đź’” The Contract Groom
The underground room suddenly felt smaller.
Tighter.
As if the walls themselves had begun listening.
Dr. Prem kept his hand near the hidden seam in the wall, his eyes fixed on Sasmita.
She had changed.
Not slightly.
Completely.
Until now, she had been careful.
Cold.
Controlled.
But this—
this reaction was different.
Fear.
Real fear.
"Move away from it," she said again.
Her voice lower this time.
Sharper.
Dr. Prem didn't move.
Instead, his fingers traced the edge of the hidden line carefully.
Almost invisible.
Perfectly concealed.
Which meant one thing.
Someone had spent enormous effort hiding whatever was behind it.
And people only hid things this deeply for two reasons.
Power.
Or truth.
"You knew this existed," he said quietly.
Sasmita's jaw tightened.
"That's not your concern."
"Everything in this house is becoming my concern."
The words settled heavily between them.
Because both of them understood now—
the situation had crossed a line.
This was no longer just treatment.
No longer just survival.
The deeper they moved—
the more dangerous the truth became.
Dr. Prem looked at the wall once more.
Then suddenly—
he pressed against a tiny uneven section near the lower edge.
Click.
A soft mechanical sound echoed through the underground room.
Sasmita's eyes widened instantly.
"Stop!"
Too late.
The hidden compartment unlocked slowly with a low metallic vibration.
Dust shifted lightly into the air as the narrow section of wall moved inward.
Cold air escaped from inside.
Old air.
Forgotten air.
The opening revealed a small hidden chamber.
Dark.
Silent.
Untouched for years.
For several seconds—
neither of them moved.
Then Dr. Prem stepped closer carefully.
Inside the compartment sat a metal box.
Old.
Locked.
And beside it—
a faded photograph.
Sasmita's breathing stopped for a moment.
"No…" she whispered softly.
Dr. Prem picked up the photograph slowly.
Dust covered most of the surface.
But not enough to hide the faces.
A woman.
Young.
Smiling faintly.
Sumitra Devi.
Beside her stood a man in formal clothes, one arm protectively around her shoulder.
Tall.
Sharp-eyed.
Powerful presence.
And between them—
a small child.
Maybe five years old.
The photo slipped slightly in Dr. Prem's fingers.
Because the child—
looked exactly like him.
Silence exploded inside the room.
Sasmita stared at the photograph in shock.
Then slowly—
her gaze lifted toward Dr. Prem.
He hadn't moved.
Hadn't spoken.
But behind the mask—
his breathing had changed.
Fragments flashed violently through his mind.
A woman laughing softly.
Warm hands brushing through his hair.
A voice calling—
"Aryan…"
Pain hit instantly.
Sharp enough to blur his vision for half a second.
He gripped the edge of the hidden chamber tightly.
"…Impossible," he whispered.
Sasmita stepped backward slowly.
Her mind racing.
No.
No, this couldn't—
Then suddenly—
everything connected at once.
The name.
His reaction.
The memories.
His face.
Her heartbeat became uneven.
"…You…" she whispered.
Dr. Prem slowly looked toward her.
For the first time—
his calm was breaking.
"Who am I?" he asked quietly.
Not cold.
Not controlled.
Lost.
That single question shook the room more than anything else tonight.
Sasmita didn't know what to say.
Because she herself no longer understood what she was seeing.
Before either of them could speak again—
the underground monitor suddenly beeped violently.
Both turned instantly.
Sumitra Devi's neural activity spiked dangerously high.
Her breathing became uneven.
And then—
slowly—
her eyes opened.
Only halfway.
Blurred.
Weak.
But open.
Sasmita froze completely.
"…Piusi…"
Sumitra Devi's lips moved faintly.
Her gaze struggled to focus through years of unconscious darkness.
Then—
her eyes stopped on Dr. Prem.
Everything changed in her expression.
Shock.
Pain.
Disbelief.
Tears gathered instantly at the corners of her eyes.
Her lips trembled weakly.
"…Aryan…"
This time—
clear.
The name echoed through the underground room like a truth finally escaping after years of silence.
Dr. Prem's body went still.
Completely still.
Because deep inside him—
something shattered.
A memory returned violently.
Fire.
Screaming.
Someone carrying him through smoke.
A man's voice shouting—
"Take the child!"
Then darkness.
He staggered slightly backward.
One hand pressing against his head.
Sasmita rushed toward Sumitra Devi instantly.
"Piusi! Piusi, look at me!"
But Sumitra Devi's weak gaze never left Dr. Prem.
Fear mixed with desperation inside her eyes.
As if she had just seen someone return from the dead.
Then suddenly—
she grabbed Sasmita's wrist weakly.
"Run…"
Her voice cracked painfully.
"Before… they find him…"
The machines screamed sharply.
Warning alarms flashing red across the underground room.
And above them—
unseen by anyone—
a hidden camera blinked once inside the darkness.
Someone else had seen everything.