Chapter 1
Chapter One
DHRITHI
Dhrithi hid on the floor of her walk-in closet, two lines of gowns and sarees shielding her frozen frame, her body curled into a fetal position, eyes tightly scrunched shut. She could hear her husband on the other side of the door as he wandered through their bedroom, talking to someone on the phone.
Quiet. She had to be quiet.
She heard the closet door open, and her husband walk in, steady, measured footsteps as he paced the length of the space that held his clothes.
“Crypto is taking a beating at the moment, but we can look to moving some funds into high-risk equity.”
The deep baritone that had once thrilled her and now terrified her held an undertone of quiet amusement as he spoke. She heard a sniff as he riffled through his shirts and her blood ran cold. She knew that sniff. She knew what it meant. And more importantly, she knew what it meant for her.
If her husband had just done some lines of cocaine, he was going to be pumped and riding a high that did not bode well for her. A whimper climbed her throat, dying a soundless death as the door to her closet opened. She huddled closer to the back, her eyes tightly shut, much like a child, she hoped that if she couldn’t see the monster, the monster couldn’t see her.
But the monster always saw her.
A large hand wrapped around her ankle, giving it a hard yank. She went flying, her back sliding along the marble flooring, her head bouncing against it, pain splicing through her.
She landed in a crumpled heap at his feet. Varun Gokhale looked down at her and smiled. “Hello Darling. I’m home.”
Dhrithi froze on the ground, her muscles locking in fear. Varun cocked his head, his arms propped on his hips.
“What are you doing in there?” He got down on his haunches, slipping one hand behind her back and hauling her up into a sitting position. “Did you think I wouldn’t find you?” he whispered into her ear. He traced one finger down the sharp curve of her jaw. “I will always find you. You hide. I seek.”
Tremors snaked through Dhrithi’s body as she tried to lean away from Varun, even as he held her in a tight embrace. He brought one hand up to wipe his upper lip, a thin line of white powder coating his forefinger.
“Hide and seek, my love,” he crooned, his eyes huge, the pupils looking like tiny pinpricks. “Do you want to play some more?”
“No.” The word was a bare breath of sound, fear making her almost catatonic. She dug deep, fighting the waves of panic washing through her and forced weight into her words. “You must be tired. Let me get dinner organised.”
“Dinner?” he grinned, teeth bared like a feral animal. “I don’t want dinner.” He leaned forward and licked her, one long swipe from her temple to the curve of her jaw. Dhrithi shuddered. “I want dessert.” His hand tightened painfully around her arm, almost cutting off the blood circulation.
The next second, Dhrithi found herself being dragged to her feet. Varun gave her a hard shove and she went careening into the bedroom, her ankle colliding against the hard, wooden bedframe. The back of his hand caught her cheek and she went flying, her head knocking against the bedpost this time. She blinked back tears of pain, desperately trying to focus.
“Varun please,” she begged, even knowing it will make no difference.
In response, he slid his belt free of its loops, the quiet snick of sound turning her blood to water in her veins.
“In the closet, Dhrithi?” he tsked, rolling his shoulders to loosen them up. “That’s so unimaginative. Surely, the school topper could do better than that.”
She took a shaky step away from him but she wasn’t fast enough. The belt whipped out, the end catching her against the curve of her neck. She bit down on a sharp cry as a red welt rose on her skin. If she cried, she’d only feed the beast within him.
“You’re right,” she whispered, one hand cupping her hurt cheek. “I’m sorry. I should have known better.”
He snapped the belt in his hand making her jump. A slow grin spread across his face at the sight of her fear.
“No, baby. You had the right idea.” He stepped closer, one hand coming up to cradle her jaw. His fingers tightened painfully on the soft underside of it as he tipped her face up. “I like games. I love playing with you.”
He giggled, a soft, silly sound that had her flinching. He reached over and gently tapped her on her shoulder.
“Tag,” he said, grinning. “You’re it.”
She stared at him dumbly, her brain not catching up to the moment. The belt snapped out, the buckle splitting her lower lip, blood fountaining out of it and spilling down her front.
“RUN!” he screamed in her face.
Dhrithi ran. Her heart pounding in her throat, blood dripping down the loose neckline of her t-shirt and her eyes darting feverishly in every direction of the palatial mansion Varun called home and she called a prison.
“Ten. Nine. Eight.”
Varun’s countdown echoed in time to the pulse thundering in her ears. She was racing past the large hall on the ground floor when she saw it. Varun had thrown the keys to his BMW on the console that lined the corridor leading to the hall.
Should she? Was she actually going to do this? Was she going to run like he suggested? If she did and failed…
“Five. Four.”
His voice was getting closer. Dhrithi grabbed the keys and ran out of the door, barefoot and almost tripping over herself to reach the car parked sloppily in front of the house. She threw herself into the driver’s seat and reversed out of the driveway, gravel spitting in her wake.
She glanced at the rearview mirror, her heart plummeting as she spied Varun’s furious face receding in the background. Even before she had cleared the gate, he was racing towards the garage for another car.
She turned onto Carter Road, melding into the traffic on auto pilot. She spotted a familiar grey Mercedes turning on to the road four cars behind. She was almost to Otters Club when he caught up with her. Horn blaring, he came up behind her, one angry arm gesturing to her to pull over.
She couldn’t. Deep in her terrified heart, Dhrithi knew that if she stopped, she was dead. Varun would never forgive her for running, not running till he caught her, but running till he couldn’t.
The headlights of the car behind her flashed, an angry, blinding glare that sent terror shooting through her soul. Dhrithi tore her gaze away from the rearview mirror and stared out at the crowded road. She needed to get on to the long, straight expanse of the Mumbai Sea Link. He wouldn’t try anything as long as she was on the bridge, she told herself. He wouldn’t dare. There were too many people watching.
She just needed to get there. She needed to-
He rammed into her from behind, her car spinning on two wheels before turning turtle and crashing into the divider. Dhrithi fought for control, her seat belt cutting into her chest and crushing it.
She struggled to right the car but when it flipped for the third time, she gave up. Her head smashed against the roof of the car and after that, there was nothing. The dark arrived like it always did and, this time, she didn’t fight it. She surrendered to it.
No more pain, she thought dimly, as her consciousness faded. It was over.