Three Days Later – Mumbai Crematorium – 8:05 AM
A quiet morning fog hung over the city's oldest crematorium. A body was scheduled for cremation at 8:30—a man named Vivek Rathi, aged 44, businessman, reportedly killed in a car accident two nights ago. His family had identified the body, completed the paperwork, and all that remained was the fire.
But at 8:05 AM, just 25 minutes before cremation, the impossible happened.
Vivek Rathi walked in. Alive.
Wearing the same type of suit he was supposedly buried in, dazed, limping slightly, but very much alive.
The priest fainted.
---
CID Bureau – Same Day, 10:00 AM
The moment the report reached CID, chaos ensued. The idea of a dead man walking—on the record, identified, certified, and almost cremated—wasn't just confusing. It was terrifying.
The team stood in the conference room, a photo of the man pulled from morgue records next to a live feed of Vivek Rathi, sitting in the holding room.
ACP Pradyuman: "Explain this to me, Swami. A man dies, is sent to cremation, and then walks in before his own body is burned. How is this possible?"
Swami (quietly, studying the images): "It's not. Unless the body wasn't him… but looked exactly like him. Same fingerprints. Same dental pattern. That's impossible, unless—"
Purvi (interrupting): "Unless it was him. The forensics report matched completely. No signs of plastic surgery or altered prints. It was him, sir."
Daya (bluntly): "So we're saying this guy died… and came back?"
Swami (shaking his head): "No. What we're saying is… someone wanted the world to believe he was dead. And someone went to extraordinary lengths to make that happen."
Abhijeet: "Then the real question is… who went through the trouble of killing Vivek Rathi, only for him to come back?"
---
Interrogation Room – 10:30 AM
Vivek Rathi sat nervously, hands shaking slightly, his voice dry.
Swami (gently): "Mr. Rathi. Where have you been since June 18th?"
Vivek: "I don't know. I remember driving… being hit from behind near Powai… then darkness. When I woke up, I was in a hospital room. But no staff. No sound. Just silence. Then I found an exit and walked."
Swami: "You were missing for 42 hours. During which a body identical to you was found in a burned car, with full ID and matching DNA. Who would go that far?"
Vivek (terrified): "I don't know. I swear, I don't know!"
Swami observed his pulse, his breathing, the dilation of his pupils. He wasn't lying. Or… at least, he believed he wasn't.
---
Forensics Lab – 12:15 PM
Dr. Salunkhe reviewed both the original autopsy and the photo of the now-alive Vivek Rathi.
Dr. Salunkhe: "This shouldn't be possible, Pradyuman. We confirmed identity by three methods—dental, prints, and even bone structure. Either the dead man is him… or this man is someone else entirely."
Swami (softly): "What if both are correct?"
Abhijeet: "Meaning?"
Swami: "What if the body was made to be biologically identical?"
Everyone stared.
Daya: "Are you talking about a clone?"
Swami: "Not necessarily science fiction. Medical identity theft. Tissue reconstruction. Black-market bio-manipulation. We've seen whispers of such cases in Thailand and Germany."
ACP Pradyuman: "But this is India."
Swami: "Exactly. Which means someone has brought that science here."
---
Later That Evening – Vivek Rathi's Office – 6:40 PM
The team visited Rathi's company headquarters, a mid-sized private investment firm. Everything looked normal—until they reached his office.
His laptop had been wiped.
The CCTV server was missing.
And on his desk… a sealed envelope with his name on it, marked "ONLY OPEN IF I RETURN."
Swami opened it.
Inside was a USB and a handwritten note.
> "If I am found alive, someone failed. Watch this. And protect my wife."
---
Back at CID Bureau – 8:00 PM
The USB contained a video message. Vivek himself, dated June 14th—four days before his 'death.'
> Vivek on video:
"If you're watching this… then someone tried to erase me. Not kill me—erase me. I uncovered something inside my own company. Offshore accounts. Ghost directors. My own name used to fund a private military group. I don't know who's involved yet. But I know I'm being watched. And if I disappear… it's not an accident."
The screen cut to black.
The room was silent.
Swami (calmly): "We thought this was about a man who died twice. It's not."
He turned to the board and wrote:
> "It's about a man who was never meant to return."
ACP Pradyuman: "Find out who he was going to expose. Start with his wife."
Swami: "Already done. She disappeared this morning."
---
To be continued…
Next Chapter: "The Widow Who Vanished"
Swami and the CID team must unravel a conspiracy inside a corporate empire, track down a missing wife, and discover how science was used to fake a death—before someone finishes the job for real.