Lakshya stood shocked as he saw Vikram assume his semi serpent form in the forest. As he hid behind a tree avoiding the latter he began to dig into his pockets to pull out his smartphone and started to record the scene before him.
Vikram then released Mr. Sinha and left him to die as he slithered away. Lakshya hurried to Mr. Sinha's side and tried to help him out. Abhay then arrived along with Adish who quickly opens his bag and pulls out a small box which contained a herbal paste which he applied on top of the area where Mr. Sinha had been bit. Following which he then took out a mini flask and opened it pouring its contents in the cover and feeding the same to Mr. Sinha.
"This should slow down the effects of the venom till we get to the hospital, however we still need to hurry or we may lose him" Adish told them who then lift Mr. Sinha and carry him back to the car.
"What happened?" Shipra asked in a worried tone.
Sristi and the rest of the girls who saw the guys return too wondered about the same.
"What do you think happened now?" Shruti asked
"I guess he might have just passed out, it happens quite a lot at that age" Kirti concluded
"I guess we shouldn't make assumptions" Mahima told them as she watched the guys who had just returned and explain the situation to Shipra.
"He got bit by a snake, and not just any snake but an icchaadhaari snake who is none other than that Crime branch officer" Lakshya revealed to them
"What? Are you sure you aren't mistaken?" Shipra asked him once again
"What makes you so sure about his identity?" Adish too questioned his claim
"I figured you'll wouldn't believe me, so I made sure to record it on my phone" Lakshya then pulled out his phone and begins to browse through his gallery for the video clip, however he couldn't find it and then realised that his phone's storage was full as result of which the video clip couldn't get saved on his device.
"Well?" Abhay and the rest looked at him wondering what took him so long to present the video.
"My smartphone is apparently out of storage space hence the recording didn't get saved" he told them in disappointment.
"Forget it at the moment, we need to hurry" Adish told them who then quickly got back inside their respective vehicles and drove away.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
The Singh's and the rest arrived at the hospital where Mr. Sinha was admitted and quickly taken to the treatment room where the doctors administered the antidote to help him recover while everyone else waited outside.
The doctor then stepped out and briefed them about Mr. Sinha's condition, "His condition is stable and is currently out of danger, however we'll need to put him under observation for at least a day"
"That's a relief!" Shipra exclaimed
The doctor then left to attend the other patients but stopped to greet Mahima who waited and observed the situation from a distance.
"What brings you here at this hour?" The doctor asked her
"Do you'll know each other?" Srishti who stood next to Mahima asked
"She volunteers here" the doctor answered
"I see, she's here because of her client, you see that family there" Srishti pointed at the Singh's
"Oh is it so? Good going, see you later" the doctor then took their leave.
"I better leave as well" Mahima told Srishti
"You're right, I'll go get the girls" Srishti then went to look for her group mates who seemed to have wandered off somewhere.
As Mahima headed outside she ran into one of her volunteer friend who was currently on duty.
"You're here today?!"
"Yeah, it's a long story but to cut it short it's because of my client over there" Mahima pointed towards Lakshya
Her friend's face lit up the minute she saw him.
"What's with that look on your face?" Mahima asked her
"Remember that incident where the staff at the payment counter refused to admit that old lady's grandchild due to the lack of funds and you had made the payment but were later refunded for the same" the friend looked at Mahima who recalled the same. "Yes, what about it?"
"He was the one that made it happen, I thought he would have told you, but you seem clueless so I guess not" her friend revealed
Mahima didn't know how to react but she did seem quite impressed over his gesture. Srishti then showed up along with her peers who were ready to leave.
"Let's go" Srishti told Mahima
"Sure" Mahima responded before turning her head for a brief moment to look back at him and then walks out.
"We need to do something about that Vikram, I'm telling you he's behind this" Lakshya made the allegation once again.
"Contact the CP, and request him to get that guy dismissed from this case"
"I think you need to calm down and frankly you're getting ahead of yourself now, what if you were mistaken" Abhay reasoned with Lakshya.
"I know what I saw" Lakshya asserted who then noticed Mahima leave from the hospital along with the others and began to wonder if she knew anything about it or whether she was involved with Vikram as well.
He then walked towards Adish, "Mom said that you were the one who helped them earlier from the serpents and informed them about shape-shifting serpents"
"Yes, that's right" Adish answered.
"Then I guess you'd know how to get them caught and exposed as well" Lakshya asked him in a suggestive tone.
"Oh is that all? There are ways but you'll need to be a little tactful for that" Adish then explained to him the ways and the different methods of getting it done
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Ashlesha was at the temple where she seemed to be waiting for someone. A while later she heard footsteps and turned her head to the side facing the entrance.
A man walked towards her and it was confirmed that he was indeed Vikram.
"That witness has been taken care of" he reported
"Excellent, you truly do live up to your reputation" Ashlesha praised him.
"As much as I'm flattered by you applauding me, it's still too early to celebrate" he told her
"Why do you say that?" She asked him
"I think my cover may have been blown away" he answered, "It's quite likely that someone may have spotted me while I was taking care of our target, I could feel it though I didn't really see anyone"
"In that case don't let it get to you, after all even if someone did see you, we'll take care of it, but yes don't let your guard down in any case" She advised him, "your involvement is crucial to our plan, so you can't afford to have your identity exposed"
"I understand and don't worry, I'm not one to go down so easily" with that Vikram leaves as Ashlesha watched him walk out.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Srishti was back at home and was greeted by her family inside the living room.
"Thank God you're okay, from now on you won't be allowed to venture out of the city without us" her mother declared.
"Please relax, whatever happened was just a one off incident, it won't happen again, I promise" Srishti told her mother
"Next time we'll make the arrangements for any of your long distance trips or better just board a train or flight" her father decided
"If that would put you at ease then fine, but seriously it's unnecessary" Srishti tells them. Smitha then asks her to freshen up before she joins then for dinner, once she was done Srishti enters the dining room where her plate seemed to have been full already as Smitha made sure to serve her to save time.
Srishti discussed her experience at the table, however when she told her family about the strange voices she heard while she was inside the cave temple and the villagers house, the expression on her parents face stiffened who tried to hide the fact that they were bothered by what she just told them, however Srishti could tell that they seemed worried and quite tensed, "What's the matter?" She asked them
"Where's your bracelet?" Smitha asked once she noticed it was missing from her wrist
"I must have left it in the bathroom" Srishti told them
"Please make sure to wear it before you go to bed" Smitha requested her to which Srishti agreed as she got up and walked towards the kitchen sink to wash her plate before she headed back to her room as her parents watched her seemingly quite worried.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Mahima parked her car outside near the garden and then walked towards her house. The door was open wide where her father stood at the entrance waiting for her.
"Did you have your dinner?" She asked her aged father
"How could I when I've been worried sick about you?" He answered
"Give me 15 minutes, I'll prepare something" she told him
"No don't, you're exhausted as it is, so I'll just order in" her father decided
"Are you sure about that?" She asked him
"Yes I am" he answered
"If you say so, but isn't the restaurant nearby closed down at this hour?" She looked at him wondering how he'd arrange the food for their dinner
"The nearby restaurant is shut, but not the ones on zomato" he told her
"When did you learn to order from Zomato?" She asked him
"My Son-in-law showed me, in fact he'll be here any moment"
"Really, at this hour?" She asked him
"He's family, he can show up anytime" he told her
"Okay, won't argue over that" Mahima headed to her room to pick up her home clothes and then goes to the bathroom where she slips out of her clothes, placed the same in the wash basket and then steps into the shower before putting on her home clothes.
The doorbell rang which was attended by Arvind who was pleased to find Vikram at the door, "Welcome, please come inside"
Vikram walked inside and took his place on the sofa in the living room.
Mahima who was done then walked out of the bathroom and greeted him as well.
"Next make sure you accompany her to that temple, you'll are going to get married soon so you should be together for such visits" Arvind told Vikram
"Papa please, I can manage moreover Vikram is already burdened with a lot of work of his own, don't add to it" She told her father
"No Mahima, your father's right! I'm not the only one burdened with a lot of work, so are you, next we'll go there together" Vikram asserted
The doorbell then rang once again and the food arrived. Mahima paid for the order as she collected the same and then unpacked the contents at the dining table where she served everyone.
Once they were done with their dinner, Vikram gets ready to leave who is sent off by Mahima.
While they are outside near the entrance gate they chat a little where Mahima tells him about the events that took place during the recent hours including the admission of Mr. Sinha into the hospital who luckily managed to survive a deadly snakebite.
"He is indeed pretty fortunate" Vikram frowned as he made the remark. The change in his facial expressions made his frustration pretty evident which did not go unnoticed by his fiancรฉ.
"What's wrong? You look pretty tensed and upset for some reason, Is everything okay?" Mahima asked him to which he responds, "Yeah everything's fine, just a little work pressure from a really messed up case but you needn't worry about it" he assured her.
"Okay, but if there's anything that I need to know then I'd appreciate if you'd tell me about it. Also thanks for covering up for me" apparently Vikram never told Arvind about the actual reason that forced her stay out so he was unaware of the fact that she spent the night out along with her employer due to the injury caused by his accident and was under the impression she was stuck in the village solely because of the bad weather.
"Don't worry about it, and take care of yourself" Vikram told her before he entered his Jeep and drove off.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
The next morning
Lakshya and Abhay who stayed over at the hospital were seated outside in the visitors area where they receive an update from the doctor regarding Mr. Sinha.
"The patient has regained consciousness, so you can go and have a word with him for a few minutes if you need to" the doctor informed them
"Thank you very much doctor" Lakshya and Abhay then immediately headed towards the ward where Mr. Sinha was admitted.
They entered his room and approached him as he laid on the bed.
"How are you feeling?" Lakshya asked however he didn't get a response, he then noticed Mr. Sinha's body trembling and began to wonder what's wrong.
"It was a giant snake" he muttered as he continued to tremble further vigorously. Lakshya then called for the doctor who walked in immediately and began to examine Mr. Sinha who was still trembling.
Once the doctor was done he asked both the brothers to step outside along with him where he explained that his patient has been traumatised and seems to be in a pretty delicate mental state at the moment and advised them to wait for a few hours or days before he calms down and normalises.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Srishti's parents were inside their bedroom where they were on a video call with a sage.
"Guruji, we are really worried about our daughter. It seems her condition has begun to relapse even with the amulet on" they informed him
"I sort of did expect this, after all it was a temporary solution. The amulet seems to have worn off as your daughter is all grown up now" He explained to them
"So what now?" Smitha asked him
"I'll visit you'll soon along with a more effective amulet, make sure she never takes this one off or that it falls on the ground because that'll render it ineffective" The sage told them
"Okay Guruji" they answer in unison before they end the call.
"Please don't stress yourself, she'll be fine" Harshad told his wife
"I hope so" she responded in a worried tone.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Lakshya and Abhay were back home in the afternoon. Shipra and Chandrika noticed that Lakshya no longer had a cast on his foot.
"Where's the cast on your foot?" Chandrika asked Lakshya
"Oh that? I asked the doctor to take it off" he responded as he walked straight towards the sofa and sat down.
"But why?" Shipra questioned him slightly worried about the same.
"Because my foot's all healed" he answered
"Are you sure about that?" Shipra didn't believe him
"Yes mom, the doctor had it checked, here's the X-ray report" Abhay handed it over to his mother which he held onto since he entered the house, "I couldn't believe it either but his foot's actually better now"
Ashlesha then walked down and headed straight into the kitchen, Abhay who noticed the same then headed upstairs where he ran into Rani.
"You're finally back, Is Lakshya there downstairs?" Rani was pleased to see him
"Yes he is, by the way was Ashlesha absent anytime when we were away from home" he asked Rani suspecting if she had anything to do with the attack on Mr. Sinha
"Not at all, in fact she was with Dadu the entire time, mom made sure to check on them every now and then, she even had dinner with us yesterday" Rani told him
"Are you sure?" He asked his sister
"What do you mean by I'm sure, do you think I was day dreaming?" Rani glared at him
"Calm down, it's just that I think she's weird" he told her
"I think you need to give her a break, and stop overthinking" she told him
Abhay began to question his doubts over Ashlesha and wondered if she were indeed a normal person.
Back downstairs Ashlesha was eavesdropping on everyone in the living room.
"So how is Mr. Sinha now?" Shipra asked her son to which he replied "Not so good, although he recovered from the venom he's pretty traumatised so I don't really expect him to give the cops his statement right away." Lakshya who was disappointed answered his mother
"So what now?" Shipra looked at her son hoping he had a plan
"We"ll just need to wait till he gets better and is ready" Lakshya told his mother.
Ashlesha who was listening immediately heads upstairs to her room and sends a telepathic message to Vikram.
"Now's your chance, he's alone at the hospital so finish him off for good this time. Let's crush their only other hope to get that man released"
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Mr. Sinha who laid on his bed asked the nurse that was attending him to call the doctor. The nurse agreed to his request and immediately walked out of the room. A few minutes later the doctor arrived to check on him wondering if anything was wrong.
"Are you feeling okay or is there something bothering you?" The doctor asked him
"I'm okay, actually could you call the police, there's something urgent that I wish to tell them" Mr. Sinha requested the doctor
"Is it regarding what Mr. Singh requested earlier?" The doctor asked just to make sure
"Exactly that!" Mr. Sinha confirmed
"Okay sure, Nurse please call the police from the reception" he instructed the nurse who complied and walked out right away.
The doctor then pulled out a syringe from his pocket along with a vile containing some kind of a drug.
"What's that for?" Mr. Sinha asked the doctor as he watched him insert the syringe's needle into the vile and pull down the plunger to fill in the same.
"This is to help keep you calm when you speak to the police, now relax" the doctor told him as he then injected the drug into the saline drip bag. Once the doctor was done he soon walks out of the room.
The police along with crime branch officer Vikram then arrive thirty minutes later to obtain Mr. Sinha's statement who were then led into his ward by a nurse.
Vikram enters the room where Mr. Sinha was admitted along with his subordinates who were ready and waiting to obtain his statement.
"So Mr. Sinha can you confirm if you were indeed with Mr. Anvay Singh the other day as shown in the surveillance footage provided from his side?" Vikram asked Mr. Sinha in a half hearted manner.
"I-" Mr. Sinha tried to answer but then soon began to feel a pain in his chest as he then struggled to breath. The nurse who was present in the room immediately called for the doctor who then arrived to check on his patient's vitals, however he was late and Mr. Sinha was gone for good.
"I'm sorry, but it seems that the patient just passed away due to a cardiac arrest" the doctor informed them in a regretful tone.
Vikram put up a facade of feeling sorry but smirked once he walked out the room without getting noticed.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Lakshya who was in the living room at home noticed that his smartphone which was placed on the table was buzzing as he was seated on the sofa indicating that there was a incoming call that demanded his attention.
"Take the call, it's been buzzing for quite a while so it must be pretty important" his mother told him, agreeing with her Lakshya moved closer to the centre table and extended his arm to pick up his smartphone. The minute he saw the call was from the doctor in charge of Mr. Sinha he swiped up the green icon to receive the call.
"Hello Lakshya, It's bad news. Mr. Sinha passed away a while ago" the doctor on the other end of the line informed him.
Lakshya was devastated the minute he heard that, "what happened and why? Didn't you assure us earlier that he was out of danger"
"I know and I'm sorry about the same, apparently he passed away due to a cardiac arrest just as the police arrived to obtain his statement and it was too late before I could help him out in any manner" the doctor explained
"The police were there? Why did you approve it if you weren't sure of his condition?" Lakshya asked the doctor in a slightly infuriated tone.
"Actually I never did that, the police approached the patient without my consent or approval" the doctor told him
Apparently the doctor who approved Mr. Sinha's request was Vikram who had assumed the doctor's identity using his shape-shifting and transformation ability making it easy for him to inject an undetectable poison into his bloodstream without raising any further doubts.
"If you didn't approve it then how did they get through at all?" Lakshya pointed
"To be honest I don't know" the doctor told him
Lakshya then hung up the call feeling pretty frustrated about the situation.
"What's wrong?" Shipra asked him
"Mr. Sinha's dead" he told her
"But how?" Abhay who just entered living room asked after overhearing what Lakshya just mentioned. Lakshya then explained what the doctor told him and prepared to leave for the police station.
"Wait, I'm coming as well" Lakshya followed his brother and walked out of the Mansion.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
At the police station Lakshya and Abhay were made to wait for over three hours along with Mr. Kulkarni before they were allowed to meet Vikram.
"What brings you here now? Your witness is dead so I guess you've got nothing much left to your father's defence besides that questionable surveillance footage" Vikram asked them in a seemingly mocking manner.
"Mr. Kulkarni please hand him what we've got" Lakshya instructed the lawyer who then pulled out a pen drive from his pocket and handed the same over to Vikram.
"What's this?" Vikram looked pretty puzzled as he received the little storage device.
"You'll find out" Lakshya told him seeming quite confident which was pretty evident by his smirk.
Vikram then plugged in the pendrive into his laptop and opened a video file as directed by Mr. Kulkarni.
As the video file played, Vikram's eyes grew wide, it was a video recording of Mr. Sinha testifying in favor of Anvay's alibi. Lakshya made sure to have it recorded back in the village just in case Mr. Sinha turned hostile or refused to testify later.
"Since the witness is no longer amongst us, I believe this should suffice" Lakshya told him and then gestured to Mr. Kulkarni to hand him an additional document. "This is a report confirming the authenticity of this video" Mr Kulkarni told Vikram as he handed over the document which was then examined by the latter.
"Since you have what you need to verify the surveillance footage submitted earlier, I'm sure you have no real reason to lock our father up anymore" Abhay pointed
"Alright then" Vikram then unwillingly began the procedure to get Anvay released.
Once Anvay was out he was greeted by both his sons who were overjoyed to see him out before they walked out of the police station while Lakshya stayed back and entered Vikram's office once again.
"What do you want now?" Vikram asked Lakshya wondering what kept him back.
Lakshya then walked up close towards him, "I know what you are and that it was you behind this entire conspiracy. However I promise you, whatever it is that you're planning against my family, I won't allow it and make sure you fail at it"
"Excuse me?" Vikram looked at him with a raised brow
"You know it's pointless denying everything, this time you better watch out, if I see you or your kind anywhere near my family it'll be the beginning of your end" Lakshya warned Vikram who then watched the former leave his office and the premises.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
Everyone gathered at the living room of the Singh Mansion where they eagerly waited for Lakshya's and Abhay's return back home.
Abhay stepped inside and was surrounded by everyone in the middle of the living room.
"What happened? What now? Will they release him?" They asked him
"See for yourself" Abhay told them as he turned to look back, the rest then did the same and found Lakshya walk in along with Anvay.
Overjoyed they then approach them both.
"Is he back for good?" Chandrika asked Lakshya to which he answered "yes"
They then begin to celebrate.
Shipra pulls Anvay aside and then reminds him about Lakshya's wedding, the date for which was approaching.
"A lot of time has been lost, we need to get ready and prepare for the upcoming functions" Shipra told him
"Don't worry, now that I'm back I'll make sure to get it done" Anvay assured her
Three weeks later
The Singh Mansion was getting decorated for the haldi ceremony to be held the next day.
Mahima was busy discussing all the requirements for the function with Anvay. Lakshya who just entered noticed her and was still suspicious of her given her relationship with Vikram.
As Mahima was done receiving the instructions she was about to walk out of the Mansion however was stalled by Lakshya who stood on top a stool at the entrance.
"Can you pass me that festoon?" He requested Mahima with the intention of confirming if she too were a serpent. Apparently the festoon was made of bilva leaves which was effective at preventing the entry of supernatural shapeshifting serpents from getting through it's threshold as advised by Adish.
"Can you ask someone else, I'm kind of held up at the moment" She told him citing she was carrying a lot of stuff already.
"You can put that down on this table here for a minute, I wouldn't have asked you if your staff weren't busy and occupied with the other preparations, so please don't mind" He told her
Although a bit hesistant she relented and placed her files and bag on the table near the entrance.
She then walked towards the entrance and bent down to pick up the festoon which was on the entrance floor. Lakshya observed her every movement as she then picked up the festoon.
"Ouch!" Mahima let out a little cry of pain making Lakshya wonder if he was right to suspect her.
................................................................................................................................................................................................
To be continued......
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Comments (4)
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Mirabelle @Eydis
+ 12
2 years ago
Omg It's soo good rein ๐๐๐
Bloodmoon @Bloodmoon
+ 2
2 years ago
That's worth the wait. Thank you for the update.....