"I want you to take the case. Now no longer I want justice. I have lost the determination to fight against the evil."

It surprised me how I wasn't surprised by her sentence. It felt like I already saw that coming but I can't figure out what is the reason behind her sudden behaviour. Was she forced by anyone to back off or was she afraid of the outcome..? I was praying the later one because if it's the first one, it will get messy once again, just like how it happened with Shamika.

It's quite understandable that when she saw her best friend getting answered brutally at the court session like she was one who ordered that men to rape her, Adhya would be definitely afraid and would not want to see the end result of this case.

Not to forget that her condition from PTSD isn't fully recovered which makes her mentally weak and the recent session must have made her mentally exhausted but that doesn't means she will back off because it's better to go with flow rather than regret our own choices in the future.

"Do have any idea about why your sister wants to suddenly take the case back...?"

After contemplating for a while, I asked Adhya to sit in the waiting for a while and called Vidhika inside my cabin. I remember telling adhya that this legal process and process of catching the actual criminal, is very cruel and she needs constant determination in her body to fight against all odds.

Seeing her condition, I knew it would be hard for her to deal with the pressure all alone and that's the reason why I send her to a psychiatrist so that she/he can help her out.

"I myself didn't knew what she was planning to tell you. I came know what she wanted to say after you told me."

For many days vidhika was in the jail so it's not that surprising that she didn't knew what was going on in her sister's head.

Every human's brain and behaviour works soo differently that I sometimes find it soo strange, especially when I encounter some weird cases. I find it strange because we are same species but find difficult to understand one another.

World would have been a better place to live, if we were just like animals or mammals, no greed and no crave for materialistic things but sadly, that's not the case.

"We have to quickly find out what's wrong with her before the sixth court session knock on our doors. I haven't worked soo hard for this case just for her to take back the case when we are close to the mastermind. We just can't back off now."

I don't know who the mastermind is, but I am sure that we are really very close to him/her. I was always very close to the mastermind by just one step behind him/her but that person never got caught because he or she can interpret my very move.

Every time that person interpreted my move, he/she jumped 2 steps ahead of me, leaving me 3 steps behind again.

For sure we all are players in the game which is created by the mastermind with a special power for the person who wins the game. The person who survives till the end will have the power to overthrow the mastermind but what is more important than winning is that, what the winner will do next after overthrowing the actual mastermind.

Will the winner hand over the mastermind to the law or will the winner take place of the mastermind and continue with all hideous work...?

This was an important question in this case. What will the winner chose..? Will he or she chose the first option or the second one..? Or will create a new option..?

No one knows the answer to this question, not even the mastermind. For the mastermind's own benefit, he or she wants a criminal minded person to win this game of chase so that her position will be save and that's why she is creating troubles for me from the very starting because she knows if I will win the game, I will show her what actual hell looks like.

'Does that means I have to come on her good side from the bad side which means that for me, the mastermind's good side will be my bad side..?'

If I do that and gain that person's trust, I will do nothing but fall down in my own eyes. I will die but we will never side with the evil.

'Dang I have too much pride inside me.'

"Yes, we have to do something but somehow I think it will be of no use. From what I saw she looked very determined to take the case back. I don't know what's gotten into her but whatever it is, it's very bad......."

She went on talking to me not even realising that I wasn't listening to her. I was lost in my own thoughts when a sudden name snapped me out of it.

"... You weren't listening....?"

She sounded offended and agitated. No matter how much I wanted to laugh at her reaction, I kept quite and a serious look on my face before looking at her with my serious intense gaze.

"Yes, I wasn't listening but I want to ask you something. Do you really don't know that Adarsh and Vaidehi got engaged...?"

The seriousness of my tone made her sit straight, leaving her sulky self behind but once she heard what I have to ask, I saw her whole body stiffening and looked away. Her eyes wandering everywhere but not on me.

I let her take her own sweet time to recover from the shock I gave her by asking her this question suddenly. Before answering my question, she cleared her throat and her eyes meet mine once again.

"I already answered it, do you again want to her it...?"

I positively nodded as I waited for her again to tell me about her situation. The reason why I was doing this thing was that, I think I was missing a lead.

The day I got outside the police station after meeting Vidhika and that familiar women finally went away, I bend down and opened the soles of both of my shoes with a pointed stuff, only to see a paper.

'Question 01- Do you knew about Adarsh Patel, your cousin getting engaged to Vaidehi Singhania, Vihaan's older sister...? If yes, then explain the claims made by the opposition and if no, then explain why didn't you spoke for yourself when the opposition faked accused you...?'

That was her first question. Yes, the question looked like an exam question but can't help, it's a habit I guess.

I already know that they fakely accused her as the couple haven't even thought of marrying each other, leave behind the talk between two families. Also they even haven't visited India from soo many years.

"Yes, I didn't knew. I agree that I knew that he was getting engaged but never in my wildest dreams I thought that she will be Vihaan's older sister. I thought that the girl is a foreigner. Like damn, I haven't even saw him from last 11 years. I still haven't forgotten what he did.

After he got out of the jail, my parents went to meet him but I never went. Same goes to the engagement, when the engagement in India took place, I made it very clear to my parents and also to his parents that I will not attend it. Even if it was the last day of my life, I will neither attend his engagement nor his marriage.

They told me that he changed for better but that change of his personality wouldn't erase all bad things which happened to me right..?

No matter how much thick the blood is, but it can't overcome the bond of hatred."

The hatred which Vidhika had for her cousin brother, was very deep and worst. I don't even blame her because that's quite understandable about why she hates him soo much.

Even I hate him but now, such a turn of events made me question all the things which happened 11 years ago. Whatever happened 11 years ago, was Adarsh the one behind it, or he was dragged in this trouble just to cover up the actual criminal...?

All the legal process which happened that time, the reason behind why I am here today in the lawyer profession, was all that fake...?

"I know it will trigger both of us up but I have to ask you something, a very familiar question which I am surrounded with from many days."

She nodded positively as I continued not before taking a deep breath.

"Do you think that Adarsh wasn't the on-"

"What the hell are you saying...?"

And she reacted in the same I thought she will. That's how she was have been reacting whenever I bring that topic up. I left asking her this question after seeing how badly she reacts to it.

"Vaishnavi, I saw him doing that sin by my own EYES!!"

Her emotions were taking over her body as her eyes watered from the memory which her mind recalled her once again. I felt guilty for bringing that up again but she have to move on from that trauma instead of living her whole life with it.

I could clearly see how the hatred is overtaking her mind, disregarding the logic. No matter how much hard it is for her but she have to acknowledge that question. She should face it instead of running away from it.

I was exhausted. I was exhausted from asking her the same question again and again. I was exhausted from hoping that one day she will face it and will stop running away. But that never happened.

It never happened because she never got guts to face it. No matter how much guilty I was feeling earlier after seeing her condition, I knew I have to be little harsh with her to make her understand.

'Ptff!! She wanted her sister to get guts but look at what she is doing soo many years.'

I was irritated by the fact that how stupidly she was reacting like she just said that her sister was behaving stupidly but here she is, doing the very same thing her little sister did. Surely they are sister.

After being done with sarcastically attacking her in my mind I finally decided to speak up and pour some sense in her which is overthrown it.

If our ears can sometimes betray us, then....

"Sometimes our eyes can betray us too. Don't forget that, Vidhika Sharma."

I said in my stern voice which widened her eyes. I only use that tone when I am in the court or when I am investigating someone. Never ever I used it on someone close to me. So it surprised her how I used that tone on her.

You never know what happened that time. We were lost in our own world because of the trauma and when we had the determination, we never questioned anything but just attacked whomever we saw. We believe that Revenge Is Sweet and still think the same.

We didn't even thought of checking if what we saw was a real thing or someone made us see that. That time, we didn't have that knowledge of law and illegal things so it's not our fault. But even after getting that knowledge and becoming a lawyer, we didn't tried to find about it which is our fault.

Somewhere around the corner, it's my fault too, not fully hers. That day, even when I felt something was wrong with him, I never really spoke about it. So it's my fault too.

"Wha-"

Her sentence was left incomplete as someone suddenly came barging inside, breaking the flow of the conversation. Before I could even react to that person, she spoke making my head snap towards her.

"Sorry for interrupting but I have an important news to tell you about. A news which will shock you both."

It was Uditasree and the look on her face clearly showed that the news she got is very big one. I actioned her to continue and when she told us what news she brought with her, both, me and Vidhika, reacted very badly.

"Wait! What!?!"

(A/n-

Phew that was a big chapter. I gave the biggest hint in this chapter.

Also a cliffhanger.
So any idea what she told both of them, that made them react like this..?
Comment down and let me know.

Take care of yourself and your family!!
Stay safe, healthy and happy!!

Love ya, precious readers ❤️❤️❤️)