THE HOSPITAL
I carried her.
Ran all the way.
Didn't feel the weight.
Didn't feel anything except the cold fear in my chest.
---
The doctors took her.
Pushed me out of the way.
Machines.
Lights.
Voices I couldn't understand.
---
I waited.
Hours.
Maybe days.
Time didn't exist anymore.
---
Then the doctor came out.
Face blank.
Professional.
Like he was delivering bad news about a car, not a person.
---
"We couldn't save the child."
---
I didn't hear anything after that.
Just static.
Just white noise.
Just the sound of my world ending.
---
"Your wife is stable. We can't save the child..and She'll recover physically. But emotionally..." He shook his head. "She's going to need time."
Time.
What the fuck is time?
Time is what took everything from me.
Time is the enemy.
My world collapse.
---
THE JAIL
Police came.
Took me away.
Didn't resist.
Didn't speak.
Didn't feel.
---
Four dead men.
Self-defense.
But still—
four dead men.
---
The cell was cold.
Small.
Empty.
Like me.
---
Days passed.
I stopped counting.
I thought about Gita.
Is she eating?
Is she sleeping?
Is she thinking about me?
Does she hate me?
Does she blame me?
---
No one came to see me.
No one.
Not Gita.
Not her family.
Not anyone.
---
Three days.
Seventy-two hours.
Then—
"You're free."
---
The guard opened the door.
I stared at him.
"What?"
"Someone posted bail. You're free. Get out."
---
I walked out into the sun.
Shielding my eyes.
Confused.
Gita?
Did she—
No.
It couldn't be.
---
A car waited outside.
Black.
Expensive.
A man in a suit stood beside it.
"Mr. Kumar. Kabhir sir wants to meet you."
---
Kabhir.
Suleiman's boss.
The real power behind the throne.
The man who controlled everything.
---
He wanted to meet me.
---
THE MEETING
Big office.
Leather chairs.
Whiskey on the table.
Kabhir sat behind the desk like a king on his throne.
Fiftyish.
Sharp eyes.
Smile that didn't reach anything.
---
"Veda." He said my name like we were old friends. "Sit."
I didn't sit.
"Why am I free?"
"Because I paid your bail."
"Why?"
"Because I want you to work for me."
---
I laughed.
Didn't mean to.
Just... came out.
"Work for you? You sent men to my house. They killed my baby. They—"
"They acted without orders." He shrugged. "Suleiman got... enthusiastic. I've dealt with him."
"Dealt with him?"
"He won't bother you anymore."
---
Silence.
"I don't want to work for you."
I turned to leave.
---
"Your mother."
I stopped.
"She said something, didn't she? About paying what you owe? About God watching?"
Slowly, I turned back.
"How do you know that?"
"I know everything about you, Veda. Soldier. Son. Husband. Soon-to-be father. Except..." He smiled. "Not soon-to-be anymore, right?"
---
Something cold moved in my chest.
"What do you want?"
"Join me. One month. Do some jobs. Then you're free. Rich. Free. And I'll forget about the four men you killed."
"I killed them protecting my wife."
"Doesn't matter. Police don't care. Courts don't care. I care. I can make it all go away."
---
My mother's words echoed in my head.
"Never lie, beta. Never cheat. Pay what you owe."
I walked out.
Didn't look back.
---
HOME
Empty.
Quiet.
No Gita.
---
I called her phone.
"The number you are trying to reach is not available."
Again.
"Not available."
Again.
"Not available."
---
My phone rang.
Kabhir.
---
"Hello, Veda."
"Where is she?"
"She's with me."
---
The world stopped.
Cold.
Ice in my veins.
"You're lying."
"Am I?"
---
My phone buzzed.
A picture.
Gita.
In a dark room.
Bleeding.
Someone had hit her.
Her face swollen.
Her eyes—
fear.
Pure fear.
---
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"
Kabhir laughed.
"Kill me? Like you killed my four men? Hahaha."
"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU—"
"You killed four of my people. So it's bad for me to not do anything, you know? You don't know? Always pay back what you owe..."
---
I was shaking.
Crying.
Screaming.
Don't know anymore.
---
"By the way," he said, casual, like discussing weather, "your woman is so beautiful. Lol. We even asked her about you. She didn't say a word. So loyal. Ahhh."
"WHERE IS SHE?"
"Tell me—are you at your house right now?"
---
I froze.
"Yes."
"Open the freezer."
---
I walked to the kitchen.
Opened the freezer.
A white box inside.
Small.
Cold.
---
I opened it.
---
A finger.
Human.
Gita's finger.
I recognized her ring.
Still on it.
---
My breathing stopped.
My heart stopped.
Everything stopped.
---
"Do you..." Kabhir's voice was happy, gleeful, "...like my gift? The finger is still fresh, dude."
---
I couldn't speak.
Couldn't move.
Couldn't think.
---
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" I finally screamed.
"Nothing. Just one month job. You need to kill some people."
---
My mother's words.
"Never lie, beta. Never cheat."
---
"I'll do it."