Arjun had not been born into vengeance. He had once believed in law, in public servants and procedures. But when his younger sister Meera vanished in the smog of indifference — a single missing-person file drowned in bureaucracy — the law had whispered apologies and closed the case. The city moved on. Meera did not.
Arjun arrived, heart beating in staccato. He expected a trap. He expected silence. Instead, he found a little circle of listeners — older women clasping umbrellas, boys with mango-stained fingers, and Raghav stepping out with a camera and a grin that said his payment was worth more than their lives.
—
