T H E   S I L E N T   W A T E R S
P L A Y   Y O U R   C A R D S

A N T I C I P A T I O N

"Your nephew has called you for interrogation." Roop smiled. Tej narrowed his eyes as he picked up the envelope lying on the table.

"What?" He asked. He tore off the cover and looked through the contents, his face paling a few shades as he looked at the contents.

"It seems he is capable of turning around the game even if his memories aren't intact, just think what he will do once he finds out the truth." Roop said as she twirled the ends of her dupatta around her finger.

Tej narrowed his eyes at his sister, "Do not forget Roop, you will be dragged into that mess too. After all it was you who killed them." He nearly growled out in anger. Roop merely smiled, "what do I have to lose in this?" She asked coyly, "you lot have already destroyed what I had." Her gaze turned cruel.

"I am ready to accept my fate." She smiled, "but are you?" She asked as she turned to face her dear brother. Shakti glared at her, "stay in your limits, Roop." He hissed. She arched her eyebrows.

"Limits?" She asked. "What limits? The ones that you have set for me?" She asked. She tilted her head to the side. "The limits that were placed only on me, I wonder why you two were given the freedom of your will and I was forced to respect the limits that have been set for me." She hissed.

"I was punished. I was banished. My son was taken away from me. He had to grow up without a mother despite the fact that he had one!" She hissed.

"He could have grown up having a happy childhood. With his family. With his mother. He could have cousins. He wouldn't have to grow up alone." She said.

"And do not forget the fact I did nothing that you didn't ask me to do. Didn't you say to keep him from finding out the truth?" She asked, "that's what I did. But unfortunately he somehow cut through the lies. And boom" she laughed, "we had no choice but to remove him from the game entirely."

"What?" She turned around, Pinky was standing by the door. Her face pale as a sheet as she turned to face her husband. "What is she saying?" She asked.

"Don't worry much, Pinky. We failed. He managed to stay alive after all this."

She couldn't comprehend the situation, "You knew about this?" She asked as she turned to look at Shakti. His gaze dropped to the ground. "He is your son!"

"We would have been jailed!" He hissed. "What?" She asked in confusion.

"He had found out about the truth about Kalyani Mills." Her face paled further before she shook her head, "so you decided to punish our son for what we had done?" She hissed.

"You kept a mother away—" she stopped in the middle of the sentence. Her eyes turning to Roop for a moment, who smiled. "How does it feel, Pinky?" She asked.

"To be in my place?" She asked.

"He had nothing to do with all this. My son had nothing to do!" She exclaimed enraged. "He didn't deserve this!" She hissed.

"And the same goes for my son!" She hissed back. "What was his fault?" She asked as she approached the distraught woman. "How does it feel to have your son being punished for the crimes that we have committed, just because he bears the name Oberoi?" She asked.

Pinky quietened, "Your husband, my dear brother. Had no remorse to have his son detained to save his head." Roop said as she turned to look at her brother.

"Pinky..." Shakti started. But Roop continued.

"My both brothers have no regard for their family. Both planned to get their sons killed for their own reasons." She hollered.

She was about to say something when,

"What's going on here?" She turned to look at her mother standing at the doorway. The disbelief on her face showed that she had heard everything.

Her lips curved up in a smirk, "Mummyji, come. I was telling her about the valour that your sons have shown." She smiled. "I think you are aware of most of them already." She sneered when her mother averted her gaze.

She walked over to her mother, "I am sure you are ready to cover for them, just like you have done it all these years ago?" She asked.

"Had mein raho Roop!" Tej glowered.

"Nahi to kya?" She asked. The man quietened down. "Nahi to kya Veerji? Kya karenge?"

"You all are here?"

They all turned to look at Om and Rudra standing at the doorway where Kalyani was standing a few moments before.

He looked at them for a moment, "What was going on here?" He asked as he took in the sight of his distressed family, his eyes narrowed when he saw Pinky near tears, Rudra shared a look with him.

"Mom? Dad?" He asked, when no one answered Om's question. Jhanvi who had been quiet all this while, tried to convince them. "Nothing, we all are just worried." She spoke.

"About what?"

Om's eyes turned towards the envelope that was crumpled in Tej's hand and his eyes narrowed when he noticed the familiar logo on it.

"You got VOID's summon." He echoed.

Tej looked at the paper in his hand gritting his teeth. "Yes! And you all can finally see the true colours of him."

Om arched his eyebrows. "Stay quiet, Mr. Oberoi. You should be grateful that it's his letter, not the court's summon that could have been delivered instead of this." He hissed.

Tej arched his eyebrows, "How come you are speaking in his defence? Have you forgotten what he had done years ago? He had sold his family in the hands of the enemy!"

"Just shut up!" Tej looked taken aback at the sudden exclamation. Rudra glared at him, "Not a word against my brother! You don't hold the right time to raise a finger against him." He hissed. None of us had.

"Brother?" Tej asked incredulously, "how come suddenly he is your brother? Are you talking about the same brother who—" He asked.

"Enough!" Om interjected.

"We had just come to inform you, that you and chote papa have been asked to come for the interrogation by the auditors." He took a deep breath to calm himself.

"They have found a few loopholes in the accounts. And they need to ask a few questions—"

"—are you suspecting us?"

Om gave out an exasperated sigh, "I don't know, do you know anything about the transactions that have been made in Shivaay's name when he was not here?" Om asked tilting his head to the side.

"And giving out the fact, that you hold the access to family vaults—"

"You thought it was me! Your father!" Tej chuckled humourlessly. "Do you even hear yourself? Doubting your father Om?" He asked.

Om shook his head, "when I could stoop so low by doubting the man who had been the father that you aren't, to Rudra and I, then who are you to say that?" He mocked.

Tej's eyes narrowed, "Om, your father has already said—" Jhanvi started.

"I'm sorry, mom, when I failed in my trust again and again, these words mean nothing." He interrupted before Jhanvi could complete her sentence.

"Chhoti maa? Why are you crying?" Rudra asked all of a sudden.

Pinky stiffened, "were you arguing?" He asked as he looked around the atmosphere, the tension in the room was palpable.

Om frowned, "What was happening here before we came in?" He asked. And his frown deepened when he saw the elders exchanging the looks.

Something was amiss.

<>

Shivaay stared at the empty screen,  frowning, "Khanna, Neeraj has contacted you by chance?" He asked.

Khanna paused before he turned to look at his boss, he was staring right at him. He shook his head, slowly. "No sir, he didn't."

Shivaay sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Drive me to his apartment." He spoke as he got up, he unbuttoned his blazer and heaved out a sigh.

Did he forget about the case that he has been assigned to? Shivaay thought miserably, he had gotten no clue and well, even Neeraj has stopped contacting after a while which was quite odd. It's best if he clears things out in person.

He was about to say something when his phone buzzed. He looked at the caller ID and frowned.

Mehra calling.....

He sighed in relief.

Khanna pocketed his phone as he watched Shivaay exiting the room as he resumed the call.

23 June, Fri
6:17 p.m.
To Neeraj Mehra
Shivaay sir, is on the way to visit you.

Khanna sighed. He was not used to doing things against his orders but,

"He mustn't know the details at this very moment, it's very crucial, I have spoken with Dr. Bhalla. If anything goes wrong in this. It could delay the recollections, as well as harm him in some way."

That was the sole reason he agreed to keep this away from Shivaay, whatever that Mishra had told him,

"I had taken Shivaay sir, to the other hospital, it was too risky. I had risked his life but had he stayed there, they would have found him."

"They who?"

"Svetlana and there was someone else there as well."

Khanna felt a shudder run through his spine. He didn't know what the other person Mishra was talking about, but Svetlana was enough of the bad news. That woman had been nothing but a nuisance ever since she had come into the family's life. Especially his boss's, in some way or other, he had been dragged into the mess.

He was no stranger to the secrets that the Oberoi family kept with themselves, some of them known to him while the rest remained unknown.

And Shivaay was trying to dig out one of those secrets himself. He just hoped that it all doesn't backfire on him, like before.

<>

Annika looked at the papers and sighed.

Her phone buzzed and she looked at the caller ID and frowned. "Gauri?" She thought as she picked up the call.

She frowned when she heard her distressed voice from the other side. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Jiji, the one who was tormenting you in Goa? That doctor—"

Annika's blood ran cold when his face crossed before her eyes she nearly recoiled back in shock. "What about him?" She asked urgently.

This is not going to lead them anywhere good. This was the first time she had heard him name being mentioned all these years ago and she doesn't know what to feel about that.

"Gauri!" She enquired.

"Why is his name signed in the purchasing bills struck by the prescription?" She asked.

Shivaay's prescription?

<>

Shivaay sighed as he placed his phone back.

"Shivaay, I have to tell you something, but I will tell you in person when I return back to Mumbai."

Neeraj wasn't in Mumbai?

And what was more strange that he has called him out of blue without any purpose of the call. That's more odd.

He needed some clues. He stilled for her moment, his eyes falling on the glass ahead of him and the faint reflection on it.

Khanna and Mishra? Were they spying on him? He paused for a moment, before he turned around slowly, there was no one.

Something's going on, between all of them, they are definitely keeping things away from him. And at this point, he doesn't care about the reason.

He had enough.

Ahh, idk why the chapter seemed rushed even though it's planned but since it's written I'd post it🥲🥲