Vedika
I received Mohan's text with Suraj's contact information.
Without wasting time, I immediately called him.
He picked up after a few rings.
Me: Hello, Suraj?
S: Ji, I am Suraj.
Me: I am Vedika Roy. I am a crime journ—
Before I could complete my sentence, he interrupted me.
S: Vedika ma'am, aapko apna introduction dene ki zarurat nahi hai. I know you. Mohan has already told me about you.
Me: Oh, achha. Suraj, I need your help to find some information. Mohan gave me your contact and told me you could help me.
S: Vedika ma'am, I would be very happy to help you. Mohan is like a brother to me, and whatever you have done for him and his sister is nothing compared to this. You just tell me what information you need. I will try my best to find it.
Me: Aisi koi baat nahi hai. Mohan is a good friend to me, and whatever I did was my duty. He has worked with me for a long time and has given me many leads, sometimes even risking his life. So it was nothing big.
I took a deep breath.
Me: Suraj, I need information about my friend Shreya Mathur. She is a software engineer.
I told him everything about Shreya's disappearance.
Me: And I also want you to find information about Zyvora Systems. Please try to find anything you can as soon as possible.
S: Don't worry, ma'am. I will try to find every possible information I can.
Me: Thanks, Suraj.
S: Okay ma'am, I will call you.
The call disconnected.
Then I went to my balcony. I was just standing there thinking about everything. Then I saw some kids playing and suddenly I remembered how we four used to play together, all kinds of games, and how much we enjoyed those moments. But today one member of our group is missing, and when this happened, we were not there to help her, even though in our childhood we always used to say that we would be there for each other whenever any one of us needed help. But somehow we broke that promise.
I wish my phone had not broken that day.
Yes, she had called me two days before she disappeared, but my phone had broken and I had given it for repair. Because of that I couldn't call her for two days. When I finally got my phone repaired, I called her back, but her phone was unreachable, switched off. I thought maybe she was upset because I didn't answer her call. It was her habit to get upset with me over small things, so I thought I would call her the next day. But again her phone was unreachable. I called and texted her many times but she didn't answer.
I felt strange, but I thought she might be busy in her new job, so I didn't think in any negative way. But now I feel I should have thought about it more carefully.
Then the next day I got a new assignment for a sting operation, and for that we had to go outside Mumbai to a village area where the network problem was very serious. I couldn't even call my parents properly. We stayed there for ten days, and after coming back to the office that incident happened between me and that egoistic man, Shaurya Randhawa.
After that I was not feeling good and didn't want to talk to anyone. I know I didn't do anything wrong, but the people whom I thought were my good friends and good colleagues showed their true colours at that time. Just to stay in his good books, they chose him and treated me as if I had done something wrong. Even though the whole office knew that I was not at fault, power won and my truth lost, and I got fired from my job.
After working hard for three years, I was supposed to get promoted, but instead of that I got my termination letter.
What a destiny.
That is why I hate people who think they can do anything with anyone just because they have power and money.
I could have given Shaurya Randhawa a strong reply, but I didn't want to. There was no point arguing with such an egoistic man.
I just hate him.
I also left that office without trying much to prove my innocence because I knew they didn't even want to know whether I was innocent or not. They already knew the truth. It was just an excuse to fire me.
And honestly, I didn't want to work in that office anymore. I couldn't work in that toxic environment where neither I nor my work had any value. I would never waste my skills for them.
So I decided to leave.
Maybe I realized it late, but at least I understood it.
As the saying goes, "Better late than never."
Then I came back to my hometown thinking that I would get a different environment here, stay with my parents for some time and find some peace away from that toxicity. But I didn't know that something even more painful was waiting for me here — the news that my best friend had been missing for a month.
I never thought something like this could happen to someone so close to me, and that I would have to investigate her disappearance like a journalist.
I have seen so many cases of disappearance, kidnapping and crime. Honestly, whenever I worked on them, I always felt bad for the victims and their families. But because of my profession I had to stay calm and strong and not let my emotions take over.
But when something happens to someone close to you, that is when you truly understand the pain and emotions behind those cases.
I just hope she is safe.
Because if anything has happened to her, I will not leave the person who is responsible for it.
But right now, more important than my pain is finding her.
And I will do every possible thing to find her.
And also to find the truth behind Zyvora Systems and the reason for her disappearance.
then in evening i was sitting on my study table with laptop waiting for Suraj's call if he had find out anything.
Then I just started searching about Zyvora Systems again like if i find something different which i didn't checked.
Again i found all that perfect image of company.
But Then I checked the management section on their website. I didn't checked that before so i thought to look who are these people who is saying that Shreya was not their employee.
Photos of everyone were there.
CEO.
Directors.
But one name caught my attention.
Managing Director — Suryansh Oberoi
There was no photo.
I frowned.
Why would someone holding such a high position not have his picture on the official company website?
Curious, I searched his name on the internet.
Nothing.
No photos.
No interviews.
No articles.
Nothing.
Only one line everywhere.
"Managing Director of Zyvora Systems."
That was strange.
A company this big and powerful... and yet no public information about its Managing Director?
It felt like he was deliberately hiding from the public.
A mystery.
Around 9 PM, my phone rang.
It was Suraj.
I quickly picked up.
Me: Suraj! Did you find anything?
S: Vedika ma'am, I tried to find every possible information I could. About Shreya Mathur I only got what you already know... but I found something that might be related to her case.
My heart skipped a beat.
Me: What is it?
S: Ma'am, through my sources at the police station I found that another missing report was filed on the same date when Shreya Mathur disappeared.
I froze.
Me: What? Who is he?
S: His name is Rohit Verma. Twenty-five-year-old software engineer from Indore. He came to Jaipur for a job at Zyvora Systems three months ago. He joined on 7th November 2025, but went missing after two months.
My grip on the phone tightened.
S: The report was filed by his sister. She is his only family member. The last time she spoke to him was on the morning of 13th January 2026, when he was getting ready to leave for office.
13 January.
The same day.
S: And just like your friend's case, the company is denying that he was their employee and saying he was never working there.
I quickly opened my diary and checked the dates.
Me: Yes... Shreya joined Zyvora Systems on 1st November 2025.
I turned the page.
Me: And she also went missing on 13th January, the same day as Rohit.
I paused for a moment, trying to understand this.
Two employees.
Same company.
Same day.
Me: But why didn't the police mention this? Two employees going missing from the same company on the same day is a big thing. Why is there no news about this anywhere? Not on the internet or in newspapers.
And how could the management of Zyvora Systems simply deny everything by saying they were never their employees and that someone is using the company's name for fraudulent activities?
Suraj replied,
S: Ma'am, when Rohit's sister talked to him that morning, he was at home and getting ready to go to the office. According to the police, there is no proof that he actually reached the office that day. So they believe he might have been kidnapped somewhere else. It can be a coincidence that Shreya and Rohit went missing on same day.
Something about this didn't feel right to me.
Me: Suraj, did you check any CCTV cameras near Zyvora Systems? If they were working there, someone must have seen them entering or leaving the building.
S: Yes ma'am, I checked the CCTV cameras near the building. There are four cameras around that area. Two of them have not been working for the last three months. One camera's footage was destroyed due to a fire last month. And the fourth camera has recordings, but the footage of the last two months is missing.
I stayed quiet for a moment.
Two months.
That was exactly when Shreya and Rohit had joined the company.
Me: That means those cameras didn't stop working on their own. Someone must have tampered with them to remove the proof that they were working there.
But then another question came to my mind.
Why would someone kidnap them?
And why only them?
Or were there more people involved?
Then i asked another question.
Me: Suraj, do you know anything about Suryansh Oberoi?
S: Yes ma'am. I have heard that he is a very private person. He doesn't like photographs, interviews, or any kind of public appearance. That's why you won't find much information about him on the internet. Even in business events or conferences he rarely appears. Most of the time his company is represented by other directors or senior officials.
He paused for a moment before continuing.
S: And ma'am, from what I know, he had been living in Switzerland for many years. He returned to India only about two months ago for some important business deal. Before that, he was managing the entire company from there. People say that even many employees in the company had never seen him personally before he came back to India.
He added thoughtfully,
S: Actually ma'am, there are many rumours about him in the business circle. Some people say he is very powerful and has connections in many places, but no one really knows much about him. He mostly stays away from the public eye and prefers to work from behind the scenes.
That made my curiosity even stronger.
A mysterious managing director.
Employees disappearing.
CCTV footage missing.
And a company that denied everything.
Something was definitely wrong.
Me: Okay Suraj. If you find any more information then inform me
Me: And please send me whatever information you have about Rohit Verma.
S: Okay ma'am. I will send it.
The call ended.
I slowly looked at my diary.
Then at my laptop screen.
And one thought echoed inside my mind.
Zyvora Systems was hiding something.
And I was going to find out what.