Chapter 31: When Truth Finds Unexpected Allies
964 Words
Prison had its own rhythm.
Cold mornings.
Echoing footsteps.
Voices stripped of warmth.
For Lina, days blended into one long stretch of waiting—waiting for truth, for justice, for strength not to abandon her completely.
She had stopped crying.
Tears, she learned, only drained what little courage she had left.
That morning, the guard stopped outside her cell.
“Visitor.”
Lina looked up, expecting her parents.
Instead, she froze.
Two strangers stood beyond the bars.
Well-dressed. Calm. Observant.
Kabir Khanna’s eyes were sharp, unreadable.
Anaya Khanna’s gaze was steady, almost gentle—but nothing escaped it.
“I’m Kabir Khanna,” he said.
“And I’m Anaya,” she added softly. “We are Rajiv Khanna’s children.”
The world tilted.
Lina stood slowly, gripping the edge of the bench for support. “I… I’m sorry. About your father.”
Anaya studied her carefully—not with hatred, not with suspicion, but with something closer to curiosity mixed with pain.
“We’re not here for apologies,” Kabir said. “We’re here for answers.”
They were led into a small interview room. The door closed with a metallic finality.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Anaya leaned forward. “Tell us exactly what happened that night. From the moment you received the email.”
Lina swallowed and told them everything.
The email.
The empty room.
The blow from behind.
Waking up covered in blood.
The knife in her hand.
The horror.
She spoke without embellishment, without defense—only truth.
Kabir watched her closely. “Did you know my father personally?”
“No,” Lina answered immediately. “I had never met him before. I didn’t even know he was the buyer.”
Anaya nodded slowly. “That matches what we know.”
Kabir frowned. “But the evidence doesn’t.”
He pulled out a file. Photos slid across the table.
The knife.
Lina’s fingerprints.
Her DNA at the scene.
“Everything points to you,” Kabir said bluntly.
Lina’s shoulders sagged. “I know.”
Anaya’s voice softened. “But nothing about this feels right.”
She folded her hands. “Our father was cautious. Paranoid, even. He never went anywhere without protection. And he would never meet a woman alone at night—especially not someone vulnerable.”
Kabir clenched his jaw. “Someone wanted him dead. And someone needed a perfect scapegoat.”
Silence settled.
Anaya looked at Lina again. “And you were… convenient.”
Lina’s eyes burned, but she nodded. “I’ve been convenient before.”
Kabir stood. “We don’t believe you killed our father.”
Lina looked up sharply. “You… don’t?”
“No,” Kabir said firmly. “But believing you isn’t enough. We need proof.”
Anaya placed a hand over Lina’s briefly. “Hold on. We won’t let the truth die with him.”
When they left, Lina sat back, her heart pounding.
For the first time since her arrest, something unfamiliar stirred inside her.
Hope.
---
That afternoon, another guard appeared.
“You have another visitor.”
Lina frowned. “I already had visitors today.”
The guard shrugged. “He insisted.”
When she entered the visiting room, her breath caught.
“Alexei?”
The tall man standing there turned—and smiled.
“Lina.”
Her eyes filled instantly. “You’re here.”
Alexei Volkov.
Her university classmate.
The Russian boy who had come to India with broken Hindi, heavy books, and grief he tried to hide behind sarcasm.
They had met in business class at Raghav International University.
She remembered everything.
How she had taught him Hindi after lectures.
How she explained concepts again and again until he understood.
How she stayed with him when his parents died in a car accident back in Moscow.
How she had told him, “You’re not alone here.”
Now he looked older. Sharper. Stronger.
But his eyes were the same.
“You didn’t think I’d let you rot in prison, did you?” Alexei said lightly.
Lina laughed through tears. “I didn’t even know you were back in India.”
“I wasn’t,” he said. “Until I saw the news.”
His expression darkened. “They did this to you.”
She sat across from him. “Alexei… I’m so glad to see you.”
“You once saved me when I had nothing,” he said quietly. “Now it’s my turn, dear friend.”
He slid a card across the table.
“A lawyer?” Lina asked.
“Not just a lawyer,” Alexei replied. “The best criminal defense attorney in the country. He doesn’t lose cases—he dismantles them.”
Lina stared at the card, stunned. “Alexei, I can’t—”
“You can,” he interrupted gently. “And you will.”
He leaned forward. “This case isn’t just about you. Someone powerful thinks they can play God. I hate people like that.”
Her hands trembled. “Why would you do all this for me?”
Alexei smiled softly. “Because when everyone else turned away from me, you didn’t. You gave me language. You gave me friendship. You gave me dignity.”
He stood. “Now rest. Tomorrow, your fight begins.”
As he walked away, Lina pressed her hand to her chest.
For the first time since the nightmare began, she didn’t feel alone.
---
That night, Lina lay on her narrow prison bed, staring at the ceiling.
Kabir and Anaya.
Alexei.
A lawyer.
Pieces were moving.
Someone wanted her destroyed.
But now…
Now, someone wanted the truth.
And Lina Sharma had learned one thing the hard way:
Truth always finds its way back—
Even through blood, betrayal, and prison walls.
- Writer
