"Mr. Mehra? You........" Prachi was overwhelmed.

"Hey! Are you ok?" he smiled but it was replaced by a frown when he saw tears forming in Prachi's eyes. "Everything is ok. Don't cry princess. I know you are innocent." he said hugging her and wiping her tears.

Prachi looked up at him with surprise and love mixed in her eyes. 

"You called me princess......." she breathed.

"I'm sorry if you felt offended. I use this nickname for Rhea and so called you by mistake." he explained.

"Not at all.......During childhood I saw the fathers' of my friends addressing them by their nicknames and I too longed for someone who could call be lovingly." she sobbed.

"So, from today, I'll call you as princess. You are also like my daughter. But for that, you have to stop crying. I hate tears."

Prachi hugged him tighter while he caressed her head fondly.

"It's not fair! She got a nickname and what about me?" Shahana pouted when they had finally parted.

"What if I give you an ice-cream?" Abhi asked with a wink.

"Chocolate?" she questioned with her eyes twinkling.

"Come on. I think we should get out of here unless the inspector sells ice-creams too." he laughed.

-----

Pragya was getting ready to go in the search of clues when the door bell rang. Sarita ji opened the door and was about to shout in happiness on seeing Prachi and Shahana when they signaled her to keep quiet.

"Who's it?" Pragya asked from inside.

"No one." Sarita ji replied while Prachi and Shahana tiptoed inside.

Pragya's bangle fell down and she bent down to pick it. As soon as she stood straight again, she was surprised to see the reflection of Prachi and Shahana smiling at her through the mirror. She whirled around immediately but they were not there. She dismissed it as her imagination and prepared to leave after collecting her bag. 

Something made her stop dead in her tracks. This time she had heard the voice of Prachi calling out to her. 

"Prachi! She is here." Pragya exclaimed.

"Where?" Sarita ji asked.

"I heard her voice......."

"I didn't hear it. You must be dreaming." Sarita ji said.

Pragya accepted it but as she took a step, she heard Shahana calling her.

"Again! Shahana called me." Pragya looked expectantly at Sarita ji, sure that she would have heard the voice too. But, Sarita ji shook her head in negative. Now Pragya was troubled. Sarita ji suggested her to drink water.

Someone handed her a glass of water. She took it silently but did a double take to look at the person's face when it registered in her mind. She was Prachi beaming at her and Shahana standing behind her.

"I think I have gone mad, Sarita ji. I can see and hear Prachi and Shahana everywhere. Now I'm hallucinating them to be standing in front of me." Pragya said clutching her head.

"I can see them too." Sarita ji mentioned.

"That's the problem. I can only see them. Wait a second..........You can see them too......This means........" she stood up and engulfed them in a warm embrace. "You are really here.......I missed you so much......" she sobbed kissing their foreheads.

"We missed you too." they smiled.

"How did the inspector release you?" Pragya enquired.

"Mr. Mehra bailed us out. He is so great that he believed us in spite of the accusations from his daughter. He even dropped us home." Prachi informed.

"And treated us to ice-creams" Shahana added.

"That's so kind of him. Why didn't you ask him to come inside?" Pragya said gratefully.

"We did. But, he said that he had to return to the hospital before Rhea woke up." Prachi explained.

"You must be tired. Go inside and freshen up. I'll be back soon." she said and they went to their room.

"Where are you going now? Prachi and Shahana are finally back." Sarita ji was confused.

"Mr. Mehra has bailed them but their innocence has not been proved yet and I'll not get peace till I prove my daughter innocent." Pragya said determinedly.

-----

Everyone was surprised to see the boys, specially Ranbir awake early in the morning.

"What's the matter? Both of you woke up so early?" Pallavi exclaimed.

"Nothing. We just have some important work to do." Ranbir replied.

"Here, have some prasad." Dida, who had returned from the temple, distributed the prasad to everyone.

"Does believing in God really helps us?" Aryan asked.

"Why not? Whenever I have prayed to the Almighty for anything, he has granted my wish." Dida informed.

"Will the Almighty grant my wish too?" Ranbir asked.

"If you ask for it with full dedication for the betterment of a person, he will surely listen to you." Dida smiled.

"O God, I usually don't ask for anything from you, but please help me find me a clue to prove Prachi innocent." he prayed silently. "Let's go" he said to Aryan.

"Where are both of you off to?" Vikram asked entering the hall.

"Dad,........we.......have some important work." Ranbir gestured Vikram as neither Pallavi nor Dida knew anything about the incident.

"Check your whatsapp before leaving." Vikram replied.

Abhi has gone to the police station to bail them out. They must be in their home by now.

Vikram had messaged him

In that case we'll go and meet them.

He messaged back.

While they were driving to Sarita ji's house, Aryan's phone beeped to indicate a notification. He checked it with uninterest but something in it made his face brighten up.

"Ranbir, check this out!" he exclaimed happily.

Ranbir too got ecstatic after watching it.

"Thank you God for listening to my prayer." he thanked the Almighty.