Chapter 16 · A Dirty Hint

Chapter 16

A Dirty Hint

A few days passed.

Meghla kept working with the same dedication as before.

Praise for her work began arriving from various branches of the company.

One day, in an office meeting, Binoy Sen said,

— "Meghla has made the fewest mistakes this month. Everyone should learn from her."

Many people applauded at that.

But though there was a smile on Rajat Dutta's face, there was anger in his eyes.

That afternoon, P.A. Sanjay came and said,

— "Madam, Sir has asked for five minutes after the office closes. He wants to talk about your home loan papers."

Meghla thought it must be about the necessary documents.

She agreed.

Six-thirty in the evening.

Most of the office staff had already gone home.

As soon as she entered the manager's cabin, Rajat Dutta pushed the door to.

Meghla felt uneasy.

— "Sir, it would be better if the door stayed open."

Rajat Dutta smiled and said,

— "Why are you so afraid? We're only talking about office work."

He took out a file.

— "This is the draft of your home loan certificate. If I want, it can be signed in a single day."

Joy lit up Meghla's face.

— "Really, sir? Thank you so much."

Rajat Dutta leaned back in his chair and said,

— "Don't thank me yet. No one in this world does a favor for another without some interest of their own."

The smile faded from Meghla's face.

— "I don't quite understand, sir."

Rajat Dutta said slowly,

— "Come to dinner with me sometime, outside the office. Then, little by little, we'll grow closer. Your future, your promotion, your home loan — I'll take care of all of it."

In an instant, Meghla's body went cold.

She understood the real meaning behind his words.

She said in a firm voice,

— "Sir, I came here to work on my own merit. I don't want any favor in exchange for a personal relationship."

Rajat Dutta's face hardened.

He said in a cold voice,

— "Think it over once more. In this world, you can't get very far on principles alone."

Without answering, Meghla opened the door and walked out.

Once outside, she took a deep breath.

Her hands were trembling.

Ananya was still in the office at that time.

The moment she saw Meghla's face, she understood something had happened.

— "Did he...?"

Meghla, holding back her tears, only nodded.

Ananya stayed silent for a long while.

Then she said,

— "I always knew this day would come, sooner or later."

— "Why didn't you tell me before?"

Ananya said in a low voice,

— "Because none of the people who ever spoke up are still in this office. Some got transferred, some quit."

That very day, Meghla made up her mind —

She would not bow her head.

But she did not yet know that after this refusal, Rajat Dutta would begin an even more dreadful game of revenge.

To be continued...

Chapter 17

The Revenge Begins

The next morning.

As soon as Meghla entered the office, she sensed the atmosphere was off.

Many were looking at her and whispering.

Some, catching her eye, quickly looked away.

The moment she sat at her desk, P.A. Sanjay came and said,

— "Madam, from today you will no longer do your previous work. That's the manager's order."

— "Why?"

— "From now on, you'll organize old records and sort the files in the storeroom."

Meghla was stunned.

The woman who had all this time prepared important reports was suddenly being sent to the record room.

Rows upon rows of dusty files filled the storeroom.

There was no window.

An old fan turned laboriously overhead.

Meghla understood —

This was no transfer.

This was humiliation.

Still, she lowered her head and got to work.

At noon, Ananya came to the storeroom with some food.

— "I knew something like this would happen."

Meghla smiled faintly and said,

— "At least I still have my job. That's enough."

Ananya's eyes welled up.

— "You still don't understand. He wants to break you. So that one day you'll go to him yourself and say — 'Sir, I'll do as you say.'"

Meghla said in a firm voice,

— "That day will never come."

Just then, Rajat Dutta appeared at the storeroom door.

He looked around with a mocking smile and said,

— "How do you like your new duty?"

Meghla answered calmly,

— "No work is too small or too big, sir."

Rajat Dutta was silent for a few seconds, then said,

— "You're showing a lot of self-respect. But self-respect doesn't get you a bank loan."

This time Meghla looked straight into his eyes and said,

— "A loan bought by selling my self-respect is a loan I don't need."

Rajat Dutta's face turned red.

He said through clenched teeth,

— "Then remember this... your future in this office is finished."

Saying this, he left.

That evening, returning home, Meghla found that her sister-in-law Shila had started up again.

— "What's going on? Why have you been coming home so late these days?"

— "There was work at the office."

Shila curled her lip and said,

— "Or is it something else?"

Meghla said nothing and went to her own room.

Closing the door, she sat down in front of Arindam's photograph.

With tears in her eyes, she said,

— "Everyone wants to break me. But I will not lose. I will fight, thinking of you."

Right at that moment, a message arrived on her phone from an unknown number.

"If you want to keep your job, forget whatever happened today. Otherwise, very soon such an accusation will be raised against you that you cannot even imagine."

Reading the message, Meghla's body shuddered.

She understood...

This was not just a threat.

It was the beginning of a much larger conspiracy.

To be continued...

Chapter 18

Silent Proof

Sleep would not come to Meghla's eyes all night.

She kept reading, over and over, the message that had come from the unknown number.

"If you want to keep your job, forget whatever happened today..."

She called the number.

It was switched off.

Reaching the office the next morning, she made a decision — she would work not out of fear, but with greater caution.

Sitting at her desk, she took out a small notebook.

On the first page, she wrote —

"From today, I will record the date, time, and details of everything that happens. I will make no accusation without proof."

Just then Ananya came and sat beside her.

— "What are you writing?"

Meghla showed her the notebook and said,

— "To remember the truth. I'll write down everything, whatever happens and whenever."

Ananya smiled slightly and said,

— "You've done very well with this."

At noon, an elderly contractor came to the office.

He went straight into Rajat Dutta's cabin.

Five minutes later he came out with a grim face.

Then P.A. Sanjay took him outside.

From a distance, Meghla saw the two of them walking again toward that "Madhumoy Sweet Shop."

They returned about half an hour later.

The old man now had a smile on his face.

And in Sanjay's hand was a small white envelope.

Meghla quietly noted everything.

In the afternoon, Rajat Dutta suddenly came to the storeroom.

— "Meghla, I'm giving you one last chance."

Meghla said calmly,

— "A chance for what?"

Rajat Dutta said slowly,

— "Not everything in life follows the rules. If you become a little more flexible, your future will change."

This time Meghla answered in clear words,

— "Sir, if my future is built on wrongdoing, then I don't need that future."

Rajat Dutta stared at her for a while.

Then he said in a cold voice,

— "Fine. From now on, the game will be played by my rules."

That day, at closing time, the cleaner Kamala Devi came up to Meghla.

She usually spoke very little.

She said softly,

— "Don't be sad, dear."

Meghla looked at her, surprised.

Kamala glanced around and whispered,

— "Not everyone is bad. Some see everything and still stay silent. Because they have a household to run."

For the first time, Meghla felt that at least one person in this office understood her pain.

Before leaving, Kamala said just one more thing —

"The truth is never truly alone. It just takes time."

Meghla did not know that this ordinary cleaner would one day become the most important witness of her life.

And that time was not very far off.

To be continued...

Chapter 19

The Trap Deepens

The next morning.

As soon as Meghla entered the office, word came from reception.

— "The manager is calling for you in the conference room right now."

Going there, Meghla found no one but Rajat Dutta.

A file lay on the table.

Rajat Dutta said in a calm voice,

— "Don't be afraid. I haven't called you here to argue today."

Meghla stood there in silence.

Rajat Dutta opened the file and said,

— "Your three-month probation is about to end. Permanent employment, a salary raise, the employment certificate for your home loan — all of it depends on my report and recommendation."

Meghla replied,

— "I want my work to be evaluated fairly, sir."

Rajat Dutta smiled and said,

— "The world isn't that simple."

He placed a paper on the table.

It was the evaluation form for permanent appointment.

The last line read —

"Manager's Recommendation."

Rajat Dutta picked up his pen and said,

— "Just write 'Excellent' and your life will change."

Meghla said calmly,

— "If my work deserves it, write it. If not, don't."

Rajat Dutta no longer smiled.

— "You're doing yourself harm."

In the afternoon, an important tender file went missing from the office.

The whole office erupted into chaos.

Rajat Dutta shouted,

— "Who saw this file last?"

One employee said,

— "Meghla Madam brought it from the storeroom and put it on the table."

Every eye turned toward Meghla.

Startled, she said,

— "Yes, I brought the file and left it there. Then Sanjay-da took it away."

Sanjay immediately said,

— "No, sir. I never took it."

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.

Just then, Kamala Devi arrived to clean the room and stood there.

After staying quiet for a moment, she said,

— "Sir, I saw it... Sanjay babu is the one who took the file."

Silence fell over the room.

Sanjay said angrily,

— "What are you saying? You're just a cleaner!"

Kamala lowered her head and said,

— "I may be a cleaner, but I'm only saying what my eyes saw."

Rajat Dutta quickly smothered the matter.

— "Alright, everyone get back to work. The file must be somewhere."

Meghla realized —

If Kamala Devi had not been there that day, the first false accusation would have landed squarely on her.

In the evening, at closing time, Ananya said,

— "You escaped today. But they won't stop."

Meghla looked out the window and said,

— "I know. But today I understood one thing — there are still some people on the side of the truth."

Right at that moment, Rajat Dutta was sitting in his cabin, speaking on the phone,

— "Small traps aren't working. Now we need to arrange something so that either she quits the job herself... or everyone comes to hate her."

The fire of revenge was burning in his eyes.

To be continued...

Chapter 20

The Trap of Humiliation

The next morning.

The moment she walked into the office, Meghla noticed everyone looking at her strangely.

No one was speaking.

Some turned their faces away the moment they saw her.

As soon as she sat down at her desk, P.A. Sanjay came and said,

— "The manager is calling you to the conference hall."

Walking into the conference room, Meghla found nearly the entire staff present.

Rajat Dutta stood in front of the table.

An envelope was in his hand.

He said in a grave voice,

— "A very unfortunate incident has occurred in the office today."

Everyone was silent.

He pulled a few five-hundred-rupee notes out of the envelope.

— "This money was found inside a file."

Meghla's heart lurched.

Rajat Dutta continued,

— "And that file was on Meghla's desk."

A murmur rippled through the room.

One employee said,

— "So does that mean..."

Another said,

— "Barely joined and already up to this!"

Meghla stood up and said,

— "Sir, I have never taken a bribe in my life. This money isn't mine either."

Rajat Dutta said in a cold voice,

— "I never accused you of taking a bribe. But then how did the money end up on your desk?"

Meghla was speechless.

She truly did not know.

Just then, Kamala Devi, who had been standing outside the door listening to everything, came in and said quietly,

— "Sir, this morning while I was cleaning the room, I saw Sanjay babu standing near Meghla Madam's desk for a few minutes."

Sanjay immediately shouted,

— "Lies! Are you going to believe a cleaner's word?"

Rajat Dutta said angrily,

— "Kamala, go back to your work. There's no need to poke your nose into office matters."

Kamala said nothing more.

She walked out quietly.

Binoy Sen was not in the office at the time.

So the matter was, for now, set aside.

But before leaving, Rajat Dutta said to Meghla,

— "I'm letting you go today. But if you want to protect your dignity... think over what I said, just once."

Meghla answered in a firm voice,

— "I am innocent. So I will not bow my head."

Rajat Dutta smiled faintly and said,

— "We'll see."

That evening, Kamala Devi walked Meghla all the way to the bus stand.

She said,

— "Be careful, dear. They don't just want to take your job. They want to strip away your dignity too."

Meghla asked,

— "Why are you helping me so much?"

Kamala's eyes grew moist.

She said slowly,

— "Fifteen years ago, my own daughter was the victim of a similar injustice. I couldn't save anyone back then. This time, I won't stay silent."

Meghla held Kamala's hand tightly and said,

— "So I'm not alone, am I?"

Kamala shook her head and said,

— "No, dear. The path of truth is hard, but in the end, truth always wins."

At that very moment, standing at a distance, Sanjay took a photo of the two of them on his phone.

He immediately sent the pictures to Rajat Dutta with a message —

"Sir, even the cleaner is on her side now."

Looking at the pictures, Rajat Dutta said in a cold voice,

"Then both of them will have to be taught a lesson now."

To be continued...