Page 140 of Obsession

“Do the photos match, Aditya?” Anna asked.

“Yes.”

Mihir exhaled, pressing a fist to his mouth. Armaan caught Vedant’s arm.

Mihir cleared his throat. “I know this sounds unbelievable, Aditya, but could you help us reach her? It would mean a lot to us.”

Aditya took a brief pause before he said, “So… she’s actually right here, with me, in Singapore.”

“Oh God,” Armaan said as he came to stand on Anna’s other side. “Can we talk to her, please?”

“Actually,” Anna cut in, “have you seen the latest issue of Noir?”

“I have…” Aditya said.

“Then can you please show Sabrina Mihir’s photo? Please, Aditya,” Anna said. “Can you do this for me?”

“Give me a few minutes,” Aditya said. “Let me call you back.”

A tense silence filled the room as they all waited for Aditya to call them back. Mihir paced up and down. He sneezed several times in quick succession.

“You look awful. Can you not sit down?” Anna pointed to the armchair beside her.

“I’m too tense to sit,” Mihir replied.

“My hands are cold,” Vedant added. From beside them, Armaan let out a heavy sigh, rubbing his face.

The phone rang, and all of them stiffened. Anna put it on speaker.

“Ananya,” Aditya began. “Sabrina is with me, but before she talks to anyone, she has a question. Mihir, Sabrina wants to know what did you give your sister for her protection.”

Mihir took the phone from Anna. “A knife! I gave her a knife. It was… it was a sharp and serrated knife. I was teaching her self-defense, and I gave that knife to her as added protection. Karina, if you’re listening, then you should know that we found Dorab and he told us everything. We know that he deceived you and he tried to sell you off to that man, JD. We know you stabbed Dorab and JD and ran away.”

A choked sound filtered down the line, followed by a sniffle. “Mihir… is that really you?”

Mihir felt his eyes water. Anna put her hand in his and squeezed.

“Karina! Yes, Karina, it’s me,” he said. “We found you!”

“Switch to video,” the woman on the other end said. “I want to see you.”

Mihir did as asked. The phone screen lit up, and he laid eyes on his sister for the first time in fourteen years. He sniffed through his tears, laughing.

“There you are!” His heart was bursting with happiness and relief. They’d waited fourteen long years for this moment.

“Oh God, Mihir…” Karina said, wiping her tears. “I’ve missed you. Sorry, I had to make Aditya ask you that question, but I’ve been in hiding for so long. I couldn’t take the risk.”

“I understand,” Mihir said. “Wait, Armaan and Vedant are here too.”

He positioned his phone to include them.

Tears poured down Karina’s face. “Oh God, you’re all there, and you look so good, all of you.”

“Hi,” Armaan said, wiping his eyes. “We found you.”

“We sure did!” Vedant sniffed. “Hi, sister.”

She laughed, wiping her face. “Aditya showed me your picture, Mihir. You look so fine and important. So successful.”

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