The curtain was pulled back, and Anamika stepped out, her innocent eyes glancing at Ruhi and Eira — both smiling brightly, clearly pleased with the dress they had chosen for her.

  It was the fifteenth outfit they had picked for Anamika, and Eira clapped her hands, chirping, “We’re buying this one too! Let’s get it packed!”

  Ruhi grinned, asking, “Should we look for more clothes?”

  Eira made a face and replied, “Clothes aren’t the only thing we came to buy. Come on, let’s go check out some pretty jewelry!”

  And just like that, the two of them wandered off again, leaving Anamika behind.

  Anamika turned her eyes toward the ‘writer’ — as if silently complaining — and sighed deeply.

  Meanwhile

  The only difference? They were in the toy section!

  It was Aniket who had dragged them all there once the shopping plan was made. Rudra had tagged along, acting like an overexcited kid himself.

  Aditya was just... there, quiet and lost in thought,

  while Rahul carefully observed everything on display, almost fascinated.

  For him, this was all new — especially since he’d never really had many toys growing up.

  Not remote-control racing cars, not robots, not video games… nothing like this.

  Rahul came from a traditional artist family, the only son in a household where art and heritage were passed down only through the male line.

  Yes, Ruhi was his sister, which meant he wasn’t the only child in the family — but he was the only heir of their family’s art legacy.

  His life had started with discipline, culture, and responsibilities.

  And the first sacrifice demanded of him was — childhood toys.

  Where Rahul was quietly lost in the nostalgia of everything he never had,

  Aditya was lost in his own thoughts.

  In his mind, Eira’s words kept echoing:

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Aditya’s eyes lowered.

  He slowly lifted his gaze and caught his reflection in a nearby mirror.

  Seeing his own face, he smiled faintly — as though laughing at himself.

  He lingered there for a few moments longer.

  Evening had fallen. It was around 7 p.m.

  Eira, Ruhi, and Anamika were seated at a small stall inside the mall.

  Ruhi was sipping coffee, Eira had juice, and Anamika was holding a cup of hot chocolate.

  Anamika’s gaze was fixed on the phone lying on the table, where her chat with Saaniya was still open.

  Saaniya had texted earlier saying she’d reached home safely and had asked what to cook for dinner.

  Anamika’s reply had been short:

  “Make whatever you want, but enough for everyone — I’m bringing Ruhi and Eira with me.”

  Now, another message had popped up from Saaniya:

  “Alright! But come home soon!”

  Eira stretched her arms and said, “I’ll be right back. You stay here.”

  Ruhi added, “I’ll go pay the bill.”

  And the two of them left.

  Anamika was just taking another sip of her drink when her phone rang.

  The caller ID showed an unknown number.

  Anamika didn’t like answering unknown calls — she even had an app that identified numbers by their registered names.

  But this number showed no name, which made her hesitate.

  She pushed the phone slightly away and waited for it to stop ringing.

  When it finally did, she picked up her drink again — only for the phone to ring once more, the same number flashing on the screen.

  This time, with some hesitation, Anamika answered.

  But as soon as she heard the voice on the other side, her hesitation disappeared —

  and a moment later, her expression changed entirely.

  Her voice trembled with disbelief as she said, “No…! You’re lying! If that were true, she would have told me herself. She never hides things from me!”

  The voice on the other end was calm, almost cold:

  “If you don’t believe me, go ask her yourself. She might hide things from you — but she would never lie to you.”

  And with that, the call ended.

  A few moments later, Ruhi returned.

  Anamika looked up and said quietly, “I want to go home.”

  There was a sadness in her eyes.

  Ruhi was just about to ask something when Eira walked over and said, “So soon? Let’s look around a little more!”

  Anamika’s voice turned firm, though there was a slight tremor in it: “I want to go home. Now.”

  Ruhi and Eira exchanged glances.

  Eira quickly took out her phone to call their driver, but the call went unanswered.

  Glancing at the pile of shopping bags around them, Eira said, “How are we supposed to carry all this to the parking lot on our own?

  And the driver uncle isn’t even picking up!”

  Ruhi glanced at Anamika, who seemed completely lost in her thoughts.

  Ruhi stood up and said, “Eira, I’ll take a few bags and go to the parking lot.

  I’ll find the driver uncle and bring him here.

  You wait here with the rest of the bags.”

  Eira nodded.

  Ruhi picked up a few bags and headed out.

  The parking area was eerily quiet — completely deserted.

  Ruhi kept glancing around as she walked,

  finally spotting their car parked at the far end, in a dimly lit corner.

  Just as she stepped closer, her feet froze.

  Something was glinting near the car.

  She moved a little closer and her heart dropped — It was their driver, lying on the ground.

  The faint light reflected off the ring on his finger.

  And there was blood.

  Ruhi instinctively stepped back, fear gripping her.

  Before she could run, the overhead light began to flicker.

  Then she heard it — footsteps.

  Soft, slow… coming closer.

  Ruhi turned, ready to run — But then came the sharp crack of a gunshot.

  The bullet hit the wall just past her shoulder.

  She turned around and saw him — a man wearing a mask, standing in the shadows, a gun in his hand.

  Ruhi’s breath quickened. Her feet refused to move.

  The bags slipped from her hands and fell to the ground.