Thousand miles apart

Consultant detective

Eshana's POV :

As soon as the flight landed, we hurried to the exit in search of a cab. To my relief, the cab was waiting by the entrance gate for us. Without pausing for a second, we entered the cab and asked the driver to take off. 

Not long, we arrived at the hospital where my dad is being treated. We entered the hospital right away and headed to the front desk.

"Which room has Mr. Dinesh Agarwal been shifted to?" My brother inquired, eyes fixed anxiously on the receptionist. The woman gazed at us with a trace of recognition on her face.

"304, sir, is the VIP room. You can use the elevator over here" She indicated to the left side with a nod. We thanked her and rushed in.

Once we eventually made it to the third floor, we happened to see my brother Shreyas walking past the room and heading our way with his gaze fixed on the phone. 

"Shrey!" I called out as I hurried towards him. Hearing my call, he looked away from his phone and raised his head. He was about to say something when,

"What happened to dad? Is he alright? How did this happen? Where is he? And, what did the doctor say? Tell me!" I shook his shoulders impatiently as I bombarded him with questions. "Why are you being silent? Answer me!" looking into his eyes, I pleaded. I was about to continue but he interrupted me,

"Will you allow me to speak?" He pursed his lips in displeasure. I apologized to him and nodded for him to continue. Taking the hint, he let out a sigh.

"As for now, Doc mentioned he needed to perform tests. But there's one thing you should know that surprised us" He said with a puzzled look.

"What exactly is it?" Amar asked. "I had gone to ask about the payment when the doc informed me that someone has already paid them," He muttered and my eyes widened as I glanced at him. 

"Anyway, meet him in and don't worry, he's okay," He said as he pursed his lips and walked away. 'why does he seem so formal? no no... There are way too many formal speakers in our home, and Shreyas is the only energetic one.'
'Is he upset? hm... that could be. He always wanted to visit the United States and I left without informing him'

I shook my head and glanced forward to see the door open. With so many questions racing through my head, I entered the room to find my mother peeling fruits on the chair next to the bed, and Amar and Disha standing quietly in the corner. I moved slowly to the bed, which drew Mom's attention.

"Uh-huh. Someone appears to have found their way back." Not without lifting her head, she remarked as she proceeded to peel the fruits. Dad's attention was drawn to her words, and he arched his brows as he stared at me.

"I'm sorry..." I muttered sheepishly as I took a seat on the side of the bed. "I never considered sneaking out. It's just...it was a last-minute decision for which I had no choice "I averted my gaze, fiddling with my shawl.

"Well... You could have told us about it. We might just have arranged the trip for you since you were so passionate about it " Mom said, shocking all of us except for my dad. "Y-you what? passionate? I-I..."Her remark left me stunned. "You would let me?" I asked once more. "Yeah. Why would I not? I'd be delighted, and you'll need a lot of experience in that topic to develop" My eyes widened as she replied. Experience? Experience?! Wait. She's generally sarcastic when she's upset, but not in this type of situation. Never. Never.

"Are you certain?" I arched my eyebrows to which she nodded. "In fact, your dad had a lot of experience before he could go any further. Not to mention your brother too" She added. Amar, as far as I know, did not until recently. I turned to see my brother and Disha before returning my gaze to mom. "S-Shreyas?" I asked, hesitantly. "Ay! No no. He's a little young to understand that. I'm referring to the one standing here" She pointed at Amar causing him to almost trip. "Me? Experience? What the-f! Fish!" In terror, he stared at mom. "What are you on about? I was the one who urged you to help your dad with that" Mom stated, her eyes narrowing at him.

"Hold on. What exactly are you talking about?" He asked. "What do you mean? Isn't it obvious? Business." We both grimaced as she shrugged. "Why? What did you think I was talking about?" She asked after observing our reaction. "Hehe! Business it is."I stated this while flashing her a forced smile. So she has no idea why I flew to California and assumed that I was there to help Amar with work. There was a moment of silence before I realized something. 

"What was Shreyas talking about in the hallway regarding the bill?" I asked. "Oh yeah, Doc said someone had already paid the bill," She responded casually to which I rolled my eyes. "Did you consider asking them any more questions?" I asked, and she gave me a sidelong glance before setting the fruit knife on the stand. "No. Why?" She picked up a piece of apple and fed it to dad. "What do you mean by 'no'? Obviously, to find who that person was and why would he or she do that?" As I looked at her, I asked. 

"And then what? Since that person paid the bill, for obvious reasons, he or she is either some wealthy someone attempting to play a charity game, which I cancel out since it would be an idiot who would pay charity for a VIP patient, or else, someone aiming to get the partnership. If it's the latter, the person will be waiting for us to find him or her in whatever way we can. It may possibly be someone who has lately offended us." She shrugged, which baffled me.

"Why recently?" I questioned her. "If it has happened long ago, they would have not waited till today, unless they aren't doing good with business which brings us back to the second option regarding the partnership." She replied casually. "What if that person is the reason for the accident and maybe, wanted to pay back and escape?" Amar asked to which she rolled her eyes.

"Payback and escape? Two things cannot happen at the same time. There will be no paybacks since their names will be recorded in hospital records, which could get them in trouble. If he or she is still willing to take risks and if in case is an ordinary person, he or she would still refuse to pay, knowing that the patient is known by many and this matter will be read by the rest of the world" She stated. Wow, she sounds like a consultant detective. 

"Now it narrows down to one question." She paused and looked around the room. "Did someone offend you?" She asked. I consider everything that has occurred recently, which leads me to only one person. I jump out of my stool.

"I'll be right back," I say before rushing out of the room.