Page 37 of Twisted Deceit
APeaceritual that needed to be performed by a couple with only a priest present, went sideways when the Kanwar heir was burnt to death with his wife by his side. There had to be foul play but unfortunately, there was no evidence. The only witness was the priest who had disappeared after that day and was found dead later, ending the trail for his investigative team.
“It won’t help.” Shivay’s voice was calm. “Especially with no proof, we run the risk of backlash.”
“True,” Rishab said and added, “Dad knew his brother’s death was no accident. One of the reasons why he moved to Singoor without us.”
Their father even went to the lengths of faking his death so he and his brothers would never go to Singoor looking for him. They had a few allies for everything their father had done for the region but needed more to connect all the clans. It had to be through the alliances.
“How did the auction go? I saw your message; the sculpture was not what we were looking for?” Shivay asked as if to divert the topic from the investigations.
The auction was a disappointment and a relief for Nakul. “I must say, I’m glad it wasn’t the sculpture we were looking for, but there’s something else.”
“About the sculpture?” Rishab was intrigued.
“The sculpture had a lot of interest, and as the bids increased, there was only one other bidder.” Nakul paused like he was hashing out his suspicions. “Why was the bidder so desperate?”
“Desperate?” Shivay repeated.
“Yes.” There was silence as Nakul replayed some of the events. “Auctioneers bid with much thought and are calculating the item's resale or its worth for their status.
“Sure,” Rishab knew his brother was onto something.
“But this bidder was as desperate as I was to get a hold of the sculpture. Who else would want the sculpture so bad?” Nakul let out a growl.
“Did you know who the bidder was?” Rishab asked.
“No.” Nakul let out a huff. “I had the team track the bidder, but they tracked a group to a hotel on the other side of the city.”
“Who were they?” Rishab enquired.
Nakul signed. “Not sure, but when the team searched the hotel room for clues, they found aRudraksh—this one unique to Singoor.
“Must be him,” Rishab growled.
Nakul let out a growl. “That was my thought, too. It has to be Tantra. That desperation was a giveaway.”
“It’s his signature,” Rishab said, adding before ending the call. “We’ll get him soon.”
“Guys, we need a trail that will lead to him. He is taunting us by leaving these crumbs. Don’t get distracted. Be safe.”
Nakul let out a groan and stretched his neck. “I agree. I’ll see you guys in a few days.”
“Get some rest, Nakul.” It was as if Shivay knew how tired Nakul felt.
He was beyond exhausted and wanted to go to bed but needed to be sure his fake wife was really asleep first so he didn’t do something stupid by losing control if she had planned something for that night.
Chapter 16
It had almost been a week since they returned from the auction, their honeymoon. Aadhya saw very little of her husband as she had started her classes online for the final semester. She spent time with her aunt and preparing for her aunt’s birthday.
She wanted to have a grand celebration, but her aunt was a simpleton and would not enjoy the limelight. She planned on making her aunt’s favorite dishes and had been preparing for what her aunt loved the most.
Aadhya had been secretly practicing her aunt’s favorite song of all time so that she could sing for her for her birthday. It was a classic, and Aadhya had not sung in front of anyone for years until she had to show off her skill to impress her fake husband as part of making the deal. The thought agitated her, but she had no choice but to suppress the anger and swallow it for eleven more months.
She noticed that her husband was in meetings all day and spent most of his time on the other side of their wing, where he had set up an office. He met with her uncle and other staff every day, and she only hoped he treated her aunt’s husband respectfully and with dignity, especially since she issued a warning.
It was the day of her aunt’s birthday, and she had the entire day planned out. She woke up at the crack of dawn to surprise her aunt by doing yoga with her. It was her aunt’s routine that she had encouraged Aadhya to follow, but she never did, and she thought it would be fun to start that with her aunt, considering she would be in the mansion until the contract ended.
She turned off the alarm and rolled in bed like every morning, not realizing she wasn’t alone. She froze when her body hit a warm, hard body. A zap of energy passed through her, making her eyes shoot open.
