The sterile walls of the hospital room closed in around Dhruv as the police officer’s question hung heavily in the air. He sat upright in his bed, his mind swirling with fragments of memories that refused to piece together in any coherent way. The officer’s stern gaze didn’t waver, but Dhruv’s heart raced.

“Mr. Kapoor,” the officer repeated, his voice firm but calm. “Can you tell us who shot you?”

Dhruv swallowed hard, his hands gripping the bedsheet. His eyes darted between the faces in the room—Nandini standing by his side, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear, and Abir, who stood protectively behind her, his jaw clenched in concern. But it was the image of Tarini, who wasn’t there but haunted his thoughts, that unsettled him the most. He remembered her face—identical to Nandini’s—flashing before his eyes in that split second before the gun went off.

“I…” Dhruv hesitated, his brow furrowed as he tried to pull the memory from the fog that clouded his mind. “I don’t know.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but the confusion in it was palpable.

The officer exchanged a glance with his colleague, scribbling something in his notebook. “You don’t know? But surely you saw something. Someone must have been close enough.”

“I saw… her,” Dhruv said, his voice strained as he struggled to make sense of the fleeting images. “But I can’t remember if it was Nandini or Tarini.” His gaze fell on Nandini, her expression shifting from shock to something more like pain.

Nandini took a deep breath, trying to stay composed. “Dhruv, you know it wasn’t me. I would never hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”

Dhruv’s eyes locked onto hers, and he desperately wanted to believe her. But the terror of that night—the rush of adrenaline, the blinding pain, and the cold touch of fear—made it impossible for him to separate the two sisters in his mind. Both their faces haunted him, but he couldn’t pinpoint which one had pulled the trigger.

“I want to believe you,” Dhruv said slowly, his voice shaking. “But I can’t remember clearly. Tarini… she looks just like you. She was always there, in the shadows, watching us.”

Abir stepped forward, his voice calm but serious. “Dhruv, I know this is hard, but we need to focus. Tarini’s dangerous, and she’s the one who tried to hurt you. Don’t let her play with your mind.”

Dhruv ran a hand through his hair, the frustration boiling beneath his skin. “But what if I’m wrong? What if I accuse the wrong person? I don’t want to doubt Nandini, but… I’m scared.” His voice broke at the last word, the weight of uncertainty crushing him.

The officer’s patience seemed to wear thin, but he remained composed. “We need a definitive answer, Mr. Kapoor. If you can’t remember, we’ll have to proceed with our investigation based on the evidence we have. But any detail you can recall might help.”

Dhruv closed his eyes, his mind racing. He remembered the darkness, the sound of footsteps behind him. The touch of cold metal against his skin. Then the shot—the sharp pain that had ripped through his chest. But the face… it was blurred, like a dream slipping away the moment he tried to grab hold of it.

Suddenly, a memory flickered through his mind—Tarini’s voice. Her words filled with bitterness and anger, accusing him of taking something that was rightfully hers. “You never deserved her, Dhruv. You never deserved any of this.” The memory was vivid now, as if it had been waiting just below the surface, ready to resurface.

Dhruv’s eyes snapped open, a shiver running down his spine. “It was her,” he whispered, his voice shaky but resolute. “It was Tarini.”

The tension in the room shifted immediately. Nandini let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding, tears welling in her eyes as relief washed over her. Abir nodded, his expression grim but relieved that Dhruv had finally remembered.

“Are you sure?” the officer asked, leaning in slightly.

Dhruv nodded, his jaw clenched. “Yes. I remember now. Tarini… she was angry. She was always angry, but I never thought she’d actually do something like this.” His voice trembled with disbelief, the shock of it all settling in.

The officer scribbled in his notebook before turning to his colleague. “We’ll need to issue an alert for Tarini Bansal immediately. She’s likely dangerous and could be hiding.”

Nandini placed her hand on Dhruv’s, squeezing it gently. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this. I can’t imagine what it feels like to doubt everything.”

Dhruv turned to her, his eyes softening. “I just… I didn’t want to believe it was her. Tarini always had a way of getting under my skin, but I thought… I thought she’d never go this far.”

Abir crossed his arms, his gaze hardening. “She’s been playing us all along. We’ll find her, Dhruv. I promise you that.”

But even as Abir spoke those words, a sense of dread lingered in the air. The battle was far from over. Tarini was still out there, and they all knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Outside the hospital, Tarini watched from a distance, her face hidden beneath a scarf. Her heart pounded as she overheard the officers discussing her name—her betrayal now exposed. Rage burned in her chest. They thought they had won, but they had no idea what she was truly capable of.

“This isn’t over,” she muttered under her breath, her eyes narrowing as she turned away. “Not by a long shot.”

As the clock ticked toward Dhruv and Nandini’s wedding, a storm was brewing. Tarini’s thirst for vengeance was far from quenched, and as the shadows loomed closer, the line between love and betrayal blurred even further.