Sunehri Kahani - Between the Lines

"So," Veer said, his voice deceptively calm as he stared down the twins, "you must be Anu and Rohail. The cousins I never knew existed until five minutes ago."

The twins exchanged nervous glances, frozen in place. Rohail was the first to recover, stepping forward with his hand extended.

"Nice to finally meet you, Veer Bhai. We've heard a lot about-"

Veer's hand shot out, not to shake Rohail's but to grab his collar, yanking him forward until they were face to face. "Don't you dare call me that," he hissed, eyes flashing with barely contained rage. "You have no right. No right whatsoever."

"Bhai, please!" Zaara cried from her corner, taking a step forward. "Let him go! Lag Jayegi Bhai!"

Veer released Rohail with a small shove, turning his fury toward Zaara. "Maine kaha tha na chup raho!" he shouted, pointing a warning finger at her. "Ek shabd nahi! Not another word from you. I'll deal with you later."

Zaara shrank back, tears streaming down her face as Veer turned back to the twins, who had instinctively moved closer together.

"What exactly was your brilliant plan here?" Veer demanded, his voice dripping with contempt. "Sneak into our house, fill my sister's head with lies about your father, and then what? Did you think this would end well for any of you?"

"They're not lies," Anu said quietly but firmly, finding her courage. "Humne koi jhooth nahi bola. Everything we've told Zaara is the truth. Our father was trying to help your family, not hurt it."

"Help?" Veer laughed bitterly, the sound harsh and humorless. "Is that what you call it? Tumhare pitaji ne madad ki? Where was this 'help' when my mother was in the hospital? Where was this 'help' when Viren bhaiya had to fight alone for custody of Zaara? Where was this 'help' during all those years we struggled to survive?"

"You don't understand," Rohail interjected, his voice steadier than before despite the fear evident in his eyes. "Dad tried to reach out so many times. He sent letters, evidence, explanations, but your brother refused to even read them."

"Don't you dare put this on Bhaiya," Veer snapped, taking a threatening step forward that made Rohail instinctively back up. "You have no idea what he gave up to keep us together."

"We know more than you think," Anu said, her voice trembling slightly. "We found the affidavit. The real one. It proves our father never signed bail papers for Aditya Roy."

"I don't care what piece of paper you found," Veer growled, his patience visibly thinning. "Documents can be forged. Stories can be fabricated. But fifteen years of silence? That speaks for itself."

His eyes narrowed as he noticed the second phone in Rohail's hand. "Give me that."

Rohail instinctively stepped back, clutching the phone tighter. "This is mine."

Veer's expression darkened as he moved forward with deliberate steps. "I said, give me the phone."

Something in Veer's eyes made Rohail swallow hard. He glanced at Zaara, who nodded slightly, and reluctantly handed over his burner phone.

Veer scrolled through it quickly, his face growing more thunderous with each message he read. "Sameer Shetty? You've been contacting Sameer Shetty?" His voice was low but filled with disbelief.

"He was just a lawyer who worked on the case," Anu explained. "We thought he might have information-"

"Just a lawyer?" Veer cut her off. "Sameer Shetty was convicted of evidence tampering in Aditya Roy's case. He's dangerous. Do you have any idea what kind of people you've been messing with?"