The cry of the newborn, Meera, seemed to have altered the very atmosphere of the Malhotra mansion. It was as if a tiny, powerful lodestone had been placed in its center, pulling the family's gravitational force away from pure despair and toward a fragile, dual reality: mourning for what was suspended, and tending to what was vibrantly, demandingly alive.

For Chandni, the baby became an unexpected, brutal, and beautiful component of Aadiv's therapy. Two days after Meera's birth, with Maya's permission and Leela's quiet encouragement, Chandni began a new protocol.