Two Brothers: Shadows of Deception

Chapter 60

Escaping the Clutches of Evil

(Priyadarshini)

My mother swung open the door, and a disheveled, inebriated figure stumbled inside, barely able to maintain his balance. He teetered on the edge of collapse, but my mother caught him, guiding him to the couch in the living room.

My gaze fell upon my father, his appearance a mere shadow of his former self. He slumped against the couch, his eyes surrounded by dark, hollow circles. Sweat dripped down his face, his hair disheveled and matted. He rested his elbow on his weary eyes, but tears streamed down, slipping through the cracks of his anguish.

A knot tightened in my throat as I took in the scene. My mother wept in silent agony, her tear-filled eyes locked on my father. The weight of grief enveloped us all, suffocating our souls. It had been a month since Riya's tragic departure, and the pain remained fresh, relentless. But my father, he carried the burden as though it were his own sin. He blamed himself for her demise, and his self-inflicted torment devoured him day by day.

With a mixture of desperation and determination, I approached him, my footsteps heavy with sorrow. I settled beside him, my trembling hands finding solace on his quivering shoulder. Slowly, he lowered his hands from his tear-stained eyes, his gaze meeting mine. He wiped away the evidence of his anguish, his fingers leaving streaks of pain on his worn-out shirt.

"Dad, you can't continue like this. We understand your pain, but you can't keep punishing yourself. Please, think of us. We need you. What will become of us if something were to happen to you? Riya meant the world to us, but losing you would be an unbearable tragedy. Dad, I beg you, reclaim the strength within you. Bring back the father we love," I pleaded, my voice quivering alongside my tears.

He tenderly brushed away my tears, his touch gentle yet laden with a profound sadness. His hands found their place on my shoulders, drawing me closer to his broken heart. My mother, overcome with shared sorrow, joined our embrace on the couch. Together, we sought solace in the unity of our shattered souls.

"I'm sorry, my dear ones, but I can't find peace until they pay for what they did to Riya," he uttered, his voice laced with a newfound determination, his grip on our shoulders tightening, as if to convey the intensity of his resolve.

"Nathan, please, no. You've witnessed their cruelty firsthand. Even the law couldn't touch them. They closed Riya's case, leaving us helpless. How can we fight against such powerful enemies? They'll crush us, destroy us. We can't bear to lose you too, Nathan," my mother implored, her voice quivering with fear and desperation, her tears mingling with her pleas.

"How can you say that, Shalini? Riya was more than a colleague to me. She was family. She grew up with us, and we were all she had. Would you ask the same if our own daughter suffered a similar fate?" My father's voice cracked, the anguish seeping through his words, as he rose from the sofa, his pain propelling him forward.

"Nathan," my mother gasped, her hands instinctively covering her mouth, her eyes wide with shock and fear, tears cascading down her anguished face.

"Have you forgotten the horrors of her death? She was violated, brutalized, and left to die. They extinguished her light in the most unspeakable manner. And I, I am to blame. I was her senior, her mentor, and I failed to protect her. I allowed her to walk into that den of monsters, lured by my own greed as a journalist seeking an exclusive. I could have stopped her, saved her, but my selfishness condemned her," he bellowed, his voice trembling with an overwhelming mix of guilt and rage. He fell to his knees, the weight of his remorse crashing upon him, his tears flowing like a torrential storm.