Rishbala FF: Games of Deception (Chapter 12, Pg. 74) 02-08-2016 (NEW!) - Page 7

Very interesting teaser.

Waiting to know more...

Will be waiting for the update 😊

Mumbai, Maharashtra, Bandra

Death is a natural part of a life cycle, yet it is the most unexpected and heart-wrenching event that leaves the living in a state of utter chaos. The loved ones left behind, must pick up the pieces and cope through the tough times. Much goes into arranging a funeral and settling affairs; it takes strength and willpower to deal with it all with grace. Though he wants to give voice to the anguish threatening to rip his heart to pieces, Rishabh Kundra remains quietly somber in honor of the man his father had wanted him to become.

Standing at the window, he watches with cool detachment, his father's harried lawyer, Siddharth Shah, drive his silver Mercedes Benz C-63 through their bungalow's ornate, majestic gates. Rishabh closes his eyes as memories of the time he and his family had moved in their newly constructed home. He was just 5 years old at that time and still remembers being in awe of the white washed, cobble stoned ground and the pristine water fountain that had beckoned him to jump in and splash water on his irate, older sibling.

Their home is still as appealing as when it was newly constructed. Rishabh's father had designed it in loving memory of his beloved wife, who had always wanted a home that was spectacularly grand, yet warm and cozy. The grey bricks adds warmth to the Edwardian style home and the large, open windows and doors in contrasting pearly white, welcomes the sunlight during the day, making their home very bright and airy. Rishabh's father always used to say that the sunlight shining through the windows, bathing their house in glowing warmth was his mother's way of bestowing her blessings and love on her family. Now his father is also gone and he would like to think that he is up in heaven with his mother and together they will bestow their blessings on him, keeping a watchful vigilance over his family.

Returning back to the present, Rishabh turns around to see that Mr. Shah has been ushered in to their marbled foyer and into his father's office that he had set up to occasionally work from home. Crossing his arms, he leans his broad shoulders on to the window, balancing his muscular frame. His hazel eyes alight with affection as the grey haired lawyer, who has also been a friend of the family for years, walks into their ornately decorated living room, in hues of red, white and gold. Rishabh reflects that though he prefers modern, contemporary furniture and architecture; the overly traditional room, just like the rest of the house, with the richly, embossed mahogany woodworks and classic, antique pieces of art, still feels warm and cozy.

Mr. Shah ambles over to the white, high back chair and with a tired sigh, he lowers his small, fragile frame down and leans back, contentedly, against the red and gold embroidered, silk cushions. He smiles in greeting at the expectant faces, looking at him in equal parts of warmth, affection and trepidation. It has been a few days since Mohan Kundra has passed away and tonight they will be read their father's last will. Like any family in possession of a large fortune, the Kundras, with the exception of Rishabh who could truly care less, wonder what percentage of the vast fortune they have inherited.

Mr. Shah opens his black, leather briefcase with an air of importance and looks up at Risahbh, still standing, leaning against the window. He speaks in a raspy voice, "Rishabh. I am about to reveal the contents of your father's last testament. Would you like to join us and take a seat?"

Rishabh shakes his head and responds in a deep, resonant voice, "I am fine where I am uncle. Please proceed whenever you are ready."

Rishabh's youngest sister, Trishna, nods her head in affirmation and speaks in a voice far too young for a woman of 27 years, "Forget bhai. He has always considered himself to be apart from the family, like he is better than the rest of us."

Trishna's fianc and also best friend to Rishabh, Shiv Anandi, squeezes Trishna's hands to get her to curb her tongue but she ignores him and continues, "Just ignore his cold, aloof and inhospitable behavior uncle and please start reading father's last will. I am most anxious, as is most of us in this room, to know the details of our inheritance."

Mr. Shah shakes his head in consternation and pulls out the sealed envelope from his case. Opening the seal, he pulls out the letters Mohan Kundra had written for each of his children as well as the papers for the last testament. In a practiced, well-intoned voice, Mr. Shah begins to read the last will and testament,

LAST WILL OF Mohan Kundra

I, Mohan Kundra, a resident of the state of Mumbai, Maharashtra, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, at least 18 years of age, and not actuated by any duress, menace, fraud, mistake, or undue influence, do freely make, publish, and declare this to be my last Will, hereby expressly revoking all Wills and Codicils previously made by me.

I. EXECUTOR

I appoint my son, Rishabh Kundra, as Executor of this my Last Will and Testament and provide if this Executor is unable or unwilling to serve then I appoint my son-in-law, Hitesh Shergill, as alternate Executor. My Executor shall be authorized to carry out all provisions of this Will and pay my just debts, obligations and funeral expenses. I further provide my Executor shall not be required to post surety bond in this or any other jurisdiction, and direct that no expert appraisal be made of my estate unless required by law.

II. BEQUESTS

I, Mohan Kundra, herby bequeath, upon my death, my villa in Shimla and 500,000 shares of Kundra Industries to my daughter, Roma Shergill.

I, Mohan Kundra, herby bequeath, upon my death, my apartment home in Manhattan, New York and 500,000 shares of Kundra Industries to my son-in-law, Hitesh Shergill.

I, Mohan Kundra, herby bequeath, upon my death, my bungalow in New Delhi and 500,000 shares of Kundra Industries to my daughter, Trishna Kundra.

I, Mohan Kundra, hereby bequeath, upon my death, 50,000 shares of Kundra Industries to my future son-in-law, Shiv Anandi.

I, Mohan Kundra, hereby bequeath, upon my death, 15,000 shares of Kundra Industries to my trusted friend and legal advisor, Siddharth Shah.

I, Mohan Kundra, herby bequeath, upon my death, 5,000 shares each of Kundra Industries to the loyal servants, Patil, Mangesh, Raju and Neha, who has served my family for years.

I, Mohan Kundra, herby bequeath, upon my death, my home in Mumbai, Maharashtra, flat in Dubai, townhome in Belgravia, London, UK and 20,000,000 shares of Kundra Industries to my son, Rishabh Kundra. Thereby, making him a majority shareholder, with 55% ownership in Kundra Industries. Thus, I bequeath him the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Let it also be known that any assets that I have not mentioned in this last testamentary shall be equally divided between my living children, Rishabh Kundra, Roma Shergill and Trishna Kundra.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, Mohan Kundra, hereby set my hand to this last Will, on each page of which I have placed my initials, on this 5th day of June, 2014.

Mohan Kundra

Mr. Shah, places the documents back in the broken envelope and adds in a kind voice, "I know that some of you may not be too happy with the way Mohan has divvied up his assets but trust me, he loved all of you equally." He holds up three envelopes, addressed to each of the Kundras in bold, elegant script, and stands up to give to them. He hands the first letter to Trishna.

Trishna jumps up from the red and gold paisley loveseat and furiously throws it on the cream, gold Persian rug. Her hazel eyes look like molten ash in the fire of her fury. She points an accusing finger at Rishabh and screams, "How the hell did you convince father to leave you with most of the Kundra fortune? I demand to know why you get such a large cut and I have only been given 500,000 shares. 500,000 shares! Is it because I am only a daughter and not a son that I only get a mere fraction of the wealth that he has accumulated? God. I didn't know my own father would turn out to be such a sexist!"

Shiv stands up and furiously grabs Trishna's shoulders in a vice like grip. He gives her a good shake and in a low, furious whispers, "What is the matter with you Trishna? Your father just passed away a few days ago and all you can think about is the cut of the fortune that you have inherited? Mohan uncle has given you everything...EVERYTHING that you have ever wanted and you are spewing such vile nonsense about him? You have lost your mind Trishna!"

Trishna screams as tears of fury run down her cheeks, "Then why did he leave bhai with far more shares than me?"

Rishabh stirs from his akimbo position against the window. He was immobile during the reading and as the first tremors of shock has receded, he speaks in a quiet tone, "I don't know why dad left me with majority of the shares for the company but I certainly didn't ask for it Trishna. Look it has been a long day for us and we should discuss this tomorrow morning in a cool, calm, rationale manner."

Roma walks over to Trishna and lays a soothing hand on head, brushing back her hair that is partially covering her face. In a warm, gentle tone, "Trishna. You are unnecessarily getting upset over the way dad decided to allocate his wealth. First of all, it was his to give and he had the right to give it to anyone that he deemed worthy to inherit his life's legacy. And knowing our father, I am sure he had a good reason for his decision. Whatever it may have been, we need to respect it. He was our father and I know that he loved all of us equally. I have told you many times before and I am going to tell you again, stop equating money with love. The number of shares you got does not quantify the love dad had for you."

Trishna irately pushes Roma's hands away from her face and breaks free from Shiv's hold on her shoulders. She snarls, "Easy for you to give me a lecture Di. You and jeeju got a bigger cut than I did." Points at Shiv, "Dad only left him with 50,000 shares! That means, our portion combined together is only 550,000 shares. Pittance compared to yours and" adds sarcastically, "let us not even compare it to our new Chairman, Rishabh Kundra's shares. I got shafted and none of you give a damn!"

Hitesh comes out of the shock that the will had incited and frowns at Trishna. He speaks sarcastically, "Stop throwing a hissy fit Trishna. You've never done a thing to help Kundra Industries grow into the powerhouse that it is today. Therefore, you have no right to complain." He takes a deep breath and then turns furiously to glare at Rishabh, "If anyone has the right to complain, that is me. In the 12 years that I have worked with dad, I have made the company vastly profitble. 12 years of blood, sweat and tears! None of you know this, but 12 years ago, Kundra Industries was on the verge of bankruptcy. But I worked day and night to make sure it recovered from the financial blow. I worked hard to bring the company to its current glory and now you, Rishabh, get to reap the benefits of my hard work?"

Trishna's brittle, cacophonous laugh leaves an unpleasant, tingling sensation down everyone's spine. She quiets down and sneers at Hitesh, "My dear jeeju, it is you who should not complain. You came straight from the gutter, with no money and now you're a CEO and by marrying Di, you've hit the jackpot."

The normally levelheaded and docile Roma, feels intense rage and she raises her hand to smack Trishna across the face. She rages, "How dare you be so disrespectful to MY HUSBAND? He is your jeeju and you have no right to speak to him in such a manner! I insist that you apologize to him now."

Rishabh speaks up in a quiet, hard tone his eyes flashing in warning, "Trishna you are crossing the line in your rage. I suggest you cease and desist now before you speak another word and say something that you will just come to regret afterwards."

Shiv hisses at Trishna, "Didn't I tell you to be quiet Trishna? Why don't you ever listen?"

Trishna holds her left cheek, more offended that she has been slapped than from the pain from the stinging blow from it. No one has ever raised a hand on her before. She has always been treated like a pampered princess but this evening, she rages inwardly, she has been insulted, slapped and treated worse than servant.

She drops her hand from her cheek and glares at everyone, "Why should I stop talking? Because none of you can't handle the truth? Well the truth is jeeju is not a Kundra. As far as dad was concerned, he is nothing more than a highly paid employee. Why should he get an equal portion like me, a true Kundra? And why the hell did dad have to leave a portion for the servants? They are servants after all and dad had paid them triple the wages compared to what they would have earned with any other employers. They are just servants, here to do our bidding. There's absolutely no need to treat them like family and more so give them a cut of our family fortune."

Rishabh has been keeping a tight rein on his temper since Trishna started ranting and raving all because she feels slighted. He understands that she is just hurt and lashing out but her vitriolic words are hurting others. And he will no longer tolerate it.

He gestures with his hand to Trishna to stop and in a loud, commanding voice demands, "That is enough out of Trishna! I swear if you say one more word, I won't be held liable for my actions. You will shut your trap and stop spewing bullshit about people who has done nothing but loved your entitle ass from the day you were born. Patil kaka, Mangesh kaka, Raju kaka and Neha bua may be just servants to you but they are family to me! I will not tolerate another word against them. Your greed has turned you into a rotten, spoilt brat and I am sorry that dad, di and I have pampered you so much that you became the kind of woman that I am ashamed to claim as a sister. If you can't apologize to them and also to jeeju for your acidic words the least you can do is retract your fangs and stop spreading your poison."

Rishabh turns to Mr. Shah apologetically, "Uncle I am sorry that you had to witness our family drama. It's quite late and we've been holding you back unnecessarily."

Mr. Shah smiles warmly and accepts the apology graciously, "It's okay Rishabh. This happens often when the last will is read out to bereaved family members."

Rishabh nods his head and holds out his hands to take the letter his father had addressed to him, "Uncle. May I have the letter dad wrote to me?"

Mr. Shah shakes his head and smiles apologetically, "Sorry son. I completely forgot about it." Jokes, "That's what happens when we get up on in age. Our memories go down south." Hands the letter to Rishabh, "Here you go son. I will take all of your leave now." Glances at Trishna, "Sleep well my dear. Tomorrow morning once you have calmed down, you can sort out the differences with your siblings. All will be well."

Rishabh nods his head and wishes Mr. Shah good night. He holds his father's letter tightly in his hands, savoring the faint smell of whiskey and cigar that he always associated with Mohan Kundra. He wants nothing more than to drown out the melee occurring in his living room and tear open the envelope, to read the last words his father has for him.

Unbeknownst to Rishabh, a pair of eyes angrily glitter at him and vow to strip him off all his wealth, pride and dignity.

Wattpad Link: http://www.wattpad.com/125119476-games-of-deception-chapter-2-meet-the-players-ii

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The drawbacks of being wealthy. Family member very unhappy with MK's last will. Especially trishna n jiju. Trishna is equating love n wealth. Rishabh not interested n ends up owning 55% share. He is missing his father. Feel very sad for him. He will have his hands full dealing with trishna. A spoilt brat.😡

Waiting for madhu's entry in this whole scenario. Who is going to deceive whom?

Love your writing.

Thanks for pm.