“They said they’d hurt Kavya—”
“Who were you talking to? The calls at 7:15. I barred them.” call barring
The police traced the syndicate through the internet café’s CCTV. Within a week, three men were arrested. Nikhil returned from Thailand, pale and apologetic, and checked himself into a rehabilitation center. Rohan’s phone remained on the family plan, call barring now permanently enabled—not to hide a lie, but to block unknown numbers and rebuild trust. “They said they’d hurt Kavya—” “Who were you
“I was going to pay the final installment tonight,” he whispered. “Ten lakhs. After that, they promised to leave us alone. But when the calls stopped, I thought they’d gotten impatient. I thought they’d already…” Within a week, three men were arrested
She watched through the café’s grimy window as Rohan spoke into the receiver, gesticulating wildly. Then he slammed the phone down and walked out, his shoulders slumped. She stepped out of the auto.
“They’ll hurt her more if we keep paying. You know that.” She dialed 100, her hand steady. “The call barring didn’t break them, Rohan. It broke the spell. No more secrets.”
The daily 7:15 PM calls weren’t romantic liaisons. They were instructions. Drop a bag of cash under the third bench of Cubbon Park. Transfer cryptocurrency to a shell account. Never tell the police, or Kavya would be picked up from her bus stop. Rohan had been living in a silent prison, his phone the only key.