Days bled into a week within the quarantine suite. Adhya's physical pain began to recede, but the psychological wounds deepened. The silence, broken only by Ranvijay's hushed commands and the low whir of the life support systems, was heavy with the recent violence. Ranvijay remained her unwavering shadow, the ever-present sentinel, but his intensity made conversation difficult.

Adhya was healing, yet her gaze often strayed to the spot where the intruder had fallen—a place scrubbed clean, but eternally stained in her mind.