Night settled over Vijayawada.
The city's roads gradually emptied as shops closed one after another.
The memorial posters of Lakshmi Rajyam still fluttered in the evening breeze.
To the world, the Chief Minister was dead.
To the conspirators, the operation was complete.
That false sense of victory created the perfect opportunity.
Inside the lodge, Sathyamoorthy studied the map of the city.
One location was circled repeatedly.
The research laboratory where the doctor had worked before his death.
Lakshmi looked at him.
You're really going tonight?
He nodded.
If the doctor left anything behind, it won't stay hidden forever. Someone will eventually remove it.
Tonight may be our only chance.
Lakshmi stood up.
I'm coming with you.
He immediately refused.
No.
If something goes wrong, one of us must remain outside.
You're officially dead.
Let's keep it that way.
After a brief silence, she agreed.
Be careful.
Near midnight, Sathyamoorthy reached the research institute.
The building stood in darkness except for a few security lights near the entrance.
The main gate was locked, but he noticed a maintenance entrance at the rear of the campus that had been left unsecured after ongoing repair work.
He quietly slipped inside.
The corridors were silent.
Only the sound of the air-conditioning units echoed through the building.
Rows of laboratories stretched into the darkness.
He switched on a small flashlight, careful not to attract attention.
The doctor's office still carried his nameplate.
Dust had already begun settling on the desk.
It looked as though no one had entered since the investigation following his death.
Sathyamoorthy searched methodically.
Drawers.
Bookshelves.
Research files.
Nothing.
Most official documents had already been removed.
He frowned.
Someone had cleaned the office.
Just as he was about to leave, something caught his attention.
One of the floor tiles beneath the doctor's desk was slightly raised.
Different from the others.
He knelt down.
Carefully lifting the loose tile, he discovered a small hidden compartment.
Inside lay a sealed plastic pouch.
His heartbeat quickened.
He opened it carefully.
There was no stack of documents.
No hard drive.
Only an old smartphone.
Switched off.
Wrapped in protective plastic.
He stared at it.
Why would the doctor hide only a phone?
The device had no visible damage.
It appeared to have been hidden deliberately, not discarded in haste.
A small handwritten label was attached to the pouch.
It contained only one word.
Evidence.
Sathyamoorthy slipped the phone into his bag.
Then he restored the tile exactly as he had found it.
As he turned to leave, faint footsteps echoed somewhere in the corridor.
He immediately switched off his flashlight.
Someone else was inside the building.
The footsteps grew louder.
A torchlight beam swept across the hallway outside the office.
Two silhouettes paused near the doorway.
One of them spoke quietly.
Search this room again.
The phone hasn't been found yet.
Sathyamoorthy's heart raced.
They were looking for the very device now hidden inside his bag.
He remained perfectly still behind a storage cabinet, barely breathing.
The two men entered the office and began searching once more.
Drawers were opened.
Files were thrown aside.
One of them even looked beneath the desk.
After several tense minutes, the first man spoke with frustration.
Nothing.
Someone got here before us.
The second man replied.
Then inform them immediately.
If the phone is missing...
our timeline has changed.
The two men hurried out of the office.
Their footsteps faded into the darkness.
Only then did Sathyamoorthy exhale.
He carefully left through the same maintenance exit and disappeared into the night.
Back at the lodge, Lakshmi opened the door before he could knock.
She had been waiting anxiously.
He removed the phone from his bag and placed it on the table.
Lakshmi looked at it in silence.
Is this...
Sathyamoorthy nodded.
The doctor's hidden phone.
And we weren't the only ones searching for it.
Someone arrived just minutes after I found it.
Lakshmi stared at the device.
If the doctor risked hiding this...
then whatever is inside could expose the entire conspiracy.
The room fell silent as both of them looked at the old phone.
Neither knew whether it still worked.
Neither knew what secrets it contained.
But they both understood one thing.
The investigation had finally produced its first real piece of evidence.