Chapter 126: chapter 126

VIKRAM The interrogation room is silent when I enter it. The accused person's chair is occupied by the woman I once considered one of my younger sister’s most trusted well-wishers. Gabriella was the last person I expected to find tied to this case, but now everything makes sense.I had my doubts from the moment my sister mentioned the gift she received at the wedding. I distinctly remember seeing Gabriella holding that yellow-wrapped box. The only person who would know every intimate detail about my sister’s life was her best friend. No one else fit the profile as perfectly as Gabriella did. If my life had been the one under threat, Nisha, my secretary, might have been a plausible suspect—she’s the only person who knows my habits and schedule inside out. But Nisha trying to kill Sruthi? That didn’t track. I knew from the start that Nisha wasn’t the one who poisoned my sister.Still, I played my part—arresting Nisha, interrogating her, and feigning anger. It was all an act designed to give Gabriella a false sense of security. Criminals, when confident, tend to get sloppy. I wanted her to believe she’d outsmarted me. Madhav, my closest ally, knew of my suspicions but said nothing to my sister—her alarm would have tipped Gabriella off. Together, we laid a trap, and just as we’d predicted, Gabriella walked right into it. Her fatal mistake? Underestimating me.“I just have one question for you,” I say, sitting across from her. I need an answer before the doctors fully flush the mind-control drugs out of her system. Once that happens, she might forget who she is—or why she did what she did. The psychologists treating her have explained how deeply she believes she’s in love with Raj, a belief amplified by manipulation and drugs.“Why should I answer you?” she asks, her smirk as sharp as a blade.“I’m not asking,” I reply coolly. “I’m ordering you.”Her smirk widens. “What makes you think I’ll listen to your orders?”Her defiance doesn’t faze me. I’ve dealt with worse—men who cursed me, spat at me, even hurled obscenities about my family. They all broke in the end. Gabriella will too.“This,” I say, pulling out my phone. I show her a video generated by my tech expert—a deepfake of Raj being tortured. Madhav suggested this tactic, knowing it would provoke her. Just as Sruthi is Madhav’s greatest weakness, Raj is Gabriella’s. The love she feels for him might not be genuine—Raj himself admitted to manipulating her emotions through drugs—but in her altered mind, that love is very real.I wasn’t sure this would work. What Gabriella feels for Raj isn’t real—it’s the result of drugs and manipulation. Raj himself confessed to me that he tricked her into believing she was in love with him. But fake or not, her emotions seem strong enough to do the job.The change in Gabriella is instant. Her smug expression vanishes as she leans forward, trembling with rage. Her hands grip the table so tightly her knuckles turn white. Pain flashes across her face, and then she lets out a blood-curdling scream.Her face contorts with pain, and she screams, “Ask them to stop!” She pounds the table, desperate. “Stop it! My Raj will die at this rate! Make them stop, and I’ll tell you everything!”For a brief moment, I pity her. She looks so vulnerable, so broken. Even knowing her feelings for Raj are artificially induced, I can’t help but feel anger toward the man who twisted her mind like this.I make a show of calling my team, instructing them to “halt the torture.” Gabriella drinks water from the glass on the table, her teary eyes locked on me, ready to spill every secret she knows for Raj’s sake.“I can understand why you targeted my sister,” I begin, my voice measured. “But why Nisha?” That’s the one part I can’t piece together. Sruthi and Nisha are barely connected. What did Nisha have to do with any of this?“To hurt you,” Gabriella says with a twisted grin.“Excuse me?” I frown, confused. Did I mishear her? No, my hearing is fine. I’m certain that’s what she said. But it doesn’t make sense. “I am talking about my secretary Nisha here. Not my sister. Why did you frame Nisha?“I heard right the first time,” she snaps, her nostrils flaring. “I framed Nisha to hurt you. I wanted you to feel the same pain I felt when you took Raj away from me.”Her words make no sense. Nisha? She’s just my secretary. Nothing more. Why would Gabriella think framing Nisha would hurt me?“It doesn’t add up,” I say, leaning forward. “Why Nisha? Of all the people in my life, why her?”Gabriella’s smile sharpens, as though mocking my naivety. “Because you treasure and love her. More than anything else in this world.”I stare at her for two full seconds before bursting into laughter. Not a polite chuckle or a forced laugh, but a deep, genuine laugh. The kind that bubbles up when someone cracks the most ridiculous joke you’ve ever heard. Me? Have feelings for Nisha? That’s impossible. The very idea is laughable. I’ve worked with Nisha for five years, and while we share mutual respect, our relationship is strictly professional.“I’m sorry,” I say, trying to stifle my laughter. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in ages. I don’t know what gave you that idea, but I have no romantic interest in my secretary. None whatsoever.”Gabriella snorts, clearly unimpressed. “Keep telling yourself that. You may act calm and composed, but deep down, you’re terrified. Terrified of having a weakness. And that’s what will destroy you.”This isn't the first time a criminal has cursed at him. I grin, unfazed. “Thanks for the advice. I wish you a speedy recovery.”With that, I stand and leave the room. Outside, I ask the doctors if delusions about others’ lives are a side effect of the drugs. They tell me no.I head to my car, but Gabriella’s words linger in my mind.Because you treasure and love her. More than anything else in this world.Me? Treasure a woman other than my sister?No. Definitely not.And that woman being Nisha? Ridiculous. Nisha and I have worked together for five years, always maintaining a professional boundary. Sure, I care for her—but as her employer. Nothing more.Absolutely nothing more.🍀🍀🍀🍀🍀