The evening sky bled into shades of burnt orange and bruised purple as I walked back to Ocean Residencies. The girls trailed behind me quietly, too quietly for a group that normally argued about snacks or whose turn it was to wash Simba's bowl.
Something had happened.
I could feel the tension thickening the air like humidity before a storm.
When we reached the apartment steps, Simba ran to us, tail wagging. Usually that would make the girls squeal.
But today?
Nothing.
Maya sat down heavily on the stairs.
Priya clutched her dupatta like it held her together.
Anuhya kept scratching her elbow, her anxiety tic.
Only Smithi stood tall—face calm, eyes unreadable.
I finally spoke.
"Okay. What happened?"
They exchanged looks.
Silence stretched.
Priya cracked first.
"He grabbed her hand, Vaishu… hard. We didn't know what to do."
"Who?"
"Arun," Maya whispered.
Ice slid down my spine.
"Why?"
"It's nothing," Smithi cut in. Too fast. Too firm. "Just boys being idiots."
"No," Priya snapped. "He threatened us—"
Smithi shot her a warning glare that could slice stone.
They were hiding something from me.
My heart thudded.
"What threat?" I asked quietly.
Maya swallowed. "He said… we should forget whatever we saw."
"What did you see?"
No one spoke.
A terrible heaviness settled inside me.
A sense that something new had entered our lives — something dark, coiled, waiting to strike.
Before I could press more, my phone buzzed.
Dhruv.
Dhruv: I'm outside. Come down.
Great timing, as always.
I hurried down. Dhruv leaned against his bike, arms crossed, sunglasses still on even though the sun was nearly gone.
"Case file?" he asked.
I handed it to him, but he didn't take it immediately. His eyes flicked to my tense face.
"What happened?"
"Nothing—"
"Vaishali." His voice cut through my lie.
I flinched. Dhruv always saw too much.
"It's the girls," I finally whispered. "Something scared them."
"What happened?"
"Arun… threatened them."
Dhruv's expression darkened instantly.
He straightened, phone already half-out of his pocket.
"No!" I grabbed his arm. "Don't do anything yet. They're terrified."
"And you're protecting the wrong people." His tone sharpened. "Those men, their family… they're not clean, Vaishali. I've had my eye on them for a while."
A pit formed in my stomach.
"How dangerous, Dhruv?"
He held my gaze.
"Dangerous enough that I want you to stop going out alone. And don't let the girls step out at night. Especially Smithi."
"Smithi? Why her?"
Dhruv hesitated.
For the first time, I saw something like discomfort flicker across his face.
"She notices too much," he said quietly. "And people who notice too much are the first to go missing."
Cold.
Bone-deep cold.
"What do we do now?" I whispered.
"Stay alert. And if anything — anything — strange happens, you call me first. Don't think. Don't hesitate."
I nodded.
Dhruv finally took the file, but his eyes lingered on me before he left.
As I climbed the stairs, his words echoed in my head.
People who notice too much are the first to go missing.
And for the first time, I wondered just how much Smithi had already seen.