Fate can be so cruel. Fate doesn't care about your preferences. If you need calm, fate will gift you a hurricane. If you're interested in blessings, fate will give you traumas. You may not always understand why things happened the way they did. You may spend your whole life trying to decipher the knockout game fate plays with your life. But ultimately, things will always end just the way it's meant to. It comes unnoticed, but leaves you scarred for the rest of your life.

The knockout punch is always the one you never see coming. – Aimee Mann

It was her father who expressed her dilemma in words. "You? Wasn't it you who protected me yesterday?"

The men came and stood a feet away. Only the coffee table separated them from her father, uncle and brother.

Through the slits of the balcony railings, Ritu observed the men closely. The man at the front wore a worn-out black flannel shirt with a white plain t-shirt underneath, and a pair of black pants with white slip-on shoes. She recognized the person on his right. It was the same person who was yelling nonsense through the mic yesterday. She did not see the other two men before, but from their clothes, it was evident they belonged to the lower working class.

The man at the front cast a downward look. "I apologize for what happened yesterday. It happened in the spur of the moment. Wasn't intentional." His voice was low-pitched, almost modulated. When he talked, he pronounced each and every word loud and clear. There was a hint of guilt trip, but mostly it was smooth and confident.

Abhiraj took a deep breath and exchanged a meaningful glance with Vijay before shifting his gaze on the men again. "Well... have a sit."

As soon as the men settled down around the coffee table, Vijay asked impatiently, "Let's get to the point straight. What exactly are your demands? What's with these protests, harassments, and violence?"

The man with the purple shirt cleared his throat to respond, but was immediately interrupted by Vijay. "We'll only make a conversation with late Mr. Basu's grandson. Unless you're him, please keep your mouth shut."

The man flipped out. "You! Rich filthy people! What do you think of yourself? You've no right to talk to me like that! Do you even know who I am? I'll make sure you understand..." He didn't get to finish his hateful reproach because the man in black tapped on the former's shoulder and tsked. "Aakash, stop. Let me talk."

Although Aakash held back, he was still fuming.

The man in black turned forward and conjoined his palms together. He inclined his head slightly and said, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Jai Basu, the unfortunate grandson of late Mr. Jagannath Basu."

Vijay frowned. "So, you're Jai. Alright then. Let's resolve the matter diplomatically. I'll start with a basic question. Why are you doing this? It's not like we took the plot illegally. We have the legal documents. The bank conducted the auction due to late Mr. Basu's incompetence in returning the loan. Abhimanyu bought the plot in the auction in front of everyone. There's nothing hidden. Then what's with all this drama?"

Jai took a moment before answering, "I am situationally helpless regarding the matter of the orphanage, but the demise of my grandpa has my undivided attention. Until I unearth the assassin, I can't rest. Clearly, the first and foremost suspect is Mr. Abhimanyu Roy."

Abhiraj raised his hand and interrupted, "Just because he talked to your grandfather before the incident happened?"

Jai calmly answered, "Why not? They talked for three minutes straight."

Abhiraj frowned and looked over at his son, "Abhimanyu, what did you talk?"

Abhimanyu fixed his gaze at Jai before saying, "I don't think I'd talk about it here. If the matter is stretching to the court, I better unveil it there. Besides, some matters are better stay between two people. Late Mr. Basu asked me a favour and I said yes. It's not the right time yet to disclose it."

Aakash chipped in. "Bullshit! Grandpa asked a favour from Abhimanyu Roy!? Barely plausible!"

Jai leaned back slightly. "Very well then. I'll have to keep trying then."

"So, you'll keep harassing us while the real culprit is roaming freely?" Vijay hollered. "And what if one of us gets seriously injured? How will it differ? Would you be able to see yourself on the same pedestal as the culprit?"

Jai moved forward and placed his elbows on his thighs as he clasped his hands together. "My grandpa was 74 years old, Mr. Hazra. He only had so much time to live anyway. Then why would someone be so violent with him? Additionally, Mr. Abhimanyu is not revealing what was it my grandpa asked him to do. I feel so disconcerted right now. I can only hope you understand that much." He paused momentarily before adding, "And, about yesterday, I apologize for what happened. I never wanted someone to get hurt like that. Especially an elderly person like Mr. Roy."

"It happened nonetheless," Vijay countered. "And today also, you brought the protest in front of Ishani. What is this? You're doing things by imposing your doubt on Abhimanyu and deeming him to be the culprit without any proof!"

Abhiraj added, "Jai, listen to me. You're wasting your efforts on the wrong person. False knowledge is worse than ignorance, especially when it's used against someone. It is best to have all the information and be knowledgeable about what you are talking about before you condemn someone for something you know nothing about. You may think you know everything, but reality could be entirely different. Don't assume the worst about my son. Because you definitely know nothing about him. Abhimanyu has no motive. Why would he kill your grandfather?"

Vijay agreed. "Exactly!"

Aakash quipped in. "Jai, don't listen to them. They're deliberately trying to distract you from your path. If you let their rubbish diplomatic talk, get to your head, you'll regret it."

Jai said nothing.

Vijay glared at Aakash, then shifted his eyes on Jai. "I can only hope you know how to differentiate between good and bad influence. Jai, don't ruin the situation more than this. The real culprit might be partying right now while you're wasting your time on us." Vijay paused briefly while Jai looked down and stared at his hands.

Vijay continued with a firmer tone, "Moreover, you're involving innocent people into this! How do you think a violent mob reacts when they are excited? And what if we retaliate? Do you think you can handle that? Can you not understand this little thing that the consequences will be a bloody carnage if we come down to our merciless mode?"

"I do not wish to harm any innocent," Jai interjected quietly.

By now, Ritu had had enough. This man was a stubborn nincompoop! He was just not ready to accept that Abhimanyu was innocent. Even without any solid proof, this dimwit had been blaming her brother.

Instinctively, she put down her legs on the ground and clutched the railing tightly. Without realizing what she was doing, she pushed herself up and rose to her full height. Inclining on the railing she shifted her reproachful stare at Jai and called out, "And what if my brother is proven innocent at the trial? Would you be able to compensate for all the damages you're causing in our lives?"

All seven pairs of eyes flew towards the balcony's direction and settled on her.

"Ritusha!" Abhiraj exclaimed, "What are you doing there? Go to your room!"

"One second Papa. This man needs to be shown a mirror. I don't understand how are you tolerating his stupid gibberish up until now? And this dimwit too!" She pointed at Aakash. "Who the hell are you? Do you have any idea how powerful my papa and uncle are? It's their immense tolerance level that they're still listening to your nonsense like some corporate deal. If they make one call, just one...you'll vanish like there was no existence of yours."

Aakash sprang up on his feet. "You!"

"Ritu! Shut up!" Abhiraj rebuked. "Go to your room!"

"You can't make me shut up Papa if it comes down to my family!" She averted her gaze from Aakash to Abhiraj. Then her eyes shifted and focused solely on Jai. All the unexpressed emotions started disgorging out of her mouth, aiming for that person in black. As if she was threatened by him upfront and suddenly found her lost voice to answer him. The hidden trepidation, helplessness and anguish raged out of her mouth in rapid succession... like an unwelcomed outburst. "And you!" She raised her index finger towards Jai. "Have you lost your basic intellect? Your grandfather is gone! Nothing said or done against him now won't make any difference. But my brother is a living person! It affects his life if you do something outrageous against him. And in this case, it's not even his fault. He has done nothing! You heard me? He's innocent!"

By then, Vijay came running upstairs. "Ritu, stop it!"

Hot unshed tears burned in her eyes. "No! Listen to me, Mr. Jai Basu!" Jai was staring at her with an unwavering gaze. He never tried to counter her accusations. Meanwhile, Ritu went on frantically, "If... any sort of harm happens to my brother... just because you're too blind to see through the truth, I swear to God, I'll make your life a living hell!"

"Ritu! I said stop it!" Vijay came and held her close by wrapping an arm around her.

"Vijay uncle!" Ritu shouted, "This man! I've never seen a person so sly than him. His phony façade... he uses it to pretend he's saving innocent people, but there's nothing inside him except darkness. He only cares about his agenda. I'm sure there's some kind of depraved motive behind all these protests and processions! He's doing it to gain the sympathy of the common people. And then what, huh?" She bellowed at Jai, "You're running for the next election? That's what your plan is? You want to build your empire on my Dadabhai's infamy? Is it?"

"Ritu!" Vijay shook her violently and pushed her down on her wheelchair. "Stop. Talking. Nonsense!"

Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried out, "Dadabhai is innocent! I know he's innocent! He doesn't deserve all this hatred! I can't see him like this. I... I..." she restlessly tried to look behind Vijay. But Vijay had blocked her view from looking downstairs. "I won't let him ruin Dadabhai's reputation. I-"

"Enough!" Vijay raised his voice and reprimanded. "Let's go to your room. And keep quiet." He turned the wheelchair and pushed it towards her room while continuing with his soft scolding.

~~~

A/N- Oops!!