The Blue Voice [ON HOLD]

CHAPTER 8

A wave of shock rippled through Tripti as the accusing fingers of the Kartikey pointed decisively at Ravindra, putting him into the spotlight of suspicion. The atmosphere in the room thickened with an unspoken tension that gripped Tripti's senses. The weight of this unexpected accusation surrounded her like a cloud, leaving her disoriented and struggling to reconcile the person she once knew as Ananya's only friend.

Turning to Ravindra, her eyes sought answers in the familiar contours of his troubled gaze, but what she found was an uncanny blankness. His silence became a deafening roar which echoed with the gravity of the allegations.

The room seemed to close in, and the once-reliable ground beneath Tripti's feet turned into a terrain of treachery. It was as if an unseen force had woven a sinister shade around them, and she found herself entangled within it.

"Ravindra, what is happening?" Her voice, tinged with both disbelief and urgency, cut through the charged air.

The intensity of the moment rendered every heartbeat audible, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Yet, Ravindra's silence, a stark departure from the person she thought she knew, intensified the unsettling nature of the unfolding drama.

"Ravindra, what is happening? Why would they think you're involved in this?", she repeated.

Tripti's voice wavered with a blend of concern and reluctance. She expected him to vehemently deny any wrongdoing, to assure her that it was all a terrible mistake. Yet, to her surprise, Ravindra remained silent, his head bowed in an agonising display of shame.

"Ravindra, you have to say something. Tell me it's not true," she implored, her eyes searching his face for a glimmer of reassurance.

The weight of the accusation loomed over both of them like a dark cloud, threatening to shatter the foundation of trust that had anchored their friendship for the last three years. Yet, Ravindra's silence persisted, building a heavy and an impenetrable barrier between him and the unraveling truth.

The room once hailed as the ground of judgement and justice now felt like a courtroom, the accusing glares of the CBI officers intensifying the sense of isolation.

Tripti, torn between loyalty and the unsettling doubts that began to creep in, pressed on.

"We need the truth. You can't let them believe this about you." The urgency in her voice mirrored the internal turmoil, but Ravindra, burdened by his own incapability to save Ananya added on by the accusations, was unable to offer a defence and bowed his head in defeat.

In a hushed admission that reverberated through the room, he finally spoke, "I don't know."

The words hung in the air like an ominous verdict, leaving Tripti grappling with the harsh reality that her friend, the last person she believed would ever hurt someone, stood entangled in a web of suspicion.

Kartikey, seizing the moment stepped forward with a sardonic smirk playing on his lips. The room, already tense, braced for the impending onslaught of his next words.

"Well, well, Ravindra, a brilliant student who passed the toughest examination of our country, our shining example of virtue," he sneered as his words dripped with scorn. The disciplinary board and CBI officials, momentarily silent, observed the scene unfold with a mixture of curiosity and disdain.

Kartikey continued his derisive commentary, the subtle provocative nature in his tone became more and more apparent with every syllable uttered by him .

"Who would have thought your student harboured such dark secrets? Maybe you should have considered a career in crime rather than engineering," he added, "You must see the news don't you? How the youth is slowly getting more and more degenerate? I didn't think they would stoop so low to take someone's life mercilessly, who once was a best friend," a mocking tone underscoring his attempt to turn the serious situation into a cruel spectacle. A collective discomfort settling in as Kartikey's sarcastic remarks echoed off the walls.