Silent Downfall

Epilogue

"Yet Another Scandal: Z. Roy in Hot Water"

A red car pulled around the corner and came to a halt before the gate of a white duplex. The man at the back put down the newspaper with a satisfied grin. He was about to step out when his phone began to ring. As his eyes found the caller, he sank back into his seat.

"Hello?"

"Happy birthday!" cried a jubilant male voice from the other side.

The man looked shocked. "Um, but... but today is not my birthday."

"Ah, advance happy birthday, then! I have a surprise for you."

He gasped. "Wh-what surprise?"

"Be patient. Why don't you get out of the car and find out?"

The call was disconnected.

A flummoxed Sanchit Rodriguez slowly got down from the car, not knowing what fate had in store for him. A surprise from him did not sound fun. And he was not really sure how the caller knew where he was. With anxiety partially crippling his mind, he hurried to the door and pressed the bell.

The caller opened the door, smiling from ear to ear.

"Waseef! A surprise indeed," said Sanchit, not being sure what to make of his unannounced arrival. "I didn't know you were in India. And I definitely didn't know you were at my sister's place."

"Oh, it's nothing." Waseef waved his hand dismissively. "The real surprise waits inside."

Sanchit raised his eyebrows as the captain led him inside the house. "Umm..." He spoke in a voice marked by hesitation. "Have you brought—"

"Fayzan? Oh, he was here. But I dropped him at Aanvik's home this morning."

"Oh. So he has met his aunt," he said as Sienna, his sister, walked in.

"Yes, I have met my adorable little nephew." A strange smile crept up Sienna's lips as she spoke, sending a shiver down the coach's spine. Something was wrong.

"And his aunt, uncle, and cousins are not the only ones he has met," Waseef said. "You see, I realized there were at least two more people who deserved to meet him."

Sanchit threw him a quizzical look before shifting his eyes back to his sister.

That was when he saw them entering the scene.

His jaw dropped in horror. "M-m-m-Mom? D-Dad?"

The old lady bound him with her cold glare as she continued to tap a sandal against her palm. The look on her husband's face was not particularly sympathetic either. It was the last thing Sanchit needed after a tiring series.

"Don't worry, though," said Waseef. "Your stepkids still don't know a thing. Fayzan won't reveal anything either; I have made sure of that. Not that he is much interested in you—"

A nasty uproar followed.

Sanchit failed to get away and was soon met with a series of disparaging hits from the sandal in his mother's hand. The lady struck with no regard to his age or the audience, but luckily for the wretched coach, Waseef did not linger to observe his plight. He bade farewell to the younger couple and the old father, not daring to approach the enraged woman.

Stepping out into the afternoon air, he headed toward the car that Sienna and her husband had kindly lent him. It would drop him off at the hotel, where awaited his newlywed wife. Their wedding was unceremonious yet blissful, the feast having taken place in an orphanage upon Kitty's request. It took no time following the wedding for Fayzan and Willy to get along, much to the couple's happiness.