Chapter 5

6 months ago

Anushkaa

@nushhkiee

Chapter 5 -

The evening was unnaturally quiet, and the air in Khurana Mansion felt thick with tension. Maan stood at the large window in his study, staring out into the sprawling estate. The garden, once alive with the vibrant colors of blooming flowers, now looked desolate under the dim light of the setting sun. His mind, however, wasn’t on the garden...it was lost in a sea of questions. Ranjit Singh Khurana, his beloved Chacha, had been brutally murdered, and each passing day seemed to pull him further into a labyrinth of deceit and suspicion.

Dev. The very thought of his younger brother being implicated in the murder sent a shiver down Maan's spine. He could hardly believe it, but Arjun's insistence left him with no choice but to consider it.

There had to be more to this than met the eye.

Geet.

Maan's thoughts shifted to his wife. It had been barely a month since their wedding, and already, they had been thrust into a situation neither had expected. Geet had become not just his wife, but his confidante, his partner in everything. Her presence had brought an unexpected sense of calm to his chaotic world, but even she seemed uneasy now. The tension between the two families...the Khuranas and the Handa family...was palpable, and Maan couldn’t shake the feeling that someone in the house was lying.

His gaze moved across the room, landing on the family photograph on the shelf. Ranjit’s smiling face was surrounded by his wife, children, and Maan’s father. The laughter in the picture seemed almost haunting now. A murder within these walls was a betrayal of everything Ranjit had stood for.

Suddenly, the door creaked open behind him. He turned to find Geet standing there, her face etched with concern.

“Are you still up?” she asked softly, stepping into the room. “It’s almost midnight.”

Maan sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. “I can’t sleep, Geet. I can’t stop thinking about Chacha Ji… about what happened.”

Geet closed the door quietly and walked toward him. She could feel the weight of his frustration and worry hanging in the air. The man who had always been so composed, so confident, was now a man unraveling at the edges.

“I know,” Geet said gently. “But we can’t do this alone. You need rest, Maan Ji. And we need to be rational if we’re going to get to the truth.”

Maan looked at her, his eyes filled with a storm of emotions. “I don’t trust anyone in this house anymore, Geet. Every one of them has something to hide. Arjun’s accusation about Dev… it doesn’t sit right with me. There’s something I’m not seeing.”

“I know,” Geet replied, her voice steady, her eyes meeting his with unwavering trust. “But we can’t make assumptions based on one person’s suspicion. We have to be careful about who we trust. And who we don’t.”

Maan stepped closer to her, his eyes dark with determination. “You’re right. But I need you with me on this. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

Geet placed a hand on his chest, feeling the rapid beat of his heart under her palm. “We’re in this together, Maan,” she whispered. “We’ll find the truth, no matter how long it takes.”

For a moment, the world outside seemed to disappear, and the only thing that mattered was the warmth of her hand against his heart. But the sound of footsteps outside the room broke their silent moment.

Before Maan could respond, the door opened.

It was Arjun.

“Maan,” Arjun said breathlessly, his face pale. “You need to come downstairs. There’s been another… incident.”

Maan’s heart skipped a beat. Another incident?

“Another one?” Geet asked, her voice tinged with alarm.

Arjun nodded, his eyes darting nervously toward the hallway. “It’s your father’s study, Maan. There’s something there that… you need to see.”

Without another word, Maan grabbed Geet’s hand and led her out of the room. The house felt colder now, as if the very walls were closing in. They rushed down the long corridor, and when they reached the study, Maan’s gaze immediately fell on the desk. A piece of paper lay there, folded neatly. But it wasn’t the neatness that caught his attention...it was the bloodstained edges.

Maan felt his pulse quicken. He moved swiftly toward the desk and picked up the paper. Unfolding it, his eyes scanned the contents. It was a letter, written in a hurried, almost frantic hand.

“If you want to know the truth, you’ll have to look in places you least expect. But beware… someone close to you is not who they claim to be.”

Maan’s fingers tightened around the letter. The cryptic message sent a wave of unease through him. Someone close to him? The words echoed in his mind.

Geet stepped beside him, her eyes wide as she read the letter. “What does this mean?” she asked, her voice low, fearful. “Who left this?”

“I don’t know,” Maan muttered, looking at the paper as if it would somehow reveal its secrets. “But this changes everything.”

---

Hours later, Maan couldn’t shake the feeling that he was chasing shadows. The more he tried to find a lead, the more elusive the truth seemed. The house was full of potential suspects, each of them holding pieces of the puzzle, but none of them seemed to fit.

Dev.

Arjun’s accusation weighed heavily on Maan’s mind, but he still couldn’t bring himself to believe it. Dev had always been the more passive of the two brothers, easily overshadowed by Maan’s strong presence. But what if Arjun was right? What if Dev had been harboring resentment for all these years, and had finally snapped?

Maan had to find out. He couldn’t ignore the possibility.

He needed to confront Dev.

---

The next morning, Maan found himself standing outside Dev’s bedroom, his hand poised to knock. The silence in the hallway felt suffocating, the air thick with anticipation. Maan wasn’t sure what he was expecting from this conversation...whether it would provide answers or just more questions...but he couldn’t avoid it any longer.

Dev opened the door slowly, his face expressionless, but his eyes betraying a flicker of surprise when he saw Maan standing there.

“Maan?” Dev said, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “What’s going on?”

“I need to talk to you,” Maan said, his voice low but firm. “About Ranjit Chacha.”

Dev’s face faltered for a split second, his lips pressed into a thin line. “What about him?”

“About his death,” Maan said, his eyes locking with Dev’s. “Arjun seems to think you know more than you’re letting on.”

Dev’s face paled, but he quickly recovered, stepping aside to let Maan enter. The tension between them was palpable.

“Arjun… he’s jumping to conclusions,” Dev said, his voice tight. “I don’t know anything about it, Maan.”

“You don’t know anything about it?” Maan pressed, walking further into the room. “Dev, I’m trying to help you. But if you’re hiding something...if you know anything that could help me find the truth...I need to hear it from you now.”

Dev’s eyes darted nervously to the door, as if he expected someone to overhear their conversation. He ran a hand through his hair, his expression strained.

“I don’t know who killed Chacha Ji,” Dev said finally, his voice almost a whisper. “But I know something… something that might explain why it happened.”

Maan raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

Dev hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a barely audible voice. “Chacha was planning to change his will. He was going to leave everything to you, and none of us knew about it. Not even Chachi Ji.”

Maan felt a surge of anger rise in him. “What are you saying, Dev? That this was about money?”

Dev looked at him with wide, haunted eyes. “I’m not saying that but .... But I think someone else in this house found out. And that’s why they killed him.”

---

As Maan absorbed Dev’s words, a sudden thought hit him like a thunderclap. What if the killer wasn’t after the money, but was after something more? What if this wasn’t about inheritance at all? What if it was about the secrets Ranjit had been keeping?

As Geet had said, they couldn’t make assumptions. But one thing was clear...there were too many secrets in this house, and someone was willing to kill to keep them hidden.