The best arrangement: Between us...

Chapter 43 - Quest for truth.....

        The living room is drenched in sunlight as the four juniors sit on the couch, huddled around a notebook, engrossed in their research. The book had all their findings on their uncle's younger years - most of which were unhelpful to their cause.

Silence reigned for a while... Then a puzzled Daksh voiced his thoughts " We know that Chachu and Siddharth Kothari were friends, but there's got to be more to the story. Why was Siddharth so important to him? And why did he decide to raise Siddharth's adopted little brother, Sam?

Sameer pondered over it, and mused "It's kind of weird, right? Adopting his friend's son, raising him as his own. What if... what if Chachu was involved in Siddharth's death somehow? Maybe he's guilty about it and adopted Sam out of guilt?"

Eyebrows were raised around him, and Aarav voiced everyone's feeling  "That's a pretty heavy accusation, Sameer. We don't have any evidence to support that theory."

There was silence again....

" Well, think about it. Sam was quite young when he was adopted by Chachu. Why would he go through the troubles of raising a young child, that too with this much dedication, just for friendship? What if Chachu feels responsible for Siddharth's death and took in Sam to make amends?

As they ponder these possibilities, they hear raised voices coming from another room. Abhishek and his father, Mr. Mehta, are having an intense argument. Technically, they were not supposed to be there, but still, when teenagers are determined about something, there's no stopping them. So they did what any curious person would do..... They eavesdropped. 

"You're still living in the past, Abhishek! That Siddharth was just your friend. You need to move on! You could have had a happy future, with your wife, but you... you are so stubborn about that boy!

"You don't understand! Siddharth was more than just a friend to me. He was... he was a part of me.... And Sam is all that I have, of him.... And so, either my assets will go to Sam - as my heir, and Neeti - as my wife, or they'll go to Sam alone... There is no way I'm going to leave him out of my will. He is my son in all but name!"

The juniors exchange surprised glances.

Daksh whispered "Did you hear that?"

"Of course, we aren't deaf.. You think... you think they were more than friends? Like, romantically involved, for real?" Aarav asked.

Sameer whispered "Like Shruti said before, it's possible. And if that's the case, it would explain why Chachu has been so secretive about their relationship"

"But why would he be preparing a will right now? He's what, 35 or 36 now, isn't he?"

The argument between Abhishek and his father continues, their voices echoing in the room. The juniors exchange a meaningful look, realizing that there's a lot more to the story than they initially thought.

"We need to find out the truth, but we have to be careful. Chachu clearly wants to keep this hidden for a reason." Shruti said.

The others nodded. "Maybe he is worried about the whole homophobia thing?"

Daksh said "Let's continue our research, discretely. We don't want to make any assumptions without knowing the full story. "

........................

And that's how they found themselves putting the next forenoon - when every adult memeber of the house was out, either for work purposes, puja paath or leisure - to good use. Abhishek's study was off limits, but his bedroom, where Neeti now resides, was not. Surely there must be some clue, hidden in Abhishek's old closet....