Chapter- 47

Eshita woke up with a jolt as a sudden scream pulled her awake. A sharp pain shot through the back of her head, making her wince. For a few moments, everything felt blurry and unfamiliar. Slowly, the daze began to fade, and reality started sinking in.

Her eyes widened as she looked around. Broken brick walls, a dusty floor covered with mud, cracks spreading across the ceiling, and a small wooden door with light peeking through its gaps, the only source of brightness in the dark room that had no windows or any open space to breathe.

She looked down at her hands, tied tightly with rough rope. She was yet to understand what had gone wrong. As far as she remembered, Abhiraj was offering prayers when suddenly smoke filled the room and her father collapsed before her. She looked around again, panic slowly settling inside her.

“Papa?” She yelled, pushing herself up with difficulty.

For some reason, her body felt heavy and weak. Every movement drained whatever little strength she had left. Still, she dragged herself toward the door and started banging against it desperately.

“Bhaiya?... Koi hai... Help...” She called repeatedly. How did she end up there? Was her brother and father fine? Abhiraj was a CM. Did his rivals do this? Was this some kind of attack against him? Each question flashed through her mind as she continued banging on the door, searching for answers that refused to come.

“Bhai...” Her words died in her throat when she heard footsteps approaching from the other side.

A moment later, the door opened. Eshita immediately looked away, covering her face from the harsh light entering the dark room. The silhouette of a man stepped inside slowly.

“Good morning there.”

Eshita stumbled back slightly. There stood Samar. The calm smile on his face and the strange gleam in his eyes told a story of their own. The horrors Ekta had gone through echoed in her mind. Fear started settling deep within her veins, slowly spreading like poison.

Samar chuckled darkly. “Areey, maine toh kuch kiya bhi nhi. Aur tum ho ki abhi se darr gayi? So bad... now I am hurt.”

Eshita’s fingers curled into a tight fist, her nails digging into her palm as she forced herself to remain composed. Taking a deep breath, she tried to gather whatever strength she had left.

“Where is my family?” She demanded, her voice trembling despite her efforts. “Mere bhaiya aur papa kahan hai?”

“Mmm...” Samar hummed, pretending to think. He took one slow step toward her, his movements deliberately calm, almost mocking her fear.

“Why do you want to know?” He asked softly. “Wajah bataogi toh ho sakta hai main tumhe sach bata doon.”

Eshita stepped back instinctively, her heartbeat growing louder with every passing second. Her anxiety reached its peak, but she refused to let it control her. She had never been someone who ran away from difficult situations. Her father had taught her how to face people who tried to intimidate her. Her brother had always allowed her to handle bullies on her own during her school days, stepping in only when things went beyond her control.

Her family had taught her to stand tall, to never let anyone make her feel weak. But all that confidence had always been fueled by one thing, the knowledge that they were behind her. Their support, their presence. And today, for the first time, she had none of it. Her brother wasn’t within her sight. Her father wasn’t there to steady her.

She didn’t know what to do. For the first time in years, tears burned at the back of her eyes. When you don’t know exactly what someone can do, it becomes easier to prepare yourself. Easier to fight. Easier to defend. But when you know what the person standing before you is capable of, when every possibility is worse than the last, uncertainty becomes the most terrifying weapon. And fear becomes the only response your body knows.

“Dur... Dur raho mujhse,” She stammered, forcing herself to keep her voice firm. “Aur mere sawaal ka jawab do.”

Samar smiled softly. But even that innocent expression looked twisted to her now. “Tum itna darr kyun rahi ho?” He asked, tilting his head slightly. “Okay, fine. I will tell you. Your family, right?”

A small smile appeared on his lips. “Well... they are dead.”

Eshita gasped. Her back hit the wall behind her, the cold surface offering no comfort. There was nowhere to escape. Samar had already trapped her, standing too close, cutting off every possible exit. Her breath caught in her throat. For a second, his words shook her completely. But she refused to believe him. No. He was lying. He was saying it only to break her. To make her weak. She was fine. She was fine. She repeated it silently like a desperate prayer. Until Samar leaned closer.

The moment her buried his face in her neck, every instinct inside her screamed. She shoved him back with all her strength. Her palm connected against his chest as she pushed away, and without thinking twice, she kicked him hard in his groin, using the moment to rush toward the door.

However before she could even touch the handle, A hand grabbed her and pulled her back violently.

“Tu aise nhi maanegi,” Samar gritted out, his patience finally breaking.

“Ahh!” Eshita cried out falling hard onto the rough floor. Tiny stones and sharp pieces of debris scraped against her skin. A burning pain spread across her cheek where he slapped her. No one had ever raised a hand on her not even her family. Tears slipped down her face uncontrollably as she struggled to breathe.

A sharp hiss escaped her lips when Samar tightened his grip on her hair, forcing her head back.

“Let’s give you a tour,” He said coldly, his voice calm again as if nothing had happened. “So you will understand who the boss is here.”

His grip tightened. “And next time, think before you act.”

Eshita struggled against him as he dragged her out of the room and up the stairs. But her movements stopped completely as she was suddenly pulled down the beautifully decorated luxurious hallway. Expensive paintings covered the walls, golden lights illuminated the corridor, and everything looked carefully maintained.

But the people walking through it told a different story. Girls moved around with their heads lowered. Some carried trays in their hands and some cleaning silently with all of them having metal restraints around their wrists and necks. And slowly, painfully, the truth began sinking in. This wasn’t a simple kidnapping. This wasn’t about one person. It was a hidden world built on fear, control, and suffering. And Eshita had just walked into its centre.

Before she could react, she was thrown down onto the marble floor harshly. A gasp escaped her lips as pain shot through her body.

“Kamini saali, mujh par haath utha rahi thi,” Samar sneered, standing behind her. “Zinda chhod diya kyunki aapne kaha tha. Warna iska aisa haal karta ki yeh khud ko hi pehchan nhi pati.”

Eshita slowly raised her head. The first thing she saw was a pair of polished shoes standing in front of her. Her eyes moved upward, and the moment she recognized the person standing before her, shock froze her completely.

Abhiraj? No. This couldn’t be happening. The same man she had respected. The same man she had believed was a saviour for womens. The man who had done so much for the people, who had always appeared kind, responsible, and noble in front of the world. But the bubble finally burst the moment Samar calmly clinked his wine glass with Abhiraj. Reality hit her like a slap.

She couldn’t believe she had idolized a monster. Everything, the kindness, the goodness, the concern, even the image he carried in front of everyone, was nothing but an act. Behind closed doors, where no one could see him, his real identity existed.

“The city is being closed down for the funeral of honourable CM Abhiraj Rajvansh...”

Eshita’s head snapped toward the voice. The large screen displayed the news broadcast, and slowly the horrifying scene came into view. Her home is burning into ashes.

“Wow you are dying a heroic death, bhai,” Samar complimented with a twisted smile. “Congratulations.”

Abhiraj looked at the screen calmly. “After everything I did for the city a little bit of appreciation is deserved. Still we shouldn’t get too lost in celebrating ourselves.”

His eyes shifted toward Eshita. “Someone lost their family too, right, Eshita?”

Eshita stared at the news report blankly. She could see the fire consuming her home, the flames rising higher as the fire brigade struggled to bring it under control, yet she felt nothing in her heart.

Her gaze slowly fell on the mauli tied around her wrist. It wasn’t just a thread. It was a goddess’s blessing, a protection wrapped around her soul. It was a promise that she wasn’t alone. She knew nothing had happened to her family. Her brother and father were fine. Nothing could happen to them.

The only person she was worried about right now was someone else. She held the sacred thread tightly, her grip tightening around her own wrist as if trying to draw strength from it to face the monsters standing before her.

Slowly, she raised her head and met Abhiraj’s amused gaze. “Ekta kahan hai?” She asked firmly, concealing every other emotion from her voice.

“You want to meet her?” Abhiraj questioned, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Why not...”

He signalled his men. Two guards stepped forward, grabbing her arms and pulling her up roughly.

“Leave me!” Eshita commanded, struggling against their tight hold from both sides.

“Maine kaha chhodo mujhe!” She yelled, but they remained rigid and unmoving.

Her eyes burned with anger. With her right foot, she kicked backward, striking one man’s shin. At the same moment, her left elbow moved sharply into the other man’s stomach. Both of them groaned, the moment their grip loosened, she stepped forward and turned to face them.

Both men lunged toward her at the same time. Eshita immediately ducked, avoiding first man’s attack. Straightening her palm, she struck the second man directly on his nose, throwing him off balance and sending him crashing to the ground. The impact left his nose bleeding as he groaned in pain.

She dodged the second man’s attack and kicked him hard, just like she had done with Samar earlier. He stumbled backward and fell to the ground.

Silence fell in for a moment before a resounding clap filled the air.

Eshita turned back, facing Abhiraj head-on. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum. Even she could hear every beat clearly. Whatever she had done was pure survival and the result of the lessons her father had taught her. For the first time in years, she was grateful that her father had taught her how to defend herself against such people.

“It’s never about size. It’s always about skill. The moment you learn how to control your fear, you can take down even the strongest opponent.” Virendra’s words echoed in her mind, giving her the courage to look into Abhiraj’s eyes without fear, no matter how terrified she felt inside.

“I like it,” Abhiraj said calmly, taking a sip of his wine before sitting on the couch. “But you do realize I have a gun, right? I can kill you or Ekta whenever I want.”

“Then kill me or Ekta. If you want,” Eshita mocked. “But itna tu bhi jaanta hai aur main bhi. You won’t kill us unless you have a reason to. And this isn’t the right time. So without wasting either of our time mujhe baato meri bhen kha hai?”

Samar laughed. “Bhen? I didn’t know that bitch had a sister too.”

Eshita glared at him. “Just like I didn’t know you bastards are brothers. Mutual discovery know?”

Samar’s expression darkened. He took a threatening step toward her, but stopped the moment Abhiraj raised his palm.

Silently, Eshita turned on her heels following behind the guard she had attacked earlier. Fortunately, he didn’t try to touch her again. The dynamics between Abhiraj and Samar confused her, but she didn’t care about understanding their relationship right now.

Her only priority was finding Ekta and finding an escape route. Or any possible chance to contact her brother. But before everything else, she had to take care of Ekta.

Her hands trembled slightly as fear started to rise within her again. She clenched her fingers tightly, forcing the shiver to stop. She couldn’t fall apart, not until her brother and father reached her. And she wouldn’t.

✨✨✨

Vikram paced outside the emergency ward, his gaze fixed on the red light glowing above the door. The constant beeping of monitors from inside mixed with the chaos outside, the news channels continuously replaying the incident, reporters speculating every possible detail, and the entire city mourning the loss of Abhiraj Rajvansh.

The funeral preparations were already being announced, with a state-level farewell being arranged with a respectable honour guard, ceremonial rituals, and the Indian flag draped over his coffin. The kind of respect and admiration given to a man who was nothing but a monster behind closed doors made Vikram’s blood boil. He hated every single second of it. But he couldn’t do anything except swallow down his anger and wait.

The emergency ward door finally opened, breaking his chain of thoughts. A doctor stepped out, removing his mask as he looked toward them.

“How is uncle, doctor?” Vikram asked immediately.

The doctor sighed softly before answering. “He is stable, Mr. Mehra. The smoke inhalation affected his lungs, but fortunately, there was no severe internal damage. We managed to stabilize him in time. Still, we want to keep him under observation for at least twenty-four hours before shifting him to the normal ward.”

Vikram finally released the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Relief washed over him, weakening his tense posture. A hand rested on his shoulder, and after hours of holding himself together, he finally allowed himself to lean back against Rajeev’s support for a few quiet moments.

“Relax, Vikky. Uncle theek hai,” Rajeev murmured softly. “Ansh ko bhi abhi hosh aa jayega. Don’t worry.”

The words were meant to reassure him, but both of them knew the nightmare they had witnessed that morning wasn’t something they would forget easily.

After discovering the truth about Samar, they went to share the information with Ekansh. But neither of them had been prepared to witness Seghal House reduced to flames.

They knew about the hidden passage of the mansion, the secret door Ekansh had discovered during his teenage years searching for places to escape the strict eyes of his father. Getting inside through that route and finding both Virendra and Ekansh trapped in the chaos unconscious wasn’t impossible. The sacred temple room, was the only place untouched by the fire. Everything else around them had been consumed, leaving behind nothing but ashes. Somehow, they managed to escape from the fire brigade and police. Especially after the news channels had already started spreading the story of Abhiraj’s death.

They couldn’t risk bringing Virendra and Ekansh into public attention. Not when everyone believed the family was dead eventually they moved both father and son to a private hospital far away from the city’s chaos, waiting for the right moment to strike back.

“How can I relax?” Vikram ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “We don’t know where Eshita is. We don’t know where that girl is. We don’t have any CCTV footage to prove our point. We don’t even have a force to help us. Sharing this kind of controversial information will bring nothing but questions and suspicion.”

His jaw clenched. “Do you think the police will believe us over a man who is dead and everyone is crying for his loss? We are at a dead end. Tu bhi jaanta hai aur main bhi. Ekansh hosh mein aane ke baad sabse pehle kis ka naam lega. Uski aankhein sirf apni behno ko dhoondh rahi hongi. How will he deal with this?”

Rajeev looked away. He was well aware of that fear, and the worst part was that he couldn’t do anything to stop the pain his friend might feel after knowing the truth.

“Bhaiya, Bhai ko hosh aa raha hai,” Vanya informed hurriedly from outside Ekansh’s ward.

Vikram and Rajeev immediately ran inside, entering the room only to find Ekansh struggling to get up despite his weakened state.

“Ansh,” Rajeev called out, rushing toward him and pushing him gently back onto the bed.

“What are you doing?” Vikram asked, concerned. “The needle will tear your skin.”

Ekansh ignored their warnings. His gaze wandered around the room desperately. The moment his eyes adjusted, his gaze finally lifted toward them. The last thing he remembered was his father and sister fainting before him, and then him losing his own consciousness too.

“Eshita...” He whispered weakly, coughing as his throat strained with pain.

Vikram and Rajeev shared a troubled look, silently wondering who would break the news and how they would tell him everything.

Ekansh noticed the quiet exchange. His heart started pounding inside his chest. The three of them had known each other since childhood; they could read each other instantly. And something about the look they shared rang an alarm in his mind.

He tried to sit up again, but Rajeev stopped him.

“Calm down, Ekansh.” Rajeev’s tone firmed. “I will tell you everything. But you need to promise me you won’t do anything reckless until you are fine.”

“You have to heal first to protect your sisters,” Vikram said softly.

“What happened?” Ekansh asked coldly, pulling back from their hold. He didn’t need comforting words. He wanted the truth.

Vikram sighed. “It’s messed up...” He explained the ongoing news broadcast, the destruction of Sehgal House, the disappearance of the girls, and the shocking information they had discovered.

“What kind of information?” Ekansh asked.

Rajeev rubbed his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Abhiraj Rajvansh and Samar Singhania are brothers.”

Ekansh looked at them in shock. “How? The last time we checked both of them had no family. That’s why it was becoming difficult to find anything about their backgrounds.”

“Because they hid it pretty well,” Rajeev replied. “Samar was raised in an orphanage. The warden there was an abusive man. He used to torture the children there. One night after another brutal thrashing, Samar ran away."

He sighed heavily. “Abhiraj had parents who were abusive. His childhood was nothing but violence and neglect. Eventually he ran away from his house, escaping the only life he had ever known. Samar did the same, and they found each other in an alley, two broken kids with nowhere to go. Abhiraj saved Samar, who had been stealing just to survive and from there they became brothers in everything except blood. Growing up together meant surviving together. Chain stealing, chain smoking, learning the darker ways of the streets. Abhiraj was hot-headed, reckless, and cruel. The first thing he did with Samar’s help was kill his own mother. The blame fell on his father, who was sleeping drunk the night his wife died. The boys crafted the entire scene carefully, making it appear as if his father had murdered his own wife in a drunken rage and then tried to cover up the crime. The man was arrested, and while attempting to escape police custody he died in an encounter. All the money and inheritance went to Abhiraj.

Abhiraj was originally Abhiraj Singhania, but he took Samar’s surname to erase his past while Samar adopted Abhiraj’s real surname. New identities. Swapped surnames. New beginnings built on lies, with no background, no connection to their past, and no one left to question who they really were.”

Ekansh stilled. Every word sank deeper than the last.

“They grew up together,” Rajeev continued. “Abhiraj was not just cruel. He had a sick attraction towards children. In simple words, he was a paedophile. At twenty-one, he assaulted an eleven-year…”

“Bhai, please...” Vanya interrupted, unable to hear further. The mere thought made bile rise in her throat. She couldn’t even imagine what those families and those children must have endured because of people like him, people who destroyed innocence without a second thought.

Vikram pulled her closer into a side hug. He understood her pain, but he would never ask her to walk out. The world was a dangerous place, and he wanted his sister to learn awareness, courage, and the strength to stand against such predators rather than blindly trusting strangers. Because in today’s world, innocence without caution could become someone’s weakness.

Rajeev exhaled sharply. He was reciting everything like a machine, but beneath that controlled voice was a rage so deep that even he struggled to contain it.

“Samar was the witness to everything,” He continued in a hollow tone. “The family was paid to keep their mouths shut and the cycle began. One victim after another. Samar became a lawyer only because he wanted to understand the law, the loopholes, the procedures, every possible way he could twist the system to protect his brother. And Abhiraj did exactly what he wanted. He used every opportunity, every connection, every bit of power he gained. Politics became his weapon. Starting as a local leader in small areas, then becoming an MLA, and eventually the Chief Minister. For the world, he became a symbol of development, a leader people worshipped, a man praised for bringing change.”

“But behind closed doors, he was a predator. He continued abusing young girls. Families who tried to raise their voices were silenced. Complaints disappeared. Victims vanished. Some girls were trafficked outside the country, leaving behind no evidence, no justice, no trace that they ever existed.”

Rajeev paused. His eyes met Ekansh’s. The emptiness in them was more terrifying than anger. “Ekta..."

The name alone changed the atmosphere.

“She was sold to him years ago. And she escaped. But Abhiraj never forgot her. His obsession with her went beyond anything normal. He searched for her for years. He believed she belonged to him. She ran away after setting his mansion on fire, believing she had killed him. But he survived. He disappeared, rebuilt himself, expanded his power, and waited patiently from the shadows.”

Rajeev’s voice lowered. “The girl is not safe. Neither is Eshita.”

Ekansh froze. The disgust, the anger, all of it crashed together inside him. Helplessness was something he never allowed himself to feel. He was the person who protected others. The person who always had a plan. But now hen both his sisters were in danger, and the enemy was someone powerful enough to hide behind an entire system. Someone they couldn’t simply reach, someone they couldn’t simply defeat. Someone who was alive yet dead.

His mind raced through every possibility. Which direction should he search? How would he protect his sisters when the monster they were fighting had already spent years building an empire around himself?

✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

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