Falling from Grace

Accusations Unleashed

The following morning was hazy, marked by an odd quietness that lingered in the Sharma household. Ritika felt it from the moment she woke up. She had always been able to sense when something was off, a mother's intuition that went beyond the ordinary. Samaira was still asleep, her small figure curled up peacefully under her blanket, unaware of the brewing tension. Rohit was already downstairs, sipping his coffee and scrolling through his phone.

"Morning," Ritika greeted softly as she joined him, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

Rohit looked up, his face serious. "Good morning." He slid his phone over to her, an unreadable expression in his eyes.

She picked it up, her brows knitting together as she read the message from Virat.

"Rohit, we need to talk. Call me when you're free. It's urgent."

A chill ran down Ritika's spine. The message was short but heavy, and in the pit of her stomach, she felt an uneasy twist. She didn't say anything, but Rohit seemed to read her expression.

"It's strange, right?" he asked, his voice calm but with an edge of concern. "We saw them just last night, and he didn't mention anything."

Ritika nodded slowly. "Maybe it's about Vamika? They did seem off last night."

Rohit took a deep breath and dialed Virat's number, putting the phone on speaker. It rang only once before Virat picked up.

"Rohit," came Virat's voice, sounding uncharacteristically tense. "We need to talk...about Samaira."

Rohit's eyes widened, and he glanced at Ritika. "About Samaira? What's going on, Virat?"

There was a brief pause on the other end, followed by a muffled sound as if Virat was steadying himself. "Vamika was admitted to the hospital last night. She had to be rushed to the emergency room—she was struggling to breathe."

Ritika's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes filling with worry. "Oh my god, Virat! Is she alright? What happened?"

Virat's voice was strained. "She's stable now, but the doctors found traces of something in her blood. They think...they think it was something she came into contact with."

Rohit frowned. "Something she came into contact with? What are you saying, Virat?"

Anushka's voice cut in, cold and steady. "We're saying that whatever affected Vamika, she likely got it from Samaira."

The words felt like a punch to the gut. Ritika's mind reeled, struggling to process the accusation. "Are you serious, Anushka? Samaira is just a child. She would never harm anyone, let alone her best friend."

"We're not saying she did it intentionally," Anushka replied, her tone clipped. "But we have reason to believe that Samaira might be carrying something—something that made Vamika ill."

Rohit's face hardened, a rare flash of anger in his usually calm eyes. "This is absurd, Anushka. Samaira has been perfectly healthy, and so have we. Whatever happened to Vamika has nothing to do with Samaira."

"You don't know that," Virat interjected, his voice strained. "The doctors think it's some kind of contact transmission. They've advised us to be careful with anyone Vamika has been around, and Samaira was with her the entire day."

Ritika felt her heart sink. She wanted to scream, to tell them how ridiculous they sounded, but she knew they wouldn't listen. Instead, she spoke as calmly as she could manage. "Virat, we're sorry for what's happened to Vamika, truly. But blaming our daughter without any evidence? This is unfair."