“What’s wrong?” I asked her, and noted that the poor woman looked terrified.
“Baisa, I was walking with Navya Baisa in the garden when her mother drove up. She dragged the child away from me and threw her into the car. I begged her to speak to Hukum because she’s not allowed to take Baisa out without his permission, but she said she’s her mother and does not need anybody’s permission to see her child.”
“Maybe she took her for a drive?” I suggested, trying to quell the panic that rose in my gut.
“Maybe, Baisa. But she looked almost unhinged. And she drove into the forest, which is so dangerous.”
Oh no! It was just like Nilanjana to create unnecessary drama, but if she did vanish with Navya, there was no telling what she’d do out of spite. I decided to follow her right awaywhile the nanny called Samrat, because there was no time to waste.
“I’ll go after her. You go and inform Hukum right away, and ask him to follow us,” I said, racing down the stairs.
The valet threw me the keys to one of the jeeps and pointed in the direction where Nilanjana had gone. I couldn’t see her car, which meant she’d already gotten a head start, but the forest got more and more un-navigable as you went deeper, so I was hoping to still catch up with her.
“Samrat Hukum is sure to come after me soon. Point him in my direction,” I instructed the valet, and he nodded sharply, and I sped out of the driveway.
I must have driven for around ten minutes when I spotted her car hidden in the bushes. I pulled up next to it and saw that the doors were open, as if the occupants had just jumped out and run into the woods.
I cursed her under my breath, wondering what kind of mother she was that she’d take her three-year-old child deep into a leopard-infested jungle. I drove around slowly, calling out for Navya, hoping the child would answer me.
Suddenly, I heard a soft cry in the distance.
“Navya,” I called loudly, and the cry sounded again. I drove in the direction of the sound and saw Navya sitting on the ground in a clearing, nibbling on a biscuit. Her mother was nowhere to be seen. I jumped out of the jeep and ran to the child, picking her up and hugging her tightly. She hugged me back and smiled into my face.
Just then, I heard the click of a gun and turned my head slowly to the right. A massive mountain of a man had a gun aimed at me.
“What a touching scene,” said Nilanjana, walking out from behind him coyly.
“What the hell is going on here? You just took Navya without telling anyone where you were going?” I asked in confusion.
“I didn’tjusttake her. I took her at just the right time,” she replied. “When I knew you were out on the terrace. I knew you were the first person the nanny would run to because you were the closest to her.”
“How did you know where I was?”
“I’ve been watching the palace from yesterday, watching your slutty behaviour with Samrat, watching how you charmed your guests, and even charmed my own daughter.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I asked her casually, as I set Navya down behind me carefully out of firing range. “You kidnapped your own daughter to lure me into the forest? And to what end?”
“Toyourend, babe,” she said with a smirk. “You really think you can steal Samrat from me?”
“Samrat was never yours, no matter how much you tried to keep us apart. He has always only been mine.”
“Really, then why did he cast you aside so easily eight years ago?” she sneered.
“Because you set it up so he’d cast me aside. Why did you do it?” I asked.
Nilanjana examined her nails closely, as if she had nothing better to do. As if she didn’t have to answer for ruining my life eight years ago. Finally, she looked up at me, and I wanted to take a step back at the loathing and fury in her eyes.
“Because you stole the life that was supposed to be mine,” she screamed. “I was stuck married to a man who was sick for most of his life! Meanwhile, there was Samrat - the man of my dreams. I knew my husband didn’t have too long to live. If you hadn’t seduced Samrat away from me, he and I could have been happy together.”
“You’re sick,” I spat in disgust. “Samrat would never have cuckolded his brother. If you don’t know that about him, you know nothing.”
“Maybe I’m sick, but not as sick as you were that night,” she said with a demented giggle.
“What did you do to me that night? It was you, wasn’t it? You put something in the hot chocolate.”
“Oldest trick in the book, babe,” she replied, with a wink. “I roofied you.”
Her bodyguard barked out a quick laugh at that.
