never linked them, until the prosecution voiced it for me.
‘Inara Rajan was abducted few days before her fashion show contest.’
“And who else had a better motive than you? Then I remember the talk we had before the hearing day and you mentioned that she had talked to you rudely and had insulted you. Which father doesn’t know of his daughter’s reaction to insults and mockery? But, that wasn’t enough for you to make all that happen to her. No, it wasn’t. She was getting better by the day and had taken your place that had always been in the hearts of everyone at NIFT, as the best designer. She had taken your place, though, she was two years junior to you. Another setback for you which added up to the hatred.
“And after all of this, you felt a threat from her when you had that contest at your college,” he continued, turning back from the window and looking at her. He was surprised to see no spot of guilt on her face. “I remember you crying and whining about it to your mother. After she disappeared, you were so happy as if you were sure that she would never return. And it was within the same period when you asked for the keys of the almost abandoned bungalow from your uncle at Alibaug. I went there, but couldn’t find anything. But, after everything that I had in my mind, I couldn’t let you have the benefit of any doubt there, so I called you here. And, now you can tell me whatever had happened and what did you need that bungalow for?”
She didn’t look at him. Could she? Did she have the courage to face her dad? It was about time Pranav knew the shades of her daughter. Another face of the coin that he was always oblivious to. He looked at her. He searched for the slightest hint of guilt that would appear on her face. And it did.
“Brilliant dad! How foolish of me to believe that I could ever over smart you. You’re right, everything started with that insult and ridicule at the corridor full of girls and few boys. You knew dad, I had always had that inclination towards girls. It wasn’t just an infatuation towards her like I had with other girls. I had loved her, but she ridiculed me for who I was, for how my nature was. I realized, she wasn’t anything like everyone portrayed her to be. She was cruel, rude and an arrogant little bitch who had to be taught a lesson. I stayed quiet then, I couldn’t do anything, I was helpless.
“I stayed put, but was determined to give her back what she had done to me. Until I could think about anything else, the contest came our way,” she stood up and paced the room as Pranav sat on the chair.
“The company that hosted the contest gave everyone an opportunity to work with them at France. But, only one person could be selected out of the whole college as they could only take the best from each of the sixteen NIFT campuses all over India, for the internship. You said, you had a sharp brain, then I suppose you remember the brand I’m talking about,” she asked Pranav.
“It was something Balagaci…”
“Balenciaga,” she continued. “I had to win that contest at any cost as it had always been my dream to work with them. They weren’t the recruiters, but, they had shown interest in us and it was a chance of a life time. I believed my designs would surpass all others, but, by the end of designing phase, everyone loved Inara’s designs more than ever. Later that night, I went to her and pleaded her to opt out of the contest as she would have two more years before leaving and, being the best she could be placed at any other company. I explained her the gravity of my request, but, she didn’t agree.
“I would rather work harder, since now I know how important it is to you, Inara had said. The contest was a week away when I heard the rumors of the love triangle between Rajiv, Inara and Vinay. That was the time to act. If I did anything then, no one would suspect me, but the two fools behind her.”
“So you made your mind to torture her?” Pranav questioned. Cheesed off.
“No I didn’t. I only wanted to keep her away until the contest had ended and after that I would have freed her. But, in the course of struggle and taking her away from Navi-Mumbai, she had seen my face. Leaving her now, was out of question. So, I took her to Alibaug and asked uncle for the keys to his farmhouse and kept her there. I thought a lot about letting her go, but by doing so I would risk everything. Everything that I had worked ever so hard for. I held her captive. As was evident, I won the contest. It was a fortnight before I returned from France. I visited her and found her unconscious. She hadn’t had anything after I had left. After a lot of efforts, I was able to get her into eating and I had explained whatever I had in mind and whatever was happening to her was not a part of the plan. Eventually, I had someone whom I could speak my heart out with, someone, before whom I could confess my crimes, share my guilt’s and laugh in happy times. I talked to her, no matter she listened or not. By the end of first year I had made love with her many times.
“After mom went missing, I was too drunk to carry on so I went to her, to talk my heart out but she mocked me. She said that she was happy that my mother was gone, that karma had worked. I was so filled with rage that I hurt her for the first time and I felt light. By time, I was high on what I felt after hurting her, after hearing her scream in pain and misery. She had become the medicine to my outbursts and depressions and the drug of my happiness. At times I hurt her as I was angry on you. Angry that being a lawyer, you couldn’t find my mother,” she stopped to have a sip of water. Her throat was dry, burning with the truth that was pouring out of her.
Pranav sat on the chair, still. The coffee in his hand had become cold and he was in no mood to have a sip of it, so he kept it on the table. He was unable to keep up with the silence.
“That explains, why you abducted her and what you did after that. You never mentioned how you did it.”
Ruhi took a deep breath and continued. “I had followed her for a few days to know what she did and where she went, and, waited for the right moment. It was late in the night when I heard Inara and Vinay yelling at each other from Vinay’s room. She rushed out, crying; and made a call. I waited behind, in the dark. She disconnected and started walking towards the hostel. It was the right time to do it. She had just had a fight with Vinay and had talked to someone, which meant she did tell someone about their fight. If she is abducted now, all the blame will shift to Vinay and in the dead of night by somewhere around two and three she was hit at the back of her head and tied to be placed in the boot of the car.”
“I see, reading thrillers has taught you something,” Pranav taunted.
Ruhi started pacing the room again.
“Everything was under control, until I was filled with nostalgia after seeing the family album lately. I missed mum terribly. And before I knew, I was too drunk. Somehow I reached my comforting palace where Inara waited for me. I hit her with hunter and belt all over and cried and yelled for the whole night. When my eyes opened, the next morning, I realized, she had broken free. I realized, I had loosened the knots of her hands the previous night. I was drowned with emotions and had lost her. I had to get to her before she would tell anyone or everyone whatever had happened. The first thing I thought was that she would head towards her home in Kalyan, so I went there. On reaching there, I realized that her parents had shifted to Delhi. So, the next and the one and only place she had was…”
“Vinay’s place,” Pranav said, intrigued.
“Right.”
“What made you think that she wouldn’t go for the cops first but head towards her family?” Pranav asked.
“You’re a lawyer dad. How many cases have you heard that after a girl is raped and tortured, goes to the cops first? Every soul needs comfort before revenge. First she had to fix her soul before breaking mine,” she shrugged. “You’re right, reading thrillers has had an impact on me.”
I drove all the way to his place and heard music from Vinay's house. ‘If they were so happy then she might not have told him anything, but if she had, I would lose everything. I didn’t want to take that chance. So, that night I broke in to his house and attacked him. Once he was down, I went to the kitchen and took a knife and pointed it at Inara and dragged her out of there. I was so enraged that I did not want to take any chances by taking her back to Alibaug. This game had to end. I took her to the cliff behind Saraswati College and there, before pushing her down, I tore her clothes and hit her hard and clean with the belt I wore. I punched her and kicked her for about an hour or two. She did fight back, but, I overpowered her. I stabbed her a few times with the knife and just as I was about to push the knife through her throat, she blinded me by throwing soil in my eyes.
“I chased her, as soon as my vision was clear. I went behind her, until she started climbing the skywalk. She was smart, she knew if she ran under the skywalk, she was easy to be caught and murdered so she ran to somewhere where the cameras could catch her well. I climbed up the stairs and waited, careful on not being exposed to the surveillance cameras on the sky walk. I saw her stop, and watched as she jumped off the skywalk. She did see someone at the other end and I knew it was Vinay after he was all over the newspapers, the next day. The same day I went to Pune. It was better to be out of everything that had happened.”
“Says who? The one who did all of it at the first place?” Pranav said, dismayed at the sight of his daughter. “I never knew my daughter would do such terrible things. I had never, even in my dreams, imagined you would hurt someone for your benefit. But, I was wrong.”
He walked back to the window. Ruhi sat silent on the couch. The sky was painted with yellow, the sort you see right before a storm. Was a storm to enter the city at this time of summer, or was it Pranav's mind that played tricks on him? Perhaps an inner storm was welling up within his heart.
“Please save me, dad. I know it is only you who can do so. Please dad, I did nothing on purpose,” she broke down. “I was blinded by love and hatred for her at the same time. I was angry and cruel and-”
“Shut up! Just shut up! Get out of here!” he yelled. Ruhi wiped the tears and walked out of the room.
He did not know what had to be done now. One way he had to save Vinay from everything, on the other hand he can’t put her daughter behind the bars. Ruhi had created a quandary for him and he had to face it. Everything that would happen in the final hearing, depended upon Pranav.
He knew it very well, that, within the court, only two things could prove anyone guilty; a good evidence or a great story.
He had to betray his profession and save the culprit this time. But, the question was…How?
Read the next chapter - Hearing Day 2.
Next Chapter - Hearing Day 2 - on 15th June 2019.
Things are getting twisted now. If it was Ruhi who did everything to Inara, the who abducted Inara's real father and how did Ruhi's mother went missing? Many more secrets to unveil in the final two chapters. Stay tuned.
PS: the bungalow in the poster is an actual bungalow at Alibaug close to the Teenvera road.
Poster credits:
In-frame: Girl from Pinterest.
Edited by: Rohan Basak.
Read other best stories by Rohan Basak
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