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Tuesday morning, Sector 44, Gurgaon. Ek glitzy fintech startup ki glass-walled office. Sabhi employees kitchen se latte le kar apne desks pe laut rahe the, jab HR head Kavita ne scream kiya.
“Sir… Rohan sir… woh… they’re not breathing!”
CEO Rohan Malhotra was found slumped in his glass cabin, head tilted at an odd angle, coffee mug shattered below, laptop still logged in to last night’s Zoom call.
Shaam ko company ki team offsite thi – a lavish farmhouse pool party in Manesar, celebrating Series C funding. Drinks, speeches, and a late-night virtual townhall address by Rohan for remote teams.
Sab ne mana liya heart attack. Rohan ke lifestyle kaafi stressful tha – high caffeine, low sleep. Par ek intern, Tisha Jain, ne something odd notice kiya. Usne apna vlogging Insta handle pe 10-sec story dali thi – blurred background mein Rohan video call karte dikh rahe the. Lekin ek reflective glass mein ek chehra tha, office ka hi, jo us waqt wahan nahin hona chahiye tha.
Zoom call ka recording server pe se mysteriously corrupted nikla. CCTV feed bhi backup mein overwritten thi. IT ne bola power cut tha. Lekin Team Lead Devansh ne quietly purani offsite reports check ki – aur dekha HR Kavita ne har quarterly party ke baad ek pattern mein logon ki exit timings submit ki – except iss bar.
Enter Naina Sehgal, COO, aur ek time pe Rohan ki business partner – aur kuch aur bhi. Uska aur Rohan ka professional fallout 3 weeks pehle hua tha. Tense emails the, kuch NDAs ki threats bhi. Naina ne party ke baad company ke CRM access kiya bina approvals ke – as per audit logs.
Lekin naye CTO, Pratyush, jo party ke dauraan mostly poolside headphones mein hi tha, quietly Rohan ke shoulder ke upar se us Zoom call mein ek screen dikh raha tha – ek spreadsheet, kuch employee options aur cancellation clauses.
Rohan ke coffee cup pe koi fingerprints nahi the. Toxicology report ne dikhaya – extremely rare neurotoxin used hua tha, jo caffeine ke chemically volatile base mein mix ho jaata hai. Easily disguised as artery blockage.
Twist? Woh neurotoxin ek start-up medical supplier ke trial kit mein tha – jahan Seema, the operations head ki sister, clinical testing manage karti thi. Ek dummy vial offsite ke gifting hamper mein charm bracelet ke andar tha – ek novelty item. Sirf ek hamper mein tha – CEO ke.
Final clue mila jab Tisha ne apni Insta story ke zoom frame check kiya – blurred reflection mein Rohan ke peechhe ek cat-shaped thermal mug ka saya dikh raha tha – woh mug sirf Seema ke paas tha. Usne socha tha koi uske work credit steal kar raha hai, aur woh quietly exit planning kar rahi thi. Rohan ne uske SaaS tool ko spin-off reject kiya tha.
No police complaint hua. Company ke founders ne matter ‘internally resolve’ kar diya. Seema vanished, officially sabbatical pe gayi. But uska LinkedIn profile quiet hai. Aur naye quarter ke liye COO bhi appoint nahi hua.
Kabhi kabhi, startup world mein losses balance sheet pe nahi likhe jaate. Kuch sheets bilkul hi invisible hoti hain.
