CHAPTER LXVI
After learning the horrifying truth, a sharp ache bloomed in my chest — not just for what was happening around me, but for the guilt clawing at my soul. I realized just how gravely I had messed up in the past. The choices I made, the doubts I held, and the words I once spoke had not only driven Mon away but had unknowingly handed her over to people like Ashwin — the very monster now sitting bloodied in front of me.
But it was too late to fix what had broken between us. I couldn't turn back time, couldn't unspeak the words, or undo the betrayal. What I could do — what I had to do — was ensure that Ashwin and the devils like him never again separated someone from the people they loved. Never again ruined lives with their lust for power and money.
Fury boiling beneath my skin, I grabbed Ashwin's hand. My breath was steady, my heart hammering with rage. I pulled a pen from my inner pocket — not just any pen, but one with a sharpened metal tip I kept for emergencies — and without hesitation, I dug it into the back of his hand with a swift, brutal force.
He screamed.
Blood poured out instantly, his hand trembling violently. I didn't stop. With a single stroke, I drove the pen clean through his hand — from the top of his palm to the wooden table beneath. His voice cracked with pain, the sound echoing through the nearly empty station.
Before he could recover, I yanked the pen out — and in one merciless motion, plunged it into the eye of the man who was caught with him. The man shrieked, thrashing in his restraints, blood flowing down his cheek like a river of sin finally spilling out.
And then… the silence cracked.
"I'll talk!" he cried, voice ragged and panicked. "I'll tell you everything — please… just stop!"
I stood there, watching him, my breath shallow. My hands were shaking, but my eyes remained fixed and cold.
He continued, his voice trembling, "We don't kidnap them… not directly. Our job is to find the girls — girls between sixteen and twenty-nine — and provoke them, touch them, humiliate them. While we do it, there's always a man nearby… he's called J. No one knows his real name. Just… J. He carries a camera… and he clicks their photos during those moments, sends them to someone known only as 'Jess.'"
"Jess?" I narrowed my eyes. "That a name?"
"No… it's a code name," he stuttered. "Nobody knows who Jess is. Jess sends those photos to a buyers' ring — a gang spread across the entire country. Once a girl is selected by the clients, she's marked. They come for her… and she disappears."
My stomach turned.
"What do you do with them?" I asked, my voice low and threatening.
Ashwin, his hand still bleeding, gave a bitter laugh. "We ship them off… to Rechard — in Dubai. He runs the operations from there. And then… they're trafficked, smuggled across borders, sold like objects. They're never seen again."
I swallowed hard, bile rising in my throat.
"When's the next transport?" I asked coldly.
He hesitated. "During the solar eclipse," he finally said. "The next one… in ten days."
Ten days. That meant… three days after my wedding.
I stared at him, feeling as though the walls of the room had started to close in. Ten days to save those girls. Ten days before more lives were ripped apart. Ten days before this nightmare grew darker.
And I knew, in that moment, this wasn't just another mission.
This was war.
And I was ready to burn the whole underworld down to stop it.
I immediately called my entire team back — every officer who had worked with me on the past missions, including Mon. Time was slipping through our fingers, and the scale of the operation was bigger than anything we had faced before. This time, the trafficking network was preparing to move girls not just from the outskirts, but directly from Mumbai — the heart of the city.
When everyone gathered at headquarters, I wasted no time. I told them everything — everything Ashwin had confessed… the network, the code names, the trafficking route, the terrifying mention of the solar eclipse — and the countdown we were now racing against.
As the room fell into stunned silence, Ritu broke it first.
"If Ashwin and the man with him — Sandy — have been captured," she said, "then the gang must already know. Someone must've warned J. He'll be extra cautious now."
I nodded gravely. "Exactly. They'll change everything — routes, patterns, locations. We've lost the element of surprise."
Mon's face was tight with concern as she added, "Which means… none of us can go near them now. They already know our names, faces, ranks — probably even our routines. Someone from our department has been leaking information to them. They'll recognize us in seconds."
I looked at her, frustration tightening in my chest. She was right. We were compromised.
"We need a new face," I said slowly. "Someone they can't trace back to the force. Someone who isn't in our system."
Everyone went quiet, thinking.
Anamika spoke up. "What about a rookie officer? Someone freshly inducted?"
I shook my head. "No. They likely have access to all police profiles. Even a rookie will be on their radar. And if there's a mole inside our department, they'll know exactly who's new."
Anshuman, who had been silent until now, leaned forward. "What if we use a civilian? A public girl — someone we can train and keep protected. We put her face out there, make her visible on social media. The gang will notice. They're always looking for new targets."
"But where will we find such a girl?" Ritu asked.
A silence followed.
And then… I said it.
"I know someone."
Mon's head snapped toward me, eyes wide. "Who?"
"Hannah," I said firmly.
Mon instantly objected. "No. Not Hannah. She's innocent… pure-hearted. I won't let her be a part of this. She doesn't deserve to be dragged into danger like this."
I placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Mon, listen to me. We won't let anything happen to her. She'll be under 24/7 protection — trained, guarded, watched at every step. But she's the only one they won't suspect. She's our only chance to get close to them now."
Anshuman nodded. "It's the only plan that makes sense. If we want to stop this, we need someone they won't see coming."
Everyone around the room agreed. Mon still looked uncertain, her heart clearly torn between protecting Hannah and saving countless others. But eventually… she nodded.
"If we're all in this together… I'll do it. But only if we guarantee her safety."
"We will," I promised.
And with that, I picked up my phone and dialed Hannah.
It was time to bring her into the storm — and this time, we wouldn't let the dark win.
To be continue....