Page 100 of Right Where I Belong
Her heart began to pound. “I will talk to them, but first, I need you to ask them a question for me. I need to be absolutely sure it’s really my brothers on the line. I’ve been hiding for too long, and I cannot afford to make a mistake now. Too much is at stake. Apart from Ahaan and myself, I have to consider you also.
He clasped her cheek. “You know I can protect you. I will keep you safe no matter what.”
“I know, but I cannot risk you, Adi… I won’t…” She lifted her jaw and told him what she needed him to ask on her behalf. Aditya’s brows lifted in surprise, but he didn’t question her. He simply dialed the number and put the phone on speaker.
A woman answered the call.
“Ananya,” Aditya began. “Sabrina is with me, but before she talks to anyone, she has a question for Mihir. Mihir, Sabrina wants to know what did you give your sister for her protection?”
“A knife!” a strong male voice said. “I gave her a knife. It was… it was sharp and serrated. I was teaching Karina self-defense, and I gave her that knife as added protection.”
Sabrina gasped as a barrage of tears spilled down her cheeks. The man on the other end of the line was indeed Mihir, her brother. She fetched her bag from the nightstand and pulled out the knife. Aditya stared at it, and then at her.
“Karina…” Mihir continued, “if you’re listening, then you should know that we found Dorab and he told us everything. We know that he deceived you and that he tried to sell you off to that man, JD. We also know that you stabbed Dorab and JD and ran away.”
Oh God. They knew? They’d found Dorab? They’d really been searching for her. It was unbelievable.
“Mihir… is that really you?” Tears choked her. Aditya took her hand in his and squeezed it in silent support.
“Karina! Yes, Karina, it’s me,” he said. “We found you… we found you.”
“Switch to video, please,” she said. “I want to see you.”
The phone lit up, and she finally stared at her brother for the first time in fourteen years. Her heart was going to burst with happiness.
“There you are!” Mihir exclaimed, wiping tears from his eyes.
“Oh God, Mihir…” Sabrina said, wiping her own face. “Sorry, I had to make Aditya ask you that question as I’ve been in hiding for so long. I couldn’t take the risk. I’ve missed you so much.”
Mihir nodded. “I understand. Wait, Armaan and Vedant are here too.”
Two other men joined him on the screen.
Fresh tears poured down her face. “Oh God, you’re all there, and you look so good, all of you.”
“Hi,” the man in the middle said. It was Armaan. That naughty smile could only be his. “We found you!”
“We sure did!” The third man sniffed. Vedant. It was Vedant, and he wore glasses now. “Hi, sister.”
She laughed, wiping her face. “Aditya showed me your picture, Mihir. You look so fine and important. So successful.”
“And you look beautiful,” Vedant told her. “Even better than the image we generated of you.”
“My image?” she queried.
“We have so much to tell you…” Armaan smiled. “We’ve been looking for you for so long.”
“I saw Mrs. Braganza at a mall in Mumbai, you know,” she said, remembering that day all those months ago. At that time, she’d never even imagined she’d be talking to her brothers again.
“We’ve been in touch with her,” Mihir said. “She was helping us find you.”
“I didn’t know that,” Sabrina said. “I was so afraid to acknowledge her. I didn’t want Dorab finding me. My son… I couldn’t acknowledge her. I was so scared.”
“He’s safe now,” Vedant told her. “You are safe. Dorab’s gone. He will never be a threat to you again.”
“He’s truly gone?” she whispered.
“Yes,” Mihir replied.
