For several seconds after the memory flash, I couldn't breathe.
Dr. Raghav Malhotra.
Smiling.
Calling me son.
Not "Arjun."
Not "Mr. Arjun."
Not "patient."
Son.
The image felt so natural that it terrified me.
My legs weakened.
Meera held my arm tightly.
"Arjun… look at me."
Her voice sounded distant.
Like it was coming from underwater.
Kabir stepped forward immediately.
"Sit down."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
For once, there was no humor in his voice.
Only worry.
And fear.
Because he had seen that expression before.
Three years ago.
Rain continued outside Professor Dev's house.
The old grandfather clock ticked softly in the living room while nobody spoke.
Everyone was trying to process too many things at once.
Aisha might be alive.
Project Echo wasn't over.
Someone was watching us.
And now—
Dr. Malhotra's connection with me was far deeper than any of us had imagined.
Professor Dev looked exhausted.
"I never trusted Raghav completely," he admitted quietly.
"But I never thought…"
He stopped.
His eyes filled with pain.
"I never thought he would involve children."
Sara sat beside him.
"Grandfather…"
But the old man simply shook his head.
"There are things I never told any of you."
Everyone looked toward him.
Even Meera.
Professor Dev sighed heavily.
"Twenty years ago, before Project Echo became what it is now… it started as something beautiful."
His voice was filled with regret.
"People suffering from dementia… Alzheimer's… traumatic memory loss…"
"The purpose was healing."
"Not manipulation."
He closed his eyes.
"We wanted to preserve memories."
"To save identities."
"But people with money and power saw another possibility."
His expression darkened.
"Control."
Silence filled the room.
"Changing witnesses."
"Replacing emotions."
"Creating loyalty."
"Rewriting grief."
"And eventually… rewriting people."
My blood turned cold.
Professor Dev looked at me.
"Raghav was brilliant."
"Too brilliant."
"He believed memory made people weak."
"He believed suffering could be erased."
"He believed humans could be redesigned."
Meera unconsciously tightened her grip on my hand.
"And Aisha?" she asked softly.
The old man's eyes became sad.
"Aisha disagreed with him."
"She always disagreed."
"She believed pain was important."
"Because pain teaches people who they are."
Sara smiled faintly.
"That sounds like her."
Professor Dev nodded.
"She was stubborn."
Then his smile disappeared.
"And that stubbornness may have gotten her killed."
Or…
He looked at the cassette player.
"May have saved her."
Around midnight, everyone had fallen silent.
Kabir sat near the fireplace scrolling through old files from his laptop.
Sara was asleep on the couch.
Professor Dev had gone to rest.
Meera and I stood near the balcony.
Rain had stopped.
The city lights below looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Neither of us spoke for a while.
Then Meera smiled softly.
"You know…"
"What?"
"You've changed."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Is that good?"
She laughed quietly.
"Before the accident, you were terrible."
I looked offended.
"Excuse me?"
"You were arrogant."
"I was not."
"You absolutely were."
"And dramatic."
"I still am."
She smiled.
"True."
For the first time in days, we both laughed.
Not because the world had become less terrifying.
But because being together made it easier to survive.
After a while, she became quiet.
"Arjun."
"Hm?"
"If Aisha is alive…"
Her voice became softer.
"Will you leave me?"
I froze.
Then slowly looked toward her.
She wasn't jealous.
She wasn't angry.
She was afraid.
Genuinely afraid.
Because for three years, she had searched for me.
Waited for me.
Stayed.
And now another name had returned from the shadows.
A girl who had sacrificed everything.
I smiled sadly.
"Meera."
She lowered her eyes.
"I know it's selfish."
"No."
I gently held her hand.
"It's human."
She looked at me again.
And I said honestly—
"No matter what I remember…"
"No matter who comes back…"
"You're here."
"Right now."
"And I don't want to lose you."
Tears appeared in her eyes.
Not sad tears.
Just relief.
Then quietly, she rested her head against my shoulder.
And for the first time since this nightmare had begun…
Everything felt peaceful.
Until Kabir screamed.
"GUYS!"
We rushed inside immediately.
Kabir stood in front of his laptop.
Pale.
Terrified.
"What happened?"
He turned the screen toward us.
"I found something."
The video on the screen showed a hospital parking lot.
Date:
Three years ago.
Time:
11:42 PM.
Security footage.
The quality was terrible.
But the image was clear enough.
A car stopped.
Three people came out.
Me.
Meera.
And—
Aisha.
Alive.
All three of us entered the hospital.
Then the footage fast-forwarded.
Hours later.
The same entrance.
Only two people came out.
Me.
Dr. Raghav Malhotra.
My heart stopped.
Because Meera was gone.
And Aisha…
Was gone.
Kabir's voice trembled.
"Arjun…"
"There should've been three people."
Nobody answered.
Because something far more horrifying happened next.
The footage continued.
Five minutes later—
A fourth person appeared.
Walking out of the hospital.
Alone.
Wearing a hood.
The camera quality blurred the face.
But before entering a car—
The woman looked directly at the security camera.
And the hood slipped.
Meera gasped.
Professor Dev dropped his walking stick.
Because all of us recognized her.
The woman in the video—
The girl who disappeared that night—
The girl everyone believed was dead—
Was—
Aisha.
Alive.
Far away, inside an underground facility…
A woman stood before a large glass chamber.
Machines hummed softly.
The silver-ringed man lowered his head respectfully.
"Madam."
The woman didn't turn around.
"Has he remembered?"
"Faster than expected."
"And the girl?"
"Still alive."
Silence.
Then the woman smiled.
"Good."
"Phase Two requires all three of them."
The man hesitated.
"And Aisha?"
The woman finally turned.
Her eyes were cold.
Emotionless.
Ancient.
And terrifying.
"Wake her."