Love Happens With A Twist

7

Mumbai

•
Her bank manager called her immediately after her transaction.

"I told you this would happen." Lakshmi said.

"I won't answer then."

"Have you gone mad? If you don't answer, things can get worse. It may even reach Anand, and you know he will keep pressing the matter until he gets to the bottom of it."

"Stop it," she answered, panicking, not wanting her father to ever find out about the video.

"Good evening, ma'am. I'm very sorry for disturbing you at this time of the day, but there have been a series of suspicious transactions in your account. We wanted to confirm if it was you or your account could have been hacked.

"This. They said scammers could easily hack into your system. I'm sorry, but I don't trust you with keeping my money. I've decided to change bank."

"I'm very sorry you were informed that. I assure you, whoever told you that lied to you. You have been banking with us for many years. We've never given you any reason to complain. At least, before cutting us off, you could have informed us if there was a problem, and we'd have corrected it immediately. Please, ma'am, don't leave just like that."

"Don't call me again. I'm aware that I transferred the money. Goodbye. And please, there's no need for anyone to learn this. If you do, you'll bear the loss because a lot of people will deactivate their accounts. I think the wisest decision will be to keep this between us. Also, I won't close my account at the bank; don't worry. My salaries will still be sent there. Goodbye." She hung up. Tears still stood inside her eyes because of regret and despair. She couldn't believe she had nothing left, of course, excluding her properties. But what if she never invested? Then?

"Come on. We will get your money back. The man will be caught soon, as he messed with the wrong people. He will pay you back with interest, I promise. I will go contact some of my men to track him down." Lakshmi said and went out to do that. On the other hand, Poonam didn't want to take any risk of her life being snatched from her. She called Rudra's line, who answered before it rang,

"I was about to call you. What gift would your father like more? A bouquet of flowers or a box of sweets?" came his overly excited voice.

"Father won't be coming tonight. I will get back to you tomorrow. Bye." She ended the call quickly without wasting time so that she could call the blackmailer and inform him she had done as he asked.

"Hello. Rudra isn't meeting Father. I also sent the money."

"Yes. I want to delete it in your presence. Meet me at the Shiv Mandir in twenty minutes. Note, if you try to come with someone,"

"Don't worry. No one is coming with me."

****

"I'm going to meet someone now. Station your people all over the mandir. He is a thief who stole all my money. Nab him and take him to the warehouse, where you will interrogate him and retrieve them. You will be paid handsomely if you get the job done. After I recover the money, make sure he dies. Kill him." She spoke with one of her men, who specialises in killing people professionally.

"Sure. It will be like you asked. Five of us will follow you, and when you give us a sign, we will seize him."

The man listened to the plan they were making in their garden despite his warning to her not to inform anyone. He wasn't surprised, though. She seemed immature. But he was also prepared and was clear about what he wanted, which he would achieve no matter what tonight.

He left his hotel room to reach the temple at least thirty minutes before her so that he could arrange everything he needed. When he arrived, there were no people except his colleagues, whom he informed to be there as witnesses, and a priest who was setting up things they would need to conduct the marriage. The sound of the tyres screeching informed him she was there.

"She's not alone. You know what you must do. Arrest the others. There are five of them." The man who watches her instructed them.

Poonam, on the other hand, got out of her car, her purse carrying her phone clutched tightly against her belly, as she started to take the steps that reached the temple. No one at home knew she was out, as she thought she would nab the man and take him into her custody before her father's flight landed in Mumbai. When she arrived and entered, she was met with arrangements for a wedding in the temple, which was quite unusual at that time of the day. Nonetheless, her mind ignored it since that was not what she was there for, and instead, it started roaming around in search of the blackmailer.

"Is anyone here?" she shouted, her voice echoing through the walls of the temple.

"Yes. I am here," a voice answered her from behind. She turned to see who the blackmailer was but instead received a shock that made her freeze. Instead of a blackmailer, cops were there, and like it couldn't get any worse, they foiled her plan because they had arrested the people who were meant to nab the blackmailer.

"I don't know what they told you, but I'm innocent. I swear, I haven't done anything." She started to take quick steps backwards in order to make herself escape the temple, as she didn't want to be arrested like all of them.

"Freeze Poonam! If you take one more step, I will shoot you," the guy in their middle uttered while fiercely pointing a gun at her. His face was kind of familiar the more she looked at it. Finally, she realised he was the same man who appeared before her last night, asking for her hand in marriage.

Her lips opened in disbelief to find words, as she kept breathing with a heavy burden in her heart. "You have been a cop all along?" Tears rolled out of her eyes, and she found herself trapped in the situation with no route of escape. She regretted not informing Lakshmi that she was meeting the blackmailer. Maybe she could have come to her aid.

"If we take these people to prison, they will be interrogated. They're professional killers who murder people when ordered. Who ordered them this time? They will take your name. After everything you've done, you still want to take another life. Don't you have a single ounce of sympathy in you?" He blurted with disgust, and she sobbed loudly to try to earn his sympathy since last night he mentioned he wanted to marry her. Who knows, maybe he has a soft spot.

"I have your tape. I am your blackmailer. I can do you a favour tonight. You can return to your home only if you agree to marry me." He blurted, as that was the only way he could use to take his revenge.

"I'm going to be engaged. I'm sorry. I can't. I sent you money already."

"Either this tape will reach the station or you will reach my house. There can't be an in-between. Choose what you want. Either marry me or surrender," he told her, raising his cuffs.

"Let me remind you that you're not innocent either. You took my money. Which law permits bribery? You accepted a bribe from me. If I surrender, you will be dismissed because you stalked me too. You are still trying to...

"Arrest her. Let her forward her complaint in court when she's pronounced guilty and given the death sentence, because that's the only time someone will listen to her. We will see then, ma'am," he emphasised, mocking the title, "if I am dismissed or if I keep being in office."

"Fine. Arrest me. I already told you about our wealth. I may have no cash now, but I still have properties. My father still has his wealth intact. He will bail me out. Wait and watch. He won't let me spend the night there. I'd rather die than marry an Indian police officer. How much do they pay you people? An average coffee seller by the roadside earns more than you." She blabbered everything that came to her mind due to fear of the cuffs her eyes highlighted that kept growing near her. Her hands were seized, and she realized he was not there for a joke after they put the cuffs in them.

"Okay, okay. Let me go. I accept. I will marry you." She was shaking tremendously when it touched her. The person who put them in withdrew, and the other man smirked as he knew she would give in eventually.