They drove through the night. Aryan's old car bumping on bad roads. Aarya couldn't sit still.
"Faster. Please."
"We're going as fast as this car can go."
Dawn was breaking when they reached the old age home. The gate was open. Too open.
They ran inside.
Captain's room. Door broken.
Inside, the chair was overturned. The bed was messy. Blood on the floor.
But no Captain.
Aarya screamed. "No! No no no!"
Aryan held her. "Quiet. Listen."
From somewhere, a weak sound. Moaning.
Behind the bathroom door. Captain Avinash, slumped against the wall. Bleeding from his stomach. Alive. Barely.
"Captain!"
He opened his eyes. Saw her. Smiled weakly.
"Beta... you came back... I knew you would..."
"Who did this? Who?"
"Karan's men... they wanted to know what I told you... I didn't say anything... but they knew already... someone told them you were here..."
"Who told them?"
Captain's eyes flickered to Aryan. Then back to Aarya.
"Be careful who you trust, beta... the fourth person... is closer than you think..."
His eyes closed.
"Captain! Captain!"
No response.
Aryan checked his pulse. "He's alive. Barely. We need a hospital."
They carried him to the car. Drove like mad to the nearest hospital.
Two hours in surgery.
The doctor came out. "He'll live. But he lost a lot of blood. He needs rest. No visitors for twenty-four hours."
Aarya sat in the waiting room, head in her hands.
"Who's the fourth person, Aryan? Captain said someone told Karan I was here. Only you and I knew I was coming back."
Aryan sat next to her. "Are you accusing me?"
"I don't know who to trust anymore. My whole life is a lie. My father was a criminal. My mother married him for revenge. My uncle is a murderer. And now the one person who could give me answers is almost dead."
Aryan was quiet for a moment. Then he spoke.
"I understand. You have no reason to trust me. But I've been investigating Karan for two years because he killed my father too."
Aarya looked up. "What?"
"My father was a journalist. In 2005, he was writing a story about Karan's land deals. He got too close to the truth. One night, his car crashed into a truck. Drunk driving, they said. Just like your father. Just like your mother."
Aarya stared at him.
"So you see, Aarya, we're the same. Both of us lost parents to this monster. Both of us want justice. That's why I'm here. That's why I'll never betray you."
For the first time in days, Aarya felt something like hope.
"Okay. I trust you."
They sat together in the hospital waiting room, two strangers connected by blood and death and the need for truth.