Shringar, who was shocked to see Dr Nitish in a bedridden position, wanted to ask a lot of questions. But unfortunately, she could not speak a single word.
Sophie patted her shoulder, startling her. Shringar asked in disbelief, "How is this possible…? Dr Nitish seemed completely fine to me this morning, and here he is in this position. His condition makes it seem as though he has been here for a while, not just recently…."
Sophie's mother held Dr Nitish's hand tightly and looked at Shringar. She began, "It might sound crazy, but the person you are living with is not Dr Nitish. He is an impostor."
Hearing this, Shringar became really scared and almost lost her balance. However, she managed to steady herself and asked, "What in the world are you talking about?!"
Sophie insisted, "It is true! I know it might sound absurd, but please listen to us for a moment. We do not know that man's intentions, but we know that as long as you are with him, you are not safe. So, we want to help you. Dr Nitish Das is your distant cousin. He talked about you a few times before…"
Shringar sat on the chair beside Dr Nitish's bed and said, "Wait, first tell me how you know Dr Nitish."
Sophie took a breath and slowly exhaled. Then she began, "Dr Nitish operated on me because he specialises in paediatric surgery. I almost died, but he saved my life. My mother is a nurse, and she respected him a lot, especially after my case. So, we became good acquaintances of Dr Nitish. He even used to share his troubles with us. He introduced us to his best friend, Dr Janki. We all became really close.
"But one day, Dr Nitish told us about someone stalking him. However, he was not completely sure about it. Then he received the news about you and your family and became really scared. So, he wanted to report his own case as well as treat you, both as a doctor and as your cousin. But before anything could happen, he was kidnapped.
"No one reported his kidnapping since he lived alone and was on holiday. When we suspected that he was missing, we went to the police. However, after investigating, they found Dr Nitish to be completely fine. Then, after a few days, he moved to our colony, which came as a surprise. When my mother approached him, he seemed completely clueless about us. So, we did not pester him and told Dr Janki about the situation. Dr Janki showed us Dr Nitish's last message to her."
Shringar asked, "What was it about?"
Sophie's mother said, "They will use Shringar. VeilTus. They are really powerful, and they will rule the world. They are especially targeting Shringar… Save her… Save Shringar and do not trust the doppelganger."
Shringar wanted to see the message, so Sophie's mother showed her its screenshot.
Sophie's mother continued, "After a few weeks, we found Dr Nitish in this condition on the cliff at Shera Pahar when we went there during Sophie's holiday. This whole incident happened two months ago."
Shringar curiously asked, "Why did you not tell the police anything? What is going on?"
Sophie's mother said, "Dr Janki asked us to keep it a secret until the right time. She wanted you to be the first to know about it. Besides, we have no idea about the investigation."
Shringar said, "I would very much like to know about Dr Janki."
Suddenly, Sophie's mobile phone rang. It was Dr Janki. She asked to speak to Shringar, so Sophie handed her the phone. Shringar put it to her ear and said, "Hello?"
Dr Janki said, "Hello, Shringar. I am Dr Janki, and I really need to inform you about a few things. I am quite sure that since you are still at Sophie's house, you have at least some trust in us."
Shringar replied, "That seems quite logical to me. That is why I am still here. Please tell me what you want to say. And why did you not tell the police anything?"
Dr Janki said, "My younger brother is in the task force, and he does not want me to get involved in the case, even for a second. Secondly, I wanted to be sure about the situation and the safety of Sophie and her mother. We also need to protect you first. We have nothing to do with the case, but because of Nitish, we need to make sure you stay safe at all costs."
Shringar realised the severity of the situation she was in. She asked, "But why me? Why am I particularly the main target?"
Dr Janki replied, "We do not know. That is the police's job to find out. So, first things first. Do not go back to the fake Dr Nitish. Secondly, I am coming to take you with me so that the fake Dr Nitish cannot get to you. Then we will talk to the police."
Shringar interrupted, "Wait, this plan has a lot of flaws. Dr Nitish… I mean, the so-called Dr Nitish, knows that I am here, so it will cause trouble for Sophie and her mother. Secondly, I need to know about the man I am currently living with. Thirdly, someone from the police needs to know about this, no matter what."
Dr Janki insisted, "Do not take any risks. Do you honestly believe that VeilTus does not have anyone as a backup in the task force?"
Shringar replied, "I know. But we cannot just handle this matter on our own, since it involves a criminal organisation. This is riskier than my idea. Recently, a reliable officer told me how much information is being hidden from me, even though I have the right to know it. This is due to some sort of politics being played from above by VeilTus. My elder sister… My mother… They might be alive… I will tell that reliable officer about this. After hearing everything, I do not trust anyone from the task force except him. Let me hear his opinion, and then I will decide when to join you."
Sophie asked, "But what if the supposed Dr Nitish harms you in the meantime…?"
Shringar replied, "You saw it, right? Both of you saw the person who broke our window and said all those things? He is the officer I am talking about. Because of that incident, Dr Nitish actually became a little intimidated. So, he will not do anything rash to me just yet."
Dr Janki sighed and said, "Okay, Shringar. I will leave this decision to you. I can also help. There is a hacker named Alex Mercer. My younger brother and Aditya, a technical specialist working in their department's cyber unit, caught him during a major college cybercrime investigation. Both of them were later promoted in recognition of their work.
"But Alex was a college student, and going to prison would have destroyed his future. A massive black-hat hacking agency was also behind most of the problems, so my brother let him go and exposed the entire agency. It was part of a secret case, so it was not highlighted in the media. But since then, Alex has been our friend. He is a young man in his early twenties. You can ask him for help."
Shringar asked, "What kind of help?"
Dr Janki explained, "By hacking into the fake Dr Nitish's phone and installing a GPS tracker on it. This will allow us to track his every move and find out where he goes. With the GPS tracker, Alex will also be able to keep track of your safety."
Shringar said, "Alright. That will help."
Dr Janki smiled and said, "Alright, but you will have to ask him yourself. Open Google in incognito mode, search for AHackX.IN and enter Alex's code number in the search box to get in touch with him. Even though he is our friend, he only helps people when he becomes interested in the person asking for help. So, you will have to talk to him yourself. I will tell him about you beforehand."
"Tell me his code," Shringar eagerly asked Dr Janki.
"144-025-036-146," Shringar noted it down.
Dr Janki said, "If you do not find him using that code, then try another one in which only the first two digits are different: '034-025-036-146'. He has two different hacking accounts. At any rate, he will definitely respond through one of them. He does not ask for money until the work has been successfully completed. But if he finds out about me and my brother, he will not ask for any money. Do not worry. Initially, you just have to play along."
Shringar sighed and thanked Dr Janki.
Sophie was not keen on the idea of Shringar going back to the doppelganger. However, she could not do anything to stop her.
Shringar went back and tried to act as normally as possible, but Dr Nitish knew something was wrong. Even Shringar could tell that she was not behaving naturally.
When Shringar fell asleep, Dr Nitish returned to his room and thought, "Officer Prakash needs to be eliminated. He has already caused trouble for me. Shringar has been upset ever since Officer Prakash pulled that stunt with the window. Although he repaired the window that he had shattered into pieces, Shringar's trust in me was also shattered in the process, and I am not sure if I can repair it… I am sure she suspects me. She is no fool. Uff! Even a stupid kid would suspect me at this point. I must do something soon. No… Officer Prakash might be keeping a close eye on me. I must ask Officer Rani, but she is in a tight spot herself. Should I use my other card? But it is too soon for that… No, the situation has escalated quickly, and for that very reason, this is actually the right time to use my other card."
Shringar informed Officer Prakash about everything that had happened that day. Officer Prakash agreed with Shringar. He also stated, "Technical specialist Aditya from our department tried to install a GPS tracker on Dr Nitish's phone. But it stopped working after 20 minutes. Besides, it is shocking to hear that the Dr Nitish who lives with you is a doppelganger and that the original Dr Nitish is bedridden in the basement of Sophie's house. This whole thing is news to me. We will have to take action on this issue. I will contact the Chief. Let us see what she says. But be careful, Shringar. I am sure Dr Nitish has plans in this situation. Shringar, I suggest you go and stay at a friend's house. We will send constables to guard your house so that nothing happens to you. I promise that if we find out anything related to your family, I will inform you. As long as you are living with Dr Nitish, he has power over you. Get away from him."
Shringar agreed and informed everyone about the entire situation through her "Secret Mission Group Chat". They had a call, during which Lalit suggested, "Why do you not tell Dr Nitish that you are going to stay at one of our houses and actually go to Dr Janki's place?"
Shringar said, "It is okay, but I really do not want anyone to be put at risk."
Sanskar said, "We are all at risk anyway. If the Dr Nitish you are living with is a doppelganger, then he knows every one of us. He will cause trouble for us anyway, since he is a member of VeilTus and wants to target all of us."
Shringar said, "Especially me... I do not know why, but I think I am a ticking time bomb for everyone."
Dorothy said, "Come to my house, Shringar. My trauma and testimonies have made an impact on the police. As a result, I am under police surveillance. So do not worry. If you come to stay at my house, everything will be fine."
Gaurav had also suggested that she stay at his house. However, Shringar knew that Dr Nitish would never allow her to stay at a boy's house. Besides, Sanskar had also seemed reluctant to agree with the idea, although Shringar could not understand why. So, in the end, they had decided that she would stay at Dorothy's house. Now, the only thing left was to convince Dr Nitish.
Shringar was having doubts about this idea because she had seen the original Dr Nitish in a bedridden condition. She had no idea what kind of torture might have been inflicted on him. But the very thought of it horrified her.
Shringar got up, switched on her lamp, and opened Google in incognito mode. She typed "AHackX.IN". The website was completely black, with everything written in bright red, as if it belonged to the dark web. In the search box, Shringar hesitantly typed the code: "144-025-036-146".
The website began searching for Alex, and for some reason, Shringar felt a little afraid because of the uncertainty. "Mercer" was the name of his profile, but it was offline. Two options were displayed: one to send a text message and the other to make a call. Shringar chose to send a text message.
{Is this Alex Mercer? I need to ask for your help.}
Alex came online after a few seconds and texted back.
{Tell me abt. your sitch.}
Shringar tried to keep things brief.
{There is a criminal organisation called VeilTus. One of its members is posing as my cousin. I am currently living with him, but I am planning on leaving as quickly as possible. We need to find out where he goes every day. The police and the hackers did try to use GPS, but after 20 minutes, the GPS stopped working.}
After a few minutes of contemplation, Alex typed back.
{Interesting. VeilTus? I have never heard of this org, but the person you are living with is dangerous. Nice, let us see what I can do. Imma gonna take his phone number and hack it down.}
Shringar sent his phone number to Alex. Alex sent her a thumbs-up emoji and texted back.
{The most interesting part is how you know my name. But we can talk about it after successfully completing the first task. I will msg. you, and if you want, you can call me as well. Bye for now.}
Then, he immediately went offline.
The next day, while going to school, Shringar proposed her plan to stay with Dorothy to Dr Nitish.
He said, "So suddenly? Well, I am not saying it is impossible. But I thought you were a bit reserved. Staying at someone else's house when you do not know them very well... She is not even your classmate. She is just a friend of your friend. No matter how close you have become as friends, it is still odd. Are you afraid of me, Shringar?"
Shringar smiled and answered, "Yes, I am. And I definitely want to stay away from you. Although Dorothy was the one who suggested the idea without knowing anything about Officer Prakash's window-breaking incident, I agreed because of you. I am really sorry, Dr Nitish... I..."
Dr Nitish smiled. He felt a little relieved to see Shringar being honest about her thoughts. He could feel that Shringar still had some trust in him, which was why she had revealed the truth. However, he did not know how well prepared Shringar was for this conversation.
The problem was Dorothy. Dr Nitish knew that Dorothy had some idea about him being a member of VeilTus. Moreover, Officer Rani had informed him about a mysterious phone call made from the telephone booth in front of Dorothy's college. When the police confronted Dorothy about it, she did not answer their questions and pretended to be clueless. However, Dr Nitish had sent a spy to follow her and had seen her making another call to the police from the same telephone booth. But since she had noticed the spy, she had left the place.
Dr Nitish had previously planned to eliminate her, but there were many police constables guarding her house. So, his hands were tied for now. His anger towards Officer Prakash increased.
He said, "Well, I will think about it, Shringar, because I cannot trust anyone around you. They might not be good."
Shringar nodded and said, "Without your permission, how can I do anything? You are my only guardian right now."
Dr Nitish felt good hearing Shringar say that he still had the upper hand in their relationship.
Shringar went inside the school, with a dark silence surrounding her ever since the day she had woken up with memory loss. Meanwhile, the supposed Dr Nitish continued towards the unknown. And the genius hacker Alex Mercer proceeded with his task.