The list came in faster than expected.
Aditya didn't say anything when he handed it over—just slid the paper across the desk and waited.
Three names.
Two still active.
One—marked inactive as of last night.
"Left without clearance?" Shivanya asked.
Aditya nodded.
"No formal exit. Just… gone."
"That's convenient."
"Too convenient."
Rudraksh leaned slightly against the table, reading the list once, then again.
"Which one handled system access?"
"Arun Mehta," Aditya replied.
"Maintenance staff. Temporary hire."
"Background check?"
"Pending."
That said enough.
Shivanya picked up the file.
No photograph.
Minimal details.
Almost as if it had been filled just enough to pass through.
"Where is he assigned?" she asked.
"System room rotation. Night shifts mostly."
Her eyes flickered briefly.
Night.
Cameras down.
Her ID used.
It aligned too cleanly.
"Let's see where he's been logged today," she said.
They moved again.
This time toward the staff terminal.
The system pulled up quickly.
"Last active—yesterday," Aditya read.
"No login today."
"Security check?" Rudraksh asked.
"Already flagged," Aditya said.
"They're still verifying."
Shivanya leaned forward slightly.
Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Then stopped.
Something felt off."He wanted us to find this," she said.
Aditya looked at her.
"What do you mean?"
"If someone wanted to hide, they wouldn't leave a trail this clean."
Rudraksh nodded once.
"So this is what we're supposed to see."
"Yes."
"Then what aren't we seeing?"
That question stayed.Because none of them had the answer yet.
A nurse entered the corridor hurriedly.
"Doctor, Ward 2 needs you."
Shivanya straightened."I'll be there."
every interruption felt like a delay.
Inside the ward, the patient was stable.
She completed the check quickly.But her mind didn't stay.
It returned again to that paused frame.
The wrist.
The watch.
Something about it—Her fingers stilled for a second.
"Doctor?" the patient called.
She looked up immediately.
"Yes?"
"You look distracted."
A faint pause.
Then almost unconsciously she smiled.
"Just thinking."
When she stepped back into the corridor—
Aditya stood a little further away, speaking quietly with a security staff member.
"They're checking entry logs," he said when she approached.
"Exit gate too."
"Anything?" she asked.
"Not yet."
Rudraksh glanced toward the far end of the corridor.
"People don't disappear from a hospital without being seen," he said.
"They do," Aditya replied.
"If no one's looking for them."
A pause.
Shivanya turned slightly.
Her gaze moved toward the system room.
Then beyond it.
And for a moment—
the corridor shifted.
Not fully.
Just—
layered.Same structure.Different lighting.Colder.A door.At the far end.Her breath caught.
"Shivanya?"Aditya's voice.She blinked.
The present returned instantly.
"I'm fine," she said.
Neither of them believed that completely.
But neither pressed.
"Let's check his address," Rudraksh said.
Aditya nodded."I'll get it."
The details came quickly."That's not good," Aditya muttered.
"What?" she asked.
"Temporary housing. No permanent record."
Rudraksh took the paper.
"Then we go now."The drive felt shorter than it was.
The city shifted again from hospital lights to quieter lanes, narrower streets, buildings closer together.They stopped outside a small residential block.
"Fits the pattern," Aditya said.They went up.Second floor.Door slightly open.
Rudraksh pushed it gently.
The room inside was almost empty.A mattress.A chair.Nothing else.No personal belongings.No signs of living.Shivanya stepped in slowly.This wasn't abandonment.
"He was never staying here," she said.
Aditya checked the corners.Nothing.
Rudraksh moved toward the window.Looked out then back in.
"Too clean."
"Yes."
Shivanya's gaze dropped.
Something near the chair.
She bent slightly.Picked it up.A broken watch strap.Dark.Metal clasp.
Her fingers tightened.The same.A flicker, The room.The table.The file.
That watch—
intact—
on someone's wrist.
Her breath shortened.
"Shivanya."
She looked up.
Rudraksh was closer now.
Watching her.
"What is it?"
She held up the strap.
"I've seen this."
This time—
she didn't deny it.
Aditya stepped closer.
"Where?"
She shook her head.
"I don't know yet."
But that wasn't uncertainty.
From the doorway, a voice came.
"He didn't live here."
An older woman stood outside, watching them.
"Came a few nights. Left late. Never spoke."
"Anyone visit him?" Aditya asked.
She thought for a moment.
"A woman. Once."
"When?"
"Two nights ago."
"Did you see her face?"
She shook her head.
"Car was expensive."
That detail stayed.
Back outside the air felt heavier.Shivanya stood still for a second.
The strap still in her hand."This isn't just about the hospital," she said.
"No," Rudraksh replied.
"It's not."And now they all knew it.