High above on the 50th floor, the vast cabin was silent, save for the dark intentions lingering in the air. Akash sat back in his chair, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the massive LED screen. On it, he watched Pakhi sitting patiently in the dim yellow light of the interview room.
A devilish smile slowly spread across his face—cold, sharp, and full of malice
Flashback,
(A Little While Ago…
Akash sat silently in his luxurious chair. Suddenly, the door opened and Aman walked in. Akash raised an eye—a look that asked everything without saying a word. Aman bowed his head and said, "Sorry, sir… but by the time my men got there, the girl had already been discharged from the hospital."
The moment Akash heard this, he slammed the glass in his hand onto the table.
CRASH!
The glass shattered instantly. Blood began to flow from Akash's palm, and red drops fell onto the table.
Seeing this, Aman stepped forward, "Sir—" but Akash raised his hand to stop him. His voice was shaking with rage. "Two hours. You have only two hours. I want that girl at any cost."
Aman nodded without a word and immediately left the office. Akash picked up the photo of Soniya that was lying on the table. Slowly running his blood-stained hand over the picture, he whispered, "Because of she , you went away from me…" His voice turned into a low hiss. "I will destroy her. Now, she will receive your punishment."
The expression on his face turned terrifying.
Akash set the photo aside, leaned his head back against the chair, and closed his eyes. Just seconds later, he snapped them open.
His eyes locked onto the screen on the wall. A devilish smile spread across his lips. He picked up the remote and zoomed in on the ground-floor video feed.
On the screen—Pakhi was standing in front of the reception. Seeing this, Akash clenched his fist tight. He picked up his phone and quickly typed a message. His voice was cold and deadly: "The prey has walked straight into the lion's den. Now, I will make sure she never finds the way out.")
Present,
Pakhi sat alone in that room filled with dim yellow light. She didn't even know who she was waiting for. There was just a strange restlessness in her heart that kept growing. She didn't feel good about anything, as if an unspoken danger was floating in the air.
After waiting for a few minutes, the door suddenly opened.
Pakhi's eyes instinctively went toward the door. She couldn't even see the person who entered properly before the door slammed shut with a loud thud. That loud noise made Pakhi a little nervous.
Without saying a word, the man walked straight to the sofa across from her and sat down.
In the yellow light of the room, Pakhi couldn't see his face clearly—only his blue eyes, which were fixed directly on her. Those eyes were strangely cold, but there was something in them that made Pakhi's heart beat even faster.
For a few minutes, there was complete silence between them. Pakhi couldn't understand why the man was silent. Since he arrived, he had just been staring at her—steadily, without even blinking.
After few minutes Finally, Pakhi gathered her courage and said in a low voice, "Are you... Mr. Bansal?"
She had never met him face-to-face. They had only spoken on the phone. This was the person she was supposed to work under—that's all she knew.
When there was no answer, a strange fear began to settle in Pakhi's mind. She was completely alone in that room, and the blue eyes of the man sitting in front of her were constantly staring at her. His gaze was making her uncomfortable—as if he were reading her, testing her. Is something wrong? This thought began to spin in her mind.
A cold shiver shot down her spine, and her heart skipped a jagged beat
Without wasting a second, she got up and rushed toward the door. Just as she tried to open it, she heard these words:
"Where are you going…?"
"Get back to your seat."
Hearing that voice terrified Pakhi. She didn't even have the courage to look back. In her panic, she began trying to unlock the door, but it wouldn't open.
Then—
Suddenly, someone grabbed her hand from behind.
In one jerk, she was pulled away from the door and thrown straight onto the sofa.
"Ah…!" Pakhi cried out in pain.
His grip was incredibly strong—so strong that Pakhi's hand went numb.
And then—
The lights flickered on.
Bright light flooded the room.
Pakhi, breathing heavily and trembling, slowly looked up at the man. At first, everything was a bit blurry—her mind still hadn't recovered from the shock. But as the image before her eyes became clear, her eyes widened in total shock.
"You…?"
That was all she could manage to whisper.
"What are you doing here…?" Pakhi asked, her voice shaking.
The man in front of her didn't answer. Instead, he sat down on the table directly across from her with a calm, deliberate ease—as if the entire room belonged to him. Forced into a corner, Pakhi steadied herself and sat upright on the sofa. Just like before, his face was hidden behind a mask, and that same chilling sensation she felt at the airport washed over her again. All she could see were his eyes.
Blue, cold, and merciless.
The same eyes.
The same man.
The stranger from the airport…
Her heart began to hammer against her ribs. Pakhi's voice flared with anger, but beneath that rage, a thin layer of terror remained hidden.
"You did all of this…"
Her eyes were locked onto Akash.
"How dare you pull such a pathetic, disgusting stunt with me…?"
She hadn't even finished her sentence when, in the next heartbeat, Akash pulled a gun from his waist. With a swift, violent motion, the weapon was aimed directly at Pakhi. Her lips remained parted—her words dying, stuck in her throat. The air in the room seemed to freeze instantly.
Akash's voice was incredibly calm—so calm that the hidden cruelty within it felt even more terrifying.
"Honestly? Ending you life right now would be too quick. You haven't even begun to pay for what you took from me" he said,he said, his voice terrifyingly calm.
"Death is an escape. And I'm going to make sure you stay alive to feel every second of your ruin."
Pakhi felt the air turn to ice in her lungs... And her soul shivered. For a few seconds, she just stared at him—those blue eyes that held no mercy, and the gun in his hand that seemed to grow heavier with every heartbeat.
She was terrified to her core, but she refused to let herself break.
Somehow, she gathered her courage. Her tongue faltered, but she still spoke—
"Have you lost your mind?"
There was fear in her voice, but not submission.
"This gun is real. If it goes off even by mistake… it's the end for me, and life imprisonment for you."
Suddenly, pushed by an unknown surge of bravery, Pakhi jerked the gun aside. Akash was momentarily stunned. That tiny second was like a breath of life for Pakhi. She inhaled deeply. Her heart was racing wildly, but her voice was now steadier.
"Look, Mister…"
She paused for a moment, then continued,
"That day at the airport, you pushed me. You humiliated me in front of everyone."
She looked him straight in the eyes and said, "In return, I did exactly what you did to me. That's it… the debt is settled."
Her gaze shifted to the glass of water sitting on the table.
She leaned forward, a faint, bitter smile touching her lips. "Then here... take this glass of water. Throw it in my face. Humiliate me the way I humiliated you. Do it, and let's call it even. I promise I won't even flinch."
Silence fell—heavy, suffocating, and absolute. Akash remained a shadow, watching her with a terrifying, wordless intensity. Pakhi could feel her heart screaming to run, but she didn't flinch. She stood tall in the face of her own destruction, her silence matching his, her spirit refusing to bow to the monster before her.