Link to the 14th chapter : https://www.tellyupdates.com/where-secrets-lie-chapter-14-making-plans/
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Vihaan was awed. He had been to casinos before, but this particular one emitted grandiosity from it’s every nook and corner.
A glass containing the most expensive wine rested by his side on the table. He was currently engrossed in a game of poker with 3 other players, with one of them being Chang’s manager, Bob.
After the cards had been dealt to all the 4 players around the table, it was time to place a bet.
Vihaan studied his opponents’ expressions. Two of them appeared neutral. But he was sure to have caught a ghost of a smile on Bob’s face. This could only mean one thing. Bob was happy with his cards and was confident that he could win this game.
It was then that he decided to play his next big move. In order to influence Bob to bet more money, Vihaan managed to create a tensed like face. All thanks to his acting skills, Bob was given the impression that Vihaan had received bad cards and he’d surely lose.
Getting overconfident about his win, Bob placed a bet of 50k rupees, almost ten times more than the other players.
It was finally time to reveal their respective cards. When it was Vihaan’s turn, everyone at the table were shocked. He had the highest hand amongst all of them. And with that, he won all the money, more than 65k in total.
Even though he was still reeling from his loss, Bob seemed quite impressed with the young lad.
“You are too good at this game!”
Vihaan clicked his tongue. “I am only good at one thing, and that is to fool people. Isn’t that how I won this game? By fooling you?”
Bob chuckled, “I’m sure there might have been many people who were victims of your ‘fooling’.”
“Oh yes. I’ve fooled many in my life,” said Vihaan with a twinkle in his eye. “Especially innocent, beautiful women.”
Bob’s face lit up. “Fool women did you say? And that too beautiful ones?”
“I don’t like to praise myself, but often women lose themselves in my charm. So much so that, they are ready to do anything, literally anything,” said Vihaan rather too proudly.
Leaning towarda him, Bob spoke in a hushed tone. “My boss Chang, has a weakness for beautiful women. If you can…”
“Manage to get him a woman or two for his personal use?” Vihaan completed the sentence for him. “Don’t worry. Consider the work to be done.”
“The more beautiful she is, the higher will be your reward,” said Bob.
“It is on me.”
“And it would be even better if she is a virgin you know.”
“Done. I get you beautiful and virgin girls, and you give me money. Deal?” Vihaan stood up and forwarded his hand.
“Deal.” Bob nodded and shook his hand. “But don’t even think of betraying us. The punishment of deceit in our world is death. Just remember that.”
Vihaan brushed it off nonchalantly. Now nothing could scare him away from this path, not even the fear of death.
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Riddhima scanned her reflection. A short shimmer dress that ran upto her mid-thighs and tightened around her curves, complimented with loud mascara and red bold lips, she looked like a completely different woman.
“I can’t believe that you are actually trusting that Vihaan,” said Seher grumpily. She herself was dressed in a similar fashion as her friend. “What if he betrays us and actually ends up selling us off to Chang’s men? You know he can do anything for money!”
“Don’t know why Seher, I feel this time, he won’t deceive me,” she uttered with a distant tone to her voice. “I’ve seen it in his eyes, in his demeanor. He seems genuinely sorry for all the mess he created…”
“And you are willing to FORGIVE him?” asked Seher.
“Of course not!” scoffed Riddhima. “I’m never going to forgive him for what he did. But I feel like trusting him. For one and last time. Besides, do I have any option?”
Just then, Jeh barged into the dressing room whose was left open-mouthed.
“Seher, you look so damn s*xy!” He tried hugging her from behind, while she elbowed him in his stomach.
“Seriously? Is this the time for romance?” she began berating him.
Jeh rubbed his abdomen where he had been hit. “By the way, Vihaan is waiting for you both in the hall.”
Riddhima hurried to the living room where Vihaan’s back was turned to her and was seen speaking on the phone.
“Yes Doctor. Please start the surgery. I may not be around for the next few hours. But if anything untoward happens, do call me up and I’ll come right away.”
Vihaan’s Nani was undergoing a liver transplant surgery today. And yet, Vihaan was taking the girls to search for Sia. Something inside Riddhima moved.
She cleared her throat to signal her presence.
As soon as Vihaan turned around, he was left in an absolute daze. The woman in front of him looked so ravishing, that he couldn’t help but check her out from head to toe.
It was only after she nervously tucked the strands behind her ear that he realized she was feeling uncomfortable due to his unwavering stare. He looked away for her own convenience.
“Actually…I…” He stopped in the middle of the sentence when he saw an infant baby crawling about the floor.
Riddhima defly picked him up in her arms and cuddled him. When she noticed Vihaan having a question mark on his face, she said, “He is my son. Vansh and my child.”
“Oh,” he muttered. He’d have wanted to quiz her more about this because as far as he knew, there was no sign of any baby or whatsoever in the picture earlier. But he also knew that he wasn’t in a position to pose questions to her.
When Jeh and Seher made their way into the living room, Riddhima handed the baby to Jeh.
“Please take care of him while I’m away. After Chang’s warning, I can’t trust anyone.”
Jeh made a face and took the baby. He had nothing against this innocent child, but taking care of him like a nanny was an idea he didn’t seem very pleased with.
Nonetheless, he kept his mouth shut. Because he was weary of Seher teaching him a lesson.
Seher spoke up. “Shall we leave?”
“Yes, let’s go,” Riddhima and Vihaan said in unison.
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The strip club’s fiery red lights and blasting music welcomed the trio as soon as they put their foot inside. No prizes for guessing that this club belonged to Chang.
The tight security around the place, stopped them before they could enter. It was only after Vihaan pulled out a card that had been given to him Bob, that they let them in.
Chang had a notorious name around. He owned many casinos, strip clubs and bars. But his extremely strict security was difficult to infiltrate. No random person without any contacts would be permitted.
Riddhima was not used to walking in high stilettos and that is why she kept stumbling over her step every now and then. And everytime that happened, it would be Vihaan who’d hold her in time. And she hated that.
Whenever she felt his hands over herself, her mind would automatically fly back to that time when she spent the night with him. It disgusted her thinking that she had given her heart, mind, body and soul to a nobody assuming him to be Vansh.
She felt naked, vulnerable and dirty. Yes, it was true that he did try to refuse to her and she was the one who had coaxed him into it. But did that waiver him from all the blame? No, absolutely not! She wouldn’t forgive him, at least not until she died.
Out of the blue, a half drunk man with lust strewn all over his face, approached Riddhima.
“How much for an hour? Screw that, how much for an entire night?”
If Riddhima had her way, she’d have loved to give him a few slaps and kicks right then and there. But she was here to find Sia and could not afford to create a scene. A single wrong move on her part, and their entire plan would go down into the drains.
Clenching his fists, Vihaan came in front of Riddhima, his tall figure conveniently hiding her away from that lecherous man’s hungry sight.
“Two billion dollars,” he mocked. “I’m sure you don’t have that. Now go away!”
The man scurried away not wanting to get further insulted.
Riddhima anmoyedly turned towards Vihaan. “Don’t forget that I’ve brought you here for some important work. That doesn’t mean you will act like my bodyguard. I can very well take care of myself.”
“I can see for myself how you are taking care of yourself,” said Vihaan. He held her hand and began walking to a table ahead.
“Seher, you also stay close by. I don’t want any men to loiter around you both. It’s not safe out here.”
Riddhima looked on seeing Vihaan’s care for her.
“He is Vihaan. Not Vansh…” she reminded herself.
As the trio took their respective places, their gaze fell upon the dias in front where a group of young, voluptously dressed girls were made to stand in a line.
“They are probably going to auction them,” Riddhima gritted her teeth.
“Can you find Sia among the group?” Vihaan asked scrutinizing the girls.
Riddhima hesitated. “Actually…I don’t know how she looks like…”
“Shit! Then how would we identify her?” He smacked his fist on the table.
“We might not be able to recognize her. But she will definitely recognize you. As her Vansh Bhai,” said Riddhima.
Vihaan shushed up the girls as he saw Bob coming towards them.
“Aah! You’ve got really fine girls for us.” He creepily looked them up and down. “We’ll put them up for auction along with the other girls right now. What say?”
Seher and Riddhima started panicking a little.
“Relax. The girls are getting a little afraid. Let me talk to them and calm them down,” said Vihaan. “You know how it is with inexperienced girls. They have never seen something like this before. Just give them 15-20 minutes.”
Getting convinced in his fake words, Bob left the scene, but not before warning them to make it quicker.
Seher pierced her nails into Vihaan’s arm. “This better be worth it. If we don’t find Sia here, I swear I won’t leave you!”
“Bob told me that all the girls in prostitution racket are put here. So Sia must definitely be here, too,” said Vihaan.
They were interrupted by one of the pimps who climbed up on the dias and began speaking on the microphone.
“Let’s start the auction. The first girl is Daisy. Beautiful brown tone, slim and tall, she is surely the one every man here desires for…”
The said girl walked to the front with an expressionless face, her thin and short dress barely covering her.
The men seated around began hooting and whistling.
“Five lakh rupees!” came one voice from the crowd.
“Five lakh rupees twenty thousand!” said some other.
“If she strips, I’ll buy her for freaking six lakhs!” laughed another man.
Soon they all began shouting like hooligans. “Strip, strip, strip!”
The pimp tugged at ‘Daisy’s’ dress, forcing her to take it off. Having no other option, she gave into their demands.
The men ogled at her like a pack of famished wolves, ready to pounce upon her to satiate their evil desires.
A silent tear escaped the girl’s eye, which unfortunately no one cared to notice.
Riddhima, Seher and Vihaan turned their face away, not able to watch the horrible scene in front of them. They wished they could do something for her, but right now, Sia was their foremost priority.
“I don’t think Sia is here in this hall. Or else, she’d have instantly come to you, Vihaan,” said Riddhima.
“There are rooms on the top floor. What if Sia is stuck there?” he suggested.
“Then we must head upstairs immediately,” added Seher.
“But what about the security guarding the staircase?” Riddhima pointed in the direction. That’s when, an idea struck her.
Pouring the bottle of beer over her dress, she braced herself and sultrily walked towards the guards.
“Look, my dress has gotten dirty. I need to clean it up. Will you let me and my friends use the rooms upstairs, please?” she pouted her lips and fluttered her lashes to up the effect. “If you listen to me, I might even give my number to you.” She winked.
Excited at the thought of getting close to such a hot lass, the guard permitted the trio to take the stairs.
As they were hurring up, skipping two steps at a time, Vihaan turned in Riddhima’s direction.
“What was that?” he said becoming out of breath.
“None of your business,” she snapped in return.
Once on the first floor, they found themselves in a narrow corridor with rooms on either side.
“How do we know which room to search? There are so many of them. And all of them are probably locked from inside even!” grunted Vihaan.
“Now, there’s only one way out,” said Riddhima. “Sia! Sia! If you are in there, please give us a hint!” She began shouting her name much to Vihaan’s horror. Now, in no time, the guards would be up and God knows what they’d do with them.
Amongst the lustful moans coming from all the other rooms, a weak whimper could be heard coming from the one at the farthest end.
“Sia! We are here to save you!” Vihaan said out aloud, his deep voice booming through the walls.
And then as if miraculously, they heard a scream of a woman.
“Bhai! Vansh Bhai!”
“That must be Sia!” said Seher and the trio began running in the direction the voice was coming from.
A blood curdling shriek rang into their ears sending shivers. It only meant one thing. That Sia was being tortured.
Vihaan twisted the doorknob with full force, but it wouldn’t budge. It was locked from inside.
Taking a few steps back, he ran forward giving a large kick upon the door. It flew open.
The scene they saw before them pierced their very soul. There was a half naked fragile looking girl with a man twice her age and size on top of her.
Rage filling his every vein, Vihaan grabbed the man by his neck and began thrashing him mercilessly.
Riddhima and Seher rushed towards Sia and covered her using few blankets nearby. The dark bruises over her pale skin didn’t go unnoticed by Riddhima who shuddered in anguish.
The man who was molesting Sia was beaten so much that he was soon rendered unconscious.
Still trembling with anger, Vihaan looked towards the girl whom they had just rescued.
“Bhai!” she freed herself from the other girls’ clutches and flung herself in Vihaan’s arms. Burying her face in his chest, she clawed at his shirt trying to find for some support.
“Vansh Bhai! Where were you? Why didn’t you come to save me? I waited for two years. Do you know how much your little Sia suffered in this hell?” She pounded at his chest. “Why didn’t you come? You were my brother, you were supposed to protect me from all danger. But you didn’t, you didn’t!”
Vihaan’s heart wrenched with pain, when he saw Sia like that. She wasn’t his sister per say, but he felt something for her he hadn’t experienced ever before. Keeping his mouth zipped up, he silently bore all the accusations that came his way.
Riddhima tried to pat her in order to to console her. But Sia jerked her hands away, and refused to part away from her brother.
Giving into the emotions, Vihaan wrapped his arm around Sia.
“Now I’m there with you. I won’t let anything to happen with you.”
Riddhima and Seher gaped in terror as they heard a cluster of footsteps sounding from a distance.
“They are coming to get us!”
“We need to leave ASAP!” Holding Sia’s hand, Vihaan dragged her out of the place. Riddhima and Seher ran close behind them.
“Those blo*dy betrayers! Get those rascals!” Bob growled as he saw the quad escape using the emergency exit.
Once outside the premise, Riddhima’s high heels gave way, and she fell down on the ground with a loud thud.
“Aah!” she winced holding her sprained foot in place.
Vihaan who was at the front with Sia, stopped and turned behind in concern.
“Riddhima, are you fine?” Seher sat beside her.
“Don’t worry about me, take Sia away. Now!” said Riddhima unable to even get up. “Chang’s goons will reach here by anytime. Just leave!”
“Are you mad? I’m not leaving you alone,” Seher chided while inspecting her foot.
Vansh intervened. “Seher, you must take Sia to safety. I’ll stay here and look after Riddhima.”
“No Bhai! I won’t leave you!” Sia clung to him fearfully. Her reaction was but obvious. She had suffered years of abuse, and it wasn’t easy for her to trust anyone other than her own brother.
Vihaan comforted her. “Seher is a trusted friend. You must go with her. But for now, Riddhima needs me.”
Half-wantedly, Seher escorted a crying Sia to her car and drove away.
Vihaan grasped Riddhima’s foot in his hand and gently began massaging it back and forth.
“What are you doing?” Riddhima was mortified by his actions.
Without any further warning, he twisted her foot. Before she could let out a shriek, Vihaan slammed her palm over her mouth, muffling her sounds.
“Shush! Or someone might hear you!”
After a minute or two when the pain had subsided, Riddhima found that her foot had become completely alright.
“Even I can be a little bit of doctor sometimes,” said Vihaan with a twinkle in his eye.
But their happiness was shortlived as soon the goons rounded up the corner.
Vihaan helped Riddhima get up and deftly hid themselves behind a wall.
“They must be somewhere here only. Quick find them!” ordered Bob.
Vihaan pulled Riddhima closer, in order to save her from being seen by the goons.
Riddhima gasped at the close proximity between them. His chest against hers, his breath fanning over her face, their lips barely a few centimeters away, and their eyes lost in each other.
She flinched when he brought his hand to her face and pushed her hairlocks away.
“They must have escaped. They are nowhere around. Let us go back and inform Chang Boss. Now only after his further orders, we’ll decide what to do.”
With that Bob and his minions left the scene, allowing Vihaan and Riddhima to sigh with relief.
Thinking of hiring a taxi from the nearest street, they stealthily fleed from that wretched place.
Since it was quite late in the night, they were unable to find any cab. They continued walking on the relatively empty road for the next few minutes, with ample of awkwardness seeping around them.
Suddenly, Vihaan’s phone began ringing, startling both of them.
Vihaan answered the call. Worrylines became more prominent on his forehead and his eyes became red and moistened. It looked like he was fighting back tears and would break down any moment.
“What happened?” Riddhima enquired getting a little worried.
“The call was from the hospital….apparently Nani’s health is worsening and she’s going through many complications during the surgery. The doctors are saying that anything can happen any moment, and therefore they want me around…”
Riddhima was almost about to put her hand around his shoulder as a means of providing him with some emotional support, but she stopped herself in time. It would be better if she maintained her distance and did not get too friendly with him.
She cleared her throat. “Then you must go to the hospital immediately.”
Vihaan rubbed his eyes as his vision was beginning to get clouded by tears.
“No. First let me drop you back to your house, then only will I go to the hospital. Chang was already after your life for the land. And after today, he has greater reason to harm you. I can’t let you prowl about all by yourself.”
“Don’t be stupid! Nani needs you there right now,” she tried to reason out with him.
“Yeah I know, but your safety is equally important too..”
“Fine. We both will leave for the hospital right now. Okay?”
“Listen, you don’t really need to do all this…”
Riddhima ignored Vihaan’s words and stopped a taxi that was coming towards them.
“Take us to MV Hospital,” she told the driver before getting inside.
Vihaan simply shook his head. This girl was stubborn as hell. And nobody could beat her at that.
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At the hospital, Vihaan kept pacing up and down the corridor outside the operation theatre. The surgery would take few more hours to complete, considering how it was becoming very difficult for the doctors to control the huge in-operative bleeding the patient was facing.
Feeling exhausted and hopeless, Vihaan finally sat down on the bench, burying his head between both his palms.
Riddhima looked on from a distant. She could not help but feel sorry for him. Her opinion about him was gradually changing, especially after how he helped them in rescuing Sia from that dungeon.
Carrying a glass of fresh juice in her hands, she sat beside him.
“You haven’t eaten anything. At least drink this.”
Without any arguments, Vihaan took the juice from her.
Perhaps it was his distraught face moving her heart, or her feeling relatable to him having lost many of her loved ones, but surprisingly, she put her hand atop his.
“Everything will be fine.”
Vihaan raised his eyes up at her, equally taken aback by her gesture. He was feeling so weak in that moment that he couldn’t even explain it in words. He wanted someone on whose shoulder he could rest his head, in whose lap he could cry like a baby. But he couldn’t bring himself to do this. Especially after what he did with her…
So instead, he just gave her a broken smile and turned away.
*
Hello everyone! That is it for today guys. Do comment.
Peace out!