Ava Sharma sat at the desk, eyes on the illuminated screen of her laptop. Her fingers floated above the keys, the room silent around her. Outside, the world was black, rain lightly tapping at the window, but her mind was elsewhere in the ancient case she was re-examining.
The vanishing of Dr. Vikram Joshi—a renowned scientist and, more agonizingly, her uncle. A case left to wither by the police two years ago. She couldn't abandon it. Not when the emptiness in her heart was still raw, and not when the truth seemed so tantalizingly close.
She clicked a file named "The Joshi Case: Unsolved" and read through the information. The typical tale—no crime, no indication of a fight, just an empty home and a missing man. But there was something to it, something that Ava couldn't shake. It was the manner in which her family still didn't discuss him. The way her parents' eyes would sink whenever he was mentioned.
She could not tolerate the unanswered questions anymore.
She knew she'd seen something before, something that her uncle had been scribbled in his journal just before he disappeared: "They'll come for me. If you read this, Ava, don't follow."
Those words rang in her head as she gazed at the glowing words on her screen. What had he been attempting to say? What had he gotten himself involved in? She closed the document, put on her coat, and went out into the chilly night.
.....
𝐑𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚 rocked back in his chair, his dark eyes reading over the file on his desk. He was a man who was known for his calm manner, who could crack even the most difficult cases. But this one, 𝘿𝙧. 𝙑𝙞𝙠𝙧𝙖𝙢 𝙅𝙤𝙨𝙝𝙞. Something about this one made him uneasy.
The file had arrived on his desk unexpectedly, a missing persons case that seemed too tidy, too neat. But as he scanned the file, his hands gripped the edges more tightly.
He recognized the name. Ava Sharma—the niece. The woman who had been searching for answers in this case for years. She was known for digging deep. And that made her a threat.
He looked at the clock and exhaled. It was late, but there was something drawing him to the case. Something haunting at the back of his brain. He picked up his telephone and called her number.
....
Ava's phone rang, and she looked at it, a shock of surprise coursing through her. She answered it, her heart racing even before she said anything.
"Hello?" Her voice sounded normal, but within her was a tempest.
"Is this Ava Sharma?" The voice at the other end was level, composed, but there was something about it that told her. A familiarity that she could not identify.
"Yes," she said, a shiver running down her spine.
"I'm Rohit Verma. I'm a detective. I've been put on the case of your uncle's disappearance."
Her breath was caught in her throat. She had hoped someone would call, but not like this. The name was heavy, far away, as if she had heard it before in whispers.
"I need to see you," he went on. "There's more to this case than you know. You don't have much time."
Ava didn't hesitate. "Where?"
"The old lab. The one he used before he disappeared."
The words hit her like a slap to the face. The lab. She hadn't been back there since everything had gone quiet. She should've known this was where it would lead.
"I'll be there," she said, her voice flat despite the churn of emotions inside her.
....
The rain poured down heavily by the time she arrived at the building. It towered before her like a decrepit ghost, its shattered windows hardly discernible under the gloomy street lamp. Ava's heart pounded as she tried to enter, the air heavy with dust and recollections. "The building still carried the slight scent of the chemicals her uncle had worked with.
And then she saw him.".
Rohit Verma stood in the shadows, his tall form remaining still. His gaze followed her the instant she entered the room. Something about him—something was magnetic. But something removed as well.
"Ava," he said, his tone calm, as though he was waiting for her. "We need to talk."
Ava's heart raced as she moved forward, the silence hanging between them thick. "What do you know?" she said tightly, with frustration and fear.
Rohit did not respond immediately. Instead, he produced an old, creased map from his coat pocket and spread it on the table before her. His fingers followed the lines, slow and deliberate.
This is where your uncle's research took him," he said quietly. "There's something here. Something that ties this building in with everything he was researching before he vanished. But I don't think he just vanished."
Ava's heart stuttered. "What do you mean?
"There's a secret layer to this case. Someone doesn't want you or me to uncover the truth." His gaze locked with hers, and for an instant, something in his eyes caused her stomach to do flips. "But we're already too deep. If we back out now, we'll never have a way out."
Ava's hands clenched at her sides. She couldn't stop now. Not when she was this close. Not when her uncle's last words were still ringing in her ears.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said firmly.
....