The big hallway was devoid of any noise as we moved out of Karan's room as early as possible. Mr. Karthik's face looked unusually grave when we reached him and the other guests were also maintaining silence. It was only Mahira who seemed as she always was, passing me an angry glare without fail every time our eyes met.
"Sir, is there anything wrong?" Karan asked Mr. Karthik, exchanging doubtful glances with me.
Mr. Karthik moved near Karan and rested his palm on his shoulder. "I have caught hold of something, what if the attacker himself!"
My ears couldn't believe what Mr. Karthik was saying but I wanted to burst out laughing at his poor joke. "Are you kidding in such a serious matter, Mr. Karthik?"
"I hope you aren't joking this time?" Karan was himself confused with Mr. Karthik.
"I don't think so. I will only joke with your babies and not with you." Mr. Karthik winked at us. I wanted to oppose him but pinched my lips together, considering the seriousness of the situation.
I saw Karan smiling with what Mr. Karthik had said and he continued, "Sir, you can think of my babies later. First tell me if you have really found something worthwhile or not?"
"Look around in case you find any hint. I may tell you after that." Mr. Karthik was still continuing with the fun while we were turning impatient.
Karan and I rotated our eyes in all directions to identify if there was any clue hidden for us. For a moment, I almost thought if we were playing a treasure hunt game until something struck my eyes. One of the security members was holding the similar dragon jacket that both the attacker and Vikki had worn.
"I got it..." I almost yelled, jumping on my toes and Karan caught hold of my waist.
"Be careful Preeta, you will hurt yourself again." He warned while I pointed my finger at the man.
I screamed, "Look at him, Karan. He is holding the similar dragon jacket..."
Karan immediately looked in the direction of my forefinger while Mr. Karthik praised me. "You definitely possess a great observation skill, Mrs. Luthra."
Karan snatched the jacket from his hand, looking at it carefully. "From where did you get it?"
I shrugged, nodding my head in confusion while the guests were also turning impatient. Karan urged everyone to disclose the matter as soon as possible without making him wait any further.
Mr. Karthik finally opened his mouth with a light grin. "In Sameer's luggage..."
Our eyelids stretched wider in shock of a traumatic stress as this was something very much out of expectations for us. It was definitely heartbreaking for Karan because he had looked after his younger brother since childhood and nurtured him like any father would. He could have never hoped for such kind of a betrayal coming from Sameer. Though I had already suspected Sameer earlier, the thought was equally troubling for me.
"SAMEER?" Karan's mouth gaped in anguish, not able to recover from the sudden mental tremor. "This is simply impossible, Sir!"
"I know it's hard to believe but it's hundred percent true. Upon being confronted, Sameer too has accepted it." Mr. Karthik disclosed the unbelievable thing to us.
Karan plodded over to Sameer,who stood there with his head drooping in shame. Karan shook his brother violently. "You didn't do it, did you?"
Karan was still being lenient with him and Sameer was not able to respond anything on his part. Karan held his brother's shoulders and squeezed them tighter than ever. "Sameer, you could have directly told me to end my life and I would have happily done that for you. What was the need of trying to kill me each day and keep me in fear of it? Why did you want to commit a crime and put yourself behind the bars?"
