I Am Guilty

5. Abduction

"I don't know. We were coming back from the boutique. We were stopped by a black car. They forced her to come out and smashed my phone when I tried to call for help." She sobbed again.

Samrat found himself at loss of words.

They were least concerned about the guests that were talking about the incident. The families were shattered by the news. They were too shocked to think about anything. All they had in mind was the safety of Veena. Naren made Richa sit down and Bansi handed her a glass of water. But Richa was too shocked by the events that when she found herself safe, overwhelmed heart gave up and she collapsed in Naren's arms, sending him in another wave of panic.

While the function was abruptly aborted, the elders requested the guests to leave them at their fate. Naren decided to take his wife back home. Sahil was not in the mood to be left alone and he decided to follow the Mathur family to their home along with his parents. He was worried about Veena and told them that only Richa could give more details about whatever happened. Veena's parents, who were shattered by the news of their only daughter missing blindly followed the Mathur family to their home.

Naren carried Richa and lay her down on the sofa, while Samrat called for a doctor. They were sure that she was just scared and rest was good with her. True to their assumptions, the doctor tested her vitals and assured them that she was in shock and would be fine in a few hours.

The topic shifted to Veena. No one had a clue as to where the fateful girl was. While few of them were in the mind of reporting to police, Sahil strongly opposed it, saying they do not have enough details and should wait until Richa was awake.

It was around one and a half hour ago that the car in which Richa and Veena were traveling, was stopped by two masked men. The first thing one of them did was to knock off the old driver. One small snap on the head and the driver was out in no time. He was to get drowned in dreamless state for a couple of hours. A sharp knife was placed in front of Richa, when she tried to scream for help.

"Veena Shukla?" A deep voice had asked the other woman.

Veena nodded with wide fearful eyes. The door to her side was clicked open and the masked man gestured her step out. The other man grabbed Richa's phone and smashed it, making her give out a muffled scream.

"Move." The masked man roared at Veena.

She was too scared to not follow. As soon as she was out, the door was snapped shut and the other man pushed his sharp knife in the tires of the car, making it useless.

Veena was asked to board another car and the car zoomed away, leaving Richa behind on the road.

The masked man sitting with Veena on the backseat, handed her a dark strip of cloth.
"Tie it around your eyes."

Veena tried to be brave. She tried to push away his hand.
"You don't know who you are dealing with. Stop the car right now and let me go. The consequences will be dangerous."

The was a good laughter from both the men, one of which was driving the car.

"I don't think you are in the position to put conditions. Do as you you are told." The man beside her growled.
The menace in his voice was enough to make her jump in her seat. Her eyes welled up and she was filled with fear. She did not know if she would survive to see another hour. She did not know why she was taken like this and who the men were.

One dangerous look from him and she was compelled to do as told. She sniffled quietly as she tied the blindfold over her eyes. The drive was never ending and her heart was palpitating with every passing second.

She could finally feel the car stop. There was a light shuffle and the door to her side finally clicked open. She was asked to step out. She was glad that no one made a mistake of touching her, but she had no idea how long the situation would prevail.

She visibly shivered when she was grabbed by her forearm, just above her bangles and was dragged gently.
She could hear the click of opening the door and she was made to follow.

A small sigh was heard.
"You can remove the blind fold." The voice was deep and sharp.

She shakily untied the cloth over her eyes and opened her eyes. She let out a shaky breath to find two young men, just around the age of Samrat. They still had their masks on. One of them closed the door and walked away. Veena fearfully took a look around to find that she was in a well furnished home. It did not appear like a dungeon that she had expected it to be.

She looked at the only man that was still in the room as he pulled out the cover over his face.
Wheatish coloured skin on his face was lightly covered with five o'clock stubble. He was tall and had a thick mop of luxurious hair. Dark brooding eyes looked oddly familiar.

The other man walked back to the room with three glasses of juice.
They picked up one glass each and offered her the remaining. She was smart enough to not drink the spiked liquid.
She just turned her face for a moment before gathering courage to speak "why have you brought me here? How did I even fault you? Please let me go."

One of them shook his head and slumped on the sofa. The man who had stayed behind with Veena finally spoke up.
"What's the hurry. Be my guest for two days. Behave and we will let you go."

"Two days? For what? What do you want?" She asked panicked.

"I will let you go this instant. On one condition." He added.

"What condition?" She asked with trembling voice.

"That you will not marry." He replied.

"What? And who are you to decide that?" She asked, trying to suppress the fury.

He chuckled, sending a shiver down her spine.
"Arjun. Arjun Mathur. I am sure, you heard of me."

Veena felt as if molten lava was being poured in her ears. She went numb hearing the name. All she could see was a molested and murdered girl. A weird buzz numbed her brain and she lost her consciousness, only to be held by Arjun to stop her falling to the ground.

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