The construction site was completely silent now, the labor forces having retreated down the mountain tracks as the biting evening chill rapidly turned into a sharp, crystalline frost. Inside the modern, glass-walled office cabin, the only illumination came from the soft, concentrated amber glow of a single desk lamp and the distant, twinkling lights of the Manali valley below.

Little Ruhi had finally fallen into a deep sleep on the small, plush velvet sofa in the corner, her small chest rising and falling with deep, perfectly even breaths. Vedant sat motionless at his heavy mahogany desk, but his sleek laptop remained completely closed before him. His mother's heavy, emotional voice was playing on an absolute, inescapable loop inside his head: