Chapter- 51

Ekta looked around quietly, her eyes scanning every corner of the lavish hallway. It’s been hours that she was working from one corner to another without so much as making a noise, following every instruction without questioning it, something that came naturally to her.

Even after so many years she found herself moulding into the same routine perfectly. Talk less, keep your head lowered, focus and do your work without any mistakes or suffer the consequences! In that sense of mechanically working she forgot that Eshita was also there.

Only now that she kept the basket of flowers aside, her gaze wandered around searching for her si...sister. That still felt foreign to her own heart but somehow comforting too, especially after all the courage and comfort Eshita had given her since yesterday, she atleast didn’t feel more alone.

“Kisi dhoond rahi hai?” A cold voice floated from behind.

Ekta freezed, the muscles in her body locked instantly. Her eyes widened in panic as she searched for Eshita to pop out from behind the pillar where she was working or from anywhere around her.

A soft gasp escaped her lips as she was turned around harshly. Abhiraj’s shoes came into her view. She had cleaned those sharp perfectly polished pointed shoes many times to remember them.

Abhiraj held her jaw tightly, forcing her to look at him. “Jawab dena bhul gayi hai, butterfly? Should I remind you how to answer me quickly?”

Ekta flinched back as he unbuckled his belt with a single hand without taking his eyes off her. The pain on her cheeks was nothing compared to the one she might face if he actually used it on her.

“Di-di ko... di ko... dhoond rahi th-thi.” She murmured, her voice trembling with fear.

Abhiraj hummed, leaving her roughly. “Atleast you didn’t forget to answer me.” He said, wrapping the belt around his hand effortlessly.

The pointed metal studs on that leather amused him. He ran his fingers down them slowly, a faint smile playing on his lips as though remembering every scream they had once forced out of her.

“Apni bhen ko dhoond rahi hai?” He asked softly, looking up at Ekta, meeting her gaze. “Par vo toh bhag gayi.”

Ekta stared at him, shocked for a heartbeat before shaking her head vigorously. “Nhi...” She mumbled desperately, looking around. “Di...”

The moment she took a step forward, Abhiraj’s low, amused laugh cut through the air. She turned slowly, scared of what that laugh alone implied.

Abhiraj settled down on the couch comfortably, resting one leg over the other. “Mujh prr vishwas nhi ho raha hai?”

Ekta shook her head silently.

“Fine! Tum iss mansion ke haar ek kone se waqif ho... Aapni akhon se dekh le.” Abhiraj gestured towards the hallway, “Ki teri so called bhen tujhe yaha akela chod ke bhagi hai ya nhi! Jawab milne ke baad aapni asli jagha aa jana.”

Ekta stepped back hearing the hidden warning in his words.

“Aapni aukat yaad hai na Butterfly?” Abhiraj raised an eyebrow, creasing the belt slowly, “The time starts now!” He commanded coldly.

Like on an autopilot mode, Ekta spun around, sprinting in the direction Eshita was asked to work earlier. However, there was no one except for a girl cleaning the floor. She looked around the hallway worried.

“Di...” She called out weakly.

Her gaze wandered back on Abhiraj from over her shoulder, his gaze assessing her every single move like a predator watching its prey. She moved away from his line of sight, down the hallway checking every room coming in her way one after another. She knew every single corner of the mansion. There was not a single place that she didn’t know after spending years trapped within those walls, yet today every familiar corridor felt frighteningly unfamiliar as she didn’t found Eshita nowhere.

Tears trickled down her face. Even if she wanted to deny the truth, she couldn’t after seeing every room standing empty. Eshita wouldn’t leave her and run away alone. She trusted her. She trusted the Seghals to put her first and then themselves, but she didn’t trust Abhiraj. Or Samar. Both could go to any extent to manipulate others until they doubted everyone they loved.

“DI!” Ekta sobbed desperately, walking down the last hallway with trembling steps.

The massive mansion had one staircase for the first floor but four hallways for the ground floor extending in long opposite directions down the path.

Tears blurred her vision as she stumbled on something, falling hard on the marble floor.

“Butterfly, time is up!” Abhiraj’s voice echoed like an order she wasn’t allowed to disobey.

She tried blinking away the tears but they refused to stop. Instead they blurred her vision further. Just as she tried to rise to her feet, her gaze fell on the red thread lying a few feet away near a table kept in the hallway. She crawled forward picking it up.

It was Eshita’s broken mauli. She glanced at her wrist, which was empty. Last night, when she didn’t find Eshita wearing her own thread on her wrist, she discreetly removed hers, tying it on Eshita’s hand, knowing if she asked, the girl wouldn’t accept it.

But now seeing the thread in her hand, she could recognise the difference between hers and Eshita’s. Eshita’s thread had lightened in colour within a day or two due to her habit of washing her hands again and again every two hours, while hers was still dark red like it should be when it was newly tied.

She didn’t understand what she felt. Relief knowing that at least Eshita had one protection with her, or the fact that she was wearing her fate on her wrist while Eshita’s blessing now lay broken in her trembling hands.

“EKTA!” Abhiraj roared..

Ekta flinched back with a gasp. Her heart lurched violently. She tied the broken thread around her wrist immediately, her hands shaking uncontrollably. She just needed a little bit of courage to face him. Just a little more.

Turning on her heels she walked out towards Abhiraj praying for Eshita to be safe, fine and for Ekansh to reach her soon.

Her knees hit the floor as she dropped near Abhiraj’s feet surrendering like he had always wanted her to. Without a word her gaze remained fixed on the ground.

Abhiraj chuckled darkly. “Now was it so hard?” He gripped her hair tightly leaning forward. “That’s what I was missing for so many years... But don’t worry. Ab tum aa gayi ho na... Bahut jaldi mein hisab barabar kar dunga. Tumhara bhi... aur jinke sath tum reh rahi thi... Unka bhi.”

Ekta shook her head, wincing in pain. Tears spilled over her cheeks, “Please...” She reached out clutching his leg desperately, “Un...unhe... kuch maat...”

“Tck!” Abhiraj clicked his tongue annoyed. “Don’t be such a spoiled sport now... Accha ek kaam kro. Isse upar kro...” He said pointing at his pants.

Ekta stared at him shocked.

“Roll them up Butterfly.” Abhiraj gritted out tightening his hold on her hair.

Ekta recoiled, nodding her head quickly. She rolled up his pants, with her shaking hands. A gasp escaped her lips the moment she saw the burnt black scar marring his whole foot, going up towards his calf. She looked away unable to look at those horrifying scars.

Abhiraj made her look at him. “See... Ab tumne galti ki thi uski saza tumhe milni chaiye na... and you know my rules. I don’t forget my punishments.”

“Please Malik...” Ekta pleaded helplessly, “Aap- aap mere sath jo karna chahte hai... kar lijiye. Mein- mein kuch nhi ka-karungi... Mere par-pariiwar ko ku-kuch maat kijiye. Please...” She begged through broken sobs.

“Pariwar?” Abhiraj mocked, pulling her on her feet by her hair. “Aapne pariwar ke liye kuch bhi kar sakti hai na?”

Ekta nodded immediately. She would die if that would spare the Seghals, her only family.

Silence fell in the room until her gaze followed his, dropping on the belt resting on the couch. She got what he wanted. For the first time she didn’t flinch or step back, just leaned forward with difficulty due to the hold he had on her, grasping the leather in her hands. She held it out for him like a sword meant to slaughter her. She closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again, silently accepting whatever punishment awaited her.

✨✨✨

Virendra groaned in pain slowly. He opened his eyes with difficulty, his vision still blurred, looking around the room. The high concrete walls, a small broken window with rays peeking through the dust-covered glass. It took him a moment to understand where he was when reality crashed over him. His hands felt tied at his back, his body chained to a thick iron pole as he sat stiff against it. He was kidnapped.

He looked around the big room that resembled an abandoned factory when his gaze fell on the nearby pole. Eshita was tied in the same position.

“Esha...” He called out urgently, worried. The bruises on her face alarmed him.

“Esha.” He called again, “Esha get up...”

He struggled against the chains pulling hard on the ropes which seemed to tighten up further with every movement. He looked around the place once again trying to find anything to get out of those binds but found nothing useful.

“ESHITA!” He shouted, panicked. The way she remained completely still worried him.

Eshita stirred slowly, letting out a small groan before opening her eyes groggily. Her head throbbed painfully. For a few seconds she couldn’t make sense of her surroundings. Everything around her spun before her vision finally settled. She blinked repeatedly, trying to focus, until her gaze landed on the familiar figure tied a few feet away.

“Esha...” Virendra called out softly to gain her attention.

Eshita looked up at him. The distance between them was so long yet tears of relief rushed into her eyes almost instantly. Of all the faces she could have seen after waking up, seeing her father there somehow made the fear inside her lessen. Finally she wasn’t alone anymore.

“Thik hai tu?” Virendra asked barely keeping his emotions on leash. The dishevelled state of his child broke something inside him.

Eshita shook her head helplessly, her head still spinning from whatever they had used to knock her unconscious.

“It’s okay... mein hoon na yaha.” Virendra coaxed gently despite being chained himself, “You don’t have to be scared. Mera brave baccha hai na tu.”

Eshita struggled against the ropes, wincing as they dug into her wrists. All she wanted to do was run into her father’s warmth. Her heart pounded violently inside her chest.

“Relax, Esha...” Virendra said calmly, “Mene kaha na... Mein hu yaha. Bas thodi der aur and then we will be out of this place. Hmm?”

Eshita nodded weakly, taking a deep breath to steady herself.

“Ekta... Where is she?” Virendra asked once he noticed her relaxing a little.

“Abhiraj ke sath.” Eshita answered immediately, her eyes widening in panic. “What if he does something to her? Vo pehle hi darri hui thi, ab toh mein bhi waha nhi hu... vo akele kaise handle karegi? How will she...”

“She can and she will.” Virendra interrupted firmly, “She is strong enough to handle that man. And hang in there. We will reach her soon. Ansh will reach her soon.”

He tried to sound confident, even when he wasn’t aware of what was going on outside. He was waiting to hear, to listen that all of this had finally come to an end. But this had extended to a level of uncertainty even he wasn’t prepared for. He silently prayed that Ansh finds Ekta before Abhiraj succeeds in breaking her spirit.

✨✨✨

Ekansh walked into the dense forest, his sharp eyes scanning every direction without lowering his guard. Barely half an hour ago, he had received an unknown location. Unlike the previous message, this one had reached him instantly with just a single instruction.

Follow the red markr.

And that was exactly what he had been doing. The police were searching for Virendra with the help of the tracker recovered from an abandoned factory nearly thirty kilometres away. Rajeev and Vikram had gone there to verify the lead while Ekansh chose to follow this one alone. He was desperate enough to take every risk if it meant reaching Eshita and Ekta before it was too late.

As he pushed deeper into the forest, dry leaves crunched beneath his boots while the eerie silence wrapped itself around him. The place was nearly an hour away from the city, yet he had covered the distance in barely thirty minutes, breaking every traffic signal and speed limit on the way.

News channels were repeatedly broadcasting Virendra Sehgal’s kidnapping footage on every platform. Even if any of his business associates, or his father’s friends tried to contact him, they wouldn’t be able to. His phone had long lost signal the deeper he ventured into the forest.

He knew he was walking straight into a trap. And yet turning back had never been an option.

A deafening shriek suddenly tore through the silence. Ekansh sprinted toward the direction of the scream, only to freeze abruptly.

A lifeless body lay sprawled across the forest floor, an arrow lodged clean through its chest. His instincts screamed. He immediately stepped back.

Another arrow sliced past his ear, missing him by barely an inch before embedding itself deep into the tree behind him.

Before he could react further, his phone screen lit up on its own. As if the device had been hacked. A video automatically began played.

Ekta appeared on the screen, sitting tied to a chair inside a dimly lit room. Bruises marked her face, while her clothes had been roughly torn at the shoulders. The sight alone made

Ekansh’s jaw clench so tightly it hurt, he looked away from the screen for a moment when the screen shifted.

Eshita was tied to a thick pillar opposite their father.

“Say hi, baby!” Samar’s cheerful voice echoed as he stepped into the frame, pointing directly toward the camera fixed in the corner of the room.

Eshita turned her face away in disgust. “Ek ‘hi’ bhi nhi bol sakti tu mere liye?” Samar clicked his tongue dramatically. “Very bad.”

“Ahhhhh!” Eshita cried out, her entire body jerking violently as unbearable pain shot through her. She struggled instinctively against the restraints, tears spilling freely despite every effort to stay strong.

“CHHOD MERI BETI KO!” Virendra’s furious roar echoed through the room.

He threw himself forward against the ropes binding him, struggling with everything he had. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, yet he couldn’t stop. A wounded lion could survive his own injuries. But watching someone hurt his cub while he stood helpless. That was a pain no father could ever deal with.

Samar rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Abey buddhe...” he muttered before driving a hard kick into Virendra’s chest. “Shanti se baith nhi sakta tu? Mera mood kyun kharab kar raha hai? Chup-chaap baith... warna teri beti se pehle tujhe hi upar bhej dunga.”

Virendra collapsed sideways, coughing violently as pain exploded through his ribs.

The current finally stopped.Eshita collapsed against the pillar, coughing uncontrollably. Her breathing came out in broken gasps as the pain slowly faded, leaving behind an unbearable burning sensation around her neck.

Samar smiled casually as footsteps echoed behind him. He turned around. One of the men handed him a heavy briefcase.

Placing it on the table he opened it. Bundle after bundle of cash. He examined them carefully before nodding in satisfaction and snapping the case shut.

“Good.” He leaned back lazily on the table. “One hour show.” He gestured casually toward Eshita. “Jo karna hai... karo.”

Eshita’s eyes widened. The five men slowly began walking toward her. The expressions on their faces made her blood run cold. Lust that she could see through. For the first time since being brought there. Fear truly crawled beneath her skin.

Virendra’s heartbeat thundered in his ears. His entire body fought desperately against the restraints until the ropes dug into his wrists, drawing blood.

“Tum logo mein se kisi ne bhi meri beti ko haath lagaya toh uski jaan le lunga mein!” His furious thunder echoed through the room.

One of the men walked up to him without a word, plunging a syringe straight into the side of his neck before injecting its contents.

A burning sensation spread through his veins within seconds. His entire body locked up instantly, every muscle refusing to obey him. He could see, hear, blink and even think, but not a single part of his body responded to his commands. Even his fingers refused to twitch. For the first time in his life, Virendra Sehgal felt utterly powerless.

Other side five men entered Ekta’s room with the same predatory hunger and sick excitement written across their faces. She flinched, looking away instinctively. She knew what was about to happen. She had faced it all before, but back then she was too young to understand what they were doing. Now she understood every meaning hidden behind those eyes, every intention, every touch, every humiliation. And that knowledge alone filled her with a disgust far worse than fear. She didn’t want to go through it all over again.

“Kaisi bachega Ekansh Seghal?” Abhiraj came into the view, a cruel smirk stretching across his lips as he looked straight into the camera, “Tu mere bhai ko khatm karna chahta tha na? Aaj dekh... teri dono behen mere paas hai. Bas kuch hi samay mein inki izzat inki nhi rahegi. Khud ki jaan lena pasand karengi yeh dono lekin kisi se aankh milane layak nhi rahengi. Maut sirf ek baar maarti hai lekin zinda laash banke jeena kisi khete hai... Yeh tu bahut jaldi dekhga. Aur main wahi dene wala hoon inhe. This was my check and mate! Dhoond sake toh dhoond le.”

The screen went blank.

Ekansh stared it. Both of his sisters were surrounded, helpless and trapped in different rooms while monsters closed in on them from every direction. Every instinct inside him screamed to reach both of them at once, to tear through the screen, to kill every man standing there with his bare hands. His heartbeat pounded violently against his ribs as rage, fear and helplessness crashed into each other. For one horrifying second his mind refused to function, refused to choose between them, refused to believe he was actually being forced into this nightmare.

But the very next moment he ran in the only direction he could see without thinking twice, his legs carrying him faster than his mind could process. Every second he wasted felt like another second stolen from his sisters.

Eshita and Ekta stared at the wide television screen playing before them. They both could see Ekansh running deep into the jungle. The directions felt lost, twisting through dense trees and abandoned trails. There wasn’t a single landmark that could tell him whether he was moving closer to them or further away.

However their hearts prayed for the same thing.

Eshita hoped he reached Ekta first. Ekta hoped he reached Eshita first.

Time itself stood against the siblings, turning every passing second into another move in Abhiraj’s twisted game.

Who would Ekansh choose... and more importantly, would he even reach either of them before the game claimed its next victim?

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