MaNan: Breaking Free

39|Last straw

"Do you think Singhania killed him? Or had him killed?" I am dreading the answer, but I need to know. Had Singhania torn Manik's family apart?

A dark looks crosses over Pathak uncle's face. "I have been working for Praveen for a long time now. I know what he is capable of. Wherever he goes, he leaves a bloody trail behind him. He has had countless bodies dumped and I have helped him dump some of them. And he has many other people like me who do his dirty work." Pathak uncle looks ashen. "I never wanted to do it."

I can't believe what he is saying! I knew Singhania was a criminal, a horrible man. But it hadn't once occurred to me that he had involved Pathak uncle in his dirty business too. Apparently, there were many more like him.

Just how many lives had the bastard ruined!

"Then why did you?" I glare at him. "Why didn't you just leave?"

"Singhania is not the kind of person you walk away from unscathed. And after he made me his personal secretary, there was no looking back. I knew too much about his business. If I had quit, he would have finished me and my family. I had to think about Dhruv." He falls to the floor and starts trembling.

"So you helped him murder. You helped him tear families apart, Manik's included." I have always had so much respect for this man. But right now, as I look at him, all I feel is disgust. Poor Dhruv. He has no idea how deep in his father is.

"No!" He screeches. "I had nothing to do with Vikram's death. He was a good man, a friend. I would never have harmed him." The desperation in his tone is striking. "I don't know how he died, but if Singhania indeed killed him, I wouldn't be surprised."

"I have to talk to Manik." I mumble to myself. I need to ask him if this is why he came here, to find out how his father had died. This is no coincidence. Even though I am almost certain of it at this point, I want to hear what he has to say for himself. He has to give me a reason for keeping this from me.

"Nandu, listen. If Singhania was really involved in Vikram's death, there is a good chance Vikram knew something or found something. He must have become a problem for Singhania. And if Singhania finds out that Manik is Vikram's son, he will be in danger too. Hell, we all will be in danger for even discussing this. Praveen has eyes and ears everywhere. We need to be very careful from here."

"What do we do?"

"My guess is that Manik wants to find out what happened to his dad. And he is trying to find proof as well. I came here to see if he is hiding anything here. But there's nothing. He has already broken into our office once. But he wasn't very smart about it, was he? I saw him there. If someone other than me had seen him, he would be dead by now. We need to warn him."

"He is in Delhi. I have been calling him all day. He isn't answering his phone." I groan. Pathak uncle thinks for a minute then pulls out a file from a bag he is carrying. "Nandu, I have an idea. I think you should go to Delhi and talk to Manik about this. Warn him about the danger here."

"That's a good idea, uncle." It really is, and it would put an end to the constant conflict and struggle I am going through. Yes, this is what I need to do. "But how am I going to find him in Delhi?"

"I have his address here." He pulls out a piece of paper from the file. "And this-" he pulls out another paper, "is his friend Abhimanyu's Delhi address." He hands over both the papers to me. "I'll book your flight."

He is about to walk out the door when he stumbles over something on the floor and drops his file. The pages scatter everywhere and he bends down to pick them up. When he stands up again, he is staring at a paper with sorrowful eyes. I walk over to him and place a hand on his shoulder.