Unknown Location – 3:12 A.M.
In a cold, dim room lit by a single hanging bulb, a man stirred in bed. Machines beeped softly beside him.
A nurse entered, holding the USB drive that had just been delivered.
"Another file from Serene Hope," she whispered.
The man didn't speak.
She plugged it in. Footage from the hospital played—the explosion, Vashti screaming, Shabd shielding her.
The man's fingers twitched.
The nurse turned to him. "She looks just like her mother now."
Still no response.
Then—barely above a whisper—came his first words in years:
> "Vashti…"
---
Serene Hope Hospital – Rooftop
The wind was sharp. Vashti stood alone, clutching the faded badge of her father. The lab was gone. The evidence almost destroyed.
Almost.
Shabd joined her. "We recovered some files. Not all. But enough to shake the board."
She didn't respond.
He waited, then finally asked, "You okay?"
Vashti turned to him with haunted eyes. "What if my dad isn't dead?"
Shabd blinked. "What?"
She handed him a single printed frame from the corrupted footage—a reflection. In a mirror behind her father during that old video…
A nurse with a butterfly tattoo.
The same one that showed up in the USB file recovered by an anonymous source earlier that night.
"This nurse… she's still alive. Working off-record. Somewhere hidden."
Shabd examined it, heart thudding. "You think she's keeping him?"
"I know it."
---
Elsewhere – Dr. R's Office
Dr. R stared at a report on his desk.
"Subject DH-1: Neural Response to Trauma Remains Active."
He smiled. "So you survived, Dr. Vivek Dhiman."
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
His assistant entered, nervous. "Sir, the board wants to investigate the fire. And the missing trial files."
Dr. R leaned back. "Let them. The real game just began."
---
Miafel Amor Dhiman's Home – Midnight
Vashti stood in front of her mother, holding out the printed photo. "You said you never found his body. What if he didn't die? What if you gave up too soon?"
Miafel's face turned pale. "I didn't give up. I was told to stop."
Vashti stepped closer. "Then help me start again."