*Text in italics, character's POV.

Kanth Manor - an eerie silence crept inside the structure and the grounds surrounding it. It felt desolate, despite the guards, drivers, domestic staff and the members of the Malhotra family being present well, almost all members.

Paarth was tensed, worried and furious. Parul was yelling at Chandrakanth and holding her tongue back from using expletives against him. Chandrakanth was angry too. The reason for his temper and the others' were slightly different. The man is a pure narcissist was not taking the accusations from his son and sister but, just being the egoistic moron that he was.

The staff of the house were worried sick and were in fear of losing their job. The sound of a car pulling up their driveway was heard. A visibly broken Aparna crossed the threshold and rushed straight to Parul

"B... bua..wha... aht happened? H... ho...ww... Ddddd...di...Di..." she struggled to speak. The sight of her stammering wrung their hearts out.

"Appu.. shh shhh.. calm down my child" Parul quickly pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back. Paarth and Parul shared a pained look.

"Calm down Appu, don't get so upset for nothing and ruin your health." Chandrakanth spoke in an emotionless voice.

"Dad" Paarth raised his voice "I'm really surprised how you react. Aren't you in the least worried?"

"I'm Paarth, and mind the way you speak to me son".

.

Parul turned around to dismiss the domestic staff to their resting area in the backyard. She gestured for Samar to take care of Aparna and stepped toward her brother.

"Oh! You are worried, Chandra? Really? you want me to buy your bullshit?" She scoffed! " I don't see a drop of guilt or worry on that bloody face of yours. And you don't want to inform the police about this either. What kind of concern or worry is this?" Parul was close to blowing a fuse.

.

"Parul mind your tongue" Chandra jumped out of the couch, raising his voice.

"Shush! Don't try to intimidate me! And why should I? Padmini your wife - been missing for three days. Paarth was at Sneha's house attending her brother's wedding. I went with my in-laws for pilgrimage outside Delhi. Appu was on honeymoon. You were in Delhi. How the fuck did you not know that she left home three days back and hasn't returned after that? Where the hell were you? Answer me damn it!"

Chandra, Paarth, Aparna and even Samar were shocked! The Parul everyone knew was a chipper; this fuming, five-foot volcano seemed like someone from a parallel universe.

"Dad I have the same question. How did this happen? I got a call from the cook, Gauri aunty this morning, saying Mumma is missing. She had left for the temple three days back and has not returned home since then. Gauri aunty said she was unable to reach you. And Das was out of town... she didn't have any of our numbers. Dad what is happening? Please tell me where is Mumma?"

Paarth couldn't control his tears. She was a mother of two adults, wife of a billionaire industrialist yet, she was as innocent and naive as a newborn; he was worried sick for her safety. He felt guilty, 'maybe I should have taken her to the wedding ignoring her excuses of being tired.

"Bhai come with me, no use talking". Aparna diverted Paarth's attention and took Samar along with her, Parul followed them.

Chandrakanth was a little surprised at his sister's outburst. He dropped on the couch and furiously rubbed his face.
'Where did she go? How can she leave like that? Did something really happen to her? What did she take with her?' His train of thoughts was broken by a phone call.

"Yes, Das? Any leads? Anything?"

"--"

"Are you sure about this private investigator? Ok put him through."

Das, Chandrakanth's right hand guy and the keeper of his biggest, darkest secrets had sourced a private investigator and connected the call.
Probably every magnate had somebody like Das; a trusted, know-all shadow, who could gain a deep-pocket themselves just by encashing on the biography of their employer.

-----

"Let me understand again. She was last seen three days back by the staff at home. No letter. No messages. None of her personal belongings missing. No attempt to break-in. No ransom calls. Nothing suspicious from the CCTV footages around your mansion." Private detective Siddhant rubbed his forehead, thoughtfully.

"She could have probably met with someone she knows at the temple and left with them. Her parents..."

"They are estranged!" Chandra replied in a cold tone. "Her whole family, we don't know where they are, haven't been in touch for twenty plus years". He spoke in a clipped, curt manner very much like the business man that he was. 'Does it mean that he won't display any emotion even when his wife is gone missing, without a trace?' Siddhant wondered.

"Her phone?"

Parul passed it over to him, "nothing suspicious there too. All calls and messages were to family members."

"No social media accounts?" He couldn't mask his disbelief, "Or were they deleted?"

"She wasn't tech savvy, she didn't even want a smartphone. Even now she keeps a photo album and any important occasion she needs a proper photo of us." Paarth answered while recollecting the days he had taught her how to use it. "She started using whatsapp too only because she had to make video calls to Bua or any one of us when we travel".

He scrolled through the phone for a while and noticed few very obvious things from her phone. He lifted his head and glanced at the family thoughtfully. "any friends? Have you..."

"She doesn't have any friends" Aparna answered dryly. "Family was everything for her." Aparna's eyes were distant and her face reflected her inner turmoil. Samar rubbed her back gently to console her. Parul excused herself and walked towards the kitchen.

"Mr. Malhotra" the detective turned towards the man in question "if you don't mind me asking, it's routine questioning Sir. Was there any domestic issues between you both? I mean, misunderstandings are common every where".

'Questioning a common man, convict, even hardcore criminal is far easy compared to these rich, influential people. Their egos hurt everyone in the path, not that I care a damn, but these fuckers can ruin anyone with the kind of power that they command.'

"Nothing we were fine. No troubles" Chandrakanth was fighting to keep calm.

Parul heard her brother speak as she walked back with coffee in her hand for everyone, she was begging for some divine intervention to stop her from tackling her brother to the floor.

"Listen Siddhant, I need you to do everything possible, use any resource to trace and find her." He had planned his speech very carefully while the questioning was going on "The worry of her missing is unexplainable, if the news slips out in media, we will be very badly affected - gossips, news flash, share markets, reputation.. everything will be ruined."

Paarth had a visibly disgusted look on his face, Aparna hid her face in her palms and kept sobbing, she had not even acknowledged hee father from the moment she stepped into the mansion. Parul was just waiting for the detective to leave.

"I do understand Sir. Can I take a look at her room and personal belongings please? One of you can accompany me. Ma'am can you?" He refered to Parul.

They went through her wardrobe, locker and the whole bedroom. Chandrakanth sat at his study desk beside the bed.

Parul spoke in a tired voice, "Nothing is missing. She hasn't taken anything from home. Only the purse she normally carries" she reached for a file where Padmini kept some important documents "not even the credit or debit cards" she held it up for him to see but her glance flickered over to her brother and anger flashed in them for a fraction. Siddhant's keen eye caught that.

"What about cash, valuables?"

She pried open Padmini's locker, pulled out a couple of boxes, laid them on the bed. "She kept a diary where she listed the jewellery given by my mother" she flipped it open and showed it to him. "These here" she pointed to list and then to the boxes lying on the bed "are the ones she was using. These are ancestral" she pointed to some pieces of jewellery mentioned in there, "so its with Sneha our daughter in law. These as you see she has written here were given to Aparna. And these she gave to Emma, my elder brother's wife and her daughters, my mother had entrusted bhabi with that responsibility. And as per my mother's wish again these she gave to me recently. So, NO, none of the valuables are missing."

Siddhant did feel that these explanations were not for him, he clearly sensed the discomfort and anger in the room.

"Thank you Ma'am" Siddhant was about to leave after taking permission to question the domestic staff the next day.

"Madam" Gauri the cook nervously called out to Parul. "Please come to the mandir (Altar) quickly" she wiped her tears and ran ahead to the small temple they had inside the palatial home, it was Padmini's second favourite place. They all followed her, Gauri pointed out to something.

There, at the feet of the Lord Krishna's marble idol were Padmini's bangles, earrings, anklets, engagement ring and Mangalsutra* along with an envelope.

With a withered dried garland around his neck, Padmini's Kanhaji seemed to be bearing a rueful smile, an air of despondency hung over Kanth Manor!

Mangalsutra: Mangalsutra has significant importance in Hindu culture. It is an ornament (more specifically a necklace) worn by to signify marital status. The type of mangalsutra varies between certain communties and states.