The anonymous story continued to spread across Andhra Pradesh.
Readers discussed it in tea stalls, colleges, buses, and television debates.
Some believed it was fiction.
Others believed it was a hidden confession.
For the people behind the conspiracy, it was neither.
It was a warning.
Someone knew the truth.
Inside a government intelligence office, a small team was assigned only one task.
Identify the author.
Every lead was examined.
The newspaper editor was questioned.
Submission records were checked.
The fake identity used to publish the story led nowhere.
It was carefully created.
One officer looked at the investigation board.
The story contains details that only someone close to Lakshmi Rajyam could know.
We should speak to everyone connected to her.
The first name on the list was Haripriya.
That afternoon, two officials arrived at the Kuchipudi academy.
The students had just completed their practice.
Haripriya welcomed them politely.
One of the officers showed her the newspaper.
Have you read this story?
Haripriya nodded.
Yes.
Many people have been asking me about it.
Do you know who wrote it?
She shook her head.
No.
I don't know anything about the author.
The officers carefully watched her expressions.
Did your sister ever tell you anything similar?
Haripriya answered honestly.
No.
My sister never discussed such matters with me.
The officers exchanged a brief glance.
Then one of them asked another question.
Has anyone unusual met you after your sister's disappearance?
Haripriya paused.
She remembered the quiet man who had visited the academy.
Yes.
A man came here a few days ago.
The officers immediately became attentive.
Who?
He introduced himself as Ashok Chakravarthy.
He said he was an archivist and that he had worked personally with my sister on documenting public welfare projects.
He wanted to know about her final days before she disappeared.
The room fell silent.
Did he tell you where he was staying?
No.
Did he leave a phone number?
No.
What did he ask?
Mostly about my sister.
Whether she had contacted me before disappearing.
Whether anything unusual had happened.
He listened carefully but never revealed much about himself.
The officers thanked her and quietly left the academy.
As soon as they entered their vehicle, one officer spoke.
This Ashok Chakravarthy...
he appears just before the story is published.
Another officer nodded.
He asks questions that match the story.
Then an anonymous article appears containing confidential details.
That cannot be a coincidence.
The senior investigator looked at the newspaper again.
Whether Ashok Chakravarthy wrote the story or not...
he definitely knows something about Lakshmi Rajyam.
He picked up his phone.
Issue a discreet alert.
No public announcement.
Find this man.
Track everyone using the name Ashok Chakravarthy.
Check hotels, railway reservations, newspapers, publishing circles and surveillance footage.
Within hours, the search expanded.
Across Vijayawada, investigators quietly began looking for a man who officially did not exist.
Meanwhile, back at the lodge, Sathyamoorthy was unaware that Haripriya had unknowingly provided the first real lead in the investigation.
He looked at the newspaper spread across the table.
Lakshmi noticed his expression.
What is it?
He smiled faintly.
If they reacted to the story...
they've already started searching for the author.
Lakshmi nodded.
Which means the bait worked.
Neither of them realized that the search had already begun.
And from that moment onward...
the name Ashok Chakravarthy had become the conspiracy's next target.