The shopkeeper replied, "Son, ten years ago, Amardeep had a massive fight with his mother."
When Amardeep was just eleven years old, his father passed away.
At that time, his little sister, Twinkle, was probably only a year old.
His mother raised him and Twinkle all by herself. They were incredibly poor.
She worked from morning until evening, teaching at a small private school in the village.
Working hard all day amidst a meager salary and the constant noise of children, she somehow managed the household expenses. Providing two square meals a day was a daily struggle for her.
"The real fight started when Amardeep turned eighteen," the shopkeeper continued. "His mother decided to remarry a wealthy man from the city."
Amardeep was fiercely against this marriage.
That afternoon, a heated argument erupted inside their house. While the rest of the neighborhood was silent, violent screams echoed from their home.
"Mom, you cannot give anyone else the place of a father!" Amardeep shouted.
But his mother was completely fed up. The poverty of the village and the exhausting life of a low-paid teacher had broken her.
Shouting back in anger, she replied, "I care about you and your younger sister! Going to the city will secure Twinkle's future. Do you want us to starve here?"
Amardeep felt she was doing it all just for the money.
Taunting him, his mother pointed an angry finger. "That expensive phone in your hand? I got that for you by teaching day and night, saving every single penny!"
She glared at him. "If it were any other woman, she wouldn't have done even half of this for you."
Amardeep felt deeply hurt.
Blinded by anger, he smashed the phone onto the ground. "I don't want anything from you!"
He walked out of the house empty-handed that very afternoon. He never returned.
After his disappearance, his mother went through with the marriage and moved to the city, taking Twinkle with her.
The shopkeeper finished his story. He fell silent, staring intently at Ivan.
"Son, what is your name?" the old man asked.
"My name is Ivan," he replied calmly.
"And where have you come from?"
"I came from a nearby village."
The shopkeeper leaned in, asking his final question. "But how did you come to know about this Amardeep?"
"Sir, I heard from some people that I look exactly like him," Ivan explained. "They said he was from this village, so I came here to find out the truth."
Hearing this, Raju remained quiet. He didn't ask a single question.
Ivan had only brought Raju along by telling him they were going for a ride. Twinkle had never told Ivan anything about her mother's fights with Amardeep, nor had she ever mentioned the remarriage.
The two of them stepped out of the shop.
Ivan started his bike, and Raju hopped on the back.
As they rode back, a whirlwind of thoughts raced through Ivan's mind.
Was Amardeep going to fight that rich man the night he disappeared? he wondered.
With these heavy questions weighing on his mind, Ivan reached home and eventually drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, the clock struck 8:30 AM.
Ivan got ready, put on his crisp school uniform, and grabbed his bike keys. He left for the city school.
Navigating through the familiar village roads, he arrived at exactly 9:15 AM.
As soon as he parked his bike, his eyes fell on Zoya.
She looked incredibly beautiful today. Her deep eyes and the pure innocence of her face made her stand out from the entire crowd.
When Zoya noticed Ivan, her heart skipped a beat. To her, he looked even more handsome and charming than usual.
With his neatly groomed hair and tall physique, he carried an undeniable magnetism. She found herself lost in the sparkle of his eyes for a long moment.
Walking up to him, Zoya flashed a bright smile. "You're actually on time today! But yesterday, you didn't even pick up my calls."
Looking at her affectionately, Ivan replied softly. "Hey, yesterday I went a bit far out with Raju. My phone was on silent. I really didn't realize it."
Together, they headed towards their class.
Hours later, the final bell rang. They immediately made their way to the canteen.
Sitting across from him, Zoya looked deep into Ivan's eyes. She finally spoke her heart out.
"You know, Ivan... when you aren't around, I can't focus on anything at all."
She smiled softly. "Just the thought of you makes me smile. I don't need anything else in this world. I just need a little bit of your time and your company."
She reached out slightly. "You'll always stay with me like this, right? Because without you, my day just feels incomplete."
Ivan was deeply touched. Smiling warmly, he assured her that he wasn't going anywhere.
Soon, it was time to leave. Ivan grabbed his bag, said a quick goodbye to Zoya, and rushed towards the parking lot.
By the time he left the school gates, the sun was already starting to set.
Riding his bike, Ivan sped toward his village, the evening wind rushing past his face.
Suddenly, a fast-moving vehicle zoomed right past him.
Inside that car sat Anil and Aarav.
Catching a fleeting glimpse of Ivan's face, both men froze. Their blood ran cold.
Anil panicked, his voice trembling. "Aarav... did you see that? Was that him?!"
These were the same Anil and Aarav who, ten years ago, had passed through that exact same path.
The same night Ishan had brutally killed Amardeep and fled with Vikas and Arya.
That fateful night, Anil and Aarav had been driving from the city toward Ishan's village. Upon arriving, they had noticed a massive pool of fresh blood in the middle of the road.
Alarmed, they had immediately hit the brakes.
Stepping out into the dark, they followed the gruesome blood trail.
It led them straight into an old, abandoned hut. There, Amardeep's lifeless body lay in the dirt.
Without wasting a second, Anil and Aarav lifted the boy's heavy corpse and dragged it all the way back to their car. They hurriedly stuffed the body inside.
Once the body was secured, Anil sprinted back to the hut.
He frantically kicked dry soil over the thick pools of blood, burying the evidence. He did the same on the road, covering every single crimson smear until nothing remained.
Finally, with the dead boy in their car, the two men sped off into the night, disappearing without a trace.