India, June 8 -- Standing inside Vivek Aggarwal's house, the first thing I noticed was what had not changed. The slippers were still at the doorstep. The sofa, vases and other belongings remained exactly where they had been when the chartered accountant left last week with his wife Tarjani Aggarwal, their daughters and his elderly mother. The family had shifted temporarily to a hotel in Delhi's Malviya Nagar to stay close to Vivek's father, Radhe Shyam Aggarwal, who was admitted to an ICU and had reportedly been given only a few days to live. What no one anticipated was that the family would return not alive, but as five charred bodies brought home in ambulances after the June 3 hotel fire. A neighbour arranged for a locksmith to open the main gate so relatives could enter and move furniture to make space for the mortal remains. The contrast was haunting. When alive, the family was the soul of this lavish house, with a Mercedes parked in the portico. Today, relatives say the luxury car remains abandoned near the hotel that caught fire, almost as if waiting for Vivek, his wife and daughters to drive it home again. Meanwhile, Radhe Shyam Aggarwal, whose illness brought the family to the hotel, survived and is recovering. The grief inside the house was overwhelming. "What will we do with this beautiful dream house of my son-in-law that he built with his hard-earned money? It's gut wrenching. He was very caring and loving. I could not have thought of getting such a son-in-law even in my dreams," said Santosh Bansal. Later, she questioned how such a tragedy was allowed to happen. "Government must not allow such illegal hotels to function... Look what it did to my entire family. My daughter and both granddaughters were so beautiful and photogenic but they died so painfully and were not even recognizable anymore." Ashna Bansal, Santosh's daughter-in-law, said she and Tarjani were as close as school friends. Her eyes were swollen from crying and relatives said she had been given sleeping pills. "We shared each and everything with all of us. It is us who are crying continuously for the loss with which we will not be able to cope up even for whole life. All those people watching the news across the country will forget this incident soon and culprits getting arrested now will be granted bail in next few months," she said. As I left, one question lingered. Beyond arrests and investigations, what happens to the lives left behind? Santosh said the family has not decided what will become of Vivek's house and property. "May be that we will open an orphanage here or do something that could serve the society. But how can we take the decision? Its Vivek's house and he will have to take a call," she said before falling silent. The gaps in the story remain significant. How was the hotel allowed to operate? Were fire safety norms ignored? Were guests aware of evacuation measures? Who was responsible for oversight, and who failed? Those questions remain unanswered for a family that, in the words of its relatives, lost everything....