Chapter 20 — Hidden Scars

Mr. Dreewan closed the study room door before looking at his son carefully.

“I’m still trying to find the truth,” he admitted quietly. “But my intel only confirmed fragments.”

Veeresh remained silent.

“Something happened during Poornima’s birthday party years ago,” his father continued. “No clarity about what exactly. But two days later… Poornima killed her uncle.”

The words settled heavily inside the room.

“She was sent to juvenile detention after that,” Mr. Dreewan said, his expression darkening slightly. “But the case disappeared unusually fast.”

Veeresh’s jaw tightened.

“And Zoya?”

His father sighed deeply. “That’s the problem. Your sister’s death and that incident happened around the same time.”

Veeresh looked away briefly, processing everything.

Mr. Dreewan sat down slowly. “I knew Poornima well when she was younger. She wasn’t like this.”

He paused.

“She and Zoya were inseparable since childhood. Best friends from the time they were babies.”

That sentence disturbed Veeresh more than expected.

Because the woman he met now looked emotionally shattered, exhausted, almost hollow from inside.

Not someone who once had warmth enough to love deeply.

“After juvenile detention,” his father continued quietly, “something changed in her completely.”

Veeresh’s eyes narrowed.

“What do you mean?”

“She stopped remembering parts of her past properly.”

That caught his full attention instantly.

“Memory issues?”

Mr. Dreewan nodded slowly. “Trauma-related, according to some reports. But nobody could confirm how severe it was.” His expression hardened slightly. “And something happened inside that juvenile facility too. We never got proper information.”

The room fell silent.

Everything about Poornima’s life suddenly sounded darker than he imagined.

Neglect.

Trauma.

Death.

Juvenile detention.

Memory gaps.

Panic attacks.

And yet she still stood tall in front of the world like nothing could break her.

Veeresh suddenly remembered the way she desperately said:

“Make me forget everything…”

Now he understood the weight behind those words.

His father studied him quietly before speaking again.

“And I know she stayed with you last night.”

Veeresh’s gaze instantly lifted toward him.

“Nothing of that sort,” he said calmly, though the lie sounded empty even to himself.

Mr. Dreewan almost smiled faintly.

“You were never good at lying to me.”

Veeresh looked away silently.

His father stood up slowly and walked closer.

“Find out everything,” he said seriously. “Not as Salvatore. As Zoya’s brother.”

Veeresh’s eyes darkened again.

Because now this was no longer about rivalry, obsession, or one dangerous night.

Now it was about truth.

And Salvatore Dreewan was terrifying when he wanted answers.