The room was suffocating in darkness. Adi Shekhawat's heart raced as he tried to make sense of the sudden blackout that had taken over. His eyes strained to see through the dense blackness, but nothing came into focus. The silence was suffocating, pressing in on him, his breaths shallow and quick. He could feel Soham beside him, but there was no movement. No sound. His instincts screamed that something was wrong. He had been investigating the murders for days now, and everything was coming to a head in this very room. But nothing had prepared him for what was about to unfold.
Then, as if on cue, the quiet was broken by the click of a flashlight. A beam of light sliced through the room, briefly blinding Adi before it steadied, revealing the figure standing in the center. His pulse quickened. It was her—Mrs. Mehta.
Adi's throat went dry. His mind spun as his eyes locked on her. How had she made it here? How had she evaded them all this time? Mrs. Mehta, Vikram Mehta's mother, the woman whose son had been one of the three victims in this ongoing nightmare. The woman who was supposed to be grieving, not orchestrating death.
The beam of the flashlight caught her features, pale and cold, her expression unreadable. She stood there, calm, almost serene, in the darkened room. Adi's instincts screamed, but he forced himself to remain composed.
"Mrs. Mehta?" Adi's voice was cautious, unsure of what he was about to uncover. "What... what is happening?"
Soham, who had been silent up until now, spoke up. His voice was strained with disbelief. "You're... you're behind this?"
Mrs. Mehta didn't flinch. Her eyes locked on Adi and Soham with chilling clarity. The flashlight remained fixed in her grip, casting long shadows on the walls. "Behind this?" she repeated, almost amused. "No, Officer. I am this."
Adi felt the words cut through him. His gut twisted, and a cold shiver ran down his spine. Mrs. Mehta wasn't just a grieving mother. She wasn't simply a victim of circumstance. No. She was the architect of this nightmare. But why? How?
She stepped forward slowly, the beam of the flashlight now pointed directly at them. "I am the reason your three suspects are dead," she continued, her voice almost clinical in its coldness. "The reason Ravi Sharma, Meenal Raghav, and Vikram Mehta no longer walk this Earth. They thought they could escape. They thought they could keep their secrets. But they couldn't hide from me."
Adi's mind reeled. Ravi Sharma, Meenal Raghav, Vikram Mehta—they were all dead. They were supposed to be victims, subjects of a terrible tragedy, but now Mrs. Mehta was confessing to their murders. It didn't make sense. It couldn't. He needed answers.
"But why?" Adi managed to ask, his voice shaking slightly. "Why kill them?"
Mrs. Mehta's eyes grew cold, her lips curling into a thin, almost imperceptible smile. "Because they deserved it. Because they hurt someone I swore to protect. And when you cross that line, when you harm the innocent... you have to pay."
Soham took a step back, his brow furrowing in confusion and horror. "And you think this makes you some kind of... hero?"
Mrs. Mehta's gaze flickered, and she let out a sharp, almost mocking laugh. "Hero? No. I'm not a hero, Officer. I never claimed to be. I'm something much more dangerous. I'm a mother." Her voice dropped, and her eyes flashed with a terrifying resolve. "And I will do anything to protect my own."
Adi swallowed hard, trying to make sense of her words. He had seen some dark things in his years as a detective, but this—this was something different. Mrs. Mehta wasn't just a grieving mother. She was a woman consumed by rage, by a need for vengeance so powerful that it had driven her to murder. And it seemed that she had carefully planned each of these deaths.
"The three of them—they thought they could get away with it. They thought they could hide their sins. But they were wrong." Mrs. Mehta's eyes narrowed as she recounted each victim. "Ravi Sharma was the first. He was reckless, overconfident. Anaya lured him with a fake business deal, and he thought he could take advantage of her. But he never saw the needle coming. It was quick. Efficient. He didn't even have time to scream."
Adi's stomach churned. He had heard of Ravi's death, but hearing it from Mrs. Mehta, hearing how she had orchestrated it so coldly, sent a chill down his spine. His mind was struggling to process the horror of it all.
"Meenal Raghav," Mrs. Mehta continued, her eyes sharpening, "he wasn't as careless. He thought he could manipulate everyone, play the game, control the narrative. But greed has a way of blindsiding even the smartest of men. Anaya found his weakness, and he walked right into it. The poison was subtle, but it was enough. He didn't know what hit him until it was too late."
Soham's hands clenched into fists, his eyes dark with disbelief. "And Vikram? Your own son?" His voice cracked, and Adi could see the pain in his eyes. This was too much for him to handle. It was too much for anyone.
Mrs. Mehta's gaze softened for a brief moment, but it wasn't pity or sorrow. No, it was something darker. "Vikram was my son," she said, her voice tinged with an emotion that Adi couldn't quite place. "But when I saw what he had become—when I saw the man he had turned into... I knew I had to stop him. He was no longer the boy I raised. He had become one of them."
Adi's heart raced as he pieced it together. Vikram Mehta, the son she had given life to, the son she had nurtured and loved, had become just another monster in the world. And when that happened, when he crossed that line, he was no longer hers to protect. He was a target.
Mrs. Mehta paused, and for the first time since entering the room, she seemed to hesitate. But then the cold resolve returned, and she spoke with finality. "Vikram had to be stopped. He was the last of them. And I looked him in the eyes before I ended it. It wasn't easy, but it had to be done."
Soham recoiled, his face pale. "How could you?"
"I'm a mother," Mrs. Mehta repeated, her voice low but unwavering. "I protect those I love. Even if it means doing things... no one else would ever consider. I didn't do this for revenge. I did it to make sure they never hurt anyone again. And I will do whatever it takes to keep my family safe."
Adi felt like he had been punched in the gut. Mrs. Mehta's words echoed in his mind, and he realized that this wasn't just a case of murder. This was something much deeper. This was a woman whose love for her son had twisted into something dark, something monstrous. But there was more. There was always more.
"Anaya," Adi said, his voice trembling. "What's her role in this? What does she have to do with all of this?"
Mrs. Mehta's eyes darkened, and she stepped closer, her expression hardening. "Anaya came to me," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "She needed my help. The three of them had hurt her. Destroyed her life. And she needed someone to make sure they paid for what they did. She didn't just want them to suffer. She wanted them to disappear. To never hurt anyone again. And I gave her that. I gave her everything."
Adi's heart skipped a beat. "You mean... she knew about all of this?"
Mrs. Mehta nodded slowly. "Anaya was the catalyst. She wanted justice, but she didn't trust the law. She knew it wouldn't be enough to stop them. So she came to me, and together we made sure they paid for their sins."
Soham's voice trembled as he spoke. "And you really think this is justice? Murder?"
Mrs. Mehta didn't flinch. "I don't think. I know. They were criminals. Monsters. And I did what was necessary."
Adi swallowed hard. His mind was racing. There were so many pieces to this puzzle, but none of them seemed to fit together. Why would Mrs. Mehta, a mother, be willing to take things this far? Why would she choose murder over justice?
As the officers moved in to take her away in cuffs, Mrs. Mehta's voice rang out, sharp and clear. "You don't understand, Detective. The Eclipse is coming. And when it does, everything will change."
Adi froze. "The Eclipse?" he repeated, the words sinking in. "What are you talking about?"
Mrs. Mehta's lips curled into a thin smile. "You'll see soon enough. The Eclipse is coming, and when it does, you'll realize just how small your world really is."
And with that, she was gone, taken away by the police. But her words lingered in the
air, echoing through the room. And as Adi stared after her, a sinking feeling settled in his gut. The Eclipse was coming. But what did it mean? What did it all mean?
The darkness that had loomed over him for so long seemed deeper now. And with each passing moment, he felt as though the answers were slipping farther and farther away.