Author's POV

The room was shrouded in shadows, echoing with a suffocating silence. Aditi stood in the corner, her body trembling uncontrollably, as if the darkness itself had seeped into her bones. Her breath came in shallow gasps, eyes wide, searching for escape—but there was none.

Footsteps approached. Slow. Menacing.

A figure emerged from the dark, moving like a predator that had already chosen its prey. His eyes gleamed—not with desire, but with vengeance. Each step he took drew the terror closer, pressing on her chest like a weight she couldn’t lift.

“N–No… please don’t do this,” Aditi’s voice came out cracked, barely audible, her throat dry from fear.

He laughed, a chilling sound.

“Oh really?” he hissed, closing the distance, his hand clamping around her jaw, tilting her face up with cruel force. “This mouth—this tongue—wasn’t this the same one that insulted my mother?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, her lips quivering. “Please… I didn’t mean…”

“Too late,” he snarled. “Now what? Lost your tongue already?”

She whimpered, trying to shield herself, but his hands moved with no mercy. He gripped the hem of her skirt—symbol of her innocence, her past—and ripped it, tearing through her protection like it meant nothing.

But before the horror could consume her—

She screamed.

Her eyes flew open, wide with panic. The room was suddenly bathed in moonlight. She was back in her bed, drenched in sweat, heart pounding as if it might burst from her chest. Her hands clutched the bedsheet as if it were her last anchor to sanity.

It was a dream.

Just a dream.

But it didn’t feel like one. It felt too real. Too vivid. Too familiar.

And as she stared at the ceiling, her breath slowly returning, a single thought echoed in her mind

Aditi sat motionless for a while, her knees tucked to her chest, head resting against the wall as the final fragments of the nightmare faded into the dim light of early dawn.

“I don’t know why I’m seeing these kinds of dreams,” she whispered to herself, voice trembling with a mix of fear and confusion. “Ever since I turned seventeen… these faces, that creepy man…” She paused, eyes drifting toward the window where the first rays of sunlight tried to comfort her.

Then she sighed, pressing her palms against her temples. “Oh God, if he really exists, please… never let him cross my path. I don’t want pain. I want a man who will love me, cherish me… not haunt me like a shadow from hell.”

She let out a small, bitter laugh and smacked her forehead lightly. “Ugh! What am I even thinking? Yeh kya filmy chal raha hai dimaag mein? (What is this movie-like thinking going on in my mind?) Mujhe padhna chahiye! Warna toh boards mein fail hone ki guarantee hai. (I should study! Otherwise, there’s a guarantee I will fail in my boards.)”

She slid off her bed and grabbed her physics book from the table, flipping to the chapter she'd been ignoring for weeks.

“Electric charge and field,” she read aloud with a dramatic sigh. “Aur nahi toh kya. Yeh students ke saath torture hai. (And what else? This is torture for students.) School jao sirf attendance bharne ke liye, phir ghar aake kitab uthao aur khud se samjho. (Go to school just to mark attendance, then come home and pick up the book and understand it by yourself.) Matlab... what even is this life? (Meaning… what even is this life?)”

Her voice echoed softly in the quiet room, but as she nestled into her chair, opening her notebook, something lingered in her chest—a feeling that the dream wasn't just a dream.

Something had shifted. And she didn’t know it yet, but life was about to test her in ways she’d never imagined.

Aditi, lost in her thoughts, flipped through the pages of her physics book. She tried to concentrate, but her mind kept drifting back to the chilling dream. The images of that cruel man, his cold hands gripping her jaw, his mocking voice—it all felt too real.

“Focus, Aditi,” she whispered to herself, forcing her attention back to the equations. “Just focus.”

But as the quiet of her room embraced her, a darker, more sinister presence stirred far beyond her reach—one she had yet to even sense.

Somewhere in the city, a figure sat in the shadows, his eyes cold and calculating, every movement deliberate, like a predator watching its prey. Karan Randhawa, the man who had been stalking the shadows for years, had heard whispers of the girl whose name he didn’t yet know. The girl who would become the key to his revenge.

“She doesn’t even know, does she?” Karan muttered to himself, a twisted smirk curling on his lips. “The girl... she doesn’t even know who she really is... or how dangerous her life is about to become.” His fingers tapped on the armrest, a sinister rhythm that matched the dark thoughts swirling in his mind.

Aditi, meanwhile, was still unaware of the storm gathering on the horizon. She was absorbed in her studies, trying to push away the haunting aftereffects of the nightmare. The dream, she thought, must be just a product of stress—exams, growing up, the pressure of everything around her.

But what she didn’t know was that her world was already changing, the ground shifting beneath her feet. The face that had haunted her dreams, that cruel man—he wasn’t just a figment of her mind. He was real. And his path was now entwined with hers, though she had no idea who he was.

As Karan’s plan began to unfold, a chilling thought crossed his mind. It’s almost time. She’ll be ready soon. But first, I have to find her.

Aditi glanced at the clock on the wall. Her mind shifted back to mundane thoughts of school and exams, oblivious to the looming danger. The life she knew, the safety she felt, was an illusion. And the real demons, the ones not haunting her dreams, were already closing in.

Karan Randhawa had been waiting for years, biding his time. And soon, he would make his move. He had a promise to keep—a promise that involved Aditi. But she wasn’t yet the girl he was looking for. She had to become that person first. And he’d ensure it, whatever it took.

As the day wore on, Aditi’s world seemed unchanged. But for Karan, every step taken now would lead him closer to her. It was only a matter of time before their paths would cross—and when they did, everything would be destroyed.

Karan's secret room

Karan leaned back in his leather chair, the dim light from the ceiling fan casting shadows across the walls of his luxurious, yet cold, office. His sharp eyes scanned the report before him, the edges of his lips curling into a dark smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Betrayal.

It wasn’t something Karan took lightly—especially not when it involved the shipment. His operation was flawless; he ran the city's underworld with the precision of a predator tracking its prey. Drug trafficking. Smuggling. Extortion. He was everywhere, always a step ahead, never caught. His empire was built on fear, wealth, and bloodshed.

And now, someone had dared to steal from him.

He tapped his fingers on the desk, the sound echoing in the otherwise silent room. His men were competent, but there were always weak links. And those weak links had a tendency to break.

"I want them dead," Karan's voice was low, cold, like a venomous snake coiling around its prey. He spoke without a hint of emotion, his words precise and calculated.

His right-hand man, Dev, stood in the corner, waiting for instructions. Karan’s gaze flickered toward him, eyes narrowing.

“Get the word out,” Karan continued, his voice sharper now, carrying the weight of his wrath. "Find the men who took the shipment. If they’re still breathing, it’s only because they don’t realize how badly they’re about to suffer."

Dev nodded, silently absorbing the order. He knew the consequence of failure in Karan’s world. It wasn’t just death—it was a slow, excruciating unraveling of everything one held dear.

Karan stood, his tall frame cutting through the darkness of the room as he walked over to the window. His reflection stared back at him in the glass, a man with no hesitation, no remorse. Only purpose. Only power.

“Those bastards stole from my ship during transport. It was a clean deal—everything was supposed to go smoothly. But now… they’ve given me no choice. Let them know what happens when you betray me.” He turned back to face Dev, his voice a dangerous whisper. “And I’m not doing this for myself. Those men were the dogs of my rival. The ones connected to the filthy business of selling girls for profit. They deserve nothing but death.”

Dev swallowed, but Karan could see the loyalty in his eyes. The ruthlessness had already been instilled in his men, trained into them over the years. They knew Karan’s reputation well.

“There’s no room for mercy in this world, Dev. Not for them. Not for anyone who dares to defy me.” Karan’s voice remained cold, unwavering. "Go. Make sure the message is clear. Let them understand exactly why they should never mess with me."

Dev left the room quickly, knowing better than to question the orders. Karan turned back to the window, staring into the city. The night was still, but it was only a matter of time before the blood would spill.

He reached for his phone, sending a quick message to his most trusted men stationed at various ports. His empire stretched across borders, and Karan had eyes everywhere—inside customs, within the police force, and throughout the underworld. If you needed something to disappear, Karan was the one to go to. But betrayal? Betrayal was met with a much darker consequence.

His shipment, carefully smuggled through a network of contacts, was his lifeline. And anyone who thought they could steal from him would soon learn why Karan Randhawa was feared.

He took a deep breath, his fingers still hovering over his phone. Then he typed a message: "Take them out. Show no mercy."

Karan closed his eyes for a moment, letting the thrill of control and violence surge through him. This was the world he had built—this was how he ruled.

And soon, the men who had dared to cross him would regret it. Their blood would stain the earth, and Karan’s empire would grow stronger. Every kill added to his legacy.

As Karan sank back into his chair, the weight of his decisions heavy on his shoulders, he knew this was just another day in his life. The dark world of drugs, smuggling, and mafia dealings would continue to spin, all while he stayed at the center of it, pulling the strings with cold precision.