Quarantine Hearts

Chapter Five: Pursuit of Shadows

Two years had passed since Meera's last conversation with Vivaan. In that time, he had vanished without a trace, leaving behind unanswered questions and a void in her heart. Now, at 24, Meera had forged a new path for herself. She worked at a bank, but behind its façade lay something much deeper—a covert base of operations for Indian special intelligence.

Meera had made it her mission to find Vivaan, no matter the cost.

As she sat at her desk in the bank's office, her computer screen displaying financial reports, her mind wandered to Vivaan. She had tried every avenue, every lead, but he seemed to have vanished into thin air. Yet, she refused to give up hope.

One evening, while going through a stack of documents, Meera's phone buzzed with an alert. It was an encrypted message from an unknown sender. Her heart skipped a beat as she decrypted it.

"Meet me at the usual spot. I have information about Vivaan."

Meera's pulse quickened with a surge of hope. She quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching before slipping out of the office. The "usual spot" was a small, nondescript café tucked away in a corner of the city.

As she stepped into the café, she scanned the room, searching for the sender of the message. A figure in the shadows caught her eye, and she approached cautiously.

"Meera?" a voice whispered from the darkness.

"Yes, that's me. Who are you?" Meera replied, her heart pounding.

"I have information about Vivaan," the voice said cryptically.

Meera's breath caught in her throat. "Tell me everything you know."

The figure leaned closer, their face shrouded in darkness. "Vivaan was involved in something dangerous. He stumbled upon a conspiracy within the government. They made him disappear to cover their tracks."

Meera's mind raced with a mixture of shock and determination. "Where is he now?"

The figure hesitated before whispering, "I can't say more here. Meet me tomorrow at midnight, near the old warehouse on Riverside Road. Come alone."

And with that, the figure vanished into the shadows, leaving Meera with more questions than answers.

As Meera made her way back to her apartment, her mind raced with possibilities. Could this be the breakthrough she had been waiting for? Or was it just another dead end?

With each step, her resolve hardened. She would find Vivaan, no matter the risks.

But as she reached her apartment door, a sense of doubt crept in. What if this was a trap? What if she was walking into a dangerous game?

With a deep breath, Meera pushed aside her fears and made a decision. Tomorrow night, she would go to Riverside Road, and she would uncover the truth about Vivaan, no matter the cost.