Karan asked Scott, "Did you find anything on that girl you mentioned? What's her name? Sharon?"

"Sharon's a common name. With no last name and Kriya's file locked, it's like looking for a seed in a corn maze. There is nothing we have to cross-reference it with." Scott replied.

Karan was beyond frustrated. A deputy walked in, "Sir, someone is here to see Ms. Rai."

Karan nodded and followed the deputy out. "Yes?"

"I'm Aashi. Swayam has sent me. May I speak with Kriya?"

Karan walked her to her cell. She entered the cell and woke Kriya up. "Kriya?"

Kriya smiled seeing Aashi. "Aashi!"

"How are you?" Aashi hugged her.

"How's Swayam?" Kriya asked instead of replying.

"He refuses to go home." She sighed sitting down next to Kriya on the bed. "He has people at the office working on their toes, if you know what I mean." She asked Karan. "Can we have some privacy?" Karan left out of eye sight. "Here, eat." Kriya wasn't in the mood to eat, with everything that was going about. "Kriya, I've just forced them two to eat. Now don't make me force you too. Eat."

"Why is it that just when I start to be happy, everything starts going wrong?" Kriya questioned.

"It's just a bad phase in life. Don't over think it." Aashi assured her.

"Did David find anything?"

"He's getting there," She paused before adding, "last I heard." David was the security in charge at RE.

"You wouldn't happen to know why my file is under confidential by CIA? Swayam ever mention this to you?"

Aashi shook her head. "It is?"

Kriya nodded. "That's what Karan said. Well, more like asked."

"I'll try to find out." Aashi promised her.

Kriya nodded and rested her head on Aashi's shoulder. Aashi ran a soothing hand through her head and closed her eyes. "Sleep now. I'm sure he'll come visit tomorrow."

Unknown to the two of them, Karan was listening to their conversation. Finding out that Kriya herself didn't know about her file being locked away raised additional questions in his mind. He was eaves-dropping in hopes of getting some answers. But the opposite happened.

He looked up where Swayam lived. He took off for the address but upon knocking, no one answered the door.

××××××××××××

Next morning, Vicky and Swayam visited her. Vicky rushed to hug her. "B..."

"Shh." Kriya silenced him and after parting, wiped the tears on his face. "Paagal, why are you crying?" She looked at Swayam and could tell he hadn't slept the whole night. His face just looked tired. "How are you?" She asked pulling Vicky down to sit next to her. Swayam leaned back on the wall and stood. They didn't have to answer for her to know the answer.

"Why won't they believe you haven't done anything?" Vicky questioned.

"They will." She assured him. She forwarded her hand towards Swayam. He walked up to her and placed it in hers. "Take care of each other for me, okay?" She placed his hand on top of Vicky's. Both of them nodded.

"Smriti knows. Swayam informed her.

Kriya bowed her head, learning of her aunt. "Just do what you have to and keep her away from everything."

"I will." Swayam promised. They both agreed that less family members that got involved, the better.

"It's better mom and dad don't find out." She told Swayam, "And go home!"

He shook his head, figuring Aashi to have leaked that piece of information to Kriya. "I can't. Everything reminds me of you."

Vicky continued, "It's not home with you not there."

Kriya knew she could not go weak listening to both of them. They were already torn. She had to stay strong. She pulled his head down on her lap and just let the silence engulf the tiny room. Swayam came and sat down on the ground next to Kriya. One hand of Kriya rested on Vicky's forehead while other entwined with Swayam's.

Swayam stole a moment to place a kiss on her knuckles.

××××××××××××

David entered Swayam's cabin. "The code used to erase entry belongs to someone from the office itself. I didn't catch it before because it was first activated when the system was down due to it being updated."

"Any names?"

"I tried rebooting the system's main drive but only traces of it could be restored. I doubt it'll help." He handed him the partial code he had managed to restore.

"It's still better than nothing. Thanks David." David nodded in acknowledgement and left.

Just as he left, Rey entered. Swayam stopped and asked, "Rey, hey. What are you doing here?"

"Hey, not much. I left calls and messages, but Kriya wasn't answering so just thought I'd come by and see if everything was okay."

Swayam realized he didn't know. How would he? No one would have told him. "Oh. Kriya's um... there's been a kidnapping and the police think she's a suspect."

Rey's eye widened hearing the piece of news, "What? Kidnapping? How could they think she's a suspect? They've obviously got it wrong."

Somewhere, it hurt Swayam to see that the two of them didn't know each other that long, but Rey still believed Kriya would never do that. Sure, it was true that Kriya would never kidnap anyone, but it was still pulling a string somewhere. It was Swayam fearing he was losing Kriya. He always told himself that if Kriya liked someone else, he would let her go. After all, their marriage circumstances were as such. However, now that he may have to follow through with his words into actions, he was starting to realize how difficult it was.

××××××××××××

Swayam visited the police station to show Karan what David had found, where they first spotted the impersonator. "Before you think, let me tell you. That is not Kriya. Look at the date. On that day, she was in Maldives. One person can't be in two places at same time. There's no way this is true. If you don't believe my word, you can check with the hotels, airlines, anything."

"It means someone's wearing her mask to make her look guilty?"

Swayam nodded. "It's someone from the office. That I know. I don't know who though. That same person is real culprit. Not Kriya."

"I'm going to need to log this into evidence." Swayam gave it to him, hoping they would now work on finding Keisha, instead of questioning Kriya. He had called his underground contacts to find Keisha, but so far, they had no luck.

××××××××××××

As Kriya thought the day over, she remembered something. She called for Karan. When he came, she asked him, "Can I please talk to Swayam? It's important."

Karan nodded and gave her his phone to call. "Swayam, it's me. Yesterday, before my arrest, I was coming to meet you for a reason. Remember the CCTV footage? Can you bring that to me? It must be in my car."

Swayam immediately acted on it and reached the station within fifteen minutes. Karan brought them a laptop to insert the footage. She paused at a time frame and pointed at the time. "See this? Someone deleted some of it. I'm sure that part showed who put that CD on my desk with other tapes."

"Can it be restored?" Swayam looked at Karan.

"I can send it to forensics and technical team." He proposed. Swayam handed him the CD.

"Can I talk to her in private?" Karan allowed and left them alone in the cell.

"I was wondering about who could be helping Sharon. It could be someone Sharon met in the two years she had disappeared." Kriya expressed her assumptions.

"I've already requested the lawyer to try and get information out of her or see if anyone has came to meet her after she was prisoned." Swayam informed, but he knew it wasn't enough. It was killing him to see her locked up for a crime she didn't commit, and there was nothing he was able to do to get her out. What was the point of knowing so many important people in various high status places when there power wasn't helping him?

"One thing's for sure. Whoever the impersonator is, they're just a ploy. If they were the real culprit, they wouldn't have left the CD on my desk. That person was trying to warn us by doing this."

"I hope you're right." He held on to her hand, pressing it to his before getting up to leave.

She didn't let his hand slip out of hers just yet. "Don't worry much. Please... I can't see you like this." With her other hand, she touched his pale-looking face. "I've learnt to be strong from you. You can't..." Her voice cracked. She couldn't have him look so weak and vulnerable. She couldn't bear that.

Swayam debated for a second, and then said what had been running in his head recently, "Kriya, before they brought you in, you said..."

When he hesitated, she knew what he was talking about. She had whispered 'I love you' to him. In the moment, she wasn't thinking of the consequences, or the weight of the words. She simply needed to say it at the time, and so she had. She knew he would bring up the topic sooner rather than later.

"I know what I said." She admitted.

Putting everything on the line, he asked the question he wasn't sure he wanted the answer of. "Did you mean it?"

"I've never told you anything before I haven't meant."

He wasn't sure what that meant. He needed to hear it in clear words, "It's either a yes or a no, Kriya."

"Yes, as a friend." It killed her to say the later, but she needed to say it.

"I don't believe that." He pulled away a little from her, hurt that she would say that.

"I can't tell you what to believe, but you asked me what I meant, and this is what I meant, Swayam. If I didn't mean this, would I have signed the papers? You were always right. I had my feelings confused. You've always been there that I didn't know anything else. But now..."

"Now you have Rey?" He questioned, bitterly. He never thought he had this in him, but it's how he felt, with each word she spoke.

"Yes."

He continued to gaze into her, as if glancing straight in her soul. A few seconds of silence later, he shook his head. "No."

"No?" She was afraid he didn't believe her. She was afraid, as always, he understood her unsaid words.

"No." He repeated. "I don't believe that. You were confused then, and you're still confused."

"Swayam, you can't tell me who I have feelings for, and for whom I don't." She adamantly denied, keeping up the façade.

"Maybe, but I can certainly see through your lies after knowing you for so many years. I don't know yet why you are lying about something this big, but I'll find out. You didn't give up on me ever. I'm not about to start now."

"Swayam..." She tried, but he didn't let her speak much as he took a step closer to her, holding her in his embrace.

Speaking next to her ear, he confessed. "I love you, and that's the only truth I need."

Karan opened the door, as the private time he was giving the two had a limit. She heard it, and so she tried to pull away from the hug, but he tugged her closer once again. "Tomorrow, you're coming home with me, regardless of what they find or don't find." He promised her and then placed a kiss on her forehead while his hand slipped down her hand to squeeze her hands as a last sign of comfort.

He no longer cared if anyone at the station learned of their relationship. He never cared. He only kept it hidden as Kriya had requested it when she interned at the hospital. It was fun for Kriya to keep it hidden, but it was no longer a game for him that he was willing to entertain her with. He had let things slide many times over the years. Not anymore. He was going to fight for her harder than ever before.

Swayam released her and walked out of the interrogation room. Karan observed Kriya, who turned away from him to hide a lone tear trickle its way down her cheeks. "Everything okay? He questioned, trying to give her privacy. Still, he was a curious one still trying to understand the relationship between Swayam and Kriya. He knew Swayam was married. He wasn't ready to believe he would have an affair with an intern and cheat on his wife. Swayam was simply never a person capable of that. Back in the day when they knew each other, yes, Swayam had grey shades to his personality. Yet, there were lines he always drew when it came down to morals.

That is when everything starting to make sense to Karan. He inhaled sharply, causing Kriya to turn and face him. "What?" She asked.

Consuming his surprised expression, he voiced out the newly learnt information. "You're his wife."

"What gave it away?" She questioned, her tone slightly salty.

"You don't share his last name though. Why?"

Now that Karan was asking the right questions, she had no problem in answering. "Because it wasn't a typical marriage. He was supposed to marry my sister."

"Sharon." He incorporated, starting to connect the dots and paint a picture.

"Yes. Sharon. But, I doubt she ever loved him. She simply hated me so much that she became obsessed with Swayam when the two of us started to become friends. So much that she murdered our own parents the day of her marriage when our parents told her she could marry Swayam, but they were naming me their heiress. She couldn't handle that. I guess she loved money and power more than she hated me."

"So he married you to save you and the business and property. You kept your last name so everything would remain under your name and as long as it remained yours, she couldn't harm you." Karan concluded, to which Kriya nodded. "Is Sharon the real kidnapper?"

"No, she's in prison now. But yes, it has to be her plan. She just got someone to do it for her. She is the only one who knows Joseph and his connection to me."

"Where would she keep Keisha? It would be something that is meaningful to both of you."

"How do you know that?" Kriya questioned.

Karan patiently explained, "I'm a detective, Kriya. Trust me. Now think, is there any such place close by? This is her revenge on you for taking everything she believes is her right. You are the only one who can save Keisha. You are the only one who knows how your sister thinks."

Karan gave her a few seconds, minutes, but she couldn't. Nothing special jumped out to her.

Scott came in to inform that the content of the CD was restored. Karan allowed Kriya to come along. It was distorted, but slightly viewable. Seeing the full recording, Kriya was stunned. "Simmi?"

"Simmi?" Karan asked.

"Samantha. Another intern. She never did like me. But, I don't think she's the real culprit. She's being forced to do this. Else why would she leave the CD on my desk if she herself is the impersonator? In office, she may dislike me. There isn't life-and-death fight between us. She has no reason to be my enemy."

××××××××××××

Simmi was brought for interrogation. She did not deny any of it. "What was I supposed to do? They had Nil with them. If I didn't, they would have killed him."

"Nil?" Karan asked.

"Nilesh, my fiancé. I couldn't go tell the police. I had to listen to whatever he asked me to do."

"He?"

"I don't know his name. I've just seen him once."

"Can you get his sketch made?"

"I think."

"Where is Keisha?"

"I can't." She shook her head. "He'll hurt Nil."

"Then where is he now? We'll get both of them. But you need to tell us now, before it's too late."

"What if he comes back for us?"

"They'll put you two in witness protection." Kriya said. "Now please, where is Keisha. She's just a child Simmi. It's been three days since she's been kidnapped. She has to be scared out of her mind."

She finally told them. "She's fine. I've kept her in an abandoned warehouse off 43rd street and Wilmer. I wanted to bring her to my house, you know? So she'd feel safe. But he wouldn't let me. He said the only time I could release her was after Kriya was arrested and charged with murder."

"Murder?" Kriya gasped.

Simmi nodded amidst tears. "If you weren't arrested, he was going to... ki-kill Nilesh and make it look like you-you did it." She spoke between hiccups. "Kriya, I'm really sorry..." She apologized, tears in her eyes.

"You didn't have a choice." Kriya tried to ease her guilt, but she too was finding it a bit hard to understand what Sharon could have said to this mysterious guy that he would go to this extent for her. Who was he?

"You are so nice. Why would someone want to ruin you?"

Kriya chuckled. "Someone once told me, people will always hate me because they're jealous of the things I have and they don't. Go home, forget anything ever happened and live your life." Kriya told her and forgiving her, let her go.

Karan, who was watching from the entrance of the cell, commented, "I might have misjudged you in the beginning."

She laughed. "As the saying goes, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. It just might surprise you."

"I will get your release papers ready." He informed her and turned to leave but paused when he stopped him.

"No, go get Nilesh and Keisha first."

"A team is already on its way there." He answered. Scott had been listening from the other side of the one-way mirror. The instant he had heard Simi state the location, he had taken a team there.

And so, they waited until the two were safely escorted back to the station. Kriya remembered exactly why Sharon kept Keisha on 43rd and Wilmer Street. And, she chose to keep it hidden from Karan and his team. She had received Sharon's warning, and she was going to make sure to be a step ahead.

××××××××××××

authors note:

I'm back! Thank you, again, for being patient. I'm hoping to write a bit more today, and continue with the chapters with the regular weekly schedule. 

So this doesn't come as a surprise, there is going to be a small leap coming up in chapter 10 or 11 (:  Any guesses on the guy who is helping Sharon?