The night felt unusually still.
Not peaceful—just… heavy.
Outside the window, the wind rustled through the trees as if it were hiding something.
Inside, a dim yellow light filled the room, casting long shadows on the walls.
Two boys sat there—one unusually calm, the other drowning in thoughts.
This time, Kai was different.
No smirk.
No teasing.
He quietly pulled a chair closer and sat beside Lucas.
Lucas took a deep breath.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind—what to say, how to say it, whether he was even right.
Still, he spoke carefully.
“Look… I might be wrong. I don’t know what’s right or wrong anymore. But I can’t believe it was only a car accident. Mom’s death… it doesn’t feel like an accident.”
Kai turned his head slightly, his voice calm.
“Why? What’s making you think that?”
Lucas picked up a paper from the stack in front of him and handed it over.
“This… I got it from Aarav Uncle. He said the car had just been serviced three days before the accident. I even asked him for proof.”
Kai started reading.
Lucas leaned forward, his voice tightening.
“Three days, Kai. Just three days. Do you really think a car’s brakes can fail in that time? It doesn’t make sense.”
Kai frowned slightly.
“Why not? Maybe… maybe something happened—”
“Exactly. Something,” Lucas cut in.
“You feel it too, don’t you? That something’s wrong?”
Kai went silent.
For once, he didn’t have a comeback.
Lucas exhaled slowly, then grabbed another paper, “And there’s more.”
Kai looked up.
“What?”
“You remember the location? I mean… the accident site?”
“Yeah,” Kai nodded.
“There was a storm that night. Heavy rain, strong winds… visibility was bad.”
“Right,” Lucas said, sliding another document toward him.
“That’s what the police report says, but not the same about the brake failure thing.”
Kai’s eyes widened.
He stood up abruptly.
“How the hell did you get a police report?”
Lucas scratched the back of his neck, a little defensive.
“I have a friend. His dad’s in the police. I just… asked for it. I mean—was it wrong? She was my mom. And yours too. Don’t I deserve to know?”
Kai leaned in closer, then suddenly smirked.
“That ‘friend’… your boyfriend?”
Slap.
Lucas smacked his shoulder.
“Seriously? You’re joking right now?”
“Hey, what do you expect? I’m Lily Verma’s son. It’s in my DNA.”
Lucas rolled his eyes.
“Yeah, you definitely got her attitude… but not her brains.”
Kai chuckled, but then his expression slowly changed as he began reading the report properly.
The smile faded.
Something was off.
Lucas flipped to another section of the report.”And look at the accident site details.”
Kai leaned closer.
Lucas read it out, his tone sharp, almost mocking the words.
“Due to slippery road conditions, the driver may have lost balance…”
Kai continued, “… ‘Heavy rain and poor visibility…’ yeah, I see it.”
Lucas dropped the paper on the table.”That’s it.
That’s their conclusion.”
Kai frowned.”Wait… where’s the brake failure part?”
Lucas looked straight at him.
“Exactly.”
A pause.
Kai blinked, then grabbed the report again, scanning it more carefully this time.”…They didn’t even properly mention it.”
Lucas nodded slowly.”They just pushed everything onto driving.
Like—maybe they were careless, maybe they couldn’t handle the road, maybe they lost control.”
Kai leaned back, disbelief clear on his face.”So basically… rain, slippery road, bad driving… case closed?”
Lucas’s jaw tightened.
“Yeah. That’s what they want it to look like.”
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Kai finally spoke, quieter now.
“Do you think… this is normal?”
Lucas didn’t answer immediately.
His eyes moved from the report… to the paused frame on the laptop… to the sketch of the tattoo.
Then he said, low and certain, “No.”
“None of this is normal.”
Lucas watched him closely.
“See? Even you feel it now.”
Kai didn’t reply immediately.
Lucas continued, his voice dropping to a whisper.
“I think someone’s involved. Someone who understands how all this works… police reports, accidents… everything.”
A pause.
Then Lucas spoke again, “Kai… your house has CCTV cameras outside, right?”
Kai nodded slowly, “Yeah…”
“Can I get the footage?”
Kai blinked, “Right now?”
Lucas looked straight into his eyes,
“Yes right now.”
Kai sighed, exhausted, but stood up anyway. Get faster updates on g.com.
“Fine. Five minutes, baby.”
Lucas groaned.
“How long do I have to deal with this idiot…”
As Kai left the room, Lucas went back to his papers.
But they weren’t alone.
Behind them… unseen, unheard… Lily and Meena stood silently, watching everything unfold.
For a moment, both of them were quiet.
Then Meena’s expression softened.
She stepped closer to Lucas… slowly raising her hand… trying to touch his face.
Her fingers passed right through him.
A flicker of pain crossed her face.
“Lucas…” she whispered.
For a split second, Lucas turned.
Like he felt something.
His eyes searched the empty air… and then, softly, he smiled, “Mom… are you here?”
Lily froze.
She looked at Meena, shocked, “Wait… what? Is your son like you, too? Can he see ghosts?”
Meena shook her head, confused, “I… I don’t know…”
Lucas looked around again, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Aunt Lily… you’re here too, right? Please… help me solve this.”
Silence.
The two spirits exchanged a glance.
Then Lily sighed softly, “Kiddoo… we wish we could help.”
Meena whispered, her voice breaking,
“You’re the one who has to help us…”
The room fell still again.
But something had changed.
Lucas slowly looked back down at the papers…
his fingers tightening around the edges…
Because deep down, he knew.
This wasn’t just an accident.
And somewhere in the shadows…
The truth was watching him back.
And just as the door creaked open and Kai returned with the CCTV footage…
a single frame flickered on the screen—
A blurred figure… standing near the car…
before the accident happened.
Not rain.
Not storm.
Someone was there.
And they were waiting.
To Be Continued:
What’s there in the CCTV footage?