Chapter 8: The Reckoning Continues

Kavita was sent to district jail, awaiting trial. No visits allowed—not even from Mohan Lal.

He grew silent, caring only for Ananya. “Beti hai. Aur kuch nahi chahiye.” He withdrew, disappearing into daily routines.

Kunal’s guardians—his grandparents—came daily, weeping and raging. Their anger at the system was raw. “Pagal hai, isliye bach jaayegi?” they cried. No one dared contradict their grief.

They seemed to forget how they’d celebrated when Kunal escaped punishment due to juvenile law. Time changes everything.

Kavita’s lawyer arrived—a sharp-eyed woman in a crisp saree, efficient and relentless. The defence was already being built.

We went through daily motions, not knowing all these trivial matters would soon fit together into a larger puzzle.

Then came the next blow: another fatal incident.

Mehul Singh, another perpetrator, lived in town. After Kavita’s arrest, we stopped watching his house. That was a mistake.

At 3 a.m., the phone rang. “Sir, ek accident ho gaya hai.” Mehul’s parents had fled in the night, speeding on the highway. Rain poured, vision blurred. Another car forced them off the road.

Mehul and his mother died instantly. His father lay in ICU.

The other driver? Mohan Lal.

He escaped with broken ribs and a fractured foot. When I saw him, his eyes blazed with purpose.

He claimed it was an accident, shared responsibility. But no one in the station believed it.

I confronted him, furious. “If you die, who will care for your daughter?”

He looked at me, cold and clear. “Inspector, do you think the parents are innocent? If not, can the law punish them?”

The law, he knew, could not. He told me to check his house. His words settled in my heart like a stone.