Page 84

"What was your plan..."

"Sir, we would take her to the forest and enjoy her with alcohol, and after that, we had already called some goons there—they would do everything with her until she died."

On hearing them, Vikrant raises his hand and snaps his fingers. Without any delay, all the bodyguards start checking the cars of those men. There was a lot of alcohol there. They open the bottles, put them in their mouths, and forcefully make them drink alcohol. In a short time, they drink so much alcohol that they lose all their senses. Vikrant sits there quietly and just looks at her face only, who is unconscious in his arms. When everyone falls unconscious from drinking alcohol, the bodyguards pick them up, place them in two cars, and take them away. Vikrant starts walking towards his car, carrying Jhankar in his arms. Akhil is standing quietly and watching all this. He immediately opens the back seat door. Vikrant makes Jhankar lie down properly, keeps her head in his lap, and says to her,

“I’m really sorry—today someone touched you. After today, no one will be able to point a finger at you.”

PAST INCIDENT

Vikrant is watching the CCTV footage very carefully when he suddenly says to Akhil:

“Everyone there knows very well that I can watch them through CCTV, so why would anyone try to do anything in front of me? I had told you to get Jhankar's seat checked properly whenever she leaves it. Did you do that?”

“Yes, sir. Your doubt was absolutely correct. Jhankar madam wasn’t there, so this seat is always assigned to a new girl. When your call went to her, whatever madam spoke to you must have been overheard by Mr. Sharma—because there’s a small device installed there. I’ve traced its connection—it’s linked directly to Mr. Sharma’s phone.”

“So that’s why they are alert. Not only Patil, but some other people I trusted are also involved in all this.”

“See, sir, the way I understand their thinking is probably this: they believe they’re neither cheating the company nor you. They’re just talking about their personal enjoyment with some girls, which they don’t consider wrong.”

“But remember one thing—if the girl is comfortable and agrees to what they say, then it might not be entirely wrong. But if a girl refuses and they remove her from her job, creating circumstances where she can’t find work anywhere else so that she ultimately has to sell her body to them—that is absolutely not right.”

As soon as Akhil hears Vikrant, he looks at him and smiles softly, because he feels really good hearing those words—it's the first time he's heard Vikrant say something nice about a girl.

“Sir... sometimes I get confused. You hated women so much—(Vikrant immediately looks at him)—sorry, maybe you used to... but despite that, you still think well of them in many matters. That’s what surprises me most about you.”

“I used to see deceit in every woman—and you know why. But Sharda Maa taught me something since childhood: no matter what my mother did, I must always respect women. I didn’t always follow that... but I do have great respect for women who never trade their bodies for favors. We’ve closed the deal, and today they’ll definitely celebrate. Their target will be Jhankar. Nothing will happen to Jhankar as long as I’m here; that’s certain. But it’s very important to find out who all are involved. We don’t have that information yet.”

“Sir, ever since they told us everything, I’ve been gathering all the information I can—but there’s nothing that directly incriminates these people. They’ve never misbehaved with anyone in the office. I learned that they made promises to one woman who quit—offering to get her son treated if she met them outside. They never approach the girls directly. Instead, they send a senior lady officer who lures the girls to meet somewhere outside. If any girl refuses their offer and walks away, she’s fired the very next day.”

“Have you found the women who are working for them?”

“No, sir... I haven’t yet. And I’m very sorry for that.”

“We should go to the office. I want to see for myself what’s going on there.”

Vikrant sneaks into the parking lot very carefully in the V International Building, which isn’t difficult for him because he knows every inch of the place. His bodyguards are already present in the office in various disguises—some posing as generator technicians, others as security personnel. Vikrant doesn't want to face anyone, so he aims to reach the upper floor from the parking area as soon as possible.

Just as he takes his first step forward, all the lights go out. He’s shocked because a power failure is out of the question in his office. Whether it’s the parking lot or any other section, he’s invested heavily in backup systems to ensure the office can operate at least 20 hours a day. That’s why he also maintains three work shifts. So, a sudden systems failure is a huge red flag. He stands still, realizing this has been done intentionally. He calls Akhil. As soon as Akhil answers, he says,

“Sir, I’ve come inside with all the bodyguards, taking advantage of the darkness. Just be careful. Something is very wrong here.”

Suddenly, the elevator door opens, and in its faint light, Vikrant sees Jhankar. Before he can act, his eyes land on a woman stepping out with her—and he instantly understands what’s about to happen.

PAST EVENT ENDS

Vikrant is now standing quietly at the front of an ambulance. Jhankar lies inside, unconscious, while a doctor checks her.

“Sir, there’s nothing to worry about. She was given an injection to make her unconscious. Madam will regain consciousness by tomorrow morning.”

Vikrant’s face lights up with a faint smile. The doctor steps out without delay. Vikrant gently holds Jhankar’s face and caresses it softly, whispering:

“I’ll do everything I can to ensure you never face a problem again.”

He takes out his phone and watches a live news video carefully. Several reporters are covering a serious accident.

{“Two vehicles collided with a gas container so fast that there wasn’t even time to react. The gas truck driver tried to escape,but as captured on CCTV, both vehicles were moving at a high speed. The truck driver wasn’t at fault, but the crash was so intense that gas leaked and caught fire almost instantly. No one inside the vehicles survived. Efforts are still ongoing to douse the fire. The identities of the victims have not yet been determined. We’re on the scene, and five fire brigades have already arrived, but the blaze remains uncontrollable.}

Vikrant's eyes move from the mobile screen to Jhankar, who looks peaceful in her sleep. He gently brushes her cheek with his fingertips and softly says,