Chaos

Shambhav went outside the hall to find Manya, as he didn't know where she had disappeared to. He, like everyone else, had noticed the chaos that had been caused all of a sudden, even though he didn't know the reason behind it. As he made his way towards the exit, he noticed that some police personnel were searching for someone, and Arjun was busy having an argument with them. He altered his path and went outside using the set of doors on the other side, as he didn't want to get in the middle of any unnecessary trouble. He took a deep breath as he had finally gotten a moment to himself after the hectic arrangements of the event. He just wanted to find Manya, but decided that a short walk would help calm his nerves. As soon as he stepped out of the building, he noticed his father standing out there. He rubbed his eyes first, and then looked up to re-check, as he was sure he must have been mistaken! But again, he saw a person who resembled his father, and he ran towards him. He patted his shoulder saying, "Dad, you are here!" 

The person turned around and looked at Shambhav, confusion writ large over his face.

Shambhav quickly apologized, "I am really sorry! I got confused due to your outfit and your way of walking, as you look exactly like my father from the back."

The person had turned around abruptly, even before he had completed his apology. After Shambhav was done speaking, the man turned his head around partially, and said "It's okay", and continued to walk away.

Shambhav was too embarrassed to notice the direction he went off to, he just turned and started walking in the opposite direction.

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As soon as the news of Shekhar's death reached Ishaan, he quickly ran towards the basement to make a call. After a few rings, the person picked the call; but before he could speak a word, Ishaan growled out from the other side of the phone "How dare you kill him without my permission? He was still quite useful to us! I knew his weak points, and wanted to use that in my plan. But now, you have ruined everything; you should have asked me once, before taking this step. Now what will we do, and how will we convince her?!" 

The person on the other end had not only been taken by surprise by this news, but was also baffled at the accusations Ishaan had made. He spoke hesitantly, after Ishaan had quietened down, "What are you talking about? I didn't kill anyone; in fact, I haven't stepped a foot out of the house since you guys left me here!"

"Wait a minute- so you are trying to say that you haven't killed Shekhar? Then who else could be behind it...and how did they manage to kill him?"

The person finally realised the weight of the words that had been delivered to him minutes ago, but had been lost in his initial confusion. "Wait, WHAT? You are saying that Shekhar is no more? The Shekhar- who was once involved in kidnapping Manya? He died?! When, where and how?  Nobody had heard about him for the last two years, so the most important question is: where had he been, and how were you able to find him? And if you had been able to find him, then why did you let him roam free? And now you are telling me that he has been killed by someone! Don't you think that there must be someone other than you, who has also been meddling in these things? But most importantly, how can you say for sure that somebody killed him? I am curious, what type of murder is it, that you called me directly and accused me of killing him, so tell me!"

"Actually, the news that is circulating says that he has attempted suicide. But anyone who knew Shekhar would know that he was afraid of heights and bridges, which is where he was found dead. Apparently, he ended his life by jumping off the bridge, some minutes after posting a video of his confession on social media platforms!"

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Arjun roared out again, his patience was on the verge of running out. 

"Don't you understand that the person you want to interrogate is Manya Rahal- the daughter of Doctor Sagrika and Manav Rahal! How dare you come and examine her on the basis of doubt, claiming that she might be the reason behind the deteriorating mental health of Shekhar? Because as far as I know, he was the one who was involved in kidnapping her and keeping her enclosed in a closet for three whole days! So I think she should be the last person you guys should think of interrogating. I hope you all have understood, because I most certainly would not like to repeat myself!"

The inspector was listening to the statements made by Arjun very carefully. As soon as he finished, he simply stepped forward and explained, "Let me remind you Mister, that we are living in India, and the Indian law doesn't discriminate against anybody. So excuse me if you are done with your speech, because I need to fulfill my duty and for that I need to take Miss.Manya Rahal with me to the police station for interrogation."

This was the limit of Arjun's patience, and the volcano under the surface burst out at last. He exploded, "Oh really, so now you want to teach me the law! Well enough, then show me the warrant for the interrogation! And must I remind you, that Manya Rahal is a female? If you wanted to take a female to the police station for interrogation, you must have come with a lady officer, who I am unable to spot at the moment! So first go and come back only  with all these things, or I have a better option for you instead." 

Saying this, Arjun took the phone from his secretary's hands and shoved it into the police inspector's, "But first, you should talk to him, I guess!"

The expressions and the tone of the inspector changed as soon as he held the phone to his ear. All he could manage to say was "Yes sir!", after which he disconnected the call.

He turned back to Arjun and grunted, "This time, only this time I am letting her go- but you won't be able to hide her for too long!"

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It had been quite a while since Manya had left her office. Her secretary was concerned and went out to look for her, when she ran into Vendy in front of the elevator. Apparently, she had also been looking for Manya and both of them joined each other in their search for her. Her secretary informed Vendy that she had gone for a short walk, and Vendy had already checked the building, so it was safe to conclude that she hadn't returned to the office yet. Thinking thus, they left the building to look for her outside.

After barely five minutes of walking, they found Manya on the floor, unconscious. Blood was coming out from the side of her head, and had stained the pavement. Both of them rushed towards her and lifted her off the floor, into Vendy's lap. The secretary was fanning her face while Vendy tried to sprinkle water over her face, in an attempt to wake her up. Meanwhile, both of them were trying to call two different persons to inform them of it!

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