They lock the handcuffs on Sarah's wrist and lead her out of the house, as we stare on with a shocked expression. Nathan's in the house, somewhere, probably processing everything. Mason and Arjun are standing right next to me, as the police cars drive away from our house. I look back at Mason, who looks like he thinks this is all a big dream. "Back inside?" I ask, gently, to which he just gives me a slight nod.

I hold my head up a little bit, and go back inside so that I can process everything. I just caused my adoptive mom to get arrested for murder. My biological dad is innocent. Everything feels like a whirlpool around my head, and I just need a cup of coffee to process it all. I walk back inside, and Mason plops himself down on the couch, letting out a large exhale.

"Well, that was something, to say the least. I can't believe it still. I can't believe that my wife is guilty. I can't believe that I was married to a murderer for so long. But I can't believe that I endangered your life for so long, Ashmita. I can't believe that I married the woman who killed my daughter's mother. It's just... it's so much right now."

Guilt spreads over my face, as I look at Arjun, who just gives me the, "It's not your fault," look. I sit down right next to him, and put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Mason, you didn't know. She put on such a facade for so long that it was impossible for any of us to know exactly what was going on."

Mason lets out a little bit of a sigh, and then gets up. He walks over to Arjun, and somehow, I hope that it's not to strangle him. Arjun just keeps on standing there, with a slightly neutral look on his face,  but with a sprinkle of fear, because who knows what could happen in the next couple of minutes. Mason comes up to him, and then starts on what I've been waiting for to hear for so long.

He lets out a sigh. "Well, I fucked up here. I just want to make this short and concise, because I hate things that are dragged out for too long. I jumped to a conclusion way too quick, and immediately judged you, when I shouldn't have. I also destroyed your marriage, because I was a horny asshole, and caused all this confusion with Ashmita and the paternity. Not to mention, I completely lied to Ashmita about the circumstances, which was a dick move. And the biggest one? I married the woman who killed your wife and my best friend. I married the person that stole fifteen years of your life. Fifteen years that were robbed of forming a relationship with Ashmita. I feel awful knowing that not only were they robbed from you, but you can't get them back. I know that I've fucked up a lot, but I just want to let you know that I really am sorry. I'm sorry for ruining your life and fucking up any chance of a relationship with Ashmita." Mason holds out his hand, and adds, "Bros, again?"

Arjun looks at the extended hand, and then back at Mason. A slight smile appears on his face, and then he takes his hand and shakes it firmly. "Bros," Arjun says, with a slightly satisfied tone in him. Warmth spreads throughout my entire body, as a smile forms on my face as well.

Arjun lets go of Mason's hand, and his gaze directs towards me. "I've actually got to give you props. You raised Ashmita, and she was the one who proved my innocence. Don't beat yourself up too much over this. You've done a great job."

Mason gives him a little smile, and then goes back into the kitchen, probably to get himself a little bit of water. "You know what's absolutely hilarious?"

Mason turns back to look at me, with a raised eyebrow. Curiosity blooms on Arjun's face as well. "What's funny?"

"Those 'diaries' that Sarah was ripping the pages out of weren't even my mom's diaries. I took the notebooks Mason got from his work, wrote down random Gujarati gibberish in there, and placed it because out of all of us, Arjun and I are the only ones who can read it."

Arjun starts to laugh a little bit, which leads to Mason cracking up as well. "Oh, that is absolutely evil, yet so smart. See what I mean, Mason?" Arjun cracks.

Mason nods. "Oh yeah. Geez, I got so lucky." I smile, while imaginatively patting myself on the back. Mason looks back at Arjun, and sees that he doesn't have any drink to refresh himself.

"Oh, you want anything in the meantime? I know this whole thing is exhausting, and my mind itself is spinning. How about you? I'm sure Ashmita got some Canada Dry from Target."

I get up to get myself a glass of ginger ale, considering that it's my favorite soda ever made, and then get a glass so that Arjun can enjoy some of it. "Yeah, that sounds great. Oh, how's your son holding up? I know this must be a huge shock to him."

Mason sits back down on the couch, as I pour two glasses of soda, and I hear him let out a huge sigh. "I have no clue. Ashmita, wanna talk to him? I'm probably the last person that he wants to talk to."

I nod, knowing that I'm the closest in age to Nathan, so he'd probably be a little bit more comfortable talking to me than Mason or anyone else. In the meantime, I try to let loose and enjoy my soda, but I don't even know if I can do that.

I take a deep breath, and go upstairs to go see if Nathan is a complete mess. I try to brace myself, because I know that Nathan must be in a state of complete emotional mess at this moment. I walk up to his room, and with all of that in mind, knock on his door. "Nathan? It's me."

I don't hear anything behind the door for the first 10 seconds, and then I hear, "Fine, come in." A slight smile creeps up on my face, and then I push open the door. Nathan is lying in his bed, on his phone, probably looking through random videos.

A blank look is present on his face, as it looks like he just wants to forget about everything that has happened today. I get up on the bed to talk to him. "Hey, man, I know today's been absolutely crazy."

Nathan keeps on looking at his phone, and tries to tune me out. "You can ignore me all you want. I'm not going to get mad at you. But, if you need someone to talk to, I'm here. I know how it feels."

Nathan lowers his phone, and then looks at me with an angry look shining in his eyes. "No, you don't. You were young when your mother died. You don't remember much. I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life. I'm going to have to live with the guilt that my mom killed yours. You don't understand a damn thing, Ashmita."

I try to fight back the lump that's forming in my throat, because I get how he feels. My mom didn't kill anyone, but the guilt from the day of her murder will always haunt me. "I felt guilty on that day as well, Nathan. I felt guilty that I couldn't have done anything. I was stuck inside that cabinet, and my conscience was conflicting with my willpower. I also felt guilty, and I still feel guilty. I know you're angry right now. Once you've cooled down, I'm here to listen." I get up from his bed, and head back downstairs so that I can go see Mason yet again.

Arjun has left by this point, and Mason's sitting on the couch, looking at something on his laptop, with a face that says that he's going through random stuff to take his mind off of things. Once he sees me enter the living room, he puts the laptop on the other couch cushion and looks at me. "How did it go with Nathan?"

I shake my head. "Terrible. He's really mad, and I get that. He just wants to be alone right now, and I'm just thinking about what I should do to cheer him up. Maybe I'll go out and get him some Cinnabon."

Mason snickers a little bit, and then says, "You're a good sister. I'm proud of you. Not just for being so understanding towards him, but for solving the case. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad you disobeyed me. If you hadn't gone against my rules and gone snooping, you wouldn't have figured out that Arjun was innocent and Sarah was the true killer."

I snicker a little bit as well, and say, "I was raised as a little rebel, I guess."

Mason does nothing more than give me a warm smile, and look a little past me. "I'll go talk to him. It may not get anything out of him, but I'll see what I can do. I'm exhausted, so let's order some pizza and call it a day. Can you get it when I order it?" I nod.

"Sure." Mason, without another word spoken between us, walks past me and towards the stairs.

Before he can go up the stairs, I call, "Mason." He turns around, with a curious look on his face. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that you've lost so many people that you've loved in your life."

Mason gulps a little bit, and gets a little bit closer to me. "I still have you. And Nathan." A slight smile creeps up on my face, and I nod. A lump forms at the back of my throat, and I go in for hugs. I hug him tightly, to which I feel him hug me even tighter. He tucks my head underneath his chin, and his hand goes to my hair and strokes it. We stay there for several minutes.

It's something that I didn't realize we both really needed.

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Aw, I think we all know what this means. We're getting closer to the end. We definitely are! We've got about 4 more chapters left, and I'm very excited to share those! So, what do you think now that we're pretty sure that Arjun is a wrongly convicted person? Did any of you guys suspect that Arjun was not guilty from the start, or did your opinion completely change of him? Let me know!

Hey everyone! How's it going? So, I'm curious. Who's your guys' favorite character in the book? Can you guess mine? (it's kinda obvious aha)

Other than that, that's all I've got. Hope you guys liked this chapter!

Please vote/comment/share/follow/message if you like my work! See you all next Sunday with a new chapter of TSOC! Have a great week!

Love you guys,

Shree