Five faces - Final part

Chapter 12

Tripti fell down. Her eyes were flooded with tears. Amit went near her and sat with her. Amit went to get a glass of water for her. Tripti was not in her senses anymore. She kept crying. Amit sat with her for sometime.

When she stopped crying Amit said "That is what happens when you let go of the criminals. They can never change. You released them and they killed your husband. But this is enough. I promise you Tripti they will be behind the bars now." He stood up and took his gun and was walking towards the door.

"Leave them, Amit. They are far away from your reach now." Tripti said and stood up.

"Don't tell me you have helped them get out of the country." he said

"They must be gone by now." she said

"Where have you sent them Tripti ? How can you be so stupid ?" he asked her. 

"I can't tell you that. But I want you to stop this chase game. Let them live in peace." she said

"Have you gone mad ? They have killed your husband." he said

"No, they haven't." she said

"Of course they have." he said

"No, Amit. They have been with you since yesterday afternoon. I released them at midnight and they went straight to the place where I told them how they could kill him." she said

"Maybe they fooled you. Or maybe they already had done something with Shantanu whose effect was slow on his body." he suggested. 

"No, they haven't done anything like that Amit." he said

"Then who killed your husband? How many enemies does he have ?" Amit asked irritatedly. 

Tripti did not reply. 

"Maybe you are too tired and not in senses. Let's go to Shantanu's funeral. Maybe after some days when you'll be fine we will deal with all these." he said

"Yes. I need to go there. I had promised him that I'll come to meet him tomorrow. He must be waiting. I have to meet him." Tripti said, looking at the front door.

Amit was scared now for Tripti. It was clearly visible that the shock had affected her mind.

"Do you need some rest ?" he asked 

"No, I want to see him, don't you understand ?" she screamed. Her face was red with anger. 

Amit did not say anything and took her to Shantanu's house immediately. As soon as they reached Tripti ran towards Shantanu's body and sat near him. After a while she started saying something in his ear. Amit was worried for Tripti. The shock had traumatized her. He hoped that she would be fine soon. His anger towards Dev and Adisha increased even more. He felt he was responsible for Tripti's condition. He had told her to come to the farm house leaving Shantanu behind. He had assured her that Shantanu will be safe. But he had failed. Although it was Tripti's fault too. She had released the criminals. But still Amit felt bad. He went towards his friend who was keeping a watch at Shantanu's house for so many days. He was also present at the funeral. 

"Tell me all the details." he asked his friend.

"No one has come to his house since yesterday except Tripti. He was at Arunesh's house yesterday till evening. After that he came with Tripti. They were in there for sometime and then she left. Nobody came after that. Today morning his friend had come to meet him. But even after ringing the bell several times he did not open the door. That's when I grew suspicious. His friend went away. So, I went towards his house and rang the bell several times. I called the police and when we went inside he was dead in his bed. Police found out that he was given poison." he said

"When ?" Amit asked.

His friend did not say anything. 

"I'm asking you something." Amit said

"Actually he was given poison at night in his dinner." he said

"But Saanya did not come home after Arunesh's death so how is that possible ? Maybe she mixed something beforehand and Shantanu ate it for dinner. But why will he do this stupidity? He already had doubts about Saanya. What do you think ?" Amit asked

"Are you really not getting it, Amit ?" his friend asked.

"What ?... Oh…yeah…Tripti also had dinner with him. So, if there was poison in dinner she would also have..umm….which means poison was not in the dinner. Am I right ?" Amit asked 

"What ? What are you saying Amit ? Police are sure it was in his dinner. They have the post mortem reports." he said

"But then how is it possible that he is dead and she is alive when they had dinner together." he asked

"It is possible if she is the one who mixed the poison." he said

"What ? Have you gone mad or what ? Why would she kill her ex-husband ? They are divorced. But that doesn't mean that there are no feelings left. She didn't have any hard feelings for him but she still cared about him. I've seen it. Also, she is the most kind-hearted person. She doesn't even have a motive." Amit argued.

"What do you know about her relationship with her husband ? Maybe there could be some problems." he said

"Whatever the problem is, it couldn't be so big that she would kill him. Also, she took all these risks to come here with me and protect him." Amit said 

"Well, I'm just suggesting what I understood from all the clues. You have the choice to not believe me. Find out the truth in your own way." he said

Amit was sure that Tripti couldn't do it but still after listening to everything he was clueless now.

Amit looked at Tripti. She was looking at Shantanu. It was as if she was having a conversation with him through her soul. 

Shantanu's body was taken for his last rites. 

Amit went near her. 

"Who do you think could have killed Shantanu, Tripiti ?" he asked.

Tripti did not reply. Her face was pale. Amit was scared now. 

"I'm asking you something." he said

She did not reply and turned her face away from him.

"You….you are… not responsible…for his death..right ? Are you ?" he asked.

"Why do you think I came here by taking so much risk? I was on a mission to save Dev and Adisha from you and to kill Shantanu." she said

Amit felt as if the ground beneath his feet had moved. The world was ending. He couldn't believe what he heard. It was the most shocking thing for him. Tripti had tears in her eyes.

"Why ?" Amit asked

Tripti looked at him. Before she could say something, darkness engulfed her surroundings. She couldn't see anything properly. She was unable to stand on her feet any longer. Slowly, it was all dark. 

Tripti had fainted due to trauma, shock and exhaustion. Amit took her to hospital. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask her. But his mind wasn't in his control anymore. His mind was surrounded by multiple thoughts. He wished that whatever Tripti had said must be a joke or something that she said without thinking. Tripti gained consciousness after some time. She saw Amit. He didn't say anything to her. She stayed silent for sometime and then she spoke on her own - "I didn't come to India because I didn't like being in London. I came back because my sister had committed suicide. She was raped and when she didn't get justice she killed herself." 

Amit was shocked. 

"You don't know what a family has to go through when such an incident happens. My entire life was ruined by that accident. Our family was never the same. I came back for last rites and decided to never go back and take revenge. I joined the police force and killed all the criminals who were responsible for my sister's death. After that I started sympathising with those victims who had similar stories as my family. I killed those criminals who were saved by lack of evidence or bribe. I was sincerely working on this case until that night in Mumbai when I was kidnapped. The ones who kidnapped me knew my story and that's why they kidnapped me and not you. They were Dev's friends. They told me Adisha's story and soon I agreed to help them in their mission. The only condition that I had kept was that you shouldn't get any harm in this mission and that is why Adisha and Dev or his friends didn't do anything to you." she said

Amit was taken aback. All this information was too much for him to digest at once. 

"How could you kill your own husband ?" he asked

"How could he remain silent even when he had witnessed such a heinous crime. If he had supported Adisha she would have got justice and no one would have died. The one who chooses silence is a greater criminal than the one who committed it. He deserved a tragic end. I'm done with my mission. I have betrayed you so hand me over to the police. I will take responsibility of all the murders. Leave Dev and Adisha. Also, if I surrender you will get the credit to solve the case. Call the police. I'm ready for confession. she said

"Take rest first. Will talk about this later." Amit told her and went outside. 

Amit was in the biggest dilemma of his life. Just a few months back this wouldn't have been a tough decision for him but now it was. Because now for the first time in his life he was falling in love with someone. But that person betrayed him. She was a criminal and he was a police officer. His duty was to arrest her. But still his heart couldn't agree. Also, deep down he felt that she wasn't completely wrong. For the first time his morals were against his duties. Amit kept thinking for two days. He didn't talk to Tripti or anyone else. After two days he finally decided what he would do. First of all he apologized to his senior for not being able to catch criminals and told him that he wants to resign. His senior told him that he wouldn't let anyone know and he would save him, he doesn't need to quit. But Amit had decided. He saved Tripti by giving a statement to police that Saanya was responsible for Shantanu's death. He gave the false statement that Shantanu had consumed food that Saanya had made the other day. He told them that Tripti was saved as she didn't have it otherwise she would have died too. He knew police will never be able to catch Saanya as she had used a different face for every murder. She had four faces and the fifth face was Tripti. Her name and documents were fake too. Also she was sent to a safe place by Tripti.

Amit told Tripti to go back and join her duty. Tripti was shocked. When he couldn't decide a thing about the case he had called his mom. For the first time he wanted someone else's opinion. And after that he did what she told him to do. But she didn't know that Amit has some other plans too. He surprised her by going to Kolkata. He told her that he'll be staying with her from then onwards. Her mom was overflowing with joy. He started doing a course on criminal psychology. After that incident Tripti tried calling Amit many times. But he never picked up her call. She missed him. She was all alone again. After her sister's death it was difficult for her to fall in love with life again. But then Shantanu left. She became her own support and then she had to kill him. She was all alone again. She wasn't the same bubbly and lively person as she was before that incident. 

After two years, on one fine day she came back home late from her work. Amit's mom had called her to tell her that she will be coming to meet her at her house. Tripti had told his guard to let her come into the house in her absence. As soon as she entered the house she was shocked. Her entire house was decorated with red roses and balloons. And Amit stood there in the centre of the hall. He had a rose in his hand and he was on his knees.

"It's been two years but I'm still stuck with your thoughts. You are weird, unconventional and dangerous. You don't follow rules. But still I feel that whatever you do is never done with wrong intentions. And no matter what you do I'll always be in love with you. So, I have left everything for you. I will be working as a private detective in India. For so long I've been looking for a house and I've finally found it. You are my home. Will you marry me ?" he asked.

Tripti had tears in her eyes. "Yes" she said and started crying. Amit knew that Tripti would need some time to move on after Shantanu's death. So, Amit decided not to tell her anything for two years. He waited for her to be ready. Also, he had finally realised what truly made him happy. His mom, a woman whom he was in love with by his side and a job where he can help people. He loved working at his mom's NGO. And he decided to be a person like Tripti. The one who is always there for those who need her. The one saves the weak. The one who delivers justice. He didn't know if it was right or not but it felt right and that's what mattered the most to him.

They had a court marriage. Slowly, Tripti's parents also started coming to their house to meet them. Amit's mom also started staying with them. Their house was a happy one now.

One day when Amit came back from work, he saw that Tripti was arranging dinner plates. Many dishes were cooked. 

"Is someone coming for dinner?" he asked

"Yes. But promise me you won't be angry when you see them." she said

"Why would I be angry ? Who's coming ?" he asked

"They were scared to come here but I promised them that you won't do anything. Please don't let my promise break." she said

"Fine. I won't get angry. Tell me who is coming ?" he asked

"There they are." Tripti pointed.

One girl and guy were standing at the door. 

"Please come inside,'' Tripti told them." she said 

Amit felt that he had seen them somewhere. Soon he recognised them. They were Dev and Adisha. Amit was shocked. He knew that Tripti had saved Dev and Adisha but he never imagined that she would call them home for dinner. 

"You are the craziest person in the world. Who calls criminals to the house ?" he told her in a low voice.

"A criminal and a police officer." she said and laughed. 

"You guys already know each other. So, Dev and Adisha Amit have moved to India and is working here now. Amit Dev is working in a Pharma company and Adisha is working in an IT company. They are married and living a happy and normal life." she said

"That's great." Amit said

"Thank you sir and ma'am. For letting us go and for helping us in getting settled." Adisha said

"Leave all that. Let's all start fresh." Amit said

They all had dinner together. They had a great time together. All of them had seen some very tough moments in life. But finally they were happy. After some time Dev and Adisha went to their home.

Amit and Tripti were cleaning the table when Amit got a call.

"Hello, I need help. They will kill me." Someone said

"Who ?" Amit asked.

The line got cut.

The end. So, that's it. This was the end of the story. Hope you guys liked it. Do let me know in the comments about your views. The end can be considered as the end or a beginning. If you really liked the story then do let me know I'll make a sequel otherwise this is the end. Loved writing it and reading your views. Keep sharing your views and keep supporting.