The black car stood across the road like a silent omen.
Its polished body reflected the morning sunlight, too clean, too expensive for the chaos of the old market street. On the front hood gleamed a silver crest.
A rising sun.
Encircled by seven stars.
The Desai emblem.
Rudra's heartbeat slowed instead of quickening.
Shock had no place in his second life.
Only calculation.
He stood at the edge of the school gate, eyes fixed on the vehicle.
Why here?
Why now?
In his previous life, he had not found the first solid clue about the Desai family until he was forty.
Now, within hours of his rebirth, their car was already here.
The butterfly effect had begun.
His gaze sharpened.
The driver's side door opened.
A man in a dark suit stepped out.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Earpiece.
Security.
Not family.
The rear door remained closed.
Someone important was inside.
Before Rudra could move, a strange sensation struck him.
A cold pulse behind his eyes.
He froze.
The world blurred.
The sound of traffic faded.
Voices became distant.
Then—
images.
A black sedan is speeding through an intersection.
Screeching brakes.
A truck.
Impact.
Shattered glass.
A woman's hand was covered in blood.
A silver bracelet slipped from her wrist.
Rudra's eyes widened.
A vision.
His divination talent.
It had awakened far earlier than expected.
He took a sharp breath.
No.
This was not a random vision.
This was a prediction.
Something was about to happen.
And soon.
His gaze snapped toward the road ahead.
The Desai car.
The intersection beyond the school.
A truck was already turning into the lane.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
His mind calculated instantly.
Thirty seconds.
Maybe less.
If the black sedan left now, it would collide.
Rudra moved.
Fast.
For a ten-year-old, impossibly fast.
He sprinted across the school entrance, drawing startled looks from the students around him.
The security man noticed him.
"Hey—!"
Too late.
Rudra reached the car and slapped his palm against the hood.
"Don't move this car."
The guard frowned.
"What?"
His tone was sharp.
Annoyed.
Rudra met his eyes.
"Don't move it for the next thirty seconds."
The guard stared at the child in disbelief.
Then irritation.
"Kid, step away."
Rudra's voice turned cold.
"I'm serious."
The guard moved forward.
But before he could grab Rudra's arm—
The rear window rolled down.
Inside sat a woman.
Elegant.
Late twenties.
Sharp features.
Long dark hair tied neatly.
A silver bracelet on her wrist.
Rudra's breath paused.
The bracelet.
The same one from the vision.
His pupils contracted.
One of his sisters?
No.
Too early to assume.
But the resemblance—
something in the eyes.
A strange familiarity.
The woman looked at him with mild curiosity.
"What's going on?"
The guard straightened.
"Ma'am, this child is causing trouble."
Rudra didn't look away from her.
"Please wait thirty seconds before moving."
The woman's brow lifted.
"Why?"
He could not reveal divination.
He answered carefully.
"There's an accident ahead."
Silence.
Then the woman smiled faintly.
Amused.
"And you know this how?"
Rudra's expression remained calm.
"Lucky guess."
The guard scoffed.
But the woman raised a hand, signalling him to stop.
Her gaze remained on Rudra.
Something in the boy's eyes made her pause.
Not fear.
Not childish panic.
Certainty.
Absolute certainty.
"Fine," she said at last.
"We'll wait."
The guard looked stunned.
"Ma'am—"
"Thirty seconds."
Rudra silently counted in his mind.
Five.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
Then—
SCREEECH!
A deafening sound tore through the street.
Everyone turned.
At the intersection ahead, a massive delivery truck lost control as it skidded through a red light.
It crashed directly into the side of another black sedan that had just entered the crossing.
Metal screamed.
The glass exploded.
The sedan spun violently before slamming into a divider.
Screams erupted from the street.
Students gasped.
Teachers rushed forward.
The guard beside Rudra went pale.
If their car had moved—
That would have been them.
The woman in the back seat slowly turned her head toward Rudra.
The amusement in her eyes had vanished.
Now there was only shock.
And suspicion.
Rudra took a step back.
His voice was calm.
"I told you."
The guard stared at him as if seeing a ghost.
The woman opened the door and stepped out.
Tall.
Graceful.
Authority naturally surrounded her.
Her eyes studied Rudra carefully.
"Who are you?"
For a moment, Rudra almost answered with the truth.
Your brother.
But the Witness's warning echoed in his mind.
Reveal your rebirth to no one.
He lowered his gaze slightly.
"Rudra."
Just Rudra.
The woman repeated the name softly.
"Rudra…"
A strange expression flickered across her face.
Recognition?
No.
More like an instinctive unease.
As if the name stirred something buried deep inside her.
Before she could ask more, sirens echoed from the distance.
People rushed toward the accident site.
The woman turned to the guard.
"Call emergency services and assist them."
Then she looked back at Rudra.
"Thank you."
Simple words.
But something in her tone carried weight.
She removed a business card from her purse and handed it to him.
Silver lettering.
Aarohi Desai
Executive Director, Desai Group
Rudra's fingers tightened around the card.
Aarohi.
His mind raced.
In his previous life, he had discovered the names of his sisters through old files.
Aarohi.
The eldest.
His breath caught.
This was her.
His sister.
Standing before him.
Alive.
Unaware.
So close.
Her eyes lingered on him for another moment.
Then she returned to the car.
As the vehicle drove away, Rudra remained standing in the street, staring at the card in his hand.
His heart beat heavily.
Fate had not only moved faster.
It had arrived at his doorstep.
And for the first time in both lives—
He had met his family.