Chapter 29

A Twist of Events Ch. 26

To his surprise, the gate opened squeakily, creating a large creaking noise. He slowly made his way in.

What used to be the vibrant, colorful gardens his mother had tended to, were now dead patches of yellowing grass. What used to be the little brick pathway, he and di had spent most of their time running and chasing each other on, was now a molding, rickety pile of unshapely bricks.

He made his way into the tall, scary entrance of the house, the doors stood dauntingly before him. He slowly pushed them open and once again was surprised to find them open. Why were these doors open he thought momentarily, but didn't dwell on it much. One could question that If only he had dwelled upon the fact, Arnav Singh Raizada may have noticed the man lurking behind him and may have changed his fate and the events that would have taken place that day may have been altered.

But ofcourse, he was oblivious to all this and his sight settled on the place around him. It was dark and most of the old, dusty furniture was covered with white sheets. It looked like someone hadn't live here in ages. As he examined the dusty living room, the eerie silence was pierced by the ringing of his phone. He picked it up as he saw Amans name flash across the screen.

"Yea Aman" he asked sternly

"Boss, I still cant find anything telling me this paternity test is fake, I mean the stamps, the signatures, everything is in line." He sighed

Arnav felt his heart drop...no, no this couldn't be true. It just couldn't.

"Aman..find something...this document is not true under any circumstances!"

"Boss...we have only one option"

"what is it?" he snapped

"Have another paternity test...this time I will supervise it and have the doctor give me all the details himself"

"Yea that's a good idea...do that," Aranv said as he sighed out of relief. There was still hope, "...just get their DNA somehow and soon...and Don't hurt Shaila while your at it" he said sternly.

"Alright Boss"

Arnav was just about to turn off the phone when he heard Aman say his name through the receiver,

"Yes Aman? " he asked

"Boss..I found something on Khushi bhabi like you asked" he said. Arnav's heart picked up speed,

"Already? It hasn't even been 24 hours yet...Aman your getting really good at this" Arnav chuckled

Aman laughed back, "ahahah what can I say Boss? Sometimes I feel more like a personal investigator rather than a manager"

"Yea whats the use of calling private investigation companies when I have you?" Arnav said light heartedly. Aman laughed again,

"Alright so ...about Khushi babhi, I found out that she was living in Lucknow in a house that is under her name, passed on to her by a friend with the name Sunitra who died a few years back. After some time, she began working for a company known as KM enterprises."

"Aman..Apparently I heard that got shut down...why was that so?"Arnav asked sure not to reveal his relation to the man known as Kavindra.

"Kavindra Malik...it was originally named ArvindChowd and Co as it originally belonged to his father Arvind...but then passed on to his elder brother Raghav once Arvind Chowdhury Malik had died. But due to the sudden suicide of Raghav Malik a few years after inheriting the business...Kavindra Malik took hold of the company some 30- 35 years back and changed the name to Kavindra Malik...but due to low consumerism and his bad business tactics, he managed to lower the name of the once biggest empire in India until it became nothing and it was shut down a few years ago...the only reason it went on for that long was because he had friends helping him keep it alive...Malick was a terrible business man."

Arnav thought about his words.

sudden suicide of Raghav Malik

Kavindra Malik took hold of the company some 30-35 years back

The words reverberated in his mind. His father committed suicide??! He was 33 now. That means Kavindra Malik took the company before his birth. He had always known the company as KM enterprises...never ArvindChowd and Co.

"Hey Boss? Boss?! You still here? What happened?" Aman's words took him out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat,

"yea continue Aman"

"OK so anyways, about Khushi Babhi...the business closed down some time later...but I found information of some interest here. Apparently...Kavindra Malik had formed something for Khushi...and he always singled her out in everything. After some statements from former employees at KM...I came to know that he was a much hated boss who never even appeared to office and paid very minimum salary. They all said, after Khushi began working, he instantly took some interest in her and came to work every day...he made her his personal assistant. A lot of these people told me that there was very something sinister in his air...more than usual as he addressed Khushi...as if he knew some secret of hers that he was using against her...and yea..thats about all I could find. After the company's closure, there was nothing much I could find about her life."

"Do you know about anyone who may have been after her?" Arnav asked

"After her? Boss is bhabi alright?" he asked worriedly

"Aman please just get on with it..ill explain later"

"No Boss I don't, but If I were to place my bets on anyone, I would place it on that Kavindra Malik guy...seems he had something against Khushi since day 1. I think he may have been trying to blackmail her into something...but she would never let it show, seems she was protecting something very important to her"

Finally some gears kicked in in Arnavs brain and he put another piece of the puzzle in. That thing Kavindra Malik was using against her...was him. Arnav Singh Raizada. She was trying to protect him. What did Kavindra Malik want from him anyway?

He smiled at Khushi...his Khushi. Always looking out for him. How had he believed her when she claimed to love Shyam? HOW?! How could he not see right through her major lie...Everything she was doing, she was doing for him.

But, he thought as he shook his head, why was she such an unbearably, self sacrificing nave saint? She should have told him about this mess..he would've helped her.

"Did you find any link between Shyam and Kavindra?" he asked Aman

"Shyam who? Your jijaji?"

"Yea"

"uhh...no I haven't.."

"look into it" Arnav instructed

"Okay Boss"

"Alright thanks Aman.." Arnav said as he shut off the phone, putting it on silence this time. One could also argue that if Arnav Singh Raizada had not put his phone on silent, he may have received the call and would have returned to Delhi, and not faced what was to come his way. But yet again, he was oblivious to the games fate would play with him and he continued examining the place that at one time used to be his childhood home.

He found himself in front of his mother's old room. The room with the view of the beautiful, colorful garden. The only room Kavindra Malik had never visited as he had never any interest in this small side room. She had made this as some sort of an escape for herself and only went to her bedroom when she was summoned by Kavindra. Arnav remembered asking her what she found so special in this room and she had replied that it gave her solace and she liked the view of the garden outside.

He entered the room, and a swish of cool air blew past him as he realized the French windows to the garden were open. He went towards the windows, the long, white drapes cocooning him, he stepped outside to look at his mothers garden, the light from the late morning sun contrasting with the darkness inside, blinding him momentarily. What he saw was only remains of what used to be. The garden was no longer a garden, but rather a vast area of sediment and wilting stems.

He couldn't see this. He couldn't bear to see all the hard work his mother had put into that garden to go to such waste. He closed the windows behind him and entered the room. He looked around, and just as downstairs, everything was covered by white sheets and an eerie silence hung in the air. He took a seat on the sheet clad couch..the large, plush one his mother had so dearly loved. She would always be sitting here, across the windows, looking at the garden as she read a book; the light breeze swaying her long hair gently, the morning sun giving her a glow, the earthy, dewy smell from outside. Arnav remembered all of it. As he took a seat, he felt a creaky floor beneath his foot. He touched it again, and it creaked louder, even moving slightly. He gave it a push again, this time harder and the floorboard moved slightly revealing a dark area underneath. Arnav got off the couch and tried prying the floorboard completely off. Within a few mere seconds, he was successful and the floorboard was removed, revealing a small opening containing a folded, slightly wrinkled, yellowed page.

all original work belongs to arshiforever123. Please do not copy.

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