Hacking the Heart

Chapter 7

I drove home seething, hands clenched and white-knuckled on the wheel. Suraj's smug confidence and easy familiarity with Indira tormented my racing mind. I had to know more about this suave interloper from Indira's past.

At my modest apartment, I gathered my equipment and powered up my computer and dove into digging up everything on Suraj. It didn't take long to uncover his family's history and their obscene wealth built on a chemical manufacturing empire in India. He was poised to inherit the multi-billion-dollar company as the only son of the current CEO. Their

I researched their chemical plants and my blood ran cold reading allegations of toxic waste runoff polluting local water supplies. Lawsuits were filed by villagers who developed rare cancers linked to the chemicals - including blood cancers like leukaemia, just like my Asami.

Rage coursed through me realizing Suraj's family likely caused the very disease their negligence now profited handsomely from by selling drugs to treat it. And Indira had been engaged to him once? My head spun trying to reconcile this.

I delved feverishly deeper but came up empty finding any details on their broken engagement. Had Suraj's deceptive charm blinded Indira to the sins of his family? Surely, she would be horrified learning about the human c*****e funding his lavish life.

I paced my bedroom feverishly imagining confronting Suraj with evidence of his family's heartless negligence. Leverage to expose his true colours and have Indira see him for the hypocrite he was. Take back control after he left me transparently provoked.

But a small voice of reason whispered that involving Indira in this vengeful plot would only push her further away. She deserved the truth from me first before casting any stones at Suraj's glass facade. The right thing was still to confess my hacking crimes, no matter how much coming clean terrified me. Suraj's unwelcome presence reminded me I couldn't hide selfishly in the shadows forever, even if it meant losing Indira in the harsh light.

Tomorrow I would try again to reveal everything, I resolved wearily. Though likely too late now - Suraj gleefully made sure seeds of doubt took root in Indira's mind about me. My window to earn redemption was shrinking fast. But tonight, sleep would not come tangled in jealousy's thorny grip. Indira's smiling face each time Suraj whispered to her tormented me over and over.

I jolted awake panting, images of Asami's funeral fading as I blinked around my dark bedroom. Just a nightmare, I told myself, willing my pounding heart to slow. My phone screen lit up with a new message notification. It is 2:14 AM - yet Indira was unexpectedly awake too. She texted me as I went to get a cup of water to quench my thirst.

"I’m sorry about earlier. Can we meet before work to talk about it later? The cafe on Oak Street, 8 am?"

Relief loosened the vice grip of anxiety ever-present in my chest lately. She still wanted to see me after the tense encounter with Suraj. I texted back a quick confirmation, knowing peaceful rest would elude me now with renewed nerves about our impending conversation. “Yes, of course. See you there.”

A few short hours later I sat drinking bitter black coffee across from a pale and weary-looking Asami. We avoided each other’s eyes, and the easy rapport was damaged after she discovered my crimes. I despised this strained wedge driven between us but respected her wishes for distance until I made things right.

The barista called Asami’s complicated health drink order and she shuffled over silently to collect it. My heart broke watching her fragile struggle just to complete simple tasks now. I ached to pull my sister into my arms and promise her everything would be okay. But I no longer deserved the solace of comforting her or being comforted. Not until the truth was out.

After dropping Asami off for her check-up, I headed to meet Indira. She was already seated, smiling tentatively as I approached. My chest tightened seeing her radiant face and imagining it clouding with hurt once she knew the truth.

I slid into the chair across from her, clenching clammy hands in my lap. “So, about yesterday...I’m sorry I didn’t handle that well.”

Indira held up a gently silencing hand. “Don’t apologize, Kai. Suraj showing up unannounced was unfair to you. But context might help explain...” She drew a bracing breath.

“Suraj and I were engaged briefly years ago before I learned the full unethical extent of his family’s business,” she explained calmly. “I broke it off immediately and haven’t seen him in a decade...until he appeared suddenly last night.”

I sat stunned, pulse racing. Indira gazed at me earnestly. “I just wanted you to know the truth. You don’t have anything to worry about. He’s practically harmless.”

Her hand covered mine gently. I blinked back sudden tears at her grace and empathy. I wanted desperately to meet her truth with my own. But courage failed me yet again. The words jammed in my throat. So, I just squeezed her hand tightly in return, hoping she sensed the depths of my gratitude and remorse in that wordless grasp. There would be a right time for full confession still ahead. For now, having Indira’s compassion and wisdom as my anchor would sustain me through the storms still to come.

Asami sat staring into her bowl of untouched oatmeal, absently pushing the limp blobs around with her spoon. The tense silence hanging over the apartment this morning pressed heavily on her already weary mind. We had barely spoken in days since their blow-up fight over the truth of her medical funding.

As much as my reckless methods upset her, Asami's anger was slowly being replaced by remorse that her outburst likely made him feel even more alone in his crushing struggle to protect her. She had always been my rock of support through hardship. Only now roles were reversed with her helplessly depending on her brother's tireless efforts to keep her alive.

Asami sighed, dumping the mushy oats down the sink. She missed her brother fiercely - his awful dad jokes over pancakes at their favourite diner, lazy movie nights full of popcorn fights. They had always tackled tribulations arm in arm. She was tired of this estrangement hanging so heavily in their little home.

Steeling her nerves, Asami made her way to Kai's bedroom. He sat hunched over his computer focused intently on some complex data analysis far beyond Asami's grasp. She took a deep breath.

"Kai, can we talk please?"

I turned, surprise flickering across my exhausted features at Asami initiating contact. She perched on the bed edge, fiddling with her shirt hem nervously.

"I'm sorry," she began in a rush. "You didn't deserve me lashing out when you've sacrificed everything to take care of me. I was just shocked finding out the truth." Asami searched my face anxiously.

My expression softened. "You have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one who should be sorry for letting you down..." His voice grew thick with emotion. I slid my chair closer, taking Asami's hands in mine. She clung to them tightly, feeling the dam of tension between them begin to crumble.

We embraced wordlessly, tears flowing, forgiveness exchanged in the sincere press of hands and shared heartbeat.

After, Asami suggested going out for pancakes. my grin of relief at this olive branch told Asami all was forgiven. The diner's familiar dingy interior embraced us like the comfort of home as we slid into our regular booth. Laughter and stories flowed freely again between bites, the lingering awkwardness washed away.

I was recounting a lively tale about a client mishap when the jingle of the front entrance bell drew Asami's gaze up. Her eyes widened in shock at the handsome man in an impeccable suit striding toward them purposefully. It was Suraj. I was shocked to see his face as I registered Suraj's unexpected presence.

Suraj, clearly uninvited, walked casually to their position while he smiled his pearly-white smile at Kai. Asami was watching him closing in trying to figure where she’d seen this handsome man before.