MEANWHILE, AISHA WAS in Priya's room, sitting on her bed and playing with Bobby. She was giggling as Bobby jumped on top of her and licked her face.

"Bad doggy..."

Bobby woofed, staring at her face, and she pushed him down, scratching his ears. "I am feeling bored. When will aunty come? Is Daddy coming too?" she asked sadly.

Bobby sat on his legs and whined, looking up at her.

Aisha smiled and smooched his head. "No crying, Bobby. I will not go away. When Daddy comes, I will take you and Priya aunty with me. I love you," she fell on him, hugging. They both wrestled and laughed, making a mess on Priya's bed.

"I am bored, Bobby," she tapped her finger on her chin, thinking deeply, "Yes. Bobby... I want paper and pencil."

Bobby jumped down the bed, wagging his tail, and stood next to the study table. He scratched over the drawer and started barking.

Aisha quickly hopped down from the bed and opened the drawer. But with her height, she couldn't reach inside. Pulling a chair out, Aisha climbed up. Peeking inside the drawer, she saw a stack of folders and a wide variety of stationery inside.

"Wow," she exclaimed delightedly. She rummaged through the drawer and pulled out a book. Flipping the first page, she continued to admire the drawings. She stopped at a particular picture and blinked her eyes, staring curiously.

"Aisha. Come drink this milk," Indira called, walking inside the room with a glass of milk and stopped seeing the bed. "One naughty guy was enough, and you too joined him, huh?" she said, coming to Aisha. But Aisha didn't look at her.

"What do you see, beta?" Indira asked, frowning. In answer, Aisha turned the drawing to her, and Indira's eyes widened. The milk glass in her hand fell down, shattering. But, nothing registered as she stared at the woman's drawing.

"No," Indira whispered and then muttered continuously, "No... No... No..." she snatched the drawing from her hands and blinked. "Where did you find this?" she asked ominously, flipping through the book, failing to notice the fear on Aisha's face.

Aisha pointed at the table, shrinking in the chair.

Indira closed her eyes, almost crumpling the book in her hands. She thought her daughter was past everything. But now, seeing those drawings, she realized it was always with her.

She couldn't let it happen. Again!

∞∞∞

What the hell have crawled up his ass?

Priya stomped her way inside the police station, ignoring the handsome jerk. 'Darling?' She didn't know how to react. Though, her friend has no problem with that.

Madhu couldn't stop laughing. One glare from Priya, and she shut her mouth immediately.

Well, it was her fault, Priya surmised. Why did she care if he was troubled?

"He's not only arrogant," she muttered, "But... cocky too..."

The station seemed full and busy compared to the previous night. Her eyes landed on the sub-inspector, and she internally cringed, seeing him sleeping in his chair with mouth open apart. She wondered whether he'd given any attempt in finding Aisha's folks or anyone's issues.

Once again, Madhu burst out laughing, holding her stomach. Priya rolled her eyes and snapped.

"Not funny!"

"Oh yes! It is..."

Before Priya could continue, she heard his voice behind her. "Excuse me." A tired sigh escaped her lips as she turned around and saw the three men looking amused and expectantly.

"Now, what?"

He pressed his lips while Ramesh said, "You are blocking our way."

She immediately moved away, her cheeks turning red. She avoided eye contact while the men moved past them. Her eyes widened when all the officers, except the sleeping Bijoy, stood to attention and saluted seeing the men.

Well, to Ramesh, she realized as the head constable stood in front of him.

"Who is he?" Madhu whispered.

Priya shrugged as she watched Ramesh stop in front of Bijoy's table. The whole station went quiet, watching the scene unfold. The head constable tried to wake Bijoy up. But, Bijoy muttered irritatedly and went back to sleep.

Priya couldn't see the men's faces as they had their backs to her. Ramesh slammed his fist on the table, and Bijoy jerked awake. Realizing who was standing in front of him, Bijoy stood to attention and gave a weird salute.

"Good... Good... Gooo..."

"Is this what the government is paying you for?" Ramesh snapped.

Bijoy held his head down. Without another word, Ramesh turned and walked inside a room, followed by his companions. Before the handsome jerk stepped inside, he turned and looked at Priya, making her heart flutter and blink her eyes.

Shaking her head, she approached Bijoy, who was now sweating, staring at the door where the men disappeared.

"Sir." He didn't respond. She again repeated, and he groaned, annoyed.

"What?" he barked, looking at Priya.

"I gave a complaint yesterday night."

"You and your complaint," he said rudely, "Go... Go and ask at that table." With that, he took his hat and stick and disappeared inside the room.

"How rude!" Madhu said outrageously.

"Tell me about it," Priya said, sighing. Just then, Madhu's mobile started ringing, and she walked outside the station answering the call while Priya headed towards the headman.

∞∞∞

"Did you both have a past enmity or what?" Ramesh asked once he stepped inside the private office room, "It was like I was seeing a female version of Abhay Sinha. Do you know her?"

An involuntary smile spread across Abhay's face as her words echoed in his ears. Strangely, it gave him new strength. She's right. Being clouded by emotions would cloud your thinking. To find his Aisha, he needed to get his wits together. "I rear-kissed her car," he replied absentmindedly.

"What?" Ramesh asked, stunned by his choice of words.

"Twice," Tyagi added, taking a position near the door, "No wonder she was riled up. It just missed. Or else it'd have been her legs."

Abhay glared, and Tyagi instantly shut his mouth.

"Interesting," Ramesh said thoughtfully.

Abhay cleared his throat. "How about we get back to finding our Princess?"

"Yes... Yes..." Ramesh boosted his computer as Abhay came to his side. Just then, Bijoy walked inside and saluted.

"What is the progress on Aisha Sinha's case?" Ramesh asked as he hit a few keys on the keyboard.

"Which case, sir?" Bijoy asked dumbly.

Ramesh and Abhay stopped what they were doing and looked at Bijoy. "Seriously?" Abhay asked outrageously.

"I'll deal with you later," Ramesh growled, "Send someone else on this case. And don't show your face."

Bijoy gulped and scrambled out of the room.

Abhay inhaled deeply, closing his eyes. To his surprise, the fierce yet lovely woman's smile flashed, and he calmed immediately. A few seconds later, with a relaxed mind, he began. "Follow up what we've got till now," he said calmly.

Ramesh and Tyagi glanced at Abhay, stunned by his changed demeanor.

"Come on," Abhay repeated.

"Right," Ramesh said, "Firstly, we had Aisha's present picture posted on social media missing with the reward money. Secondly, all police stations were alerted, and Aisha's photo was sent to all of them. So far, no replies. Thirdly, we had this mystery woman," he popped up a window with the video paused on a woman's dark figure.

∞∞∞

"Hello, sir."

"Yes, Madam."

"Sir, what happened to my complaint?"

"What complaint?"

"Yesterday night, I complained about a girl separated from her parents. That little girl is crying for her father," Priya said.

"Madam. You should talk with the SI," he pointed at the Bijoy table.

"But. he told me to ask here...."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Small advice. If you know any influential people, bring a recommendation."

"Why?"

His lips tightened. "Only then your case will be moved. Or else you'd be in and out of station for days. Another way is to fill Bijoy sir's pocket."

Priya threw her hands up and held her head. "What can I do now?" She sighed. She looked back, just in time to see Bijoy walking out of the private office with a frustrated face. Her eyes rolled up at the sky, having to deal with this overbearing man. As she turned to go towards him, someone bumped into her, making Priya stumble forward. Thankfully, Madhu held her hand just in time.

"Bitch," Madhu muttered, staring at the woman as she walked past Priya, not even caring to say sorry. Priya followed her gaze to find a woman, dressed in a short black dress and loose hair, snarling at them. Priya ignored the woman's behavior and started to walk towards Bijoy, but Madhu pulled her back.

"Priya, listen," Madhu said urgently.

"First, let's get this over with Madhu. I want to go home soon," Priya said and walked up to Bijoy, knocking on his table.

"What?" he barked, looking at Priya.

"My complaint-"

"Come after two days. We'll see," Bijoy said and again closed his eyes dismissively. Priya looked at Madhu and saw her reaction reflecting hers.

"Sir..."

"What?" He asked, annoyed.

"The girl is crying for her parents. She cannot stay with me for two days. You have to help her," Priya said.

Bijoy palmed his face and gestured them to the seats in front of his table. Priya and Madhu took seats as Bijoy sat straight and looked at them.

∞∞∞

Ramesh and Abhay continued watching Aisha's missing ad posted on social media when the office door opened. Ramesh looked up, irritated as the person walked inside without knocking. His famous scowl appeared on his face, seeing Riya and the way she dressed. A tight-fitting black dress to grab attention. Seeing her attire, Ramesh snickered while Abhay didn't even spare a glance too involved in watching the ad.

Ramesh never liked Riya. Her attitude, personality, and everything gave him odd vibes and irritated him.

"Abhay," Riya shrieked as if she didn't notice Ramesh's expression and walked towards Abhay. Ramesh rolled his eyes at her act as she placed a hand on Abhay's arm. "Abhay! Do you know how much I was worried after you hung up..." She stopped abruptly and jumped back when Abhay stood, pushing his chair back.

Ramesh didn't miss how scared she looked, and he couldn't blame her when she took a step back and gulped. Abhay looked downright outrageous. And it was a surprise seeing how much restrain he was showing suddenly when it involved Aisha. He sat straight alert to see where it was going.

"Don't you fucking dare to open that fake water tap of your eyes," Abhay stressed each word in a low, ominous tone. "Speak what happened. Now," he started to hover over her.

"I... I don't know what you are talking about," she whispered. Ramesh frowned when he caught the twitch in her tone and avoiding eye contact.

Hearing her reply, Abhay's eyes hardened. He took the stone paperweight on the table and threw it in her direction, making her scream. To her luck, it missed and landed near her feet. But Riya looked like a deer caught.

"Don't think it missed. I made it miss," Abhay said as he took a step towards her, but Ramesh stopped him by keeping a hand on his chest. They both knew what would happen if he took another step.

Inhaling deeply, Abhay tried to calm his nerves. He didn't mean to scare her purposely. He composed himself and asked in a calm and threatening tone, "For the last time. Tell us what happened that day. Don't test my patience."

Riya decided to cooperate this time instead of dying in his hands. "After talking to you in the evening, I took her to the park. I got a call from a friend, so I went aside to talk, leaving her to play. When I came back, she was not there."

Abhay nodded at Ramesh, and he took over asking questions. "What was the time then?"

"I don't remember exactly."

Ramesh inhaled sharply and saw Abhay fisting his hands. Looking at Riya, Ramesh said, "Check your call history. There should be a time when your friend called, right."

Riya gulped visibly. He frowned when he saw the hesitance in her face. She slowly took the phone and was typing the password when Abhay snatched it from her.

"Password."

She replied instantly. Abhay opened it and handed it to Ramesh.

"It shows three numbers around the evening time," he showed the mobile to Riya, "Which one?" She pointed out the number.

He shared a look with Abhay. "What did you do to search for her?"

"I looked there. Everywhere."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Everywhere. Like inside and outside."

"Yes..."

"Liar..."

"No, I did..."

"When you got the phone call and ended, you have maximum time to find the woman holding Aisha outside the park."

Riya's eyes widened. That moment a headman walked inside with files and nodded at Ramesh. He gestured to keep the files on the table. The headman went over to place the file on the table and caught the ad of Aisha missing on the computer screen. He felt the little girl somewhat familiar, and his eyes widened when he recognized the girl.

Ramesh continued. "Because of your negligence..." he was interrupted when the headman said. "Sir..."

∞∞∞

Priya waited patiently and was polite with the officer from the beginning. Though, the officer lost his respect as he spoke.

"Yesterday I told you, madam. Don't know how many times I should repeat it to you. They won't come back. The so-called parents left her because they already guessed that she was shit, worthless, useless girl. Why don't you get my point? You are just wasting my time and yours. Now get out..."

Priya and Madhu were beyond shocked hearing his words. "What the..." Priya's hand fisted, and her blood boiled as the man's hurtful words ringed in her ears.

No! Aisha's father will not be like that. And he wouldn't like the man's words too if he heard, Priya thought.

Unknowingly, Priya has developed immense trust in Aisha's father, though she didn't see him.

When the inspector started laughing, that was the last straw for Priya's patience and anger level. Suddenly Priya stood, her gaze fixated on Bijoy. He stopped laughing when he caught sight of her face and seemed bemused.

Unaware of Priya's thought, Madhu too stood up and held her friend's hand, deciding to leave. "Come on, Priya. Let's go. We don't need his help," she tugged at her hand, glaring at Bijoy.

Shrugging Madhu's hand off, Priya slowly rounded the table to the inspector. Bijoy abruptly stood, confused and cautious by Priya's stare.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked, faking confidence.

The whole station heard the quiver in his voice and went silent, staring at the scene in front of them.

Gasps erupted from everyone when Priya's hand touched his cheek. Hard! The sound echoed the station four walls, and everyone stared stunned with gaping mouths.

Before Bijoy could take a breath and contemplate what happened, Priya slapped his other cheek and held his uniform collar. Slap! Slap! Slap!

"You rascal! What did you say about Aisha?" Slap! "Not she." Slap! "You are the bastard." Slap! "Moron." Slap! "If you talk this way about any other kid." Slap! "I am gonna kill you with my bare hands." Slap!

Madhu stared, hand cupping her mouth and eyes wide as her ever kind-hearted friend continued to assault the officer's face. She blinked her eyes, wondering whether she was Priya, her friend. Priya wasn't a person to lose her temper easily. Realizing the situation, Madhu quickly held Priya to stop her.

Though Priya put some fight. She pulled her hand back to slap the obnoxious officer again, but she was dragged away by Madhu. All the way, she continued to curse and jump and strike forward, unaware of the stunned audience.

When they were at the door, Madhu glanced at the officer, who cupped his cheeks and stared at them with a look that said scared to death. She wanted to laugh seeing his funny face, but she was too occupied with Priya yelling and ranting throughout the way.

Finally, Madhu succeeded in pulling her to their car. She made Priya sit in the passenger seat, and she drove away from the police station. Her hands trembled as she moved them out and glanced back to check if they were followed. She sighed when she didn't see any signs of police cars.

Madhu stopped the car near the roadside and turned to her friend. A good five minutes later, Madhu asked, "What the hell was that?" Then she started laughing hysterically.

Priya, who was still fuming, snapped angrily, "Why are you laughing like a maniac?"

"Don't tell me you forgot." Madhu held her stomach. "Priya? Is this, really, my Priya? Oh, God! Please don't tell me my friend is possessed," she said dramatically.

Priya looked confused, then her eyes widened, realizing what she has done.

"Oh my God," Priya hid her face with her hands.

Madhu laughed. "What happened to you? Suddenly you became like... Adiparashakthi."

"I don't know." Priya ran her hands through her hair and pulled it in frustration. She was embarrassed by her behavior.

When the laughs died down, Madhu grew concerned. "You are the most patient person I have known. Then..."

"I don't know," Priya snapped, "I don't know. I just... couldn't tolerate that filthy man words about Aisha and her father. It's just," she groaned, "Oh, God! I can't explain."

For a few minutes, no one spoke.

"What if they file a case on me? For attacking a police officer on duty? What should I do?" Priya was afraid of what would happen to her mother and brother if she went to jail. Oh god!

"Now you are asking me that," Madhu mocked, "You must have thought about it earlier."

"I know, yaar," Priya whined, "Shit! Why should I have to lose it? Why can't I keep my hands to myself? Why did I slap him? It's all my fault," she said and started to hit her forehead.

"Hey! Hey!" Madhu stopped her by holding her hand, "Relax. Nothing is gonna happen. He deserves for talking like that. And did you see how the fellow officers watched without stopping you? He's, definitely, not a good officer. That's why," she said, trying to give her friend assurance.

"What for you?" Priya pouted, "I am the one who is going be in trouble," she said.

"But it's worth the scene. Did you see that officer's face?" she laughed, "He looked like a scared rabbit. Again he won't repeat this mistake with anyone."

Priya recalled his face and laughed along with Madhu.

"Thank God! I have come with you. Or else you would have ended up in jail, and I'd have been carrying lunch to you every day," Madhu joked.

Priya poked her tongue. "If that's the case. I will tell your name also and take you with me."

Madhu scoffed, saying, "Very funny." Suddenly, she shrieked.

"What?"

"I totally forgot. If you had listened to me when I stopped you, this all wouldn't have happened," Madhu said smugly, "Good news."

"What?"

"Aditya called. There was a post on Facebook about Aisha."

"Really?" A part of Priya was relieved, while a part of her was sad.

∞∞∞

A few moments earlier...

"Yes, Govind."