The criminal zone...
Inside the forgotten Goddess Kali Temple...
It had already been fifteen long minutes since Vikram Das had leapt into the old, stony well—without warning, without a single word to Mona.
The well, half-filled with dark, stagnant water, seemed to grow heavier with every passing second. Mona stood frozen at the edge, her face blank, her mind a battlefield of confusion and growing fear.
She stared into the rippling water, unable to process what she had just witnessed.
"Why would he jump without saying anything?" she thought, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Slowly, a wave of dread seeped into her bones.
Everyone knew: no human could hold their breath for more than two or three minutes—even the world record holders. But already fifteen minutes had passed. And there was still no sign of Vikram.
"Could something have happened?"
"Did he get trapped?"
"Did he... die?"
The morbid thought clenched her stomach painfully.
