Chapter 4

The revelation of Priya's photograph sent shockwaves through the Chowdhury household. Maya, confronted with the image of her doppelganger, seemed genuinely confused. "I've never seen this woman before," she insisted, her voice laced with a hint of trepidation. Inspector Chatterjee, however, wasn't convinced. The resemblance was too uncanny to be a mere coincidence.

The other members of the family were equally perplexed. Rahul, ever the opportunist, saw an opportunity to deflect suspicion. "Maybe this Priya was someone Dhritiman wronged in the past," he suggested, his eyes darting around the room. Aparna, ever the voice of reason, dismissed the photograph as irrelevant to the murder investigation. Somnath, for once, remained silent, his gaze fixed on the photo with a strange intensity.

Rohan, however, provided the most crucial piece of information. He vaguely remembered his father mentioning a woman named Priya years ago, someone Dhritiman had loved deeply before marrying Maya's mother. The revelation sparked a memory in Maya as well. She recalled a heated argument between Dhritiman and her mother years ago, a name mumbled in anger - Priya.

With renewed purpose, Inspector Chatterjee delved into Dhritiman's past. He scoured old newspapers, interviewed his closest associates, and even paid a visit to his childhood home. Slowly, a picture of Priya began to emerge. She was a talented artist, Dhritiman's childhood sweetheart, tragically killed in a car accident just months before his arranged marriage to Maya's mother.

The accident, however, seemed shrouded in mystery. Whispers of foul play lingered, but Dhritiman, consumed by grief, had brushed them aside. Inspector Chatterjee decided to follow this lead. He contacted the authorities responsible for the initial investigation, requesting a copy of the accident report.

Meanwhile, within the Chowdhury household, the revelation of Priya had fractured the already fragile peace. Maya confronted Dhritiman's portrait, her voice laced with a mixture of anger and hurt. "Why did he keep her a secret all these years?" she whispered, the question echoing through the empty room.

Rahul, sensing an opportunity to manipulate the situation, fueled the fire. He spun tales of Dhritiman's lingering love for Priya, painting Maya as an outsider in his life. Aparna, ever the pragmatist, saw a potential power shift in the wake of this revelation. If Maya's claim to the inheritance was somehow linked to Dhritiman's true feelings, then her position could be weakened.

Somnath, for the first time, seemed emboldened. He revealed a surprising knowledge of Priya, claiming to have met her on a few occasions when he was a young boy. His confession sparked suspicion in Inspector Chatterjee's mind. Why would Somnath, seemingly the most uninvolved member of the family, possess such knowledge?

The arrival of the accident report sent a tremor through the investigation. It revealed a crucial detail - a faulty brake line found in Priya's car. The initial investigation had deemed it an unfortunate mechanical failure, but with Inspector Chatterjee's renewed inquiries, the possibility of sabotage resurfaced.

The revelation of Priya's potential murder cast a new light on Dhritiman's death. Was his attempt to reveal the truth about Priya's demise the reason for his own poisoning? The tangled web of past and present, of love, loss, and revenge, seemed to be tightening around the Chowdhury family. As the monsoon rains continued their relentless assault on Kolkata, the storm within the Chowdhury mansion raged on, promising an explosive revelation.