Manjha A String of Complicated Relations

A Devestating End To The Family Name

Narayan Vashisht was sitting alone in his study. The room was all dark. He had a whiskey in his hands, a sinister expression on his face and an even more sadistic thought on his mind.

He knew this thought would come to fruition. He just needed confirmation for it. And he thought, maybe even God was on his side when the phone rang.

He picked up the call. "It's done, Sir," said a voice from the other side of the speaker. The sinister expression turned into an evil smile.

"You will receive the money after I get the confirmation," he said and cut the call, keeping the mobile back in his pocket.

"Finally, the nuisance will not be a thorn in my life. The girls. I hope all of them were in the same car. Nevermind if they weren't right now, the last one can be dealt with later," Narayan Vashisht was enjoying this feeling.

He had watched, for the past two days he had watched the girls in his house. All laughing and happy. They lived in his house as if they ruled there, as if they deserved to have a place in the house. When in reality, they did not even deserve to have the place on this earth.

A constant thorn in his eyes, the girls, the plague in his house which was like an itch. Watching them all was like a stab to Narayan's peace.

They had no need of existing and yet here they were, loving and breathing in front him, in his house. They were not meant to be alive. He had assumed they were not alive anymore. But no matter, now they won't be a pain  anymore.

He had been planning to do this anyway but the idiots had made his work easier by going to the town together. Did they think that they would get recognition as Vashisht family members?

Narayan Vashisht had a reputation in the society. He had told the world that he only had one son and one grandson.

He would never let it get out that his good for nothing son had three daughters, not one but three. Nobody could ever know this. He had a reputation to maintain, after all.

Yes, yes, no one would ever know. Neither that he killed his daughters nor that he had planned the murder of his granddaughters.

They did not deserve the Vashisht name, and glory. The vashisht family was a family of honour, and honour could only be brought through sons. Daughters are the reason for shame, he thought.

And today he brought the honour back to the Vashisht family name.

He took a sip of his whiskey, waiting for  the drama to begin.

And his wish was fulfilled when he got a message from his son.

Yash [11:38]
We are going to the hospital.
There has been an accident.

Narayan [11:39]
I hope everyone is alright.
I will reach there soon.

Yash [11:41]
No need. We are coming home.

Narayan smirked. "So, they did not make it after all."

************************************

Narayan watched as the ambulance pulled up at the front door and Yash came out of it.

Two more ambulances stopped behind the first one too. Narayan left his study and headed towards the main hall.

Apparently, his hired help had been wrong. According to them only Shambhavi and Nitya had gone in one car but there were three ambulances that meant three bodies, which meant Adhya had also climbed in their car.

When he saw Adhya also standing there with tears in her eyes, silently crying with her head on her husband's shoulders, Narayan Vashisht halted for a moment.

If Adhya was well and safe then who else had died.

Narayan took slow steps towards the hall. Yash was crying but Aarti was emotionless, staring at the bodies. Three of them.

Narayan looked around and saw that everyone was there. Then who was the third body lying in the house? Were they all joined by someone else?

"Yash," Narayan called out to his son, his hands were shaking now.

Could it be? No. No. He had given explicit orders. No harm was to come to him. No, it was just someone else's body. He was not going to think that negatively.

But he looked around the room and again and out of everyone who had gone out, only three were missing. Shambhavi, Nitya and his Raghav, his grandson.

"Yash, where is Raghav?" Narayan questioned his son. "Where is my grandson?" he asked again after a few seconds of silence. He had his eyes trained on the bodies. He looked up to Yash to get an answer but was quite shaken when he saw the raw hatred in the eyes of his son directed towards him.

Aarti had gotten up from where she had been sitting next to the bodies.

She came up right to him and looked him in the eye. Her eyes were blank, as if they were just an instrument to see the world and not a gateway to her soul, as if she herself was soulless.

"Dead," she said, looking straight at him with no emotions in her voice, no tears in her eyes. "Your grandson is dead. "

Arti began laughing then manically. A craze could be heard in her laughter and a madness of sorts.

"Congratulations, Narayan Vashisth. You were so hell bent on making a name for the Vashisht family. You did not want to associate the girls' name with the Vashisht family and you finally got what you wanted all along."

She went on with her rants and no one stopped her. She was, after all, a grieving mother. A mother who had lost three of her children today.

"Your wish came at a price, though. Raghav was the price," she said laughing, without a care in the world.

Narayan felt the world slip from his grasp. The floor slipped from from beneath his feet.

"This is what you wanted. You wanted the Vashisht family name to known, the Vashisht Vansh to be carried out by men and sons,"  Aarti looked at Narayan again.

"Well, Mr. Narayan Vashisht, now the Vashisht vansh will end with Yash," Aarti said with pure raw loathing directed towards Narayan. "And his blood is on your hands. You are the reason the Vashisht vansh has ended today. You are the reason people will forget this family. They will forget the Vashisht name and fame. All because of you," Aarti continued on one with accusation after the other.

Narayan heard every word and every word pierced at him. Every blame was true. He had indeed become the very thing he sought to destroy. He had become the end of his family's name and reputation. And every word set him towards an edge. Finally his control slipped out of his hands.

"I never wanted to hurt Raghav. I just wanted these girls dead," he all but shouted.