Episode 6 – The Impossible Choice
1160 Words
The Sharma mansion had never felt so silent.
Not after the wedding.
Not after Riyan Oberoi's unexpected arrival.
Not even after the proposal that now lay folded on Mr. Sharma's desk.
Twenty-four hours.
That was all the time they had.
Outside, rain clouds gathered over the city, turning the bright afternoon into an early dusk.
Inside, no one spoke.
Kiara stood by the balcony, absentmindedly rubbing the old silver bracelet on her wrist. Ever since she had found the faded photograph and the diary, questions had filled her mind faster than answers.
Who was Vikram Oberoi?
Why had her father hidden the past?
And why did Riyan look at her as though he already knew the ending of a story she had never heard?
A loud thud broke the silence.
Aarav had dropped another folder onto the dining table.
"I've met four investors today," he said, exhausted. "Every single one backed out."
Mrs. Sharma looked up hopefully.
"Did they give a reason?"
"They all gave the same answer."
He laughed bitterly.
"'A change in business priorities.'"
He looked toward Mr. Sharma.
"That's not a coincidence."
Mr. Sharma slowly removed his glasses.
"I know."
Kiara frowned.
"Do you think Riyan is behind this?"
Before anyone could answer, Mr. Sharma's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and hesitated.
Unknown number.
After a long pause, he answered.
"...Hello?"
No one in the room moved.
They watched his expression slowly change.
Confusion.
Shock.
Then fear.
"I understand."
He ended the call without another word.
"What happened?" Kiara asked immediately.
Her father remained silent.
Aarav stepped closer.
"Who was it?"
Mr. Sharma finally spoke.
"The bank."
"They've reduced the deadline."
The room fell silent.
"They're starting legal proceedings tomorrow morning."
Mrs. Sharma sank into the sofa.
"So soon..."
Kiara felt the floor disappear beneath her feet.
Everything was falling apart.
---
Across the city, inside Oberoi Global's headquarters, Riyan stood alone in a dimly lit conference room.
A giant screen displayed dozens of files connected to the Sharma Group.
Kabir entered quietly.
"The deadline has been moved."
"I know."
"You arranged it?"
Riyan didn't answer.
Instead, he picked up an old photograph from the table.
Two smiling families.
A picnic.
Children running through the grass.
One little girl laughed while chasing a boy carrying a toy airplane.
Kabir noticed the photograph.
"You still keep that?"
Riyan stared at it for a long moment.
"Some memories refuse to disappear."
"And some deserve justice."
He slid the photograph back into the file before anyone else could see it.
Kabir studied him carefully.
"You could tell Kiara the truth."
Riyan shook his head.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because right now..."
"...she would never believe me."
---
That evening, unable to sit still any longer, Kiara quietly returned to the storage room.
The old diary lay exactly where she had hidden it.
She opened it again.
This time she noticed something unusual.
Several pages were thicker than the others.
She gently separated them.
A folded piece of paper slipped onto the floor.
It wasn't a letter.
It was part of a newspaper.
The headline had been cut out, but one sentence remained.
'Industrialist Vikram Oberoi dies in a tragic fire...'
Kiara's eyes widened.
"Dies?"
She flipped the clipping over.
Someone had written a single sentence in blue ink.
'The official story is a lie.'
A chill ran down her spine.
Just then—
The lights in the storage room went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
A floorboard creaked behind her.
She wasn't alone.
"Who's there?" Kiara whispered.
No answer.
Only the sound of slow footsteps moving closer.
Epi
The footsteps stopped.
Kiara's breathing grew shallow.
The storage room was swallowed by darkness, broken only by faint flashes of lightning filtering through the dusty window.
"Who's there?" she asked again, her voice steadier than she felt.
Silence.
She reached for her phone, switched on the flashlight, and slowly turned around.
The beam swept across old furniture, forgotten trunks, and shelves lined with dusty files.
No one.
She frowned.
"Am I imagining things?"
Just as she took another step, the flashlight caught a shadow disappearing behind the half-open back door.
"Wait!"
Kiara rushed outside.
The narrow passage behind the mansion was empty except for rainwater dripping from the tiled roof.
Whoever had been there was gone.
Something glimmered near the doorstep.
She bent down and picked it up.
It was a small brass button, engraved with the letter O.
"Oberoi..." she whispered.
Before she could think further, her phone vibrated.
It was Aarav.
"Kiara, where are you?"
"I'm outside."
"Come to the living room. Right now."
His voice sounded urgent.
---
When Kiara entered the living room, everyone was already there.
A laptop sat open on the table.
Aarav looked furious.
"I've been digging into Oberoi Global."
"Look at this."
He played a short video clip from a recent business conference.
Riyan was answering questions from reporters.
One journalist asked, "Mr. Oberoi, people say you've taken an unusual interest in the Sharma Group. Is there a reason?"
Riyan replied calmly,
"Every decision I make has a reason."
Another reporter asked,
"Is this personal?"
For the first time in the interview, Riyan paused.
Then he simply said,
"Soon... everyone will understand."
The video ended.
Mrs. Sharma folded her hands nervously.
"He knew this would become public."
Aarav nodded.
"He's planning every move."
Kiara remained silent.
She couldn't stop thinking about the brass button in her pocket.
---
At the same time...
Inside Oberoi Global, Kabir entered Riyan's office carrying a sealed file.
"Our investigator has finished checking the old records."
Riyan looked up.
"And?"
Kabir placed the file on the desk.
"There are missing documents."
"Someone removed them years ago."
Riyan's jaw tightened.
"So they knew."
"We still don't know who."
Riyan walked toward the rain-covered window.
"The truth has been buried for twenty years."
Kabir asked quietly,
"Do you still believe Kiara knows nothing?"
After a long silence, Riyan answered,
"I don't know what to believe anymore."
---
That night, thunder shook the city.
Unable to sleep, Kiara opened the old diary once again.
She compared the brass button with the faded photograph.
Her eyes suddenly widened.
The little boy standing beside her father...
His blazer had the same brass button stitched onto it.
It wasn't from a company.
It was from a school uniform.
A clue.
A real clue.
Excited, she turned another page of the diary.
An old envelope, hidden between the pages, slipped onto the bed.
Its seal had never been broken.
Written across the front were just three words.
For Kiara Only.
Her heart pounded.
How could someone have written her name on an envelope hidden inside a diary that was decades old?
With trembling fingers, she reached for the seal.
Before she could open it...
A stone crashed through her bedroom window.
Glass shattered across the floor.
Tied to the stone was a single note.
It read:
"Stop searching... or you'll lose more than the truth."
- Writer
