CHAPTER 4: Anika Raichand
Lights were dim…. Daylight did enter the corridors but only through the windows that were built near the ceiling, but those windows were also at a higher height…. The corridors had very little light so she took her steps carefully…. This was not the first time that she was walking in the corridors of this police station…. This was not the first time that she was going to meet someone in here…. She had visited many suspects in the past years…. She had walked in these corridors many a times…. Being a lawyer, this was a part of her profession…. Visits to many different police stations, different prisons were a part of her routine…. But today she felt something different…. There was some nervousness, some fear, some anger, and a lot of irritation…. She did not want to meet this man…. She did not wish to fight this case…. It didn’t matter to her if he was innocent or not…. She let out a deep sigh…. Whatever she thought did not matter…. She had to meet this man…. She remembered how her dear Arjun Bhai had emotionally blackmailed her to take up this case…. She could never disappoint her Bhai; he meant the world to her…. She had handled many cases, many she won and some she lost…. But winning or losing was not the issue here…. The issue was that the man she was going to fight for belonged to a rich family…. And she in her entire career till now had never taken any high profile case that involved famous or celebrated people of the so called high society…. She knew that such people could hire any number of lawyers…. So she always tried to fight cases for the poor or the middle-class people…. But alas all that kept aside she had to fight for this man because he was her Bhai’s best friend from many years…. She had seen him on few occasions but today he was a murder suspect and her client…. She could not say a “NO” to her Bhai but of course her Bhai would definitely have to pay for all this….
Her thoughts came to a halt as the constable walking along with her informed that they had reached the room…. She thanked him and the constable walked away…. She looked at the door and took a deep breath…. She held the door handle and opened the door….
As she opened the door and stepped in, her eyes fell on the two men standing in front of her…. One had a confused look that she recognized as the man she had to fight for while the other was highly irritated, maybe because she came in without knocking thus interrupting his work…. She was about to apologize for entering like that when she turned to the third man in the room…. She wouldn’t have noticed him if he had not spoken at that moment….
Man 3: Who are you?
He was about to say something further but the other man cut him,
Man 2: How dare you enter the room without my permission, Ms. Anika Raichand?
His voice clearly showed that he had not at all liked Anika’s entry into the room…. He had recognized her…. Even though she did not take up high profile cases, she was still a well-known lawyer….
Man 1: Anika Raichand, are you Arjun’s sister?
Man 2: Ms. Raichand, important work is going on here, so it is better if you stand outside and wait for us.
Seeing the situation going to another tangent the third man interrupted….
Man 3: Relax Veer you continue with your questions to Shivaay, I’ll talk to Ms. Raichand….
Ranveer: Yeah that would be better, Abir take her away and make sure no one else disturbs me now.
Ranveer said the last words looking at Anika…. She wanted to protest but Abir assured her that he’ll handle and she quietly followed him…. While walking away she looked at Shivaay once…. She saw a frown maybe because she did not answer his question…. She tried reading his expressions but he was a master in hiding them…. His blank face did not give a slight clue of what was going on within him…. She looked away failing to understand him…. After Anika and Abir left, Ranveer again turned to the man in front of him….
Ranveer: I hope no one disturbs us now.
Shivaay: I wanted to talk to my lawyer, why did you send her away.
Shivaay’s voice had anger and frustration…. He did not wish to hide it at all…. He had been sitting in this room from the past two hours waiting for his lawyer so that he could get out of this place…. And when finally the lawyer had arrived, this arrogant and rude DCP Ranveer Singh Randhawa had just sent her out…. What did he think of himself…. He had already kept Shivaay waiting, asking the same questions again and again, and now he did not let him talk to his lawyer also….
Ranveer: Answer my questions and you are free to talk to whomever you want.
Ranveer’s voice reflected equal anger and frustration…. He had been with Shivaay for two hours and every time he had asked him something, he got the same answer…. “I will not answer unless I talk to my lawyer”…. He was not going to give up easily…. What if Shivaay was an Oberoi…. That did not matter to Ranveer…. For him Shivaay was a murder suspect and most probably he could be the murderer too…. This anger that Shivaay possessed could make him do things that were beyond thinking…. Not only him but the world had heard about Shivaay Singh Oberoi’s wrath…. He took a deep breath and looked at Shivaay….
Ranveer: Shivaay, answer my questions and you are free to go.
Shivaay thought for some time and then let out a sigh…. He had no other option…. Ranveer would not let him go…. But he was also Shivaay Singh Oberoi…. How could he give up…. But then he remembered his family…. How worried they would be…. His Mom and Dadi would be crying…. His Badi Maa, Bade Papa and Dad would be worried…. His sister would be afraid…. And his brothers, they would be trying hard to bring him out of this mess…. He could easily argue with this DCP…. But at this moment he had to keep his patience only for his family….
Shivaay: Ask whatever you have to, but after that I’ll talk to my lawyer.
Ranveer gave a slight smile marking his victory….
Ranveer: So, Mr. Shivaay Singh Oberoi, did you kill Ms. Tia Kapoor?
Ranveer did not beat around the bush and directly stated his question…. This was the sixth time Ranveer was asking the question…. Every time Shivaay gave him a look full of anger and frustration but this time he decided to answer it calmly….
Shivaay: I did not kill her; Tia was not only my fiancé but also my childhood friend. Why will I kill her, how does it benefit me?
Ranveer: I’ll ask questions here and you’ll answer. You do not have to cross question me.
Shivaay: If you ask all this irrelevant questions, I’ll have to cross question.
Ranveer was about to answer back but there was a knock at the door and Abir came in…. Ranveer did not like disturbances but Abir was an exception….
Abir: Veer, Commissioner Sir wants to meet us. We have to leave now, it is urgent.
Ranveer: You go and get ready, I’ll come in a minute.
Abir nodded and left the room…. Ranveer looked at Shivaay….
Ranveer: We are not done Shivaay. You may be free to go now but remember you are still a suspect and you cannot leave this city.
Saying so he left…. Ranveer knew that Shivaay would want to answer him back but he did not think it was important to wait and listen to Shivaay…. He had dealt with many such people and he very well knew all their thoughts and talks…. Shivaay was irked that he did not get his chance to answer back but he thought he would next time they meet….
Anika was waiting outside when she saw Ranveer leaving…. Ranveer saw her but ignored and walked out…. She was waiting for Shivaay to come out so that she could talk to him and understand the entire matter….
Shivaay walked out of the room in his attitude…. Whatever the situation was Shivaay did not let it affect him as an Oberoi…. He was the Shivaay Singh Oberoi and nothing could affect him…. He came out and took out his mobile…. He was about to dial Om’s number when his eyes fell on Anika…. She saw him and got up from her seat…. He walked to her and dialed Om’s number…. Om instantly received the call…. Anika waited for him to finish his call….
Shivaay: Om, I am coming back and tell everyone not to worry. I’ll talk to you all once I reach there. Take care.
Anika: Hello Mr. Oberoi, I am….
Shivaay: I know you are Anika Raichand, I heard it inside.
Anika: Oh yeah, I am your lawyer, I’ll handle this case.
Shivaay: Well you don’t have to handle this case. I’ll talk to Arjun and consult someone better.
Anika looked at him surprised…. But soon his words registered and she understood what he meant…. Someone better…. What did he mean…. He may be some Oberoi or anyone but he did not have the rights to insult her and question her capabilities….
Anika: Better, what do you mean and how dare you say that?
Shivaay: Please, Ms. Raichand already that DCP has wasted my time, now you don’t do that. I appreciate that you came here to help me but you are not needed.
Without waiting for Anika to say something Shivaay left from there…. Anika was looking at his retreating figure…. How dare that Shivaay Singh Oberoi insult her like that…. Her anger had reached an extreme level but maintaining her composure and looking at the surroundings, she decided to stay calm and walked out of the police station….
*****
Author’s note: So I hope all Shivika fans are finally happy.
Before I update the next part, I want you all to answer some really important questions:
1. Do you think the murderer should be revealed to the readers first or the characters first?
2. Who do think should be the murderer, a he/she?
3. Are you interested to know the further story? Is the beginning interesting?
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