Two Brothers: Shadows of Deception

Chapter 64

Shattered Hope

Priya

I gasped as the cold water splashed onto my face, jolting me back to consciousness. Sighing heavily, I struggled to open my tired eyes, feeling someone's grip tightly holding my chin and shaking my head vigorously. A sharp pain shot through the left side of my face, making me wince. My cheeks were swollen, and my lips were badly cut. Taking deep breaths, I mustered all my strength to open my eyes, but my left eye could only half-open due to the swelling from the brutal hit I had received yesterday.

They were desperate to extract the whereabouts of the evidence from me, but I refused to give in. They subjected me to countless beatings, the last one being the brutal blow I received from that monstrous person on my left cheek. After that, everything went dark, and I lost consciousness. Blinking my eyes repeatedly, I tried to get a clearer view of my surroundings. My entire body throbbed with pain, aching from the relentless abuse I had endured.

When he forcefully dragged me into his van that dreadful night, a searing pain shot through my neck, and within moments, darkness enveloped my senses. When consciousness finally returned to me, I found myself confined in a dimly lit and desolate room that resembled a dark and foreboding basement. My hands and legs were tightly bound to an old, creaky chair, rendering me completely immobile and at his mercy.

The room exuded an unpleasant and nauseating stench, likely emanating from the decaying wooden boxes stacked haphazardly around the cold, damp space. Despite the uncomfortable and eerie surroundings, my attention was immediately drawn to the terrifying figure standing before me. His face bore a menacing expression, with wicked eyes that seemed to pierce through my very soul, sending shivers down my spine. Fear gripped me tightly, and I couldn't help but feel trapped in a nightmare from which I couldn't wake.

As he took slow, calculated steps towards me, his lips curled into a malicious smile, and I could feel my heart racing in my chest. Without any warning, his palm struck my cheeks with a forceful blow, the impact reverberating through my entire being. The taste of metallic blood filled my mouth, and for a moment, my vision blurred, making it difficult to maintain my composure.

He seized my hair with an iron grip, tilting my head upwards to force me to meet his sinister gaze. His face loomed close to mine, and the overwhelming smell of alcohol and paan on his breath made me want to retch. Instinctively, I turned my head away in disgust, but his hold on my hair only tightened, making me wince in pain.

"You gave me a hard time finding you. For a whole year, you taunted me with your disappearance," he growled, his voice filled with bitter resentment and rage. As he bent down closer, I could feel the warmth of his menacing breath on my skin, heightening my sense of vulnerability and terror.

Despite the pain and fear, I mustered the strength to resist his intimidation. A surge of defiance coursed through me, and I met his malevolent gaze with determination in my eyes. "I won't tell you anything," I managed to say, my voice quivering but resolute. "You won't break me."

His anger seemed to escalate, and he scoffed at my defiance, a cruel grin spreading across his face. "Now tell me, where are the evidence, if you don't want to suffer even more," he screeched, his threats echoing through the room, suffocating me with an overwhelming sense of dread. Despite the fear coursing through my veins, I clung to a glimmer of hope, knowing that my strength and resilience would be my greatest weapons in this harrowing ordeal.

The rage inside me was a roaring inferno, fueled by the haunting images of my beloved parents and my dear sister, Riya. He had ruthlessly taken away everyone who held a place in my heart. The memory of Sid lying unconscious on the road twisted my heart with anguish and fear. I couldn't bear the thought of something terrible happening to him. A cold shiver ran down my spine as the chilling possibility filled my mind.