“Daddy!” Smriti clung to him like her life depended on it. It probably did. “I am so, so sorry, Daddy. Please forgive me. I don’t know…”

“No sweetheart. I am sorry. I should have told you the truth. And I will rectify that mistake as soon as we go back. Let me thank her… Who is she?”

“My step mother.”

“Her mother had saved her once, seventeen years ago. You saved her today,” Siddhartha told her, “She is fortunate to have two women like you as mothers.”

“I wish I were as brave as Karishma. I’d have had a daughter only slightly younger to her then.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ruchi turned to Mou, “You are the journalist?”

“Yes.”

“Won’t you do something about it? Not every woman is as brave as…”

“The only reason we didn’t do anything,” Siddhartha replied instead of Mou, “Was because Karishma did not want Smriti to be dragged into this. She wanted her to have an uncomplicated life. But now Vikram has involved her in this. There is no reason for us to avoid facing it head on. But are you ready to let your family members go to jail?”

“I don’t give a damn.”

“A sting operation is in order, then,” Mou assured her.

—

Smriti told them about how she had come to know about being adopted and why she had been so curious about her past. Then she sat listening in silence, tears flowing unrestrained from her eyes, as Siddhartha and Mou told her the story of Karishma and how she had saved her.

“Enough darling,” Siddhartha held her, “Stop crying. The nightmare is over. We are going back home tomorrow.”

Smriti nodded, but still overcome with guilt, she burst into apologies, “I was so rude to you Daddy. I’m so, so sorry.”

He smiled, “I wouldn’t mind if you called me Prof. Sen once in a while. Your Mamma used to call me that.”

That made her smile.

“Go now and wash your face. Let me see my bright, little girl again. I don’t like this crying baby.”

When Smriti went out of the room, Siddhartha turned to Mou. “I am surprised that they haven’t come after us yet. If they went to such lengths to get that property, will they let her go so easily?”

Mou smiled. “Ruchi had called me. She told them that she was forced by me to help Smriti. That I had done a sting operation in that clinic, when she had gone there with one of the younger women of the family and had captured them on camera. That The family’s secret could be outed on TVif she didn’t help Smriti or if they tried to come after her.”

“Is that true?”

“No. I will do one now, of course. But I haven’t done any. She just made all that up.”

“Thank God!”

“He was so deceitful Daddy,” Smriti talked about Vikram Jain, “So convincingly acting that he was missing his daughter all these years. All this while killing so many others. Even his mother showed her true colors quickly. But not him.”

“I can imagine that,” Mou said.

“You were right, Mou Auntie. Men are hopeless. I will never marry.”

“Arr… But not all are. Your Daddy isn’t.”

“Yes. But he is one of a kind. Even you couldn’t find another, could you?”

Siddhartha and Mou burst out laughing.

“Don’t be so hasty, Darling. You will find one who is good for you. Just make sure he has your Daddy’s approval,” Mou said jocularly.

“I will never do anything without Daddy’s approval,” Smriti was somber.

“Don’t be so harsh on yourself,” Siddhartha stroked her head lovingly, “Men might be hopeless. But if women, instead of being servile, took their decisions and destinies in their hands, nothing can stop them. Didn’t your Mamma save you? And she didn’t even fight head on.”

“Mamma was brave, wasn’t she Papa? And a true feminist.”

“Yes. She not only exercised her choices, she even created them. She was no Anna.”

“Anna?”

He smiled indulgently, “We will discuss when you have read Anna Karenina.”

“That’s a thick book, Daddy. And an ancient one too.”

“Yes. You mother, and even Mou Auntie, had read it for an assignment.”

Mou smiled nostalgically.

“It will take me a lifetime.” Smriti was inclined towards Sciences unlike her mother. The thick classics were daunting for her.

Siddhartha chuckled. “It’s okay. You focus on what you have chosen to study. ”

“I need a new phone. Those wretched, greedy people stole my phone.”

“A small price to pay for having you back safely.”

“And for making me appreciate what I have, Daddy,” she smiled at him. She had become mature all of a sudden.

“I will buy you one,” Mou said, “Let’s go. We can do with a little outing right now. How does an iPhone sound?”

“iPhone?” Smriti’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Don’t buy something so costly Mou,” Siddhartha objected, “She doesn’t need it.”

“She has learned the greatest lesson in life today. She deserves a great reward. Let’s go.”

Siddhartha did not object to that. “Let’s go,” he said cheerfully.

– The End –