Nashik – Beneath the Shivneri Private Clinic
3:12 AM
Dr. Vedant Arya stood over the steel operating table, watching the boy's chest rise and fall with growing instability. The fluorescent lights above flickered, casting his gaunt face into sharper relief. His lab coat was stained, not from blood—but from secrets that had fermented too long in the dark.
"Time since injection?" he asked, eyes locked on the monitor.
"Six minutes, forty-three seconds," his assistant, Meera, replied, her fingers trembling slightly as she recorded the vitals. "Pulse erratic. Neural activity off the charts. Seizure threshold approaching."
"Push it," Arya ordered flatly.
"But—Dr. Arya—he won't survive—"
"He wasn't meant to," Arya snapped.
Silence fell again, except for the erratic beeping.
The boy—Karan Shekhawat—convulsed violently.
Then he stilled.
But he was breathing.
Barely.
Arya narrowed his eyes.
"Remarkable," he whispered.
Karan's eyes fluttered open, a deep brown with flickers of something almost metallic.
---
Mumbai – Rathore Estate Gymnasium
8:00 AM
Aaradhya slammed her wrapped fists into the punching bag with relentless rhythm. The thuds echoed through the silent space, each punch a scream she wouldn't allow herself to voice.
Ruhan stood on the far side, arms folded, eyes unreadable.
"Iqbal says you've been down here since 4 AM," he said finally.
She didn't pause.
"Good for Iqbal."
Ruhan stepped closer. "You're not going to beat them with your fists."
Aaradhya finally stopped, panting, and turned to face him. "Then what do I beat them with?"
He met her gaze evenly. "With your mind. Your silence. Your unpredictability. You're in a world where emotions are used against you. Either you master them, or they'll be used to bury you."
Her jaw clenched. "I watched my brother get buried already."
Ruhan said nothing. Just stepped forward and raised a training pad.
"Then aim better this time."
---
Later – Aaradhya's Room
The hot shower did little to loosen the stiffness in her muscles. She stared at her reflection, her fingers tracing the faint scar across her collarbone—the reminder of the night she was attacked.
She never asked Ruhan how he found her that night. Part of her feared the answer.
As she towel-dried her hair, her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number:
"Trust no one. Not even me."
Attached: a grainy image of a boy strapped to a table. His eyes—half-lidded, raw, burning.
She stared at the screen for a long moment before she called Ruhan.
"Did you send this?" she asked when he picked up.
"No."
"But you know who did."
There was a pause. Then: "I'll meet you in the study."
---
Rathore Estate – Ruhan's Private Study
9:20 AM
The room smelled of leather and cedarwood, lined with shelves full of files and books. There were no personal photos—only tactical maps, encrypted hard drives, and two handguns neatly placed on the desk.
Ruhan was already there, staring at the boy's image on a larger monitor.
"Karan Shekhawat," he said without turning. "Son of Zayed Shekhawat. His father ran the Eastern Maharashtra arms routes. Got into a turf war with the Vora syndicate six years ago. Vanished during a 'peace meeting.' His son was never seen again. Until now."
Aaradhya sat beside him, eyes narrowed. "He was used in Raktbindu?"
Ruhan nodded slowly. "More than used. He was the key."
"To what?"
Ruhan exhaled. "To controlling neural aggression. Weaponizing pain responses. Project Raktbindu was never about healing the brain. It was about turning it into a command center."
Aaradhya felt her stomach turn.
"He's a child."
"He was," Ruhan corrected. "Now he's something else. And someone sent you this for a reason."
"Maybe to warn me."
"Or bait you."
---
Juhu – Vora Estate
Tanish Vora swirled his drink idly, watching the playback from a drone camera.
"Rathore's got her trained already," he murmured.
Across from him, Reeva Malik leaned forward, elbow resting on her crossed knee. She wore a sharp indigo pantsuit and a smirk.
"You sound like you admire her."
"I admire tools that cut sharp," Tanish said, sipping.
Reeva raised an eyebrow. "You still want her dead?"
"No. I want her cornered."
Reeva's smile widened. "So we make her an offer?"
"No," he said, tossing the glass to the floor where it shattered. "We make her choose."
---
That Evening – South Mumbai, Sewri Docks
Aaradhya stood at the edge of the rotting pier, the salty air thick with decay. The location came anonymously. A black envelope was slipped under her door after lunch.
"Come alone. No trackers. No syndicate shadows."
She came anyway.
Ruhan wasn't far. She knew he would follow. That's who he was.
But she didn't tell him. She needed to do this.
A silhouette appeared near a container stack—a lean figure, hood up, hands gloved.
"You came," a voice echoed. Deep. Distorted.
Aaradhya's fingers tightened inside her coat.
"Who are you?"
The figure stepped closer.
And pulled back the hood.
Karan Shekhawat.
Alive.
Eyes clear, lips chapped, but standing.
"Are you... safe?" she asked softly.
"I'm not safe," he replied. "But I'm awake."
She took a step forward. "They're still experimenting on others?"
He nodded.
"How many?"
"Four that I remember. One girl. Younger than me."
Her heart dropped.
"Why send me your picture?"
"Because you're not part of their plan," Karan said. "But you're part of the story."
He pulled out a flash drive and handed it to her.
"Take this. Everything. Coordinates. Names. Trial notes."
"And you?"
Karan looked toward the sea. "I was supposed to be a weapon. Now I'm just a variable."
Suddenly—gunshots cracked through the air.
Karan shoved her behind a container.
"Run!" he shouted.
Aaradhya turned—four men in black were descending with silencers.
She sprinted, ducked, zigzagged.
A bullet grazed her arm.
She didn't stop.
But she heard Karan yell.
Then a scream.
Then nothing.
---
Rathore Estate – Medical Wing
11:14 PM
Ruhan stitched her arm himself, jaw tight.
"You followed me," she whispered.
"Of course I did," he said without looking up. "You think I let you play vigilante alone?"
She flinched slightly as the needle passed through.
"Karan... they took him."
"They didn't take him," Ruhan said, voice grim. "They found him."
She looked at him.
"They let him lead you. They wanted to know how close you'd get. You've got their attention now."
She slumped back against the chair.
"What do we do?"
He tied off the last stitch and finally met her gaze.
"We fight fire with fire."
Aaradhya tilted her head. "What does that mean?"
Ruhan stood, voice low and sharp. "It means we build our own weapon."