Chapter 34: The Devil Doesn’t Hide Anymore
1095 Words
The next morning in prison arrived without mercy.
Metal doors slammed open and shut. Footsteps echoed down the corridor like a countdown Lina couldn’t escape. She sat on the edge of her narrow bed, eyes hollow from a night without sleep, her mind still replaying the judge’s voice.
Ten years.
She hadn’t even finished processing it when a guard stopped outside her cell.
“You have a visitor.”
Lina looked up, confused. Her parents had come yesterday. Kabir and Anaya had promised to return in a few days. Alexei had said he needed time to move quietly.
Then she saw her.
Shalini Malhotra.
Perfectly dressed. Hair immaculate. A faint smile on her lips—as calm as if she were attending a tea party, not visiting a prison.
The guard opened the door.
Shalini stepped in.
The door closed behind her with a final, echoing clang.
---
“Well,” Shalini said lightly, looking around. “This place suits you.”
Lina stood slowly, her heart pounding. “Why are you here?”
Shalini laughed softly. “You really thought you could win against me? No way.”
Lina swallowed hard, then forced herself to speak. “Were you the one who murdered Mr. Rajiv?”
Shalini tilted her head, studying Lina like a specimen. Then she smiled wider.
“Oh, Lina,” she said. “I don’t dirty my hands.”
Lina’s breath caught.
“I simply hired someone to do it,” Shalini continued calmly, “and framed you.”
The words slammed into Lina like a physical blow.
“How can you do that?” Lina whispered, shaking. “He was your brother-in-law.”
Shalini’s eyes hardened. “He was a thorn. Just like you.”
She stepped closer, lowering her voice. “And I wanted to show you something very clearly—I can go to any extent to remove the thorns around me.”
Lina’s hands clenched into fists. “You’re a wicked person. I’ll tell Arjun. He will know the truth.”
Shalini laughed again—this time cold and sharp. “What makes you think my son will believe you?”
She leaned in. “Has he ever come to see you since you were arrested?”
Lina’s silence answered for her.
Shalini smiled triumphantly. “Do you know why?”
She paused deliberately, savoring the moment.
“Because he’s with Riya,” Shalini said. “They’re planning to get married.”
“No,” Lina cried out. “You’re lying. Lies—this is all lies!”
“Am I?” Shalini said calmly. “Let me show you.”
She pulled out her phone.
And dialed.
---
The call connected on speaker.
“Mother?” Arjun’s voice came through. “Didn’t I just call you this morning?”
Lina froze.
Shalini’s eyes never left Lina’s face.
“I just wanted to know what you’re doing right now, son,” Shalini said sweetly.
“I’m at a boutique,” Arjun replied. “With Riya. She’s trying on wedding dresses.”
The world cracked.
“Oh,” Shalini said gently. “Alright, son. We’ll talk later.”
“Bye, Mom,” Arjun said.
The call ended.
Silence filled the cell—thick, suffocating.
Shalini slipped the phone back into her bag.
“Have you seen?” she asked softly. “You were just a toy to my son. He was never serious about you.”
Lina’s legs gave way. She sat heavily on the bed, tears spilling freely now.
Shalini straightened, satisfied.
“Enjoy your time here in prison,” she said, turning toward the door. “If you survive, we’ll meet again after ten years.”
She paused, glanced over her shoulder.
“And Lina?”
Her smile returned.
“Ten years is a very long time for accidents to happen.”
The door opened.
Then closed.
Shalini Malhotra walked away.
---
Lina broke.
She cried silently at first, then uncontrollably—grief tearing through her chest, betrayal burning deeper than the prison walls.
Arjun…
She remembered his promises. His apologies. His pursuit.
All lies.
She had trusted him again.
And now she was alone.
---
Hours later, footsteps returned.
“Lina Sharma,” the guard called. “You have visitors.”
She lifted her head weakly.
Kabir Khanna entered first, followed by Anaya, Advocate Mehta, and Alexei Volkov.
The moment Kabir saw Lina’s face, his expression darkened. “What happened?”
Lina stood shakily. “Shalini was here.”
Everyone stiffened.
“She confessed,” Lina said, her voice trembling but clear. “She told me she hired someone to kill your father and framed me.”
Kabir’s face drained of color. “What?”
“My father and the Malhotras never got along,” he said slowly, “but I never thought they would go as far as killing him.”
Anaya’s jaw tightened. “This changes everything.”
“She also said I’m in danger,” Lina added quietly. “Because I know the truth.”
Anaya nodded immediately. “She’s right. You are in danger.”
Alexei crossed his arms, eyes sharp. “If Shalini was bold enough to confess, it means she believes Lina won’t live long enough to speak.”
Advocate Mehta exhaled slowly. “We need to protect Lina first. Evidence can wait—dead witnesses cannot speak.”
“What about Arjun?” Lina asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kabir looked away.
Anaya answered gently. “Right now, he’s under his mother’s influence. But truth has a way of surfacing.”
Alexei stepped forward. “I’ll arrange for additional protection inside the prison. Quietly. No records.”
“I agree,” Mehta said. “I’ll request a transfer under the guise of safety concerns.”
Lina looked at them, overwhelmed. “Why are you doing all this for me?”
Kabir met her eyes. “Because my father believed in you. And because you’re innocent.”
Anaya placed a hand over Lina’s. “And because Shalini Malhotra doesn’t get to decide who lives and who dies.”
For the first time that day, Lina felt something other than despair.
Hope.
Fragile.
But alive.
She wiped her tears and straightened her back.
“She thinks she’s won,” Lina said quietly. “She thinks I’ll disappear.”
Her eyes hardened.
“But I won’t.”
The walls of the prison suddenly felt less like an ending—
And more like the beginning of a war.
And this time, Lina would survive long enough to tell the truth.
- Writer
