CHAPTER LXV
I hit the man hard with a metal rod, knocking him off his bike. He crashed to the ground, groaning in pain as the dust rose around us. I jumped off my bike and tore off my helmet, ready to confront the predator who dared to touch one of my team members.
But the moment I saw his face…
My blood ran cold.
Ashwin.
I froze. The world spun for a second too long.
It was him — the same Ashwin who had once humiliated me in college. The same guy who, out of petty ego and twisted revenge, had turned a group of girls against me… had them beat me mercilessly, and then dragged me to the swimming pool and thrown me in — watching me choke, laughing like it was all a joke. The same Ashwin who once disgustingly claimed to be dating my Mon just to break me further.
The same Ashwin…
Because of whom Mon and I had shattered.
My hands trembled — not from fear, but from the rage that surged like a wildfire through my veins. My chest tightened. That old wound, the one I had buried deep inside under layers of strength and time, cracked wide open again.
Without a word, I grabbed him by the collar and began dragging him toward the police jeep. He resisted, but I wasn't the same broken girl he once knew. I was stronger now — and this time, he was the one who looked terrified.
I shoved him into custody and marched him straight to the police station. The team followed, silent, sensing the fury burning beneath my skin.
Once inside, I locked him up and turned to Anamika.
"Start the 3D psychological torture. I want him to spill everything — the gang's name, their methods, how they're picking the girls, where they're keeping them… I want it all."
Anamika nodded sharply, her expression hardening.
Then Anshuman stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "Sam, honestly? I've been itching to deal with a guy like him. Let me take a crack at him too."
I looked him dead in the eye and said coldly, "Do whatever you want. Just make sure he talks."
As Ashwin sat behind the bars — eyes wide, trying to piece together how the hunter had become the hunted — I stared at him with the intensity of a storm long overdue.
This wasn't just about justice anymore.
This was personal.
This was war.
And it had just begun.
Anamika returned, her boots echoing off the cold floor, carrying a thick iron rod in her hand — strong, heavy, and merciless. There was a dark glint in her eyes — not of cruelty, but of purpose. Of justice.
Anshuman, without wasting a second, grabbed Ashwin and the other guy — the one who had been with him on the bike — and forced them down flat on their stomachs over the steel interrogation table. The men resisted at first, cursing, thrashing… but it was useless. Their hands were cuffed behind their backs, and within seconds, they were restrained — completely at the mercy of the team.
The air inside the room turned tense, almost electric.
Then the beatings began.
Anshuman swung first, the rod landing across Ashwin's back with a sickening crack. The man howled in pain, his voice echoing through the corridors. The second guy started begging almost immediately — but Anamika didn't stop. She brought the rod down again and again, each strike fueled by every girl who had vanished without a trace.
I stood at the doorway for a moment, watching them. But it wasn't enough.
"Hit the soles of their feet," I instructed coldly. "It hurts more there. And hit the joints too — every pressure point, every weak bone. Make them feel their bodies breaking apart until the truth spills from their mouths like blood."
Anshuman and Anamika didn't need to be told twice. They redirected their fury, hitting Ashwin's heels, his ankles, his knees, his shoulders — every blow a message: You don't get to walk away from this.
Ashwin was shaking now, gasping, his screams turning into hoarse, broken sobs. The second guy had started vomiting — from the pain or fear, I didn't know. Nor did I care.
I turned away.
This wasn't just an interrogation anymore. This was a reckoning.
I walked into my chamber and closed the door gently behind me. My heart was racing, but my face remained calm. I sat down in my chair, hands folded in front of me, and stared at the empty wall.
I wasn't proud of what was happening out there.
But I knew it had to be done.
We had tried kindness. We had tried protocol. But girls were still disappearing. Teenagers. Daughters. Sisters.
And these two men knew something.
Something dark.
Something rotten.
So I waited. Silent.
Hoping that somewhere between broken bones and screams, the truth would come crawling out — gasping for air.
Because justice didn't always come with a gavel.
Sometimes, it came with a rod.
"The Mirror of Regret"
It was well past midnight. The station was quieter now — the walls heavy with echoes of the day's chaos. Anshuman, Anamika, Ritu, and even Mon had all left for the night, returning to their homes to rest. But not me.
I couldn't rest.
I waited until the new officers on night duty had barely settled into their routines before quietly making my way into the interrogation room. The lights inside were dimmer now, the air thick with dried blood, sweat, and something more… something unspoken. Ashwin sat slumped against the wall, bruised, broken, but still alive. His arrogance hadn't died yet — that much I could see in his eyes.
I walked in silently, my boots clicking softly against the cold floor.
Without saying a word, I reached forward and grabbed his hair — yanking his face up to meet mine.
His face was battered, one eye swollen shut, but the smirk still lingered.
"Tell me the truth," I hissed. "What was between you and Mon?"
I couldn't get her eyes out of my head — the way she had looked at him today, as if he was filth. Disgust. Hatred. And pain. There was pain, too.
"Answer me," I growled, tightening my grip.
Ashwin chuckled through cracked lips, blood dribbling down his chin. "Samriddhi… Samriddhi," he repeated, mockingly, like he was tasting the name on his tongue. "You really don't remember what you did, do you?"
I frowned, unsure of what he meant.
He leaned in slightly, voice dropping to a whisper.
"You were the one… the one who ruined her. Not me."
My breath caught.
Ashwin's smile grew wider despite the pain. "Years ago… do you remember what you told Mon? That she could never love her own way. That her feelings were just a phase. That love was supposed to look a certain way — and hers didn't. So what did you do, oh righteous Samriddhi? You pushed her… forced her to date her own brother's girlfriend. You made her live a lie. And then, when she cracked… you judged her. You walked away. You broke her."
My hands trembled. My heart pounded violently in my chest.
"No… I didn't…"
But my voice was already shaking.
Because somewhere deep down, I did remember.
The arguments. The cold silences. The way Mon used to look at me with teary eyes, begging me to understand — and how I had turned away, thinking I was doing the right thing. I thought I was protecting her. But in truth… I was caging her.
Ashwin tilted his head. "You want to know why she looked at me that way today? Because she saw you in me. A manipulator. A coward. Someone who took her heart, twisted it… and walked away without ever cleaning the mess."
I let go of his hair slowly, my hand falling limp to my side.
The room suddenly felt colder. The silence louder.
He was right.
I had been so blinded by my own insecurities, my need to control, to 'fix' things — that I had destroyed the only thing that ever made sense. Mon didn't leave me… I had pushed her away. With suspicion. With mistrust. With cruelty disguised as care.
A wave of guilt crashed over me so violently I could barely stand.
And then another face flashed in my mind — Hannah.
A gentle soul who had stood by me again and again, waiting for me to heal, to grow… but how could I love her, truly love her, when I hadn't even forgiven myself?
Maybe I was never worthy of Mon.
And after knowing all this… maybe not even of Hannah.
I stumbled back a step, suddenly breathless, my heart drowning in regret.
Ashwin's laughter rang behind me, bitter and broken.
But I wasn't crying for him.
I was crying for the woman I used to be — and for the girl I lost because of her.
To be continue....