For a long moment, no one spoke.
The word get rid of him didn't just hang in the air—it settled into the walls, into their thoughts, into something deeper that none of them had ever touched before.
This was no longer panic.
This was planning.
Meena was the first to break.
"How?" she asked.
Not loudly. Not emotionally.
Just one word.
But it carried everything—fear, doubt, disbelief, and something else… something dangerously close to acceptance.
Raghavan didn't answer immediately.
He walked slowly across the hall, his eyes scanning everything—not like a man in shock, but like a civil engineer looking at a site.
Structure.
Space.
Possibilities.
Problems.
Solutions.
The body wasn't a person anymore.
It was a complication.
"We don't rush," he said finally. "If we panic, we make mistakes."
Arjun let out a dry laugh. "Appa… I think we already passed the mistake stage."
Raghavan ignored him.
"We think clearly," he continued. "Step by step."
Paati nodded approvingly. "Good. At least someone here is using their brain."
Kavya looked like she might faint at any moment. "Why is everyone talking like this is normal?"
"Because crying won't fix it," Paati replied bluntly.
"That doesn't mean we—" Kavya stopped, unable to finish the sentence.
Meena turned to Raghavan again. "Tell us what you're thinking."
Raghavan took a deep breath.
"First," he said, "we clean this place."
He pointed to the floor where blood had begun to spread into thin lines between the tiles.
"No stains. No marks. Nothing that shows what happened here."
Arjun nodded slowly. "Okay… that makes sense."
"Second," Raghavan continued, "we make sure no one saw him enter."
"They didn't," Ananya said quickly. "I checked… the street was empty."
"Good."
"Third?" Meena asked.
Raghavan paused.
This was the part.
The line they couldn't uncross.
"We remove the body."
Silence again.
Kavya shook her head immediately. "No… no, I can't… I can't do this…"
"You won't," Meena said softly, pulling her closer. "You and Ananya go inside."
"But—"
"No," Raghavan said firmly. "They shouldn't be here for this."
Ananya hesitated. "I started this… I should—"
"You protected yourself," he interrupted. "That's where your part ends."
His tone left no room for argument.
Slowly, reluctantly, the two sisters moved toward their room, their steps heavy, their minds racing with thoughts they couldn't even process yet.
Before closing the door, Ananya looked back.
At the hall.
At the body.
At her father.
He gave her a small nod.
Trust me.
The door closed.
Now it was just the adults.
And Arjun.
"Tell me the full plan," Meena said.
Raghavan exhaled slowly.
"We can't move him like this," he said. "Too risky. Too visible."
"So what—" Arjun stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening slightly. "No… no, Appa…"
Raghavan didn't look at him.
But he didn't deny it either.
Paati leaned forward slightly. "Say it."
Raghavan's voice dropped.
"We break it down."
The words felt colder than anything before.
Even Paati didn't respond immediately this time.
Meena closed her eyes.
Arjun turned away, running both hands over his face. "This is insane… this is actually insane…"
"Listen to me," Raghavan said, his tone steady. "If we move him whole, we get caught. If we leave him, we get caught. There is no clean option."
"So this is the dirty one?" Arjun muttered.
"This is the only one."
The weight of reality settled in.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just heavy.
Meena opened her eyes again.
There were tears—but they didn't fall.
"How do you even… think like this?" she asked quietly.
Raghavan met her gaze.
"I don't," he said. "I solve problems."
Paati gave a small nod. "Good. Then solve this properly."
Arjun looked at her in disbelief. "Paati! You're supporting this?"
"I'm supporting survival," she replied. "There's a difference."
No one argued after that.
Because deep down, they all knew—
There was no going back.
Raghavan straightened.
"We do it tonight," he said. "When the street is quiet."
"And until then?" Meena asked.
"We act normal."
Arjun let out a hollow laugh. "Normal? There's a dead body in our hall."
"Then we act very normal," Raghavan corrected.
The next few hours passed like a strange, distorted version of reality.
The festival outside continued.
Music.
Laughter.
Firecrackers.
Inside the house—
They cleaned.
Carefully.
Quietly.
Every drop of blood wiped.
Every surface checked.
Every trace erased.
No one spoke much.
When they did, it was only about what needed to be done.
Nothing more.
At one point, Arjun stopped, staring at the floor he had just cleaned.
"If someone told me this morning," he said slowly, "that by evening I'd be… doing this…"
"No one tells you these things," Meena replied.
"That's the problem."
Night fell slowly over the street.
The festival lights dimmed.
The noise faded.
One by one, houses went quiet.
But not theirs.
Inside, the clock ticked toward midnight.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Raghavan stood near the window, looking out.
Waiting.
Calculating.
When he was finally satisfied, he turned back.
"It's time."
The word sent a chill through the room.
Even Paati's expression tightened slightly.
Meena stood still for a moment, then nodded.
Arjun didn't move.
"I… I don't know if I can do this," he admitted.
Raghavan walked up to him.
"You can," he said.
"I've never even… seen…" Arjun couldn't finish.
Raghavan placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"You don't have to be strong forever," he said quietly. "Just tonight."
That was enough.
Arjun nodded.
Barely.
But it was enough.
The house was silent.
Too silent.
Even the walls seemed to be watching.
Raghavan moved first.
Everything had already been prepared.
Tools.
Sheets.
Buckets.
Things that once belonged to ordinary life now meant something else entirely.
Something darker.
Meena stood near the doorway, her hands clasped tightly together.
Paati sat in her chair again, but this time she wasn't relaxed.
She was alert.
Observing.
Present.
No one spoke as they began.
Not because they didn't want to.
But because words felt useless.
Time passed.
Slow.
Heavy.
Unforgiving.
At one point, Arjun had to stop.
He stepped away, breathing hard, his face pale.
"I need… a minute…"
Meena walked to him immediately. "Go. Wash your face."
He nodded and left the room.
Raghavan didn't stop.
Didn't hesitate.
His movements were precise.
Controlled.
Like he had separated himself from what he was doing.
When it was finally over—
No one felt relief.
Only exhaustion.
The hall looked empty again.
Clean.
Normal.
Too normal.
Meena leaned against the wall, her body trembling now that it was done.
"It's over…" she whispered.
Raghavan shook his head.
"No," he said.
"This was just the first part."
Arjun returned slowly, wiping his face.
He looked around.
At the empty space.
At his family.
"We actually did this…" he said, almost to himself.
Raghavan began gathering the sealed containers.
Carefully.
Methodically.
"Where are you going?" Meena asked.
Raghavan looked at her.
There was something different in his eyes now.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Something colder.
Smarter.
"I'll take care of the rest," he said.
"Where?" Arjun asked.
Raghavan didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he picked up the first container.
Then the next.
And just before he stepped out—
He said something that none of them fully understood at that moment:
"I know exactly where he'll disappear."
The door closed behind him.
Inside the house, the remaining four sat in silence.
Listening.
Waiting.
Trying not to think.
Outside, the night swallowed everything.
And somewhere in the city—
A plan far more calculated than any of them realized had already begun.