After seeing the lab report, the anger inside Inspector Vikram was becoming harder to control.
He shut the file firmly… and looked straight at Pankaj.
"Pankaj… we were also present at that wedding that night…"
Pankaj and Ravi listened carefully.
Vikram continued, thinking aloud —
"Salim and his family were there too…
and just a few days later, all this happened…"
He paused for a moment…
Then said slowly —
"That means… something went wrong that very night."
A deep silence filled the room.
"Let's go… to the haveli."
Within a short time, Vikram, Head Constable Ravi, and Constable Pankaj reached Vivek Verma's haveli.
The haveli was as quiet as ever…
But this time, Vikram was observing everything from a different perspective.
As soon as Vivek Verma saw them, he came outside.
"Please come, Vikram ji… what brings you here?"
Vikram got straight to the point.
"On the night of the wedding… did anything unusual happen?"
Vivek replied calmly —
"No… everything was perfectly fine. The wedding went smoothly."
Vikram asked again —
"Do you know who made the announcement in the village?"
Vivek shook his head slightly.
"I don't know about that… I wasn't here at that time."
Vikram kept looking into his eyes…
But Vivek remained completely calm.
No hesitation… no nervousness…
A few more questions followed…
And each time, Vivek answered with ease.
Then, with a faint smile, he said —
"Vikram ji, if you have any more questions, you can come tomorrow… I have some urgent work to attend to right now."
With that, he left.
Vikram stood there for a few moments…
As if trying to understand something.
Then, without saying a word, he turned and walked away.
Back at the police station…
Vikram's anger resurfaced.
He picked up the glass from the table…
and hurled it against the wall.
"Crash!"
The glass shattered into pieces on the floor.
In frustration, he said —
"One voice… just one voice…
and people made their decision?"
"Twenty-five years of trust… broken in a single moment…"
"No one tried to find the truth…
no one even listened to Salim…"
For a while, silence filled the room.
Then Vikram looked directly at Pankaj.
"Pankaj… bring Faizan out."
Pankaj hesitated.
"Sir…?"
"I've already spoken to the Commissioner…
Release Faizan. Just complete the formalities."
A short while later, Faizan was brought into the cabin.
The marks of injury were still visible on his face…
But there was a faint hope in his eyes.
In a soft voice, he asked —
"Sir… can I go?"
Vikram looked at him…
and nodded slowly.
Tears filled Faizan's eyes.
"Thank you, sir… if you hadn't believed me…
I might have spent my entire life here…"
Vikram remained silent for a moment…
Then said in a calm but firm voice —
"It's alright…"
"Do you know what the biggest failure of the police is?"
"When an innocent person suffers punishment."
"Go home… and take care of your mother and sisters."
Faizan nodded…
and slowly walked out.
Silence once again filled the room.
But in Vikram's mind, one question kept repeating —
"If everything is connected to the haveli…
then why is Vivek Verma so calm?"
"Is he really as simple as he appears…
or is there a bigger secret hidden behind that calmness?"
Outside, night had fallen…
And the mystery of this case was only growing deeper.
What do you think, what is the real truth, and what will happen next?
Comment your guess below 👇
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