The small cottage, once a beacon of lost love and sanctuary, now felt like a vault of unanswered questions. Aradhya stood frozen, the silver earring still clutched in one hand, Vikram’s journal in the other. Her eyes scanned the fading murals, a fresh wave of grief and fierce resolve battling within her. Her father. The man who loved her mother, who watched her from afar, was in danger.

"He went through so much, Avni Aunty," Aradhya whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "And now this. What if… what if they caught him?"