Chapter 46: chapter 46

MADHAVI can’t reach Sruthi’s phone or Jaya Ma’s phone. The CCTV cameras outside my house are disconnected from the server. That could only mean that there was a power outage in the area. My jaw tightens as I realise with certainty that something bad must have happened. I am at the capital’s airport. My original plan was to arrive this morning but someone stole my passport at the Noghot’s airport and I had to chase the thief down and get into a couple of fights to get it back. By the time, I reached the airport, the flight to the capital had already left and I had to wait for another four hours to board the next one. The whole time I was there in that place, I kept watching the house and the area for any threat. But nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I put my phone in aeroplane mode for the duration of the flight and when I turned it on again as soon as I landed in the capital airport to check up on Sruthi, all I get is no response. No one from the security team is also picking up the call.“Can you drive any faster?” I bark at the car driver.“Aye sir, I am driving at the speed limit,” he answers. I still have half an hour left to reach my house, and I can’t wait patiently. I bounce my knees up and down. My phone rings and momentarily I am distracted by the unknown number. “Hello? Is this Madhav Gajendren?“ a female voice asks.“Yes, it is,” I answer waiting for the speaker to continue.“We are calling from the police station,”  the woman's voice turns grim, “There has been an attack on your house and wife sir.  There are three dead people here…”My heart stops for a moment and I don’t even notice the phone slipping from my hand. Fucking Hell! I have failed at my promise to keep Sruthi safe. I shouldn’t have left her in the first place. I was angry at her for calling me a villain. I need time and space to cool off. That is why I took this trip to have some space from her and at the same time investigate the person behind the attacks. My instincts kept telling me that I was making a grave mistake by leaving her alone in the city but my ego was too bruised to heed its words. This is the price that I have to pay for my ego.I pick up the phone and put it on my ear to ask the cop who the hell did this when she says, “…..your wife is badly injured and has a faint pulse, sir. We are taking her to the hospital.”Sruthi is alive but badly injured. I am not sure whether I must take it as good or bad news. I need to see her first. I want to make sure that she will live only then will I go on the hunt for the bastard who did this to her.❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥The last time I felt a deep-rooted fear in me was when my mother didn’t open her eyes after the brutal beating of my father—that day changed the course of my whole life—that day made me into a killer. I feel the same kind of fear now as I run into the hospital. My palms are sweaty as I make my way to the receptionist but before I can ask anything, a heavy hand lands on my shoulder and I turn to find Sruthi’s doctor friend standing before me.“Where is my wife?” I ask not bothering with pleasantries.“She is in the ICU,” Gabriella’s voice is grim and her eyes are filled with tears. “Where the hell were you?”“How she is doing?” I ask ignoring her question.Gabriella looks down at the floor like that would magically give me the answer I am waiting for. Frustration wells in me, so, I shake the woman’s shoulders and she flinches at my rough touch. “I need an answer doctor. I want to know how my wife is doing?”“There is not a big chance for Sruthi to survive the two bullet wounds and all those stab wounds. The killer had been brutal to her. If the police hadn’t arrived in time, the man would have sliced her to death.”The air is punched out of me. Two bullet wounds.  Stab wounds. She got shot two times and I wasn’t there to save her.  She was stabbed and I wasn’t there to save her. I was overconfident with my abilities and I let my ego dictate what I have to do. I failed the promise I made to her. I failed her as a husband and as a bodyguard. I failed my mission.“Who is the culprit?” I ask trying to suppress the anger coating my words.“Vishnu, the head of your security team. The police are still enquiring him for his motive.”Fucking Hell! I shouldn’t have entrusted Sruthi’s safety to someone else. I am always a good judge of character but where did I slip this time? I am such a dumb man to have trusted the wrong person. Puzzle pieces slowly fall into place. He must have been the one with the sniper at the party. Fuck! How stupidly I believed him. I shouldn’t have left the capital. I should have forced Sruthi to learn all self-defence even when she refused. What have I done? Do I even have the right to tell that I love her? “Where is she?” I ask in a heavy voice. I couldn’t recognize my voice. “On the second floor.”“Take me there,” I say. “No one is allowed there. You need to first meet with the police. They have statements to collect from you,” Gabriella says in a patient tone.“Hell with the police and their statements. I need to see my wife now, doctor. Either you take me or I will go on my own,” I growl in anger. I am not sure what Gabriella sees in my eyes but something softens in her gaze and she makes a motion to follow her.I follow her silently overturning every word of the last conversation I had with Sruthi. It was on the day before I left for the Noghot city. Jaya Ma allowed us to talk our hearts out but I wasted it by letting my ego get the better of me. There are still a lot of things unfinished and unsaid between us.“Who else is admitted with Sruthi?” I ask trying to think of the matter at the present moment. “Along with Sruthi, two of your house security guards and  your housekeeper Jaya.”Heck! “How are the others?” I ask.“The security guards will survive. Your housekeeper’s head is badly injured but since there is no damage to her heart, she will live.”I am relieved a little to hear that. I don’t want anything happening to Jaya Ma. I can’t face her children if anything happens to her. I don’t want innocent people like her pulled into this evil play. The second-floor smells of disinfectants and phenoyl. The tiles are super clean and there is a pin-drop silence. My legs turn leaden as I take each step towards the ICU ward. My heart shivers in fear for the one woman to whom I would gladly give my life. Just like my fifteen-year-old self, I was too late and failed again to protect another important woman in my life. ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥