by M. V. Kasi
Much later, after he satisfied her in ways only he could ever do, they lay next to each other facing one another. He held her hand, and slowly pulled it towards him to kiss her wrist.
“Can I ask you something?” he said.
“Sure.”
“Why did you try to kill yourself?” he asked, tracing the faint silver lines where she had slashed her wrist when she was young.
She had been too young. Maybe thirteen or fourteen, and she wasn’t into drugs at that time. So she tried to end her misery by doing a half-assed job of slashing her wrist. She didn’t try again because all she got was a long lecture from her aunt about how disappointed she was with her action, and that it was an extremely ungrateful act.
She contemplated whether to tell him the truth or not. Then she decided to answer him truthfully. “I was tired of feeling helpless due to my recurring nightmares and depression along with extreme paranoia. I tried to end it the only way I knew at that time.”
“Do you still feel that way?” he asked.
“Sometimes,” she replied honestly to him. “But I can control those thoughts and urges better than before. And now, with Anika and you in my life, I don’t feel the same kind of hopelessness as before.”
He squeezed her arm reassuringly.
They had been intimate in every possible way, but they still held a lot of secrets from one another. It wasn’t very fair, but she wanted him to bare all his secrets to her, even though she wasn’t willing to do the same with him.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
“Anything,” he replied.
“Do you still blame me for your mother’s death?” she asked. She knew that for the longest time he did. And that feeling couldn’t have magically disappeared within a few months.
He was quiet for a couple of seconds before he answered. “No. I don’t blame you anymore,” he said.
“Why not? Even if I had been speaking the truth at that time, the primary reason for your mother’s death is still me.”
“No,” he said immediately. “The reason for my mother’s death was her own decision.”
There was anger in his voice as he said that. But she realized that the anger was not directed towards her. It was at his mother.
“Are you still angry with your mother for having taken that decision?” she asked softly.
His jaw was clenched tight, until she placed a comforting hand on his cheek.
“I know it’s stupid to be angry with her for so long, but I feel justified,” he said.
She didn’t say anything. She offered comfort through her silence and encouraged him to speak his heart.
“Unlike your parents, my mother left me by choice. She knew I had no one apart from her, but she left me all the same. She left me with nothing but this anger for her.”
“No, you rose above it, Ajay. You made your own relationships with people who are now your friends and family.”
The tension on his face slowly faded, until he smiled. “Believe me; I didn’t make it easy for them to do so. Pissed off twelve year olds are a pain in the butt. I was an asshole to Colonel, Harsha and Jo. Until they wore my anger down and forced me to let them in.”
“Tell me about it,” she said, wanting to know more of his life.
His eyes shone with heat. “I would love to. But first, I need to be inside you again.”
Rest of the night, he took her to the unimaginable heights with him. In between breaks, he told her about his life at the orphanage, and then about his life after getting adopted by the Colonel.
Much later that night, they fell asleep, exhausted and wrapped around each other.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Sia, meet Hari. The PI we have been communicating with,” said Ajay.
Sia had spoken to Hari before, over the phone. He had been providing them with regular updates on how her uncle and family were coping after having to give up everything and move out of the Naidu Estate.
Despite a significant reduction in their income, there were still a lot of anomalies in her cousin and uncle’s joint bank account. So far they couldn’t figure out the proper source for that money.
When Hari had called Ajay late in the evening to discuss about some critical information he wanted to convey to them personally, her heart began to pound in anticipation. Shaking Hari’s hand, she ran her eyes briefly over him, assessing him.
She was taken aback with what she saw. Hari was young, maybe around the same age as Ajay and her. Like them, his eyes looked somber. She normally didn’t trust anyone with her secrets, but Ajay had told her that he went with his gut instinct and trusted the man. The man had already done a significant amount of digging about her and her family, so she had no other choice but to go with the flow.
She was more than anxious to hear what he had to say.
“Mrs. Manthena—”
“I’ve told you before, you can call me Sia,” she said.
He nodded. “Sia, I wanted to tell you in person that I’m sorry for what you suffered at the hands of your uncle. And I’m glad Ajay put me up to this investigation. Because what I’m about to tell you... it’s big.”
Her heart rate increased. “Big? What do you mean?”
“You were right about sexual abuse being a premeditated act. And also that sexual predators seek their victims in advance.”
“Who are the victims?” she asked.
“I think they are orphans from the orphanages run by the Naidu Estate. And not just that, I also think your uncle, along with Judge Sundaram... are involved in child abuse as well as child trafficking.”
There was absolute silence.
“Is there proof?” she asked quietly.
Hari shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. Or at least, not yet.”
“What do you mean?”
“From what I understand, they have a very exclusive group. CEO’s, ministers, judges and even a few police officers. They meet twice in a year in an undisclosed location and have questionable parties where children are involved, after which to eliminate any proof of abuse, these children are shipped off to various countries abroad. Either as sex slaves or as bonded labor.”
“They meet twice a year? How can they not be worried of being caught?” Ajay asked.
“Because they are too complacent,” Sia replied. “They think they are above law with their money and power. I’m sure some of them even think they are above god too. And not even the distant threat of going to hell match up to the need for instant gratification by claiming the innocence of a child.”
Sia’s stomach churned. “How can anyone not know or complain about any of the missing children so far?” she asked.
“I’ve thought about it too. But there are so many missing children each day, it’s easy to chalk it to that. But I have a feeling that some of the missing children might be from the orphanages that Naidu estate runs.”
“We are going to comb through the files starting tonight,” said Ajay. “Even if they have listed the missing children as adopted, we are going to verify each and every case.”
Sia nodded. She knew her uncle was more or less broke with all the estate and trust funds transferred to her. He will be desperate and will want to make money. And if he can make money through his perversions, then why not?
She had to get him. This was the only chance they had.
Hari showed them printouts of calendar entries. “From their private calendars, I see that Judge Sundaram, Jagadish Naidu and some other bigwigs have kept their evening open. The entries marked in some of them simply said. Sundaram. But there is no event being planned in the Judge’s house which is quite large enough to host a big party.”
“This is next month,” Ajay observed with a frown.
“Yes,” replied Hari. “I think if we have someone infiltrate their inner circle by attending that party, we can bust that racket and catch them red handed,” he spoke quietly. “Someone we trust or even one of us.”
A bolt of excitement ran throug
h Sia, and she sat up straight at Hari’s words. She was thinking on the same lines.
“Sia and I can’t take such dangerous risks at this point,” said Ajay.
Sia immediately felt deflated. Ajay was right. They were parents to an innocent baby. They cannot afford to go to that place personally or talk to anyone related to the child trafficking. It could be dangerous. One thing she understood over the past few weeks was that Anika and Ajay were the most important things in her life now. While she still craved and wanted justice for herself, she had to balance it by keeping her family safe.
“So we give tips to the police?” she asked.
“Yes,” replied Ajay. “Along with that we need to also check if we can get a live video of the happenings in that place.”
“How?”
“We have the technology. So I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
“Ready, baby?” Ajay asked as he waited outside the main door, pushing the stroller towards the gates.
“A minute,” said Sia as her eyes scanned what he assumed was her checklist on the phone.
“Uh uh,” he admonished her. “Remember our rule? No phones during our walks. Turn it off.”
Sighing, she turned off the phone. “I think I might have missed something,” she said, opening the overstuffed diaper bag and checking the items packed.
Ajay chuckled. “Baby, seriously. Anika will be fine. It’s just a one hour and half walk. We just fed and changed her. And even if we need something, we are only fifteen minutes away.”
Sia nodded and locked the door behind her. And then, frowning at the stroller, she joined him. “Can you hold this for a minute,” she said, handing over the diaper bag to him.
“Baby, this bag is about to burst and weighs a ton. What did you pack?” he asked, laughing.
Sia was too occupied to answer him. She was leaning over the stroller and adjusting the blankets in a canopied way.
“That way, no one can get closer to her and spread their germs.” Ajay found Sia’s over-protective parenting style amusing. He was quite protective of Anika too. But Sia... she took it to a whole new level.
He opened the zip and peeked in. Wipes, back-up wipes, half a dozen diapers, a change of clothes, hand sanitizer, a hat, socks, a change of socks, baby formula packets, and a first aid kit. There were other things stuffed into the side pockets! Bottles with warm water most likely.
“What? Nothing for us in here? No snacks and stuff?” he teased.
She paused as though considering it. “There was no place. And besides, if we are hungry, we can simply get back home,” she said.
He laughed. Then pulling her into a bear hug, he kissed her noisily on her lips. “Let’s go. Before this perfect, not-too-hot and not-too-cool time of the day finishes,” he teased.
They had been going on walks pretty regularly from the past few weeks. It was for only an hour. But it was perfect for them to relax and spend time together as a family, leaving their worries, and also switching off from the outside world.
Ajay opened the gate while Sia pushed the stroller out. Kamala, their help was visiting her family for a week. Somehow with no one to cook, they spent their evenings just like before. Before Anika was born. Ajay spent half a day at his office and the other half working from home. Sia completely worked from home. She delegated most of the operational tasks to her executives in US and to Anjali in India. Whenever they needed her decision on critical things, she dialed in from their home office.
During the evenings, he cooked while she helped with prepping. Even though their problems were still there, they were lost in a safe bubble within their home.
The park was perfect. It was noisy with children laughing and playing in the play area while their mothers and caretakers watched over.
Sia watched the kids wistfully. “I can’t wait for Anika to play with all those kids,” she said. Observing them closely, she frowned. “Although, some of those things that kids are playing with look a little dangerous. I think they need a safety helmet or something.”
Ajay smiled. “Baby, the slide and the swings are fine for the kids.”
Sia sighed. “I know that sometimes I go overboard with my paranoia.”
“It’s not unusual, baby. Apparently all first time parents go through the same.” Then he grinned. “And it seems, only a second child can cure that over-protectiveness.”
She didn’t reply and just smiled wistfully. “Let’s take the flowery route. Last time, Anika woke up and watched the trees for quite a while,” she said.
They spent the next one hour, walking. Sia spoke at length about her work meeting that day. “My board thinks we’ve spent enough money marketing in the India and that we should be satisfied that we have surpassed the expected amount of profits. But I feel we’ve only tapped into maybe 15% of the potential market. There is still a huge potential marketing to the middle class and to the towns, and not just the major cities. People, not just women, want to use natural products for themselves and their families. It’s just that we need to market in a way that they have the technical understanding of how are products are made.”
“I’ve read that a lot of people are using Yogic products that are being endorsed by the popular holy man. They are supposedly much cheaper and natural.”
“Yeah, Yogic as a company is growing rapidly. But Blush and Yogic products are totally different. There is a lack of technical understanding of the word natural. There is natural, nature derived, nature identical, and semi natural. Our products at Blush are natural in every sense. We have strict technical guidelines regarding raw materials, quality control and ethical practices. We can’t afford to compete with rest of the much cheaper products that simply slap the word natural without adhering to the rules. I—” Sia broke off when loud sirens passed by the normally quiet park and street. “What’s happening?” she asked with a frown.
“Don’t know. Must be some kind of emergency.”
Sia’s heart began to thump heavily. “Let’s head back,” she said.
“We’ve only been here a little over an hour. We can—”
“Turn on your phone, Ajay,” she said, pulling out hers to turn it on. She knew she was letting her paranoia take over. But given the circumstances, she didn’t want to take any chances.
Ajay didn’t argue, he turned on his phone, even as they began to walk back rapidly towards their house.
“Shit!” Ajay exclaimed, looking at the messages on his phone screen.
“What?” she asked, almost breaking into a run as Ajay hurried towards their home.
As soon as they entered the gates, they saw the police cars and an ambulance.
Harsha and Jo were waiting outside with worry on their faces. As soon as they saw Ajay and Sia with Anika, they look relieved.
“What happened?” Ajay asked.
“Where the hell were you, Jay?” Harsha asked. “Someone tried to break into your home. The footage showed at least a half dozen men surrounding the area. They used some kind of crude explosives to break open your door and a few windows. But luckily, they didn’t succeed.”
“We went for our daily walk with Anika. We usually keep our cell phones turned off.”
Sia was stunned. “What were they after?” she asked.
“We don’t know,” replied Harsha. “One of the outside sensors picked up on a movement and went off. When neither of you responded to the message sent to your phones, I was contacted. I was at Jo’s place at that time. I just got here five minutes ago.”
“They must have been observing us. Or they wouldn’t know the exact time we’d be out for a walk every evening.”
“We can’t be too sure, Jay,” said Harsha in a somber tone. “One of the men wore some kind of a makeshift baby carrier. Almost as if...”
“As if they expected to snatch a child,” finished Sia, her heart thumping at a crazy speed.
“Wait here outside, I’ll check if everything is clear inside,” said Ajay, headi
ng towards the policemen who were scanning the outside and making notes. He spoke to them and opened the door before disappearing inside. Harsha followed behind him as well.
Sia was left alone with Jyotika along with a few policemen that continued to check the perimeter of the house.
“They wanted her,” Sia said aloud to no one in particular. She was still in shock.
“We don’t know that for sure, Sia,” Jyotika replied softly.
“Even if they hadn’t come particularly for her, I can’t take any chances with Anika. Her safety is my utmost priority. What if we were inside our home, or worse approached by these men while we were on the street.”
Jyothika didn’t offer a reply. Mostly because she had considered those scenarios as well. When Jay or Sia didn’t answer their calls, she begged Harsha to take her along to see if they were okay.
Ajay appeared outside the doorway. “It’s all clear. Come inside,” he said, heading towards them to bring Anika and the stroller inside the house.
Fifteen minutes later, the police left after taking down the information needed.
“You think someone knows what we are planning?” Ajay asked.
“I don’t know, Jay. Things are only going to get dangerous for a while until everything is over, Jay. You guys need to be on high alert,” said Harsha.
“But whatever we did so far at Citizen’s Hotel, we did it while hacking into the systems. Not personally or involving anyone so far.”
There was a long stretch of silence, until Anika woke up with a cry.
She was hungry. Sia began to fix her bottle, while Jyotika picked her up from the stroller and put her over the shoulder to pat her. Then as though she thought of something, Jyotika froze.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I-I... just assumed it was okay to pick her up. I was so used to her for a few weeks. I...” she drifted off looking torn and apologetic.
“It’s fine, Jyotika,” said Sia.
Once they settled down to feed Anika, there was another tense silence as all the gazes fell on Anika, who was a helpless baby they all loved and adored.