Sinner's Game: Karma will chase!

by Sandeep Sharma

  She tried again, ‘Beta what happened? Is everything ok? Why are you crying?’ Nikita was concerned and stressed

  ‘Ma, I was just missing you.’

  ‘Why are you crying? Is something or someone bothering you? Is it your boss Akshay? Too much work pressure these days? Say something, please. ’

  Realizing that her call was causing her mother unnecessary stress, Tanuja said, ‘Nothing mom, I was missing you a lot! Everything is fine on the work front. I was feeling lonely. Remember my hostel days when there were moments like this.

  ‘Beta, where are you right now?’

  ‘Right now I am in Mumbai for a client meeting. I will be back to Gurgaon the day after tomorrow. I will call you then.’

  ‘Thank God! You got me worried. Call me anytime beta! There is no problem that can’t be solved. How is Akshay? You have not spoken about him for quite some time.’

  ‘Nothing there to say mom. Akshay is fine and will reach tomorrow for the meeting. Just listening to your voice has calmed me down. I am feeling better now. I miss you.’

  ‘Are you sure? We can talk even now.’

  ‘No mom it is fine; good night.’

  Tanuja’s mind wandered back to Akshay and the last WhatsApp message.

  She thought to herself, ‘I think the story of linking WhatsApp messages with the accidents is a piece of shit! Akshay is panicking unnecessarily right now. We have not travelled for quite some time now and that is why all this is happening. I should plan a trip to Goa or even outside India with him. He needs to relax and move away from Garima for some time. I can’t let him destroy my plans. If he breaks this relationship, then I will be shortly out of his inner circle. Moreover, who knows he may even fire me. What will happen to my dream of having my own venture? I need to stay in Hailthy longer. I want to be part of the Global expansion and there is so much to learn on the IP side of the business. Only Akshay can make all this happen. I need to distract him somehow.’ So finally, the alcohol had started talking.

  Exhausted and rather drunk, she finally fell asleep. Next morning Tanuja was too groggy and had a massive hangover when the morning wake-up call came. There was knock at the door and she got up to open it.

  It was already 9:00 am and she had requested breakfast to be served in her room. Downing an aspirin with a glass of Orange juice, she immediately headed for a shower. While standing under the stream of water, she felt better and refreshed. Moreover, she was looking forward to meeting Akshay.

  As she finished her remaining breakfast and waited for a hot, fresh cup of tea, she decided to check on Akshay’s flight status. The flight was delayed by an hour due to the bad weather.

  While she loved the rains in Mumbai but at that point she cursed the weather. She waited patiently for Akshay’s arrival. She had a plan in mind.

  The Guilt

  Akshay could not sleep after Tanuja’s missed call. He had purposely not gone to Mumbai with Tanuja. He had decided to minimize his interactions with her. He thought about his last conversation with Tanuja. Tanuja had been reasonable in her request. It was normal for her to have some expectations from their relationship. The timing of her request was not right and that worried Akshay the most. As he thought about their relationship and their last trip to New York, it struck him about how he had started feeling differently about her now.

  On Tanuja’s request he booked his stay also at the Sheratons but for the first time he was apprehensive and not looking forward to the trip. He was afraid that would expect a lot from him and would demand answers to many questions. Akshay looked at Garima, who was sleeping next to him. All the memories of their good times came rushing back to him. Akshay felt sorry for how he had treated her. Garima had been a supportive wife from the beginning and had given him all the freedom.

  Akshay admitted to himself. ‘I have been so stupid. The charm of Tanuja has costed me a lot at this stage of life. I don’t even know if I would be able to recover from here. I am sure Garima knows something about Tanuja and me. God what have I done!’

  Unable to sleep, he left his room and went to the adjacent room where they had a small temple where Garima prayed daily. For the first time in his life, he sat down in front of the temple and prayed to Lord Shiva. With teary eyes, he prayed for forgiveness. ‘Lord Shiva please forgive me for my sins. I have given into my desires and have crossed boundaries of my marital relationship and I have intentionally hurt Garima in the process. I am feeling guilty about my past actions. I am not sure whether my fate will be similar to Himanshu and Priya but I want to change myself. Garima deserves my full attention and love. Please forgive me and give me wisdom and courage to end this peacefully.’ Akshay felt better after his prayers. When he went back to the bedroom, Garima was awake and asked, ‘What happened? Don’t you have a flight to catch up in the morning? Is it already time?’

  Akshay said, ‘I will leave in sometime from now. I was not able to sleep so took a stroll in the balcony. The weather is quite good today. Why are you up?’

  Garima said, ‘I was feeling cold and wanted to change the AC settings. I was about to look for you. Husband missing from the bed at night is not a good sign.’

  Akshay wanted to laugh but couldn’t. He felt as if this was not such an innocent comment. He replied, ‘Your husband was very much at home. What makes you believe he wouldn’t be?’

  Garima replied instantly, ‘I don’t know, you’ve been busy in the past few months and it’s odd. Sometimes I feel that you are not the same person now. Have you changed so much? Do I need to worry about something?’

  Akshay didn’t know what to say but felt the need to defend himself, ‘Garima, you know I have always given everything to my work. You do understand the work pressures.’

  For Garima, it was time that she confronted her husband about the game of hide and seek he had been playing with her. She got out of bed and quietly said, ‘I was fine with the idea of you giving everything to just work but not to another woman.’

  Akshay knew that he dug his own grave for himself but there was no escape now. He was in shock. Finally, all his lies, his sins and everything in between was out in the open. He could no longer look into Garima’s tired eyes, something he didn’t notice for months. He didn’t have anything to say to her.

  Garima stood there in front of Akshay with her arms folded. She was trying to put on a façade to mask away her true emotions in order to look strong in front of Akshay but tears slowly started to appear on her face.

  Since he didn’t say anything, she asked him, after long moments of silence, ‘Akshay do you not have anything to say to me?’

  The truth was Akshay had nothing to say to her. What would he even say? That he was fooling around with someone from his office out of sheer attraction? Or that he ruined a marriage that actually gave him immense happiness? There was no justification, no fabricated story to tell Garima, just nothing and he wanted it to remain like that only. Akshay tried to open his mouth but right before he uttered a word, the office cab guy called with a reminder.

  ‘Garima, I’ll take a flight back to home tonight and we will talk about all of this and I….’,

  “Yes Akshay, this Mumbai trip is more important to you than our marriage is. It is funny how the moment I confront you about your infidelity is when you decide to leave and take the easy way out. But at this point, I think it has become habitual for you to keep messing up..’

  Akshay tried to come closer to Garima but she didn’t want to be touched. ‘I promise we will talk about this tomorrow. I need to go this is important work and I promise to fix everything.’

  Garima didn’t say anything to Akshay. She had kept everything to herself for so long. The miserable fight was reaching to its finality. She had fought too hard with her marriage’s reality.

  ‘Oh also, is Tanuja going to Mumbai as well?’ Akshay knew the answer but didn’t want to say it, ‘Garima, it’s not what you think it is’.

  Garima turned away in anger. She knew everything about his dish
onesty. She had suffered each day while sharing the bed with him - knowing fully about his affair with Tanuja. She had loved Akshay unconditionally and did not want to lose him. She quietly said one last thing ‘I know exactly what it is. Honestly, I want my old husband back.’ After saying this, Garima went to the other room and locked the room

  Akshay stood there in disbelief. Garima knew more than what he had imagined but he was not in a position to talk about anything. While he wanted to cancel his flight, he also wanted a closure with Tanuja. Akshay thought about telling Garima about the recent events and the lurking fear of death. After a long time, he wanted to share everything with her and apologize to her. But before which, he needed to finalize his break-up with Tanuja. He was now surer of his upcoming conversation with Tanuja. He had to end their affair. He looked forward to his Mumbai trip. He now had clarity about his upcoming conversation with Tanuja.

  When Akshay left for Mumbai, Garima was quite furious. She wanted him to stay and cancel the trip but nothing like that happened. She did not have patience Akshay to come back from Mumbai. She called Vyom instead to discuss her next steps of action.

  ‘Hi Vyom, I wanted to discuss few things with you.’

  ‘Sure we can if you want.’

  ‘We can discuss over the phone? Akshay is quite tense these days and he could not even sleep last night.’

  ‘I know, he is worried about the deaths of Priya and Himanshu.’

  ‘What are you saying? How do you know about all this?’

  ‘Garima, Are you aware of the link between death of Priya and Himanshu?’

  ‘What link are you talking about? They died in separate car accidents.’

  ‘Actually there is a lot more than that. Himanshu was married and they were having an affair. This is known to a few people. Akshay is one of them. Akshay is freaking out about this. He came to meet me yesterday.’

  ‘Huh? Why would Akshay meet you for this? I don’t quite get it. Are you hiding something from me? Have you told Akshay about my assignment to you?’

  ‘No, not at all Garima; I am a professional and would never do anything like this. There is a context to this conversation. I will tell you about it.’

  ‘What have you been hiding from me Vyom?’

  ‘Garima, I will keep it short. Both Priya and Himanshu were getting messages from a WhatsApp group called ‘The Final Destination’. The messages were similar and someone was trying to warn them about their affair or you can say their sins. Right before their death, both of them received an identical message – it was a warning about their imminent death.’

  ‘I can’t believe this! Oh but who is this? Who was sending these messages to both of them? And why is Akshay being curious?’

  ‘The messages originated from my servers. You see, there is a rogue software in my office computers. Artificial Intelligence is powering this software, it seems. I could locate files related to both Priya and Himanshu including chat messages sent to them. Akshay could figure this out with the help of his friend, Vineet. Akshay is panicking because both Akshay and Tanuja may be getting similar messages. I am trying to locate their files.’

  Garima was shocked, ‘WHAT? Are you saying that Akshay has some threat from your software? What more have you been hiding from all of us? Are you controlling this software? Do you have more information about Akshay and Tanuja?’

  ‘I am not hiding anything. I do not know what is going on with this rogue software. It is going haywire and that is the reason Akshay is panicking! I am quite sure that files related to them are there on some other computer as this software has now spread to other computers as well.’

  ‘I know what you are saying. Your company’s software is responsible for these deaths. Why the hell has Akshay not gone to police so far? I am finding this hard to believe right now.’

  ‘Garima, calm down. I had purchased this software from the Dark web. I mean illegally just to decrypt WhatsApp messages. I have removed the software from my computer and have disconnected all my office computers.’

  She interrupted and asked, ‘I can’t understand that your virus infected computers were targeting Priya and Himanshu and sending messages. But I am not able to understand that how all this can lead to death of Priya and Himanshu. What is this connection? Do you know anything about this?’

  ‘No I do not know. I am also trying to figure out all this. In both cases, a truck was involved but no one saw the driver. The police could not trace anything from the number plate. Police have shut down these cases for their convenience and aren’t probing this any further. They may not even know about the WhatsApp messages. I think Priya’s brother tried to lodge a complaint with the cybercrime cell but I am not sure.’

  ‘Oh my God! I wanted a simple answer from you but what you have told me looks like a nightmare to me.’

  Vyom replied, ‘I don’t know how those accidents have happened but whatever is happening through my office computers is beyond my imagination and knowledge. There are certain files that I am not able to open but I am trying to understand the connection between messages and accidents, please give me some more time.’

  ‘I got it now. I tried to confront him in the morning but he left for Mumbai for an important meeting. He will probably meet Tanuja. I want to confirm everything first hand and am flying to Mumbai.’

  ‘OK Garima it is entirely your call.’

  ‘Thanks Vyom!’

  Vyom realized that he had to warn Akshay about the danger of meeting Tanuja at the hotel. He dialed Akshay’s number but Akshay was already on the flight. Vyom thought of dropping a message to him but he wasn’t sure about it. Sending a message on a sensitive topic like this did not look right to him. He decided to call Akshay after some time.

  Garima booked the next flight and immediately left for Mumbai.

  The Terrace

  When Akshay switched on his phone upon landing in Mumbai airport, he saw multiple missed calls from both Tanuja and Vyom. He did not want to call Vyom as he had decided to meet him only after his Mumbai trip. He decided to call Tanuja, as he was more worried about her.

  Tanuja was happy to receive Akshay’s call.

  She chirped, ‘Hi Akshay! How far are you from the hotel right now?’

  ‘Tanuja my flight has just landed and I will take a cab now. It will take an hour or so depending on the traffic.’

  ‘Great. I can’t wait to see you. Last night was tough for me as I was busy imagining scenarios about us. Should I order breakfast for you? My room is 1312.’

  ‘No I ate on the flight and I am not hungry. Let us talk once I reach there. I need to make few calls right now.’

  Vyom called Akshay once again. This time, Akshay answered the call and said, ‘Vyom, is it something important? I am in Mumbai for some business meetings and will be back either tonight or tomorrow morning.’ Akshay was nearing the hotel and there was too much disturbance due to the traffic on the road.

  Vyom replied, ‘Akshay I am not able to hear you clearly. It is important so listen to me very carefully.’

  Akshay said, ‘There is too much noise here; can I call you back?’

  ‘No. Just listen to me…’ But Akshay had already disconnected the call. Akshay had reached the hotel and headed straight to Tanuja’s room.

  Tanuja was lying on the bed in a bathrobe when Akshay entered the room. She got up immediately to hug Akshay and kissed him. Akshay hugged her but it lacked any passion.

  ‘Why are you not ready for the meeting? We need to leave in some time and we can’t be late. I have come specifically for this meeting.’

  ‘I want to talk to you, Akshay. Come, you should also rest for some time and I can order breakfast for you. I have come to Mumbai to be with you and talk to you. You were acting funny in Gurgaon and have said so many weird things to me.’

  ‘I told you that I am not hungry. We can always talk in the evening. I have not booked my return flight so far.

  Tanuja got furious, ‘I am in so much pain and my life is in tur
moil and you are telling me that you may not even stay back tonight.’

  ‘Tanuja, things are quite bad right now; Garima and I had a bad fight early this morning. She knows something about us. She was quite furious and even asked about you.’

  ‘What? We have not shared this with anyone. How can she know anything?’

  ‘I think she guessed that something was off during our house party. That is not important now. We need to take a break right now.’

  ‘Take a break? Are you kidding me? Do you even know my mental state as of now? I could hardly sleep. I was drunk and I spoke to my mom in that state. I have never done anything like this in my entire life.’

  ‘I don’t know what expectations you have from me. You knew from the beginning that I am a married man and I have my own limitations.’

  Tanuja started shouting, ‘You will dump me now based on your whims and fancies? How convenient! Are you bored of me now?’

  ‘Tanuja, you are getting it all wrong. I like you and I have feelings for you but right now the circumstances are not in our favor. Garima has never acted like this in her entire life. Both of us are getting threats through WhatsApp messages. We have to stop.’

  Vyom called Akshay at that moment to warn him again. Tanuja had so much to say but Akshay picked up the call. Vyom called, ‘Hi Akshay, can you hear me now?’

  ‘Yes, I can.’

  ‘I have probed the files related to WhatsApp messages more. I am completely convinced that there is a direct link between the messages and deaths of Priya and Himanshu.’

  ‘How can you be so sure?’

  ‘It is tough to explain this on phone but just don’t go to Tanuja’s hotel.’

  ‘What are you saying? What is bothering you? Have you spoken to Garima recently? This is crazy.’

  ‘No, listen to me; Himanshu and Priya were in a relationship – just like you and Tanuja. The messages they were getting were a warning to them, if you read them properly. They ignored those messages and died.’