Destiny that planned their life

24. The Unspoken Tension

Third person's POV

As everyone settled into the car, Drishti and Tarun ended up at opposite ends of the back seat, clearly avoiding each other. The air was thick with awkward silence, as both tried to ignore the other’s presence.

Akash glanced at Tarun through the rearview mirror and caught his eye, giving him a questioning look. Tarun shifted uncomfortably, his jaw clenched, trying to suppress his anger. Although Akash didn't say anything, he was aware of the real reason behind Tarun and Drishti’s marriage, knowing how Tarun had expressed he was marrying mainly for Dadu's happiness and still couldn't move on from Maya.

Jai, sensing the tension and trying to ease the awkwardness, turned to Drishti with a bright smile. "So, bhabhi, I heard you’re an investigative journalist! Tell me about some of your exciting cases or adventures!"

Drishti's eyes lit up, her earlier discomfort fading as she launched into her story. "Oh, actually, there are lots!" she started, excited to share about her mission. "There was this one case that was really intense. It was an unsolved murder case that had baffled everyone for months." She continued, "Have you heard of the Aisha Kapoor case? "

"Oh yeah, bhabhi! I heard about that. Were you part of it? That’s so cool!" Akash said, now intrigued by the conversation.

Jai, sitting in the front seat, listened intently, while Tarun tried to appear uninterested but still kept his ear on the discussion.

Drishti began recounting the details of her most thrilling case to them. "Aisha Kapoor, who was from a wealthy family, suddenly disappeared on the night of her engagement party. Her family hired a private investigator because they didn’t want to involve the police at first, fearing it might tarnish their reputation, and I was asked by my friend, who was close to Aisha, to collaborate on the case from a journalistic angle.

Drishti continued, "At first, the investigation hit a dead end. We interviewed everyone close to Aisha, but we had no leads. Then, we found a mysterious note in her room that said,  'The truth is buried with me.' This became our first major clue."

Jai's curiosity piqued. "What did you do next?"

"We tried matching the handwriting with Aisha’s and others close to her, but it wasn’t a match. This was puzzling because no one other than family members and close friends were allowed inside their tightly secured mansion. Then we noticed the unique, almost antique ink that was very rare, which led us to an old stationer’s shop.

"The shopkeeper was skilled in making historical inks and recalled this ink well because two old men with very specific needs had ordered it. One of them had talked about a bookstore near his old shop, which the shopkeeper had overheard and told me about."

"When I got to the bookstore, it was shut down because the owner had passed away. I had to track down the owner's family and persuade them to open it for me."

Drishti continued, "In the bookstore, I found a hidden journal. It talked about a secret fortune and hinted at a plot involving Aisha’s grandfather and his old friend. The journal used the same antique ink as the note, so it seemed like the note was written by either Aisha’s grandfather or his friend. They planned to hide the fortune in three places: a farmhouse, an empty lot, and the bookstore itself. Since the journal didn’t say exactly where, we had to keep watch at these places day and night, watching for any movements from the culprit."

"I even got attacked near the bookstore, and I was alone because the PI team member assigned to accompany me was busy with another lead."

"What? Were you hurt?" Tarun asked, his concern breaking through his anger.