Inside the prison, Dilip Goel was already understanding what was happening. Not because Karan sent a message. But because no message would ever reach him anymore. As Karan had cut off all his outside sources, now who would dare to even meet Dilip, forget obeying his nasty orders?
By the end of the week, the final step was set in motion… a silent legal escalation. Additional charges of conspiracy and attempted murder were filed against Dilip legally. Files moved faster when Karan’s name appeared on them, because his case left no room for delay.
Everything was lawful and irreversible. And through all of it, Mishti remained unaware. Karan never once mentioned the names, the calls, the steps he had taken. Because in his mind, this was simple. She had already carried enough.
What Dilip Goel did next would no longer touch her life. That was Karan’s promise to himself.
***************
One Week Later
Karan was still in the living room, lowering his phone after ending a call, when he noticed Mishti walk down the stairs, fully dressed and clearly about to step out. What made him pause was not where she was going, but how she looked. Her face was pale, and she had a tired tightness around her eyes that instantly worried him.
He crossed the room in long strides and stopped her gently.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
Mishti hesitated at first. She did not meet his eyes right away, and that brief pause told him she was hiding something. Or at least, not telling him everything.
“I’m going to meet Avni,” she said finally. “I need to give her and VK some updates about the Sahara Foundation. There are things I need to explain properly. It can’t be done over the phone.”
Karan listened, keeping his gaze fixed on her face, reading between the lines.
“I’ll come with you,” he said immediately, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Mishti shook her head at once.
“No. You need rest,” she said firmly. “You stay at home.”
“I’ve had enough rest,” Karan argued. “I’m fine now. I can come with you.”
She denied him again, more insistently this time.
“It’s not necessary, Karan. I won’t take long. Two hours, maximum. I’ll be back before you even realise it. And I’m taking the guards with me, so stop worrying.”
He was still not convinced. The frown on his forehead refused to ease. But before he could argue further, Mishti stepped closer. She rose on her toes, pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, and then looked straight into his eyes.
“Don’t worry.” She smiled. “This time, I’m not going away from you. It’s just a matter of two hours.”
Karan let out a slow sigh, the tension easing just enough for him to breathe properly. He was still not happy about her going alone, not really, but he nodded.
“Fine,” he said. “Come back soon.”
Yet even as he agreed, his mind was already moving ahead. He walked her down to the car himself. Before she could step in, he turned to the guards.
“Do not leave her unwatched for even a second,” he instructed. “I don’t care where she goes or who she meets. Your eyes stay on her at all times. And once she’s done, you bring her straight home.”
“Yes, sir,” both the guards replied immediately.
The driver nodded as well.
Mishti got into the car. Karan stood there until the door closed, until the engine started, until the car finally pulled away from the driveway. Only then did he turn back toward the house, already aware that while he had let her go, he would not simply sit and wait.Not this time.
****************
Mishti’s plan was not to meet Avni or the Mathurs. It was to meet the man she had last seen when she was nine years old. Her father…Dilip Goel. In the prison.
She had grown up believing that her father, the man she had cried for, mourned for, was dead in a tragic accident becausethat was the story her mother had given her. A lie spoken out of fear. Fear of what the truth would do to her as a child. Fear of letting her grow up knowing that her father was alive, breathing, and serving a life sentence for crimes that stained not just his own hands, but everyone else connected to him.
