POV: Ishaan Malhotra / Wishakha Bhalla / Kabir Bhalla / Ananya Iyer / Swara Malhotra
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PART 1: THE WALK INTO THE TRAP
POV: Ishaan Malhotra
I didn't run this time.
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No anger.
No hesitation.
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Just…
Acceptance.
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The location led to an abandoned structure.
Dark.
Silent.
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Fitting.
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Because that's exactly what my life felt like right now.
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Broken things hiding in empty spaces.
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I stepped inside.
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Each footstep echoing.
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Like the place remembered everything.
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"Welcome back, Malhotra."
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I stopped.
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That voice—
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I didn't need to turn.
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"I was wondering how long it would take," Rishi said calmly.
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I let out a dry laugh.
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"Not long. You always did like calling people back."
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He stepped into the dim light.
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Same face.
Same confidence.
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Like nothing had changed.
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Like we hadn't destroyed him once already.
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"You look different," he observed.
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"I am."
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A pause.
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"Good," he smiled.
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"Broken people are easier to shape."
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Something inside me tightened.
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But I didn't react.
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Not anymore.
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"Let's skip the monologue," I said.
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"What do you want?"
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He tilted his head.
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"You."
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Of course.
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"Why?"
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A slow step forward.
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"Because you're influence, Ishaan."
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A pause.
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"People believe in you."
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I scoffed.
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"Not anymore."
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He smiled wider.
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"That's the beauty of it."
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A whisper—
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"I can take it away… or give it back."
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Silence.
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And suddenly—
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I understood the game.
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Not just control.
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Reputation.
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Identity.
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Everything.
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PART 2: THE GIRL IN THE ROOM
POV: Wishakha Bhalla
Kabir shouldn't have come.
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But he did.
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And the moment he walked in—
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Everything changed.
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Rishi noticed too.
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"Ah," he said softly.
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"The traitor returns."
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Kabir didn't react.
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Didn't even look at him.
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He looked at me.
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"Are you okay?"
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I nodded.
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Barely.
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Because okay wasn't the word.
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Alive was.
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And right now—
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That was enough.
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"You shouldn't have come," I whispered.
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"I had to."
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Simple.
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Honest.
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And dangerous.
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Because Rishi didn't like honesty.
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He liked control.
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And Kabir—
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Was starting to lose his.
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PART 3: THE INTERRUPT
POV: Ananya Iyer
I broke in.
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Not physically.
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Digitally.
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The system resisted.
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Of course it did.
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But resistance means structure.
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And structure—
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Can be broken.
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Lines of code collapsed.
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Firewalls cracked.
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And then—
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Access.
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Live feed opened.
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My breath stopped.
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"Ishaan…"
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He was there.
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Inside it.
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With him.
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"Don't do anything stupid," I whispered.
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But he couldn't hear me.
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Not yet.
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So I did the next best thing.
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I made sure—
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Rishi could hear me.
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The system glitched.
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Screens flickered.
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And my voice echoed through the room—
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"Game's over."
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PART 4: THE SMILE THAT LIED
POV: Swara Malhotra
I reached the location late.
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Too late.
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Of course.
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Because I always was.
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I stood outside.
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Heart racing.
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Hands trembling.
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And then—
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I heard it.
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Music.
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Faint.
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Distorted.
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Coming from inside.
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A line echoed softly—
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"Muskurane ki wajah… tum ho…"
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But it didn't sound romantic.
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It sounded…
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Wrong.
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Twisted.
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Like happiness forced into a lie.
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And suddenly—
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I understood.
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Nothing here was real.
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Not the smiles.
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Not the stories.
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Not even the truth.
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PART 5: THE COLLISION POINT
POV: Kabir Bhalla
Everything was converging.
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Ishaan.
Rishi.
Wish.
Ananya—somewhere inside the system.
Swara—outside.
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Too many variables.
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Too little time.
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"End it," I said quietly.
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Rishi looked at me.
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Amused.
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"End what?"
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"This."
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A pause.
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Then—
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He laughed.
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"Why would I end something that's just beginning?"
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And that's when I knew—
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He wasn't afraid.
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Not of us.
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Not of exposure.
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Because in his mind—
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He had already won.
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FINAL LINE:
The scariest lies aren't the ones you hear.
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They're the ones that start to feel like truth.