FLAMES chapter 11 *Updated* by Ghost Hale - Page 5

Simplistic...

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Chapter 11

The hospital doors slid open before the car had come to a complete stop. Aryan was already halfway through the reception by the time Ishita and Aditi caught up with him. At the end of the corridor, outside the ICU, Karan stood waiting. The moment he saw Aryan, he stepped forward, but before either of them could speak, the ICU doors opened.

A doctor walked out, pulling off his gloves. His eyes met Aryan's.

"Mr. Malhotra?"

"How is my mother?"

"She's critical." There was no hesitation in his voice. "We've managed to stabilize her for now, but her condition remains extremely serious. The preliminary blood reports indicate traces of a toxic substance in her bloodstream. We're treating it as a suspected case of poisoning. The remaining reports will confirm it, but we've already informed the police."

Poisoning.

The word settled over the corridor.

For three years she had remained confined to a single room. Every medicine had been recorded. Every visitor had been known. Every nurse had been verified. Somewhere within those routines, someone had still found a way in.

"We're doing everything we can," the doctor continued. "We'll keep you informed."

Aryan acknowledged him with a slight nod.

The doctor turned and disappeared back into the ICU.

The red light above the door remained exactly where it had been.

Ishita stepped closer.

"Aryan..."

"The house."

She looked at him, not understanding.

"Go with Karan."

"Aryan..."

"Until the police reach there, I don't trust anyone."

His eyes never left the ICU.

"No one enters my mother's room. No one leaves the house until the police are done."

Karan nodded.

"I'll take care of it."

Aryan acknowledged him with a faint nod.

It was enough.

Ishita knew there was no point arguing. She turned towards the elevator with Karan, but before stepping inside, she stopped beside Aditi.

"Don't leave him alone."

Aditi looked towards Aryan. He hadn't moved since the doctor had gone back inside.

"I won't."

The elevator doors closed.

Aryan sat behind his desk with an open file in front of him. The same page had remained there for the last thirty minutes.

Across the cabin, Ishita stood watching him. She knew he wasn't reading. His mind was still in the conference room. Aditi's words refused to leave.

She had stood before the entire office and accused him of using his position to corner her. She had questioned the one thing he had never compromised in his life—his character. Years of earning respect had been overshadowed in a matter of minutes. It wasn't the humiliation that stayed with him. It was the accusation itself. An accusation he could never have imagined being attached to his name.

His phone lit up again.

Mom.

The screen continued ringing before going dark. She had already warned him. Talk to Aditi. Or she would. He had ignored every call since afternoon.

Another fifteen minutes passed. The page remained open.

Ishita's phone rang. She answered absentmindedly, her eyes still resting on Aryan.

"...Hello?"

The change in her expression made him look up.

"What?"

She listened for another few seconds before lowering the phone.

"The house help just called." She paused. "Aunty has gone to meet Aditi."

Aryan remained still.

"She took the bangles with her."

His eyes dropped to the phone lying on the desk.

He picked it up and dialled his mother's number.

Another hour passed. The ICU doors opened.

Aryan was already standing in front of the doctor before he had taken his second step into the corridor.

"The poison has responded to the treatment."

Aryan remained silent.

"She's out of immediate danger."

The words eased something inside him. Only slightly.

The doctor continued, "She's still critical, but the immediate risk has passed. The next twelve hours are important. We won't allow anyone to meet her until then."

Aryan nodded.

"We'll keep you informed if there's any change."

The doctor disappeared back inside. The doors closed once again. Aryan's eyes remained fixed on the narrow glass panel. Relief had come. Peace hadn't. The corridor had grown quieter over the last few hours. The footsteps had become fewer. The conversations had softened into whispers. Aditi looked at him. He hadn't sat down once. He hadn't even leaned against the wall. After watching him for several minutes, she finally spoke.

"You should have a seat."

He didn't respond.

"The doctors will come out if anything changes."

Silence.

She waited another moment before turning away.

The call kept ringing.

No answer.

Aryan dialled again.

Still nothing.

He was already out of his chair before the call ended.

By the time he reached the reception, Aditi's desk was empty.

"Ishita."

She caught up with him just outside the cabin.

"She left."

"When?"

"A few hours ago. She said she was going to the Academy site to check the final arrangements before tomorrow's inauguration."

Aryan didn't wait for another word.

He was already moving.

The car shot out of the parking lot. Ishita settled into the passenger seat while Aryan dialled his mother's number again.

No answer. Again. Nothing. He tried once more.

The call connected.

"Mom!"

No reply.

Only voices.

"...I respected you."

Aditi.

"...but today I understand where he gets it from."

Aryan tightened his grip on the phone.

"Mom! Can you hear me?"

His voice was swallowed by theirs.

"You've defended him from the beginning."

"You still are."

"You call this upbringing?"

"You taught your son that money and power give him the right to treat a woman however he wants."

"No, beta..." his mother pleaded. "Please listen to me."

"I've listened enough."

"Just leave."

A brief silence.

"Leave from here immediately."

"I don't want to hear another word about your upbringing."

"Mom!"

Aryan's voice disappeared into the distance.

The line crackled.

Then...

The call disconnected.

Aditi returned a few minutes later with a paper cup in her hand. She stopped beside him and quietly held it out.

"Coffee."

Aryan looked at the cup but made no attempt to take it. After a few seconds, she placed it on the empty chair beside him. Thin wisps of steam rose from the cup before slowly dissolving into the silence. Neither of them spoke.

Minutes slipped by before Aryan finally broke the silence.

"You should go home."

Aditi didn't answer.

His eyes never left the ICU door.

"It's late."

The silence remained unchanged.

Then, in the same calm voice, he spoke again.

"You've already made it clear what you think of my upbringing." He paused briefly. "You don't need to stay here... for the person who gave me that upbringing."

The words lingered between them. Her eyes slowly lifted to his face. Nothing had changed. The same quiet stillness. The same unreadable eyes.

Another long silence passed.

"Go home, Aditi."

She looked at him for a long moment before quietly shaking her head.

"I'm not leaving."

Her voice was soft, but unwavering.

"So... please stop asking me to."

Aryan didn't answer.

His eyes remained fixed on the narrow glass panel of the ICU door, waiting for it to open once again.

"It won't stop here."

Aryan remained still.

"You were attacked. Today... she was attacked."

"I know what you're thinking. By tomorrow morning you'll have changed everything you think went wrong."

She paused before continuing.

"But tomorrow will end."

Another silence settled between them.

"When she comes home... she can't be alone. Someone will have to stay with her. And the moment someone does... they become the next target."

Her eyes never left the ICU door.

"So it can't be just anyone. It has to be someone who knows exactly what they're choosing... and stays anyway."

The words dissolved into the silence. Minutes passed. The corridor remained still, disturbed only by the distant footsteps of a nurse before quiet reclaimed it once again.

Then—

"Aditi."

She looked at him.

He didn't.

"What reason..." His voice remained as calm as before. "...could justify someone trying to take her life?"

Aditi froze. There wasn't one.

"There can't be one for an act as heinous as that."

The answer came almost as a whisper. Silence lingered between them. Only then did Aryan turn towards her.

"Then why did you?"

Aditi remained silent.

The call disconnected.

Aryan stared at the dark screen for a brief moment before pressing the call button again.

No response.

He tried once more.

Nothing.

The Academy gates came into view.

The car had barely stopped before he stepped out.

The night glowed an unnatural shade of orange. Smoke drifted silently across the empty grounds.

His mother lay a few feet from the entrance, her saree stained with blood and ash.

Aryan dropped beside her.

"Mom..."

He slipped an arm beneath her shoulders and gently lifted her into his arms.

"Mom... look at me."

Her eyelids fluttered.

Slowly...

They opened.

The moment she saw him, something inside her seemed to settle.

"What happened?" His voice remained steady, though every word came a little quicker than the last. "Who did this? How did this happen?"

She looked at him.

No words came.

His fingers tightened around hers.

"Please..."

"Tell me."

Her trembling hand slowly lifted. It took everything she had. One finger pointed towards the Academy.

Her lips parted.

"...Aditi..."

The name escaped as little more than a breath.

Her hand slipped from his.

Aryan followed her trembling finger.

The Academy stood consumed by flames. Fire burst through shattered windows while thick black smoke disappeared into the night.

His eyes searched through the blaze. Searching... refusing to stop until they found her.

Aditi.

She stood within the fire. The flames climbed around her, reaching higher with every passing second, yet she never moved. As though she had accepted them long before they had reached her.

Their eyes met.

A few feet behind him lay the woman who had given him life. A few feet ahead stood the woman who had stained every certainty he had ever carried.

His mother's blood still stained his hands. Aditi's accusations still stained his mind.

One was fighting for life. The other stood waiting for death. Somewhere between them, his world had forgotten how to breathe.

The questions that had consumed him all evening suddenly demanded answers. Who had done this? Why had they done it? Why was his mother lying in blood? Why was Aditi standing inside the flames? Every answer seemed to begin and end with the same person.

Aditi.

He moved. One step. Then another. Then he ran.

He had barely reached the entrance when the Academy erupted.

The explosion tore through the night.

The blast hurled him backwards, throwing him across the ground. For a few endless moments there was nothing but smoke, fire and the deafening roar echoing inside his ears.

He pushed himself up.

His eyes searched for her.

Nothing.

"No..."

The word escaped before he realised it.

He staggered forward before breaking into a run once again.

"Aryan!"

Karan caught him from behind.

He tore himself free.

"I have to—"

Another pair of hands stopped him.

Ishita.

"No!"

He struggled again. And again. Every second they held him back felt like another second the fire stole from her.

"Leave me!" His voice cracked. "She's still there!"

Karan held on with everything he had. Ishita refused to let go. The Academy groaned

. A part of it collapsed into itself. The flames rose even higher.

Aryan's struggle slowed. Not by choice. His knees gave way beneath him, and he collapsed where he stood.

Neither Karan nor Ishita loosened their hold. Neither of them spoke. There was nothing left to say.

Aryan never looked away. His eyes remained fixed on the place where she had been standing.

The fire had erased her.

There was nothing left.

Only flames.