As soon as that sharp stone struck right in the middle of the boy's head, a heavy and terrifying sound echoed.
Without saying a single word, the boy collapsed straight to the ground.
The stone had sunk deep into his skull, and the very next moment, a stream of blood gushed out and rapidly spread across the ground.
Seeing the flowing blood, Ishan's anger vanished in an instant, and instead, a deep fear rushed through his entire body.
Ishan stood frozen like a statue right there, unable to understand what he should do.
Just then, Vikas and Arya reached the boy in a state of panic.
Arya bent down and checked his breathing and pulse with trembling hands.
His hands were stained with blood, and the terror of death was clearly visible on his face.
In a serious and frightened voice, he said to Ishan, "Ishan... he is dead! You have killed him, his pulse has stopped!"
Hearing Arya's words, the ground slipped from under Ishan's feet, and he broke down completely.
On the other hand, Vikas's condition was also worsening out of sheer terror.
He was drenched in sweat from nervousness and immediately looked on both sides of the road to see if anyone was coming.
Silence prevailed all around.
Looking into Ishan's eyes, Vikas tried to compose himself and said, "Ishan, snap out of it! No one has come this way yet, nor has anyone seen us. If we quietly slip away from here, no one will ever know. But if the police catch you in this condition, not only will your life be ruined, but we will also get trapped in this trouble."
Arya also agreed fearfully, "Vikas is right. We don't know this boy at all, and neither did he know us. But if someone sees us with this blood-stained corpse, all of us will get trapped in the charge of this murder. Wisdom lies in getting out of here."
Vikas added, "Yes, it is best to leave from here, but first let's remove this body from here and put it in that old hut nearby." Before putting him in the hut, Arya checked the boy's pockets to see if there was any porn or anything, but there was no money, no phone, nothing at all in his pockets.
After that, both of them panicked, lifted the boy's corpse, and placed it inside the hut.
Ishan kept watching all this with silent eyes, feeling as though he was trapped in a bad dream. After fleeing the scene, all three of them sat in Ishan's car and headed straight toward the city.
Ishan was so terrified that he did not return home that night and stayed at a city shopping mall instead.
When Ivan discovered through a live call on his smartwatch at home that his father had killed that boy (Amardeep), he felt terrible.
He was torn about what he should do.
Should he tell everyone the truth, including his mother and the police?
Should he send his own father to jail?
He was lost in these thoughts.
On the other hand, Ishan's mental state was continuously deteriorating.
While driving, the thought kept crossing his mind over and over again whether he should kill his own son.
He feared that Ivan might kill him first.
Meanwhile, another question was troubling Ivan: where had the body disappeared from the hut that night?
And who was that boy planning to fight?
The complete truth was still hidden.
Ivan decided that before doing anything else, he needed to find the answers to these questions.
A short while later, Ishan reached home.
The next morning, as he was stepping out of his room, he heard the sound of someone crying.
He stopped and began to listen closely.
That voice sounded like Ivan's.
Trembling with fear, he slowly approached Ivan's room.
As he got closer, the sound of the sobs grew even louder.
Right when Ishan was about to enter the room in a panic, Ivan quietly stepped outside, and the crying suddenly stopped.
Ivan was leaving for his tuition.
Ishan stopped him and asked, "Son, were you crying?"
Ivan replied with surprise, "No, why would I cry early in the morning?" Ivan stared at his father for a moment and then left from there.
Ishan fell into confusion and began to think, "Is Ivan trying to scare me? Is he just pretending to be innocent?"
On the other hand, right after leaving the house, Ivan thought that his father had broken down so much out of fear that he had now started having hallucinations.
After his tuition, Ivan followed his daily routine.
After coming from school and having lunch, he headed toward Vikas's house to retrieve his smartwatch.
On the way, he called Vikas's daughter, Tara.
When she picked up the phone, Ivan asked, "How are you, Tara? Who else is at home?"
Tara replied, "I'm fine. Mom and dad aren't home right now; I'm alone watching a movie."
Upon reaching Tara's house, Ivan saw that the car was parked outside and no one was around.
He crept stealthily toward the car, opened the door, and pulled out his smartwatch, which was taped under the seat, tucking it into his pocket.
Then he went and rang the doorbell.
Tara was surprised to see him, because Ivan hadn't told her beforehand about coming over.
Tara took him inside and offered him tea.
After returning home, Ivan had many questions regarding Amardeep.
He could have asked Twinkle at school, but he didn't want to take his friendship with her any further.
He felt it was better to find out on his own.
Therefore, he went to Twinkle's village along with Karan, a friend from his own village. Ivan's village was neither too far nor too close to Twinkle's village.
Upon arriving there, they stopped at a small shop.
The shopkeeper started staring intently at Ivan, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes.
Sensing his gaze, Ivan initiated the conversation: "Uncle, I heard that a boy lived in this village ten years ago who looked exactly like me. I think his name was Amardeep?"
The shopkeeper took a deep breath and said, "Yes son, you are completely right. You look exactly like him."
Curiously, Ivan asked, "I heard that he suddenly disappeared. Do you know how all of that happened?"
The shopkeeper replied, "Son, ten years ago, Amardeep..."