Anger bubbled inside her as his name kept flashing on the screen. She silenced the ringer and then waited for the phone to stop ringing.





She didn’t want to speak to anybody.





Just as the phone stopped ringing, she put it on a complete-silent mode and shoved it inside the inner corners of her bag.





****************





On the other end, Ajeet intently waited for his sister to answer the call. When she didn’t answer, he cursed hard and called again. Then again and again but she did not answer.





“She is not answering my calls,” he said to the man standing next to him.





The man looked at him and then turned his gaze to Rajneesh.





“It’s okay. Leave it,” Rajneesh said coming towards them.





He then called some men and asked Ajeet to leave.





Once Ajeet had left, he looked at the man standing next to him.





“She is a bloody obstruction in my way to wealth. It’s time to finish her off,” he said to the man.





The man nodded and then both of them left the room along with the others.





****************





Subhash was pacing the room when he heard the doorbell ring. He stopped the servant and went to open the door. Seeing Ishani, he gave out a sigh of relief.





They quickly went to his study and he closed the door instantly.





Without much preamble, he picked the papers and gave them to Ishani.





She flicked through the pages and then nodded. Taking the pen from Subhash, she signed the papers. Just as she finished signing, a part of her heart broke away.





Apart from Annie and the children, she had only loved and trusted two people and one of them had been her brother.





And one after another both had betrayed her.





His betrayal hadn’t stumped her so much but her brother’s had shaken her totally.





Ishani swallowed hard trying to stop the tears from falling and instantly felt Subhash’s arm going around her. For a split second, she leant into the comfort but then straightened knowing that this was only the beginning.





She has to be strong not for herself but for the children and Annie.





If Rajneesh or that man got hold of them, then there will be no saving.





And she won’t let that happen ever. She can’t let that happen.





She kept the papers back on the table in front and asked for a notepad.





Quickly she wrote a note for Annie and then tore off the page. Folding it, she looked at Subhash and understanding her, he gave her an envelope.





She put the note into the envelope and sealed it, and got up from the sofa.





“When will this come into effect?” she asked pointing at the papers lying on the table.





“By tomorrow.”





Nodding, she started to walk towards the door of the study but stopped midway.





“Subhash Kaka, could I ask for a favour?” she asked her voice wobbling a little.





Subhash came near her and placed a hand on her shoulder.





“Ishani you don’t have to ask. Just tell me what you need.”





Taking a deep breath, she said, “I will call you by tomorrow but if you don’t hear from me by tomorrow evening then give this to Annie.”





Subhash took the sealed envelope from her and gave her a concerned look.





“Ishani what’s wrong? Is there something you are not telling me?”





“Nothing, Subhash Kaka. I’ll call you by tomorrow.”





Saying this she left.





Subhash watched her as she went inside the lift. As soon as the lift doors closed, he closed the main door.





Ishani’s mind was hovering over different matters; as a result, she didn’t notice the few jolts the lift gave. But she became alert the moment it stopped midway with a violent jerk. The doors opened and she felt relief course through her. Stepping out, she made a beeline for the stairs and started climbing down.





She knew the stairs led to the parking lot below the building. Once she was outside, she looked here and there for an auto. There were none in view when suddenly out of nowhere an auto came and stopped in front of her. She told him her address and he agreed.





However, the moment the auto started, a car started following it, but Ishani didn’t notice. She was busy fetching out her keys and phone from the bag.





The auto stopped at a traffic light and she looked out to check the ticking time on the traffic display. Just 2 seconds were left when suddenly a masked man got inside the auto and it started off.





Ishani was about to protest when something was pressed on her mouth. Within seconds everything became black in front of her eyes however she still struggled. But as the drugging scent slipped through her nostrils more, her nerves became numb and she collapsed against the man sitting next to her.





“Drive fast,” Rajneesh instructed the auto driver.





After driving for more than an hour, they reached the outskirts of the city. Stopping at a darkened area, Rajneesh waited for the car to arrive. Just as it did, a couple of men got out and carried Ishani to it.





The man inside looked at the woman and smiled.





Finally, they have her.





He pulled out a syringe from the pouch he was holding and punched it into her arm.





Rajneesh got inside just as the man was putting the pouch away.





“How long?” he asked looking at her sleeping face.





“6-7 hours. Don’t worry we have enough stock with us. Even if she wakes up in between we can take care of that.”





Rajneesh nodded and picked up her bag from the seat. The car had already started with the man giving the driver instructions. Rajneesh took out her mobile and unlocked it with the code he wouldn’t have to guess.





How predictable Ishani!





Ajeet’s date of birth!





Rajneesh smiled as he opened her Whatsapp and send a message to Annie.





‘Listen I am pretty tired and have a headache. Good night and take care.’





Instantly he received a reply from her.





‘Ish, is everything okay? You’re sounding quite off.’





Rajneesh felt like smashing the phone on the road but controlled himself. He didn’t want to arouse any suspicion. By the time it is morning, Ishani would be long gone.





‘Yeah, everything is fine. Just tired. Good night.’





Just as he received a good night message from Annie, he sighed with relief. He switched off the phone and took out the sim. Cutting it into halves, he threw it into a dustbin on the road.





Then he passed the phone to the driver and said, “Throw it!”







