Page 17 of Wicked Trap

“Come in.”

Tanvi pushed open the door and saw there was someone with her father in the room.

“Tanvi, come,” her father greeted with a smile. He looked at the middle-aged man seated across him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Pradhan. My daughter is here to meet me. We’ll have to cut short our meeting.”

The other man nodded. “No problem, Mr. Shetty. I’ll follow up on the discussion later this week.”

The man shook hands with her father. He looked at her curiously for a moment before he left.

She knew the man must have heard about the protest and the subsequent arrest too.

As soon as the door closed behind the man and a few moments passed, her father snapped.

“Dammit, Tanvi! How could you get arrested again!” he demanded angrily. “Do you know how humiliating it was for me to receive a call from some lowly reporter and a policeman telling me my daughter got arrested for causing a nuisance on the damn streets!”

Tanvi didn’t react to her father’s outburst. “I was leading a protest to save the City Central Park. I wouldn’t have to do that if men who were supposed to serve people didn’t grant permission to companies like Prism Corporation to destroy our environment.”

Her father’s jaw clenched at her statement. “You are still young and have no idea how politics or bureaucracy works.”

Tanvi let out a humorless laugh at her father’s often-used statement. “I’m old enough, Papa. I’m old enough to know what is right and what is wrong. I’ve known it for a while.”

Her father’s jaw clenched harder. “Had your mother been alive, she wouldn’t have let you resort to such behavior! It’s only because she died when you were too young, and I pampered you too much that you are getting away with doing whatever you want.”

At the mention of her mother, Tanvi’s jaw clenched as well. “Mamma would have understood me,” she said through gritted teeth. “And besides, don’t you always tell people that you don’t have a problem with my public nuisance? And also how proud you are that your daughter is as passionate as you to serve the public?”

Her father’s face reddened in anger when she called him out for the statements he made during interviews when reporters questioned him about his daughter.

“Prism Corporation isn’t like other companies you protested against,” he gritted out. “It’s a part of an international conglomerate with billions at stake. The mall is just the beginning of their investments. If the construction of the mall is stopped, they will not proceed with other investments.”

Tanvi frowned at her father’s statements. Slowly, a doubt crept through.

“You are a part of it too!” she accused. “They must have made a deal with you to give them permission to build the mall.”

Her father’s face immediately shut down. “Whether or not I made a deal with anyone is not of concern. I want you to stop humiliating me by making a scene and dragging our family name and prestige onto streets.”

She shook her head. “It’s you who is humiliating me, Papa! Do you know how sick it is that I’m leading a protest to save those trees and our city’s health and future when my own father is part of the problem!”

“Just stop, Tanvi. Next time I’ll tell Bhushan not to get you released from the jail.”

Mr. Bhushan was their family lawyer who had helped with the jail release.

At her father’s threat, her back straightened. “Do it, then,” she challenged. “I will rot in jail, but I will not stop fighting for the cause.”

Her father looked angry, but he seemingly controlled himself.

Taking a deep breath, he sat back and drew out some papers from the desk. He pushed them across the table towards her.

“Let’s not argue further,” he said. “You barely come home as it is.”

“I don’t live here, Papa. My home is elsewhere.”

Her father’s jaw clenched once again. “Krishna Ranganath’s son has come from the United States for a short visit. He wants to meet you. I want you to come home for lunch tomorrow.”

Tanvi frowned. “I don’t know who that is. Why would he want to meet me?” she asked.

There was a pause. “His father and I work closely together in politics and in businesses. By marrying Krishna’s son, you will help strengthen the relationship.”

Her reply was immediate. “No. I’m not interested.”

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