Anaya knew she couldn't rush this. A direct confrontation with Raghav would tip him off. She needed more.
She leaned back in her chair, her mind racing. If her mother had ever suspected something, there had to be a trail.
Her mother, Aarohi Kapoor, had been sharp, intuitive. If she had sensed even the slightest change in Raghav after that year-long business trip, she wouldn't have ignored it.
Anaya exhaled, determination settling over her.
She needed to find out what her mother knew.
The next morning, Anaya took the excuse of reviewing old Kapoor family properties and made her way to her mother's private study in their Delhi estate.
The room had been locked for years, untouched since Aarohi's death. Raghav had never bothered to enter—perhaps because he already knew what was inside.
As she stepped in, dust motes danced in the golden morning light. Everything was just as she remembered her mother's bookshelves, her writing desk, the faint scent of old paper and lavender.
Anaya's fingers skimmed across the polished wood of the desk. If her mother had investigated something, she wouldn't have left it in the open.
She needed to look where only Aarohi would think to hide it.
She turned toward the bookshelf. The second shelf third book from the right.
Her mother's favorite book. A habit Anaya had learned from her.
She pulled it out, her breath catching when she felt resistance. The book didn't slide out normally.
Instead, it shifted the back panel of the shelf.
A secret compartment.
Anaya quickly pried it open.
Inside, tucked neatly away, was a leather-bound diary.
Her mother's handwriting was unmistakable.
Her heart pounded as she carefully lifted the diary, dust falling from its edges.
This was it.
She flipped it open, her breath hitching as she read the first page.
"Something is wrong with Raghav."
"He left for London on a business trip. When he returned a year later, he was different."
"At first, I thought it was just stress. But I started noticing little things small habits that changed. He used to drink his tea without sugar. Now, he adds a spoonful. He never liked the scent of sandalwood, but now he wears it. His handwriting has changed. His temper is shorter. His voice is the same, but sometimes… his words feel foreign, as if he's carefully choosing them."
"And the worst part—he hesitated when I asked about his childhood. As if he had to think about it. As if he had to remember something that should have been second nature."
"This is not the same man I married."
"I don't know what happened on that trip. But I will find out."
Anaya's hands trembled as she turned the page.
Her mother had known.
Aarohi had sensed something was terribly wrong and she had begun watching him.
Anaya swallowed hard.
If her mother had gotten this far…
Had that been the reason she was killed?
Her stomach twisted at the thought.
She wasn't just uncovering the past.
She was walking the same path her mother had once walked.
And this time, she had to finish what Aarohi started.
Anaya's pulse hammered in her ears as she turned the pages. The more she read, the deeper the pit in her stomach grew.
Her mother had been thorough too thorough. She hadn't just suspected Raghav had changed. She had investigated him.
And what she found was beyond disturbing.
Diary Entry – Six Months After Raghav's Return
"I finally gathered the courage to look through Raghav's old belongings. I needed to be sure. And now, I wish I hadn't."
"There are things missing—his old letters, his childhood photos, even his mother's last note to him. It's as if someone erased parts of his past. But there's something even more terrifying. His passport."
"The pages before his London trip are missing. Torn out. Why?"
"I confronted him about it. He laughed, said they got damaged, that it wasn't important. But something in his eyes—he was afraid. For the first time in our marriage, I saw fear in Raghav Kapoor's eyes."
"What was he hiding?"
Diary Entry – One Year After His Return
"I followed him today. I shouldn't have, but I did. He went to an old warehouse on the outskirts of Delhi. Stayed inside for hours."
"When he finally came out, he wasn't alone."
"There was another man with him. A man I have never seen before. But he wasn't just anyone—he was someone from Raghav's past. I could see it in the way they spoke, in the way he looked at him. This man knew him. The real him."
"But then… Raghav saw me. Our eyes met for just a second, and I knew. I knew in that moment that he realized I was watching."
"That night, he came home and held me too tightly. Kissed me too sweetly. Asked if I was happy. But I could see the calculation in his eyes."
"He's watching me now."
"And I think… he knows."
Anaya's fingers dug into the pages as she turned to the next entry, her heart pounding.
The next date was one month before her mother's death.
The ink was smudged in places, as if her mother's hands had been shaking while writing it.
Diary Entry – One Month Before Aarohi's Murder
"I found an old photograph today. It was hidden inside one of Raghav's old books, one I know he hasn't touched in years."
"It was of Raghav and his old business partner—Vikram Sethi."
"But the thing that haunts me is the third man in the picture. A man who looks exactly like my husband."
"Twins? No. He never mentioned a brother. A relative? Maybe. But then… why was this photo hidden?"
"Unless…"
"Unless the man I married is not Raghav Kapoor at all."
"Unless the real Raghav Kapoor is dead."
Anaya's breath came in sharp gasps as she clutched the diary.
Her mother had figured it out.
Aarohi Kapoor had realized the man in her home was not her husband—and one month later, she was murdered.
This wasn't just about money or power.
This was about a stolen life.
Anaya closed the diary, her heart pounding.
Raghav Kapoor wasn't just a fraud.
He was a murderer.
And now, she knew why her mother was killed.
Her hands clenched into fists.
Raghav—no, Vikram Sethi—had gotten away with it for decades. He had erased a man's existence, taken his place, and built an empire on blood.
And no one had ever questioned it.
Except her mother.
And now, Anaya.
Her mother's journey had ended in tragedy.
But hers wouldn't.
She would finish what Aarohi started.
She would expose him.
And she would make him pay.