Dhruv was a silent spectator to the cat and mouse game taking place at Mahanidhi. Ayaan was unusually quiet since the accident but always had his eyes roaming across the room. Since Deepshika's hasty departure, Dhruv hardly saw his brother in the house spending some quality time with him.

His mother, Chhaya wore a joyous look only to suppress the smile when she found someone watching her. Their father acted unconsciously to the happenings as he still locked himself in his study making an appearance for a few minutes at different times of the day. Dhruv rarely had a one on one with Ankush. The messages always went through Ayaan or Chhaya. So, that day etched in his memory as a milestone.

Dhruv was returning to his room after an hour-long workout in the gym. His muscles screamed time please from the weight training he did. However, pumping iron was the only way he found as an outlet to his emotions. He would share them either with Ayaan or Aakriti. With both not in the present world, the former in the mental state and the latter in the physical state, he did not know whom to talk to.

He opened the door, and his feet halted on their own. Ankush Agnihotri stood at the wall pinned with photographs of Dhruv's favourite moments. He dragged his feet, urging them to take him forward. As he inched nearer to his father, he could see Ankush focussing on an old photograph of the brothers at a family vacation, lost in laughter, holding their drinks up for a toast to each other.

"Dad, you are here?"

"You ask as if I shouldn't be here", came the reply.

"No, I meant, I rarely see you here, in my room."

"Dhruv, I wanted to ask you a question. If you were to choose between Ayaan and a stranger, who would be your pick?"

"Come on, Dad! Obviously Ayaan. He is my brother. My best friend."

"What if the stranger is a person close to you, just that you didn't know they were against Ayaan?"

"That's tough," Dhruv said, pretending to think. 'Could Dad be talking about himself?'

He crafted his response and answered. "The choice between anyone and Ayaan is never an issue. It will always be Ayaan. Unless that 'anyone' is equally close to me, which I doubt. Meaning to me more than Ayaan is like being more than you and Mom. There would never be such person above you, Mom and Ayaan in my life."

"Have you ever felt we have not done our duty as parents and left you to Ayaan?"

'What exactly is he getting at?' Dhruv shook his head, unsure of the direction this talk was going.

After ten minutes of staying quiet, Ankush spoke. "I know Aakriti was equally supportive to you. She never differentiated between both of you." Silence. "I will..." Silence. "I may..." Silence. "If you want any help, you can come to me." Finally, completing the sentence, Ankush left the room.

No, he had to leave because he saw Ayaan waiting at the door, listening to their conversation. Ayaan pressed his lips in a slight smile as he passed by Ankush.

Once their father was out of the earshot, Ayaan told him, straightening from the door frame. "It's time. Get ready."

That was what he was waiting to hear. That was what he wanted, and that was all he needed to pull the suitcase from his wardrobe.

---

An hour later, Ayaan saw Siddhant going into Ankush's study. He thought of barging in decently and sitting down for the conversation. Would his father allow him? He might. He might not.

The iron was hot enough to strike, Ayaan decided. He gathered the documents he needed Ankush to sign and knocked on the door. "Dad, it's me, Ayaan."

"Come in", was the reply.

"Dad, I need your decision on these payments. As you know, I only have signing rights for factory matters, not the finances. Can you please sign them off so that we can release the payments?"

Ankush glanced at him with a frown. "I gave signatory rights, all of them, that Aakriti had. Payments should be in as well."

"I guess you missed it out. It's okay. Just take a look at them and put in your agreed amounts. I will do the rest of the approval process."

Ankush stared at the stack of files Ayaan forwarded to him. "Ayaan, we are discussing the accident case. This can wait."

"No, Dad. The payments are already delayed. I had to spend my whole day talking to these suppliers to send this month's consignment. I told them we would release the payment as soon as possible. I'm afraid we can't put it off."

Ankush sighed. "Get me my iPad." Ayaan brought it from the work table. "I'm sending out an email to the accounts department that you will deal with the payments as well. In the system", he paused as he showed the company financial reporting page, "I have increased your limits of authority. With this, you should be able to clear the payments. Anything you don't know, don't release until there is enough supporting information. Got it?"

Ayaan nodded and left the room. He got what he wanted.

---

Payal Singh was at the hospital on behalf of Ayaan. She discussed with the doctors about the extent of the injuries and the health of the staff members. She spoke to the families of the injured, asking them to stay strong and to believe in Ayaan. He would be supportive towards them and would ensure they recover fully.

However, when she discussed with the doctors, she came across a shocking fact. "Not everyone was affected by the gas poisoning. Some of their injuries were due to the burns from the blast. The burns only hurt in the affected areas. But those who were exposed to carbon monoxide complain of a dull, frontal headache."

"Doctor, I am only curious. How do you identify if death was due to carbon monoxide poisoning?" She asked.

"The face would still look alive and healthy, unlike the pale, colourless appearance that can be seen in normal deaths."

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