What Ifs.

Part 4.

Her belief that they will soon prove him innocent was faltering fast. So was Abhimanyu's.

Against a system that simply did not care.
Not about the truth.
It did care about hiding it's dirty secrets.
Keeping up it's good name.

So there he was, a readymade scapegoat.
Afterall, they had wanted Lala dead, ofcrs. But they did not want their hands soiled.

They wanted the traitor out, but they did not want to answer the media as to why he had grown so powerful, in the first place.

And ofcrs, they did nt want their own 'involved-in-some-small-way-or-other' asses discovered.

So it was easier to try him for murder, than tell the world the truth.
The truth that each ranked member of his jury knew.

That he was innocent.
That he had done the country a great favour.

......

Day after day, he saw the light diminish in his eyes, as he would be bought to the courtroom.
Day after day, he would argue less.
Accept more.
Each passing day, she felt him accept their version of the truth a little more.
Slowly.
Each passing day, he felt him believe himself to be actually guilty, a little more.

After all, they had excellent manipulators.
Ones who could make you doubt your very name.

And thus, each passing day, he saw his once lively friend become a hollow shell of himself.

And yet, they told themselves, they would win.
Yet try as they might, they couldn't convince themselves that they had done a favour to him, by saving his life.