He chose & she stayed

Stagnation

*At Abhinav's secret place*

After Abhimanyu refused both food and water by 2.30 p.m., Abhinav also decided not to have anything till Abhimanyu complies, which did not happen for another half an hour. But after draining what little energy Abhimanyu had by constantly glaring at Abhinav, his eyes started losing focus and he started feeling light-headed owing to dehydration. It's been 21 hours since his kidnapping. Abhimanyu slowly started losing his strength to keep his eyes open. Suddenly he felt his supposed kidnapper/ex-batchmate forcing water down his throat.

Abhinav: *calmly* Stop resisting Dr. Abhimanyu, it's for your own good.

The more calm, the way his supposed kidnapper/ex-batchmate behaved. The more the restless, Abhimanyu became.

Abhimanyu (in his mind): *frustrated* How the heck is he this calm?! Why the heck is he this calm?!

Though Abhimanyu is now hydrated, his drowsiness because of the drugs still won over him and he drifted off to a blank land of sleep.

_________________________

6.00 p.m.

*At the Birla house*

It's officially been 24 hours since Dr. Abhimanyu Birla was taken! The Birlas are exhaust both physically and mentally. After taking down the news and related posts, there were no further attempts made by the kidnappers to contact them. Harshavardhan Birla was losing what little hope he had of finding his son. He sat on the couch with defeat. His elder brother Anand kept a hand on his shoulder and a glass of water appeared before him. Harsh raised his face to look at the person who's offering him water. It was a teary eyed Neil, Harsh thanked Neil and accepted the water. Manjari had a massive panic attack earlier today, so it was concluded that she'll not be present for the meeting with the special investigation team scheduled shortly. Unfortunately for Akshara, Manjari held on to her for mental support. So an unwillingly Akshara was forced to stay behind in the room with Manjari. The officers finally reached the Birla house. The main hall was thick with tension as the worried family greeted the officers. Though only Anand, Harsh, Mahima, Parth, Shefali, Neil and 3 other officers were there, a total of 9 members were present, still Harsh felt it crowded and was minutely struggling to take a breath.

Officer 1: *calmly* I'll be straight forward with you all, we don't think that your son was kidnapped for any ransom. It looks like that the kidnappers have some personal agenda with your son. So we want your full cooperation and answer our questions without leaving any information.

Anand: *tiredly* We'll give our complete cooperation to your team, officer. But please bring our Abhimanyu back home to us.

Officer 2: *assuring* We'll definitely find him, Dr. Anand. *Looks around at the Birlas* So tell us, is there someone or anyone with whom Dr. Abhimanyu had any personal enimity or dispute either verbal or physical?

Neil: *anxious* Not recently, also we don't know the complete issue, Sir. But long back, someone hurt Bhai during his first year of MBBS, it was 12 years ago.

Officer 1: *raising eyebrows* 12 years is a huge duration. Any recent incident can be useful. But what do you mean by "don't know the complete issue"?

Mahima: *seriously* Officer, just two months ago, we got to know that Abhimanyu's suffering from PTSD induced Nyctophobia and we also suspect that the incident that happened 12 years ago involves Non-consensual drug usage.

The third officer who was silently absorbing the exchange spoke up.

Officer 3: Non-consensual Drugging? *Clears throat* On reviewing the CCTV footage of your son's kidnapping, we did notice some strange stuff. It was as if the kidnappers, even though held Dr. Aarohi hostage cared about your son.

Harsh: *in disbelief* What?!? *Getting agitated* Why the hell will they kidnap my son, if they care about him?!?!

Parth: *holding Harsh* Chachaji! Please calm down.

Harsh sighed.

Officer 3: *comforting* We understand your emotions Dr. Harshavardhan. But hear us out. Though your son did not struggle with the kidnappers when they tried to tie him up, in concern for Dr. Aarohi's wellbeing, we noticed visible signs of distress in his face, and the kidnappers stopped the process and then brought up the injection and he was ordered to drug himself. And when your son did inject himself, they guided him with care into the vehicle.

Harshavardhan Birla was completely numb and he did not know what was he supposed to feel now.

Harsh: *impatiently* What are you implying Officer? Should I rejoice that my son's in good hands, who'll take good care of him by kidnapping him?!

Shefali, the promising journalist intrupts Harsh gently.

Shefali: *in worry* Chachaji, it means Abhimanyu was kidnapped because someone wanted him for him.

Parth and Neil looks at Shefali wearily. Mahima and Anand looked at their daughter in law puzzled.

Harsh: *confused* What??

Officer 3: Yes, you're correct. *Looks at everyone* So tell us, does Dr. Abhimanyu had any admirer/stalker that you people know of?

Officer 2: *scribbling in his tab* It's stated that Ms. Akshara Goenka's residing in your house for time being, her own kidnapping still unsolved. It was for her, that your son ditched his ex-fiancée. Am I correct?

Harsh: *nodding* Yes, Officer!

Officer 2: *looks sharply* So tell us, does Dr. Abhimanyu was involved with anyone else or any admirers/stalkers he got perhaps?

Harsh: *worried* We don't know Officer! We never saw any sign of those, *deep breath* or we're simply not aware of them.

Officer 1: The photo from the pendrive also shows that your son was not in any horrible condition. Rather he was laid in a comfortable bed, even though he was not in consciousness, he was not restrained in any form.

The Birlas looked worriedly at the officers.

Officer 3: *looks at Neil* Can you elaborate, what happened with your brother 12 years ago.

Neil gulped down his nervousness and proceeded to narrate the incidents.

Officer 1: *sharply* Non-consensual Drugging, broken fingers and bruises everywhere. This is clearly an assualt! Yet there's no history of FIR, why your family did not file a complain?

Anand and Mahima explained the way, the family handled the issue. All the while Harsh was drowning in guilt. Even after discussing the various possibilities, Dr. Abhimanyu Birla's case remained stagnant with no solid progress.

Elsewhere ......

After completing her duty hours, Aarohi did the necessary arrangements according to her plan and then she sat expressionlessly on her bed and continued to stare at her wall clock to strike 8 o'clock, so that she can execute her plan. A mixture of nervousness and hope kept running through her like a bullet train.

_________________________

Dear readers, thank you so much for voting my work 💟.

I originally planned to start with the winning track by this weekend. But I changed my plans to cover the Birlas and some more twists. The poll will be open till the track is required to start👍✌️