Kuntal Roy, the East Zonal Head of a multinational company, enjoys a life of apparent contentment with his mother, wife, son, and daughter. Blessed with abundance, his home appears picture-perfect. But over the years, power has bred arrogance. Kuntal now moves through life cloaked in high status, his demeanor cold and self-assured. Behind this façade, he hides an illicit affair with his secretary, Nisha—a truth unknown to his family.
21Please respect copyright.PENANA9Fn1N0yVk6
One day, using a business trip as cover, Kuntal whisks Nisha away to Mandarmani for two days. As they return, rain lashes the roads. Kuntal, wishing to stay back, is overruled by Nisha—she insists on returning before her husband grows suspicious. Kuntal drives himself; he prefers not to bring the company driver on these secretive trips.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAA3WZg2aWSk
On the way back, a heated argument erupts in the car over Nisha's pending salary increment. Distracted, Kuntal takes a sharp right on the bypass and hits a motorbike. The rider is thrown onto the road, writhing in pain.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAnhp4sZKcd3
Panic floods the car. The rain is fierce, the road deserted, and there's no CCTV in sight. They make a chilling decision—to flee. If they take the boy to the hospital, the police will inevitably probe, and their affair will be exposed. Kuntal presses the accelerator, leaving the injured stranger behind.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAb1CYBC0fBA
He drops Nisha home first, then returns to his own. Shaken, he pours a drink to steady his nerves.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAJXjVHWfCm6
“You’re drinking the moment you walk in?” asks his wife, Pamela.
“Do I need your permission now?” he snaps.
“The work didn’t go well, did it?” she asks gently. Her composure needles him further.
21Please respect copyright.PENANArD507vi7Xr
Kuntal reaches for a cigarette. Finding none, he growls, “Ask Krish to get me some.”
Pamela replies softly, “He left before the rain. Said a friend was in trouble. Still hasn’t returned. His phone’s off.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAgUUTFe4Y9Y
Annoyed, Kuntal mutters, “Tell him to stop hanging around those middle-class beggars. I have a reputation to uphold.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAMdSSjkCLWk
Just then, the housemaid appears: the police are at the door.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAvAaVAyyEGs
Fear grips Kuntal. Did someone witness the accident? Have they come for me? He sends Pamela to speak to them, then hastily opens his cupboard to pull out cash—ready to bribe, if necessary.
21Please respect copyright.PENANASekxdWgGie
Suddenly, a commotion breaks in the drawing room. His mother, daughter, and Pamela are sobbing uncontrollably. Kuntal rushes in, stricken.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAa3kYdOogvw
Pamela, clinging to him through tears, utters the words that shatter his world:
“Our Krish is gone. Hit by a car near the bypass.”
21Please respect copyright.PENANA1kbVKryyiS
Kuntal turns to the police. “Where... exactly?”
21Please respect copyright.PENANAD1qzTDSBhM
When they answer, his body freezes. His breath catches.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAPjOwcMnk1g
It was there. That very spot. That very boy.
21Please respect copyright.PENANAvUYVNywcdQ
It was his own son he left behind—dying in the rain, mistaken for a stranger. Fearing disgrace, he abandoned not only a life, but his own blood. His silence was not ignorance—it was a choice. What now could possibly absolve him?