The moment Aditya and Aniket entered the gate of Anamika’s house, they walked straight toward the building without even bothering to park the car.

  As soon as they stepped inside, they ignored the scattered mess around them and began calling out for Ira and Rivan.

  Hearing their voices, Rivan appeared in the hall where Aditya and Aniket were standing.

  Seeing him, Aditya asked immediately, “Where’s Ira?”

  “Please come with me,” Rivan replied.

  He led them to Anamika’s room, where Ira was sitting in front of the television.

  As Aditya and Aniket followed Rivan inside, they noticed what was playing on the screen.

  A disturbing video was looping endlessly—someone strangling a cat to death. The same clip repeated again and again. Aditya quickly moved closer to Ira and said sharply, “What are you watching?! Ira… don’t watch things like this!”

  “She’s already seen it…” Ira said, looking straight at Aditya.

  Aditya frowned.

  “Who has?”

  Rivan stepped in before the tension could rise further.

  “I’ll explain, Big Bro. This clip… we found it in a paper bag.”

  He pointed toward a bag lying nearby.

  “That one. There was a lot inside it—photographs, letters… The photos were Anamika’s, from six or seven years ago, from her school days. And in every single photo, somewhere in the background, you were there, Big Bro.”

  Aditya stiffened.

  “There were letters too,” Rivan continued. “And near the bag, there was a sketchbook—probably Anamika’s. And guess what? It had your paintings in it… from when you were around ten years old.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Aditya slowly flipped through the sketchbook. Aniket stepped closer, scanning the pages and the photographs beside them.

  “The DVD of this recording was in the same bag,” Rivan added.

  “Big Bro, you should read the letters. Every letter says the same thing in different ways—that the reason for the cat’s death was the person who wanted to change their destiny.”

  He handed Aditya another letter.

  “And this one… it even asks a question.”

  Aditya took the letter immediately. Aniket silently took the rest of the items from his hands so he could focus.

  Aditya began reading.

  Aditya lowered the letter.

  “What nonsense is this?”

  Rivan hesitated.

  “Babydoll said the same thing when she read it earlier.”

  Silence settled over the room.

  After a moment, Rivan spoke again.

  “When Ira was watching the video, I found something else… or rather, a place.”

  He walked toward a shelf in the room and pushed it slightly.

  The shelf moved—opening like a hidden door.

  Behind it was a room swallowed by darkness, lit only by a faint red glow.

  What that dim light revealed was unsettling.

  The entire front wall was built like a massive shelf, filled with DVDs and books. In one corner stood a large wooden chest, and on top of it rested a small box.

  They stepped inside and turned on the lights.

  Everyone began examining the space in their own way.

  Aditya and Aniket went through the shelves. Most of the books were related to the medical profession. Among them were several diaries which, after reading a few pages, clearly belonged to Anamika’s mother. Many entries spoke about Anamika and Saniya—some so tender that a faint smile appeared on Aditya’s lips.

  Meanwhile

  It showed Anamika and Saniya with Anamika's mother.

  Anamika looked shy, as always. Saniya’s face carried the same emotionless calm. Anamika's mother held them both in her arms, her face glowing with a gentle, beautiful smile.

  They were very young in the photo—probably no older than eleven or twelve.

  While Aditya and Aniket remained near the shelves, Rivan and Ira opened the small box on top of the chest.

  What lay inside made them freeze.

  Ira’s trembling voice drew Aditya’s and Aniket’s attention.

  They rushed over—and saw it.

  A smiley mask lay inside the box.

  The moment Aditya saw it, his expression tightened.

  That mask was a symbol.

  It belonged to the serial killer who had murdered Aditya’s and Ira’s parents. She had left this very mask behind at every crime scene.

  As painful memories flooded Aditya’s and Ira’s minds, a single question echoed in Aniket’s and Rivan’s hearts—