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Part 2: The Second Face

 The Second Face 


> “A killer can hide behind a smile, and truth can rot behind silence.”The room was heavy. No one spoke. The words spoken by 84-year-old Gauri Devi echoed like thunder in a storm.

> “The killer is someone none of you will suspect.”And then she said the name:“Neela.”

The silence cracked like glass. Rajendra stared at his wife. Neela turned pale. The others looked stunned. Inspector Anjana Rawat didn’t blink.

---

🧩 Suspicion Turns

“Me?” Neela whispered, her voice shaking. Gauri Devi looked at her coldly. “You were always hiding something. Your eyes never cried when you saw Sushant’s dead body.”

Neela stammered, “I... I didn’t kill him! Yes, I had secrets. But I would never kill anyone!” Anjana stepped forward. “Then explain the letters, Neela. Letters from a man named Vivek, warning you about Sushant.”

Neela dropped her head. Her hands trembled.

---

📜 The Hidden Past

Neela finally spoke, “Vivek... was my ex-fiancé. Years ago, before I married Rajendra. I left him when I got married into this family. He never forgave me.”

“Sushant found out. He saw us meeting secretly. But it wasn’t romantic... he was blackmailing me.”She pulled out an envelope from her bag.

> It had a note. Handwritten. It read:“If you don’t convince Dadi to change the will, your past becomes your future.”

She added, “I didn’t kill Sushant. I was afraid he would expose me... ruin everything. But I swear, I didn't touch him.”

---

🔎 Sharad Under Pressure

Anjana turned to Sharad, the manager. “You said you were in the kitchen at 2 AM,” she said.

“Yes, madam,” Sharad replied nervously.“But Neela said she saw you walking near the storeroom at 1:45 AM.”

Sharad froze. “There’s flour on your shoes,” Anjana pointed. “Same as the old pantry. Where the secret tunnel leads.”

Sharad fell silent.“I was told... to scare Sushant,” he whispered. “Not kill him.”“Who told you?” Anjana asked. Sharad looked at Rajendra.

---

💣 The Brother’s Fall

All eyes turned to Rajendra. He stood up slowly. “Yes. I asked Sharad to confront Sushant. He was trying to take everything from me. Dadi was changing the will. I wanted to stop it.”

“But I didn’t ask anyone to kill him!” he shouted.

Anjana crossed her arms. “So you sent a man through a secret tunnel to threaten your own brother... and hoped what? That he’d get scared and leave?”

Rajendra fell into his chair. “He was going to destroy me...”

“But you didn’t kill him?” she asked again.“I swear,” Rajendra muttered, “I never touched him.”

---

🗝️ A Clue in the Pocket

Anjana stepped away and opened a case file. She pulled out a photo — a locket found in Sushant’s hand.Inside it: a childhood photo of Sushant and Sandhya.Anjana turned to Sandhya.“You said you were asleep. But he had your locket. Why?”

Sandhya blinked. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen that in years. I thought I lost it.”Anjana paused. “Or maybe you gave it to him recently.”

Sandhya’s voice trembled. “He was my brother... I loved him. But... he had started changing. Obsessive. Dark.”Everyone stared.

---

🕯️ The Night of the Murder

Anjana turned toward the whiteboard behind her, revealing the reconstructed timeline:

12:30 AM – Neela seen entering the hallway

1:15 AM – Sharad enters the storeroom

1:45 AM – Rajendra argues with Sushant (voice heard through wall)

2:00 AM – A scream from the silent room

2:15 AM – Room found locked from inside

2:30 AM – All back to their rooms, pretending to sleep “No one admits to killing Sushant,” Anjana said. “Yet all had a reason.”

---


💔 The Twist No One Saw

As Anjana started to leave, Gauri Devi called out.

> “Wait. There’s one person you forgot to ask...” Everyone looked around. All had been questioned. Except one. Ramprasad. The old servant, always in the background, always invisible.

Anjana turned. “Ramprasad. Where were you during the night?”

“I was cleaning the veranda, madam,” he said calmly. “Alone?”............“Yes.”She walked slowly toward him. “You’ve worked here 30 years. You knew about the secret passage.”He nodded. “Yes. I did.”

She asked gently, “Did Sushant ever ask you about it?”He nodded again. “Two days before he died.”

“Did he go through it?”Ramprasad looked up.“No. He asked me to follow someone else.”

Everyone froze.

“Who?” Anjana asked.

Ramprasad paused.

And then quietly said...“Dadi.”



---


🩸 To Be Continued...


🕯️ Coming Next – Part 3: "The Inheritance"

The Lonely Pen By Aj 

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