chapter 30

Justice?After what Tam had said to me, I knew I had to confront her. So, after contemplating my next move very carefully, I went to her apartment.“NO!” Tam barked into the intercom. Her security guard had called her to inform about my arrival.“I am here with a modeling proposal. You know Sohail, don’t you?” I spoke casually, trying to gain entry. “Fine, you can come,” Tam muttered after a long, thoughtful pause, and I found my way into her apartment. I was exceptionally impressed by her living condition. The society she was living in was very new and hardly occupied. It was rumored to be one of the most expensive places in Delhi. The interior was remarkable and luxurious.“You have ten minutes,” Tam declared the moment she opened the door for me. I shrugged and entered. “So, what is this offer, not that I need any favors from you.” I wanted to slap the smug off her face, but I resisted. “Sohail is starting a new line of lingerie and is looking for a model,” I started.“But you are Sohail’s top model,” Tam was surprised.“I don’t wear exotic clothes, Tam. Everybody knows that.” I answered with an attitude, and this time she gave me a look that said she was resisting an urge to slap me. “Anyways, interested?” I asked, rolling my eyes.“Why come to me?” she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.“Yes, we haven’t exactly been best friends. And this isn’t a favor. I need something in return,” I replied simply.She snickered and asked, “Of course, and what is it?”“I just want to know why you said what you said to me!”  My own statement confused me, but she understood.“Said to you what?” she asked carelessly, but her smile suggested otherwise. As I just stared at her, she added with the wickedest smile, “You see, you may have Pratham, but I also have someone. Someone far more resourceful than what a small-town whore like you have.”Pratham’s name felt like a jerk to me.“Tam, who is it?” I asked, trying to calm my rising temper. However, instead of answering me, she just shrugged. And her shrug rose something in me. Something sinister. “Tam, I was really hoping I didn’t have to resort to this, but you just forced my hand,” I sighed, without any empathy.“What?” she asked, smile vanishing from her face. And at this, I pulled out a small spray bottle from my pocket and released its content straight in her face. Within seconds, Tam fell on the ground with a loud thud.“Now, I will get my answers,” I muttered as I got to work.Pratham, Shiva, and Sarv were huddled around Pratham’s phone, and a very frantic Tam was crying on the speakerphone. Shiva and Sarv had extended their stay to support me, and now were staying in our spare bedroom. I slipped into the house, and everybody looked up.“I cannot believe you are with that savage monster. She is brutal and ruthless, Pratham,” Tam’s shrill cry issued from Pratham’s phone. The expressions on everyone’s face suggested that Tam had told them what I just did to her.“Please Pratham, I really need you. Can you come over tonight?” Tam sobbed. I couldn’t believe my ears. I was about to retort, but Pratham raised his hand to shush me.“Tam, it’s already 10. You should go to sleep. I will see you tomorrow, okay?” Pratham’s words shocked me. “Pratham, I –” she started, but Pratham interjected. “I understand what you had to endure was wrong, and I promise I will take care of it.” His sympathetic voice bothered me.“I should go to the police and file a report,” she hissed.“But you won’t. For me Tam, please. I will see you tomorrow,” Pratham spoke with finality and disconnected.The moment Tam was off the line, Shiva rushed towards me and snarled, “Are you out of your bloody mind?” “No, I am not. Why do you ask?” I responded simply.“Ishana, I thought that night in school was a one-off thing, and you won’t do anything like that again,” Shiva roared, unable to accept my cold attitude.“What did she tell you?” I demanded outraged. How dare she spoke about that night with Dev in front of Pratham.Shiva was too furious to speak. “Did you really tie her up to a chair and threaten to throw her down ten floors if she didn’t comply?” It was Pratham who asked, and he was disappointed and shocked.“Maybe,” I whispered, unable to retort.“Did you really say that it was stupid of her that she was living in a hardly occupied building. And that nobody lived in her neighboring flats to hear her screams?” he continued.“Maybe,” I murmured in the same tone. “How do you even know?” Shiva wondered. “Are you stalking her, Ishana?” she added bitterly.“I have my resources.” I didn’t feel guilty when I spoke to her, but Pratham’s expressions were crushing me.“How did you even manage to tie her up?” Sarv wondered.“I may have sprayed her with chloroform first,” I replied, doodling on the table.“What?” they all spoke together, making me jump.I stared at them in turn, all three of them had a grim look on their faces. The worst was Pratham’s. He felt betrayed – as if he didn’t know me at all. Taking a deep breath, I narrated my last couple of hours. “After Tam threatened me today in college,” I started, and Pratham slumped into the sofa dejectedly. “I snuck out. I did my quick research on Tam and then went to her apartment. I lied to her that I was there on behalf of Sohail, and she let me in. While talking, I confronted her with respect to what she meant by her words, but she denied answering. So, after making her unconscious,” I paused to see their expressions, it was as if they were all set in stone. I continued, “I dragged her to the balcony,” Pratham flinched at my words, “and I hoisted her on a chair and strapped her to it. Tilting the chair, I tied it to the railing, and waited for her to gain consciousness.”“You strapped her?” Shiva whispered, unable to believe.“Of course, do you think she would have stayed put in that damn chair?” I snapped, and Shiva recoiled at my expressions. “Anyways, she was freaking out when she came through. I expected that. She started screaming for help, but the way she lives, at the wrong side of the building with literally no occupancy in the neighboring flats, nobody came to her aid. I then asked my questions, and she, yet again, refused to answer. She even mentioned that I had lost Pratham by this stunt because he would never accept my such behavior.” Pratham shifted uncomfortably. “I asked my questions again, and when she didn’t answer even after the tenth time, I pushed her chair into the balcony’s glass wall. She must have felt that my warning was real because she blabbered everything.”“What did she tell you?” Shiva asked irately.“Some producer – even she doesn’t know who – is madly in love with her. He gave her the apartment and many new assignments. And it was his request that she spoke those words to me. The agent, man who works on the producer’s behalf, had passed on the message. And given Tam already hates me and has no empathy whatsoever towards Ankit’s death, did the honor.” Pratham sunk even lower in his seat and hid his face in his hands, abashed. Sighing, I continued.“Tam is obsessed with Pratham, and after she revealed everything, she started ranting about having sex with him. I pushed her again towards the balcony, and finally, she shut up.” Pratham now was looking at me with scared and bewildered expressions. “I wasn’t going to throw her off. I am not mad. She was tied to a chair, pushing her would have proved murder. I could have resprayed chloroform and had thrown her off, but killing her was not on my agenda. Only scaring her was…” I defended my intentions. “W-why?” Sarv’s voice got all huffed at my declaration. “Because she said something to me that forced me to act,” I supplied, but they were too numb to react. They just waited for me to continue. “She said, ‘Anybody I ever loved deserves similar fate. It was Ankit now, but it could be anyone next.’”“What does it even mean?” Shiva wondered out loud.“Don’t you see? Ankit was murdered because of me!” “NO ISHANA. Ankit’s death was a tragedy, but her words were just to goad you. They didn’t mean anything,” Shiva spoke, trying to be reasonable. But I shook my head.“You were not there,” I defended. “And, you think someone killed my best friend just for fun? Beaten him? Tortured him?” I felt my body shake at my own words.“Nobody is saying that,” Sarv interjected. “But Ishana…”“I know what she said. She even threatened all of you.”“So, now we all are in danger too? Why? Because we are YOUR friends,” Shiva screeched sarcastically.“I cannot prove it as of now.” I gritted my teeth. “Ishana, you have to stop making everything about yourself. Our lives, Ankit’s life didn’t revolve around you. He didn’t die because of you,” Shiva whispered the last sentence, and it felt like a huge blow. “I…” I started, but Shiva thundered, cutting me.“It’s enough, Ishana… Enough, seriously! You cannot hide your actions behind someone else’s name.” Her tone and glaring look shook me. She continued, “And don’t say you didn’t enjoy torturing her.”My expressions must have said it all because Shiva continued in a haphazard tone, “You are a sociopath and a sadist Ishana. Your mother broke you beyond my comprehension. I think you need psychiatric help,”“Okay enough,” Pratham spoke finally. Tears had sparkled my cheeks now. “You both should go to your room. I need to speak to my wife in private.” Shiva glared at Pratham, and I would have murdered her if she yelled at him too. But Sarv dragged her out.“Ishana,” Pratham started once alone.“I wasn’t going to kill her,” I whispered.“I know. Of course, I know that you are not a murderer. But what you forced her to endure was not right,” Pratham started, and I slumped on to a chair.“Why, Ishana?” He was not screaming like Shiva. Instead, he was trying to see through my reasons.“She threatened me,” I started exasperated.“Yes, I got that. But she is Tam, that’s what girls like her do. Why did you feel the urge to react, that too so severely?” Pratham enquired simply.He was right. Her words were a mere empty threat, but it was something in her tone that had forced my hand. And I didn’t know how to explain that tone to him. I sniffed, and Pratham gave me his usual deep searching look. Somehow, he was unable to fathom what I had done. “I hope she keeps her promise and not complain to Police.”“She cannot prove a thing,” I babbled hurriedly, and he narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t leave any evidence.”“What?” he started shocked but stopped abruptly and closed his eyes. “There are no marks on her body. I tied her over her clothes, and she is not that fragile,” I remarked, and it took him a moment to process my words.“Still, it is not good for your reputation. You are a public figure, you need to maintain a healthy image,” he whispered after a long, harrowing pause.“They can call me sociopath, sadist whatever. But I don’t care about anything when it comes to people I love,” I declared, and he sighed. “I wouldn’t have thrown her over,” I pleaded. We were married only for a few months, and I didn’t want it to end because of Tam.“I know you can never murder anybody,” he started rubbing his forehead anxiously. However, at his words, I stood up guiltily. He was about to say something but stopped at my expressions.“Actually,” a tear escaped my eye. “I have never told this to anybody, but I have.”“You have what?” his casual tone stated that he didn’t understand my words.“Murdered.” I expected him to be shocked, maybe recoil from me, but instead, he laughed. “Yeah, right!”“You don’t believe me?” I asked flabbergasted.“Of course, I don’t believe you. You are my love, my angel, my light, my jaan. You are the best thing in my life. You cannot be a murderer,” he declared, and another tear escaped my eye. Reading my expressions, he asked casually, “Ok. So, who did you ‘murder’?” he mocked.“Remember those photographs?” I whispered.It took him a moment to recall. With screwed-up eyes, he asked, “Of those bastards from your school?” I nodded.“Kunal…” I started.“The one who raped you!” he spoke with clenched fists.“He couldn’t. He tried to. I was saved. But I didn’t want him to try again. And –” I wanted to explain more. Tell him what exactly happened, but he did the most unexpected thing. He rushed towards me and hugged me with all his might.“I didn’t have the courage to ask you before. But I am relieved to know that you didn’t have to endure that heinous act. What I saw was terrible enough.”“Do you forgive me?” I sobbed in his arms.“For murdering the man who did that to you? If you hadn’t, I would have.” And with the smile I live and die for, he kissed me.“But for what you did to Tam,” he continued after breaking the kiss. “Promise me you won’t do anything like this or in lines of it ever again. If you have any troubles, come to me. Don’t take the law in your hands.”I considered him for a moment. From what I had gathered so far, something sinister was happening. Somehow, someone else was pulling the strings of my life, and I had to get to the bottom of it. And for that, I needed to get my hands dirty.“Well?” he asked again.“I promise I won’t do anything until and unless someone I love is hurt or threatened.”“Hmm…” he spoke as he lovingly caressed my cheeks, “I guess I would be vengeful too if someone came after you.”“I won’t let anything happen to you, ever,” I announced in an aggressive tone. He laughed at my sentiment. “Don’t you think that should be my line?” he asked, placing his forehead against mine.“Maybe we both will protect each other,” I smiled at his gesture, feeling utterly relieved. “What did Shiva mean by that night? What did you do all those years ago?” he asked, staring into my eyes.“You really want to know?” I whispered guiltily, and he considered me for a moment.“I do want to know, but maybe some other time. I think I have had enough for one day,” and he hugged me again.That day I had revealed my darkest secret to him, and he had accepted me as it is. That day I knew no matter what I did, he would love me and cherish me forever. And that day I knew no matter what life or anyone might throw at me, till the time Pratham was by my side, there was nothing I could not fight.  Present Day in Ishana’s HouseRavi wasn’t shocked. He very well knew by now what kind of sociopathic sadist she was. And after listening to everything she had done before; it was a miracle she had left Tam alive.“So, Tam is now Sohail’s model?” Ravi asked indirectly.“No. After our long discussion, Pratham and I turned in for the night. Somehow, I couldn’t believe he had forgiven me and had accepted my actions,” she smiled dully. “It was three in the morning when we were woken up by a phone call,” Ishana recalled with an exasperated look.“And…” Ravi encouraged.“It was a police officer calling from Tam’s phone. Apparently, Tam had jumped off her balcony that night, and that officer was calling the last dialed person to inform and gather more information.” Ishana’s voice was blank. She held no hint of guilt or remorse for Tam’s death.“What?” Now Ravi was shocked.“Yes. She had committed suicide, or at least that’s what the news said.” She spoke, picking up the almost empty bottle and taking another sip.“But why?” Ravi was too numb to speak.“As far as I knew Tam, she was the last person to ever commit suicide. Anyway, who cares. Though I did wish that she or whoever killed her had chosen another day to do it. You see, I was the last person to see her alive. So, the police harassed me quite a bit. But luckily, I was peacefully wrapped in Pratham’s arms when she jumped off that balcony. So, I was not charged with anything. However, my sleeping at my boyfriend’s did create a ruckus in the media. Though I was a small model back then, I still was a rising star, and it was quite a scandal.” She informed, and Ravi wondered how come he missed so many headlines.“Anyways, the bitch was dead, so there was no one to implicate me for torture. And someone – not sure who – waved a magic wand, and after a few days, the case was mysteriously closed.”“Did you ever find out what really happened with Ankit and Tam?” Ravi was dead serious.“I did… eventually,” she sighed, and Ravi knew she was not going to divulge it just yet. He would have to wait…“Who closed the case mysteriously?” he made another futile attempt to gain more information than she intended to reveal at this point of her story.Shrugging carelessly, she answered, “Back then, I assumed it was one of my producers because me getting negative publicity was bad for their brands. But I didn’t care. Justice was served – well, at least in my head.” Ishana finished, and Ravi gawked at her, speechless.“Justice?” he whispered once he found his voice.“Directly or indirectly she was involved in Ankit’s murder. And though she was not the one who had actually killed my friend, seeing her dead gave me a satisfaction that someone did pay for that monstrous deed. Someone did face justice for all the torture my friend endured. And, that was my closure. A closure I desperately needed to move on in my life. A life without my best friend, a gem of a person, and the soul of our college – Ankit.”