Page 80 of Shattered

“Get done with whatever shit you need to do. I’m waiting for you outside. I need his location, and I need it quick,” I announce, rising to my feet, leaving no room for delay. I grab my car keys from the table in front and step outside, ready to confront the asshole the moment Sidharth finds his location. He has dared to lay a hand on my woman, and he’s going to pay for it.

It doesn’t take long for Sidharth to join me with news that Akash is at his house. Without wasting a second, we jump into my car, and I slam the gas pedal, speeding toward the asshole’s place, where he’s likely hiding my woman.

Stepping out of the car, Sidharth and I make a beeline for the house. An elderly housekeeper opens the door for us and guides us to the living room before taking his leave. Rage boils inside me at the sight of Akash sitting casually on the couch with a glass of whiskey in hand.

With a smile, he places the glass on the table and rises to his feet. “What a pleasant—” he begins, but his words are cut off as I dash towards him and grab him by the collar.

“How fucking dare you?” I hiss, my grip on his collar tightening. Sidharth intervenes immediately, pulling me away from him.

“Reyansh, get a hold of yourself,”he urges, but my patience is hanging by a thread.

Akash straightens his shirt and gives me a puzzled look. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t you dare play innocent. Your game is over. Just tell me where Kavya is, or I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to get the truth out of you!”I growl.

Swallowing hard, Akash runs a hand through his hair. “Kavya... is...” he hesitates, but I step closer and complete the sentence for him.

“Yes, she is kidnapped, and you are the one responsible for it.”

His eyes widen, and he shakes his head. “W…what? No! I could never do that.”

“There’s a video footage clearly showing you taking Kavya and Nisha out of the house and into your car,” Sidharth says, folding his arms over his chest.

Akash’s face pales, and he shuts his eyes, still trying to deny it. “It’s not me...” he mutters, as if hoping that’ll somehow erase the evidence.

“Enough with the lies! We’ve got the proof, so either you start talking, or things are going to get really ugly!” I snap, gripping his collar again and forcing his eyes to meet mine.

“Th… that’s Prakash in the video, not me,” he whispers, his voice strained.

I blink, taken aback, confusion clouding the rage in my chest.

“Who the hell is Prakash?” I ask as my brows knit together tightly. Anger begins to mingle with growing dread, a volatile mix that’s totally unsettling.

Akash lets out a long, heavy sigh, as if unburdening a secret.“Prakash is my twin brother.”

My grip on his collar loosens as I step back, staring at him in disbelief.Twin brother?Is this some kind of sick joke? My mind struggles to make sense of this revelation, leaving me even more tangled in confusion.

“Twin brother?”I repeat.

Akash nods, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly agitated. “Yeah.”

“Why the hell didn’t we know about this twin brother of yours?” I narrow my eyes at him, demanding an explanation.

Akash sighs again, this time more deeply.“My parents went out of their way to keep it a secret, all to protect our family’s reputation. They even paid a hefty sum to bury all records that could connect him to us. He’s also the reason they moved from India to settle abroad.”

Sidharth, who has been quietly listening, finally speaks up. “But why would they go to such lengths to hide him?”

“Prakash was always the wild one, the troublemaker,”Akash begins, his voice low and tinged with sadness. “From a young age, he seemed drawn to trouble like a magnet;it was like he had an in-built radar for making bad decisions.As he grew older,things only got worse. He spiralled deeper into drugs, crime, harassing people, and misbehaving with women. His life became nothing but a messy web of rehab stints and run-ins with the law.Every time we thought he was turning a corner, our hopes were cruelly dashed by yet another relapse, plunging my parents and me into a relentless cycle of worry and heartbreak.”He pauses to take a deep breath and tries to steady himself before continuing,“In a desperate attempt to steer him onto theright path, my parents ultimately made the painful decision to cut him off completely—business, family, everything—believing that severing ties might compel him to change. But this plan backfired on them and fuelled his rebellion, driving him further into darkness. That was a breaking point for my parents; they were overcome by pain and disillusionment, and eventually cut all ties with him. But as his twin, I couldn’t abandon my brother to face the abyss alone.No matter how dark things got,I stood by Prakash, clinging to the hope thatmaybe, just maybe,my love and support would finallyhelp him find a way out,”Akash recalls, rubbing his temples as if the weight of the memories is too much to bear.

“What’s his story with Nisha? Why did he want to harm her?” Sidharth asks.

Akash hesitates before responding, “He... he… he saw Nisha as a threat. He feared she had evidence that could incriminate him, especially after what happened with Suman.”

“What happened with Suman? Tell us the whole damn truth,” I press.

Akash swallows hard, visibly anxious.“Prakash was a professor at their college.When he first got the job, I was so relieved, thinking he was finally getting his life on track. He also seemed to want to live a normal life.I believed him—thought maybe this time it was real. But I was wrong… so wrong. I didn’t know he was just putting on a show until one day he came home in a dishevelled state.” Akash pauses and takes a deep breath, his expressionfilled with guilt. “When I pressed him for the truth,he broke down. Heconfessedthat... he… hehad raped Suman. He was terrified that the assault had been captured on the CCTV in the room,and Nisha had somehow managed to get the footage on her phone. She had also threatened him that once she convinced Suman to report it to the cops, she would hand over the video as evidence.Prakash freaked out, knowing he’dlose his job and probably end up in jail,leading him into serious trouble.”Akash glances up at us, his face pale. “I was shocked and disgusted at first, but with him being my brother,I foolishly offered to help him handle the situation and fix it somehow, but he refused, insistinghe’d handle it in his own way.I had no idea what that meant... until I heard about Kavya’s parents’ accident.”

My heart pounds as his words sink in.

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