When Ishan regained consciousness, he found himself in a dimly lit room. His head throbbed with pain, and his mouth was dry. He tried to move but realized his hands were tied tightly behind his back. The air was damp and musty, and he could hear the faint dripping of water somewhere in the distance.

Panic set in as he struggled against his restraints. "Hello? Is anyone there?" he shouted, his voice hoarse. There was no reply, only the echo of his voice bouncing off the walls.

His stomach growled loudly, reminding him of how hungry he was. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious or where he was. The room was bare, with only a flickering light bulb hanging from the ceiling casting long shadows that danced menacingly on the walls.

As he sat there, his mind raced with questions. Who had taken him? Why was he here? What did they want? He thought about Raj and the message he had received. Is his brother safe now? Or was he is trapped too?Or Is Raj came and waited for Ishan and found none!

The sound of footsteps approaching the door snapped him back to attention. He strained to see who it was, but the dim light made it difficult to make out any details. The door creaked open slowly, and a figure stepped into the room, remaining hidden in the shadows.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Ishan demanded, his voice trembling with fear and anger.

But the person didn’t reply. He just handed Ishan two pieces of dry bread and a cup of water. Ishan noticed the man was tall and slim in a scrawny way, his face obscured by the mask and his silence adding to the fear.

"Do you know me? Or did you just kidnap me thinking I'm a rich kid? Look, I know I look young because of my shorter height, but I'm 25!" Ishan tried to reason.

The man remained silent, arranging the plate for Ishan with a mechanical efficiency.

"Did you kidnap my brother too? Please, tell me something. If you need money, let me make a call, you'll get it."

Again, there was no reply. The man turned and left the room, leaving Ishan alone with his thoughts and fears.

******

Two days had passed since Ishan went missing. Aditi and Shubman had tried calling him multiple times, but their calls went unanswered. Concern grew into panic when Ishan’s grandfather and uncle reached out, desperate for any information.

"I should have been there for him," Shubman muttered to himself.

Shubman realized now, more than ever, how deeply he cared for Ishan. It wasn't just concern for a friend or guilt for failing him; it was something more profound, more consuming.

"I love him," Shubman whispered, the words feeling both foreign and inevitable. The revelation hit him with a mix of clarity and confusion. How long had he felt this way? How had he not recognized it sooner?

Memories flooded his mind: Ishan’s infectious laughter, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about something he loved, the comfort of his presence. Shubman’s chest tightened with the weight of his feelings, the fear of losing Ishan making everything more intense.

"Please god let me not lost him!"-Shubman prayed.

Aditi and Shubman was the first to be called to Ishan's house from Ishan’s grandfather.

"Aditi, do you know where Ishan is? We haven't heard from him since he left the house," his voice was filled with worry.

"I... I don't know Grandpa.He mentioned meeting someone important."

"Who was he meeting?" Ishan’s uncle demanded, his tone sharp with anger. "Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

Aditi hesitated before answering. "He was meeting Raj."

"What? Raj? And you didn't think this was important enough to share?" Ishan’s uncle’s voice rose with frustration. "You should have told us immediately!"

"I'm sorry.I didn't something this big would happen.But now, we need to find him," Aditi pleaded.

Shubman stepped forward, determined. "We"ll find him.Don’t worry."

After a tense moment, Ishan’s uncle nodded. "Do whatever it takes. Just find him."

Shubman and Aditi came back to Shubman's apartment and started searching for clue.

They decided to rewatch the fake therapy session together since it was clearly to divert the attention from the main culprit.

The therapy session video played on the laptop, its occasional glitches only adding to the unnerving atmosphere. Shubman, Aditi, and Shahneel watched with tense expressions, scrutinizing every detail. The video was strange—despite the net issues, the person playing the therapist seemed oddly stiff, with unnatural eye movements.

"It doesn't feel right," Aditi whispered, her eyes narrowing. "The eye movements are too robotic."

Shubman nodded, a pit forming in his stomach. They were running out of clues, and Ishan's absence was becoming more unbearable with each passing hour.

Shubman, Shahneel, and Aditi sat together in the dimly lit living room, their minds reeling from the day’s events, Shubman’s phone buzzed with a new text message. He glanced at the screen, his heart skipping a beat.

"Do you still miss me, Shubman?"

He showed the message to Aditi and Shahneel, his face pale with shock. "Who is it?" he typed back, his hands trembling.

"It's me, Raj."

Shubman’s breath hitched. Could it really be Raj? He showed the message to Aditi and Shahneel, who looked equally stunned.

"I don’t believe you," Shubman typed, his fingers barely able to hold steady.

"If there is no one with you, FaceTime me."

Shubman glanced at Aditi and Shahneel. They quickly moved out of the camera’s view.

Shubman’s hands shook as he typed, "I am alone. Everyone is sleeping."

A moment later, his phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime call. With a deep breath, Shubman answered.

Raj’s face appeared on the screen, older but unmistakably Raj.

"Hi, Shubman," Raj greeted, his voice a ghost from the past.

"Where are you? Where were you?" Shubman’s voice cracked.

Raj smiled faintly. "No 'how are you'? No 'I’m so happy to see you'?"

"Um... yes, I am happy to see you, but do you know your brother Ishan is missing? Someone kidnapped him while he went out meeting with you?" Shubman blurted out, unable to hold back his urgency.

Raj’s expression shifted to one of sorrow. "We’re talking about Ishan first?"

A sudden storm outside caused the lights to flicker, and the internet connection wavered. The screen glitched, and Raj’s image became distorted.

"Shubman, I missed you... ouch... Behenchod bhadwa..." Raj cursed as the connection faltered, his voice cutting in and out.

Shubman’s heart raced. Through the glitches, he noticed something odd. Another man's half face briefly appeared on the screen, just for a split second.

"Raj, where are you?"-Shubman tried to keep his voice steady.

The call got disconnected.

The call got disconnected. Shubman looked at Aditi and Shahneel.

"Everything looks so fishy, I don't know where to start," Aditi said, her voice tinged with frustration.

"Is it me or did you all felt something is wrong?" Shubman suggested, though his heart wasn't fully in it.

"Raj seemed disinterested in Ishan's disappearance. That's so strange and unlikely." Aditi added.

"Yes, that’s really unlike of Raj," Shahneel agreed.

"Did you see the glitch and the other face? It means it’s not Raj, it’s someone else," Shubman said, his mind racing.

"Oh my God, yes! The video call screen record of Raj that Ishan sent me, it was glitching too," Aditi exclaimed.

"And the one with that fake session scenario," Aditi added.

"It might be same person doing it!"-Shahneel said.

"Let's go to Ishan's room and try to find if he noted down the address he meant to go to," Aditi suggested.

The next morning, Shubman went to Aditi’s house to pick her up.

"Sorry, I had to take the dog," Aditi said, as she climbed into the car.

"That's okay," Shubman replied.

They drove to Ishan’s house, letting the dog play in the garden while they went to Ishan’s room. They scoured every corner, every drawer, but found nothing.

Defeated, they started to leave when they heard a shout from outside.

"Bhenchod bhadwa... Whose dog is this?"

Shubman and Aditi looked at each other, instantly realizing they were thinking the same thing. It was the same curse Raj had used during the glitchy FaceTime call.

They rushed outside to find the dog barking and rolling on a patch of the garden.

Aditi quickly scooped up the dog. "Oh, it’s yours. Sorry, that flower was a really rare breed. It was ruining it, and I lost my temper," Ishan’s uncle said apologetically before walking away.

"Shubman, are you thinking what I’m thinking?" Aditi asked, her voice hushed.

"Yes. Uncle knows something we don't" Shubman replied, his suspicion growing.

"Do you...do you think he kidnapped Ishan?"-Aditi asked.

" I don't know."

*****

Ishan felt weak, his body protesting against the single meal he received each day. The same person came again, silent and imposing.

"You don't know my friends and family. They will kill you if they find out. And they will find out, sooner or later," Ishan threatened, though his voice lacked the strength it once had.

The person snorted, then laughed—a chilling sound. Slowly, he removed his mask.

Ishan's eyes widened in shock. "Kaka? You? I trusted you!"

The housekeeper replied "Trust is a dangerous thing, Ishan. It can blind you to the truth."

"Kaka how could you,You even fed me all my favourite dishes before coming "

"Yes,so that the last thing you eat before dying isn’t this dry bread and shit"

*****

It was a tense afternoon, and the silence in the room was broken only by the soft hum of the air conditioner. Shubman and Aditi were deep in thought, trying to piece together the clues when Aditi’s phone suddenly buzzed. It was Ishan’s uncle calling.

"Namaste Uncle," Aditi answered, her voice calm but curious.

The voice on the other end was trembling, laden with tears. "Adi, my daughters... We can't find them anywhere. They were at the mall with their mother, and suddenly they’re gone."

Aditi’s heart sank. "Oh my God, first Ishan and now them!" she exclaimed!

"Please, try to find them... I am trying too.I am scared Aditi." Uncle said between sobs.

[A/n : We are really at the last of this series, there might be 2/3 chapters more with all the revelation.

Happy reading ❤️]