“Explain properly… what made you change your decision?”

  Aditya’s voice dropped low, almost a whisper.

  “Because I realized the underworld isn’t just a world full of monsters… it’s a world where monsters are made! The innocence of children is stolen… and they are turned into weapons! They are made into psychos!”

  Hearing this, Aniket ran a hand through his hair and said, “Rivan?! Oh… so you couldn’t stop thinking about him?”

  Aditya lowered his gaze and went on, “Yes…! He was barely eighteen when we rescued him! On the last mission we did before deciding to quit the underworld two years ago… we saved Rivan, but that mission left a question burning inside me.

  I was restless, so I went to meet Mr. Shah… and after meeting him, I learned that there are many children in the underworld who are brought there by force! They’re kept like lab rats and subjected to all kinds of experiments! After years of torment, what survives is no longer human… it becomes a monster — something they use as a weapon! The group we finally destroyed were doing exactly that!”

  Aniket averted his eyes and said, “I knew about that! When I brought Rivan home, he told me all of this! He said he had to kill many kids his own age just to survive! But…” — he shouted — “I was happy precisely because we saved him! The underworld is a massive world, and we can’t hope to destroy it in our lifetime! You know… my dad lost his son… his wife left him because he was in the underworld! If we don’t leave it soon, it’ll never let go of us! It’s a swamp — the only sensible thing is to stay away!”

  Aditya said firmly, “I can’t stay away! Never… never! At least not after knowing that I could have saved more children, more lives — and I didn’t!”

  “Adi… when we started, we had almost nothing left to lose! But now… now we have so much to protect! We can’t live in that world anymore!”

  As Aniket spoke, Aditya saw Rivan’s laughing face in his mind, calling him, “Big bro!”

  A tear rolled down his cheek as he said, “It’s all because of that killer! If that serial killer hadn’t murdered my parents, I would never have thought of revenge! If I hadn’t found out that she had connections in the underworld, I would never have joined it!”

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  Aniket placed a hand on Aditya’s shoulder and asked quietly, “So what now? Can’t we step back?”

  “No… never!” Aditya stood up.

  “Never! I won’t step back! Never! Because now I’ve seen that pain… I’ve seen and heard Rivan’s memories, and I can’t let someone else go through the same! Rivan was twelve when that innocent child was dragged into this world — why?! Because he was poor… his father was a gambler and lost him in a bet?! Just for that reason, the child spent six years in that hell… just for that reason?! Never… I’ll never let this happen to another child!”

  After saying this, he walked away, and Aniket watched him go. It wasn’t that Aniket thought he was wrong; deep down, he felt maybe he was wrong — but what consumed him most was his worry for Aditya.

  He looked up at the stars and closed his eyes.

  In his memory, his mother’s words echoed — something he remembered at that moment:

  Aniket opened his eyes and spoke to a shining star, “Mom… maybe I am foolish. But this foolishness was given to me by my friend, and I like it.”

  A smile appeared on his face, but only he knew how much worry hid behind that smile.

  Meanwhile, at Rivan’s house…

  Mr. Shah sat in the hall with a letter in his hand. It was in terrible condition, patched up with cellotape.

  As he stuck the final torn pieces together, he said, “I can’t believe it… after so many years, his father sent him a letter — he actually did this.”

  Holding the letter, he read aloud:

  After reading, Mr. Shah gave a bitter smile, took a photo of the letter with his phone, and then pulled out a lighter to burn it.

  With a sarcastic smirk, he muttered, “This kind of filth isn’t found even among beasts! Bastard… scoundrel! Thank God I wasn’t here when you came to deliver this letter — otherwise you’d be dead today instead of tomorrow!”

  As the letter burned, Mr. Shah remembered the moment when Rivan had hugged his neck and said, “I’m so happy, Mr. Shah… that you and Big Bro are in my life. I’m so, so happy! Please, Mr. Shah… tell Big Bro once that I want to hug him too!”

  Mr. Shah could still hear Rivan’s soft sobbing — a sound he hadn’t heard from that boy in years.

  He closed his eyes and whispered, “Two years…! For two damn years I’ve taken care of that child… and I’ve never seen his smile fade! He always smiled… always… but today… today he looked away for the first time to hide his tears!! I won’t forgive that bastard!”

  Mr. Shah couldn’t find an address on the letter, nor did he know what Rivan’s father looked like. But it was his duty to inform Aditya about everything that had happened.

  He wrote down all the details in a formal email and sent it to Aditya.