Mastermind

Everything was falling apart in Manya's life. She had imagined losing everyone she held dear one-by-one, in the dark corners of her mind, along with the possible ways she would react when faced with them; but when the moment was finally there, she was faced with one emotion she had not left any space for, in her calculations- a deep, bottomless fear in the pit of her stomach. She was overwhelmingly afraid of the very real possibility of her nightmares coming true. 

She glanced over at Arjun, who was busy making calls. Noticing her gaze, he got rid of his frown temporarily and flashed her a small reassuring smile, as she dialed a number. After a few rings, the call was answered and after a few bouts of coughing, a hoarse voice rambled on from the other end. Manya waited till the person completed his rant about how she had called him so late at night and how he was too old now, and once he had fallen silent, she spoke up.

"Baba, I really need your help, he is back...he is back, he didn't die back then. He has been alive all the time, Siddhant is alive, and...and he has my sister with him, and he has abducted her...I need your help."

The person said something to her as she nodded quietly and disconnected the call. Wiping the tears from her face, she stood up, ready to command everyone else in the face of this harrowing scenario. She announced, "Arjun, contact every detective agency in the city and file a complaint against kidnapping. Send our guards in search of Sia to every susceptible location, and double the security of our families." After this, she dialed another number and the phone was received in the first ring. An impatient voice jumped out, "I was waiting for your call, please tell me that Sia baby is safe and all of this is a prank."

Manya spoke in a stern tone, "I am sorry, but I am afraid to tell you that everything we were fearing might very well be true. So you already know what you have to do."

As soon as she disconnected the call , Ishaan's call flashed on her phone. She picked up the call resignedly, as she did not have the mental capacity to waste on deciding whom to ignore and whom to not.

Without waiting for her to say anything or giving her any further opportunity to respond, Ishaan spoke out in one breath, "Manu...are you listening? Please tell me the details of where Sia is, you are making me worried. Nevermind, I have already sent my guards in search of her, just text me your location and I will be there in no time."

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Shambhav decided not to intervene just yet and instead, started his bike to follow them again. After a while, their car turned towards an area Shambhav had never visited, but was familiar with because he had read about it. Due to multiple accidents and serial murders, the road had almost been abandoned by the people, and it was said that only a few tribal families lived in the village, which was the only habitable space around. He was equal parts scared and thrilled to go there and see for himself, but at the last moment, the car suddenly turned to an entirely different road that he had never heard of. After crossing a patch of jungle, he ended up in a clearing that led to another jungle, where the road was unpaved.

He realised that he needed to slow down his bike further, otherwise he would be caught. But it would be equally dangerous to drive on this road with the headlights off, and he would end up attracting even more attention if he collided with something and got injured.

Thinking that the best way forward would be to leave the vehicle behind, he parked his bike to the side, where it would be partially hidden by the bushes. He started walking quickly, following the marks made by the tyres. After walking for a few minutes, he noticed that the car had stopped, he quickened his pace while taking extra precaution to not make any sound. It was only after a few steps that he saw the huge bungalow in front of which it had been parked. 

He turned around to get any idea of where he could be, but unfortunately, there was nothing else in the clearing apart from the bungalow. The ground had been cleared upto a few metres outside the boundary wall, which was secured with a pointed metallic fence, probably to prevent the entry of any wild animals. 

*The thought sent a shiver down his spine, and he abandoned the idea of finding any identifying feature that would help him guess the location; instead, he needed to think of a way to get inside. At that moment, he only cared about finding out the identity of the girl who had been claiming his dad as her own. Had his dad been cheating on them, and if yes, for how long? But the main concern was, why did he need to change his entire get up and face to meet her?*

He was stepping closer to the bungalow, when his foot bumped against something. He quickly bent down to get a look at the object, and found that it was a set of chains and a hammer-like object, which had a little bit of blood on the top of it. Shambhav now started fearing that the matter might be more complicated than he had initially assumed it to be. What spooky place was this, some place fit for horror movies to be shot in, an old mansion of some sort? He had to come up with another way to enter the mansion; he couldn't just saunter in through the front door as they had just used it, and he might end up running into them. He walked along the periphery, keeping close to the mansion for safety, even as hundreds of unanswered questions plagued his mind. After walking almost to the opposite side of the main gate, he actually did find a doorway, exceeding his own expectations.

From the front end, the house looked like it was maintained regularly, but judging by the back gate, it seemed that it hadn't been opened since eternity. He removed the partially-dried creepers from the door, while thinking of all the probable scenarios which could happen if he was caught.

*He was still holding on to the minute possibility that the person might not be his dad, and possibly an estranged sibling or someone acting like him. If he hadn't seen the man coming out of his room and walking in the same way as his father, with his own eyes, the doubt would have been even greater! Because ever since this girl had appeared, he had changed his style of doing everything, from walking to talking. It was almost like the person he had seen leaving his house and the one he had seen in that alley, talking to the girl were exactly the same in appearance but completely different in mannerisms. What kind of twin-personas drama was this, straight out of a movie! There must be a large conspiracy going on, and he had to save his father from it.*

He entered the room and found a large portrait of a lady in the living room. The lady in the portrait was really beautiful, and his gaze lingered there for a few seconds. He then looked beyond to see that there were many pictures displayed on the wall. *The family in the picture seemed to be a happy family, but where they are now, was everybody dead?*

He moved slowly from one picture to another, interpreting his thoughts, as he came to a sudden halt. The picture in front of him was that of his father with the lady of the portrait, and the two of them were in traditional wedding attire.

*But how...how could it be possible? His father loved him and his mother so much, he wouldn't cheat. No, he was pretty sure he could never...but then what was the meaning of this?*

He was arguing with himself, when he heard the sound of footsteps arriving down the hallway. He quickly hid himself and started listening.

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Shikhawat brought Sia to the room where the pictures of her family had already been hung, to make her believe that he loved her and still had saved their belongings.

He was getting increasingly annoyed with each passing moment, seeing the dumb girl crying over and becoming emotional at every little thing he told her.

She finally managed to control her sobs and asked, "Okay daddy, please tell me who was behind everything. I am telling you, we will tell this to Minnie di, and she will not spare anyone...just tell me once…"

"No! Kiddo, she won't be helping us. We have to hide in here, till the rest of our lives, as nobody can help us now."

"What? But why?"

"Because the person behind this is really powerful, and if he finds out that I am alive, then he will end up killing both of us!"

"Don't worry daddy, I am telling you- Manya di, Massi and Danny, everybody will do anything to protect you, you can just relax about-"

"No, Sia! Nobody will help us-"

"But why?!"

"Because your Danny is behind all of this! He was the one who wanted to kill everyone and get everything for his one and only daughter, Manya. He was the mastermind behind this."

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