A man sat tightly tied to a metal chair inside a dark freezing room. Thick ropes were wrapped around his hands and chest so tightly that even the slightest movement looked painful. A dirty cloth was tied across his mouth, muffling his uneven breaths as fear slowly took over him.

The air conditioner above blasted cold air at full temperature, making the room unbearably freezing. But despite the cold, sweat still rolled down the man's forehead continuously. His entire body trembled uncontrollably.

Two armed soldiers stood near the door like statues, weapons secured in their hands, eyes sharp and alert. Neither of them moved even slightly.

Outside the room, the long corridor remained dimly lit. Four more armed officers stood outside the large iron gate, completely prepared, as silence stretched heavily through the hallway.

Then suddenly-

movement.

More soldiers quickly entered the corridor. Heavy boots echoed sharply against the floor as the atmosphere instantly shifted.

And then she arrived.

An army officer, twenty-nine years old, stepped into the corridor wearing her uniform with absolute authority in every step she took. Her presence alone was enough to make even trained officers straighten instinctively.

The moment the soldiers saw her, every single one of them saluted immediately.

Cold eyes.

Unreadable expression.

Dangerous calm.

Without stopping, The officer reached the iron door and kicked it open forcefully with one sharp movement.

The loud sound echoed violently inside the freezing room.

The man tied to the chair flinched badly in fear. His breathing turned unstable as he looked toward the entrance.

And then he saw her.

For a second, his entire face went pale.

It felt as if death itself had just walked into the room.

She walked toward him slowly with measured steps, her boots echoing softly across the floor. The soldiers inside immediately stepped aside without a word.

The closer she came, the more terrified the man became.

His hands started shaking harder.

Sweat rolled down his temple continuously.

Even in the freezing cold, fear had completely broken him.

She stopped directly in front of him and pulled the cloth away from his mouth calmly.

The man stared at her with widened eyes, struggling to breathe properly.

Then finally, fumbling over his own words, he whispered fearfully-

Man: "Ma... Major Monika Mehra..."

Monika leaned forward slowly, both hands resting against the cold metal table as she locked eyes with the man tied tightly to the chair.

The man immediately tried sitting straighter, but the thick ropes wrapped around his chest and arms stopped him. His breathing turned uneven again as fear slowly crawled across his face.

Monika suddenly threw a file onto the table with a loud thud.

Photographs and classified papers scattered partially across the metal surface.

Monika: "Kaha se aaye ye details tumhare pass?"

The man looked at the papers and then back at her nervously.

Man: "M-Madam ye... woh..."

His voice shook badly.

He couldn't even form proper sentences anymore.

Monika stared at him for a few silent seconds before speaking again.

Monika: "Bata de. Vaise bhi mera patience bohot kam hai."

She slowly opened another file.

Monika: "Code M ke details tumhare pass kaise aaye?"

The moment he heard "Code M," his expression changed completely.

Fear.

Real fear.

The man swallowed hard before whispering carefully-

Man: "Ma'am... woh... Shaurya Malik..."

For the first time, something shifted in Monika's eyes.

A tiny twitch.

Almost invisible.

Commander Shaurya Malik.

Her father.

One of the lead officers connected to Operation Code M.

Monika's voice dropped lower now.

Dangerously calm.

Monika: "Continue."

The man's hands trembled violently against the ropes.

Man: "Madam... woh log unhe maar denge... unki jaan khatre mein hai..."

Monika immediately grabbed his face harshly, forcing him to look directly at her.

Her nails dug into his skin hard enough to draw blood.

Monika: "Kon maar dega?"

The man winced painfully.

Man: "Army ke hi kuch log hai..."

He spoke with extreme difficulty, almost choking on his own fear.

The room instantly went silent.

Even the officers standing nearby exchanged shocked glances.

Monika's jaw tightened.

Monika: "Naam."

A pause.

Monika leaned even closer.

Monika: "Naam sunna hai mujhe. Bata de. Varna woh log vaise bhi tujhe nahi chhodne wale."

The man's breathing turned unstable.

He opened his mouth slowly-

Ready to speak.

And then-

CRACK.

The window shattered violently.

A bullet tore straight through the man's head.

Blood splattered across the wall, the table-

and Monika's hands.

The tied man collapsed lifelessly onto the chair.

For one second, complete chaos erupted inside the room.

Officers immediately pulled out weapons.

Someone shouted orders.

Another officer rushed toward the entrance.

The entire room went into panic.

But Monika stayed still.

Completely still.

She slowly turned toward the broken window.

Heavy rain poured violently outside, making visibility almost impossible.

Then-

for barely a second-

a shadow moved across a distant rooftop.

Monika instantly grabbed the gun from the officer standing beside her.

One movement.

One shot.

BANG.

The bullet disappeared through the rain.

And far away-

a body dropped instantly from the rooftop edge.

Dead.

Silence.

The junior officers looked completely stunned.

Officer: "Ma'am... itni baarish mein...?"

Another officer stared toward the distant building in disbelief.

One glance.

One shot.

Direct headshot from impossible distance.

Monika calmly placed the gun back into the officer's trembling hands.

There wasn't even pride on her face.

Only tension.

Only fear.

For the first time that night, her calm looked unstable.

Monika wiped the blood from her hand slowly before looking toward one of the officers nearby.

Monika: "You know what to do with the body."

The officer immediately nodded.

Officer: "Yes, Major."

Monika turned and walked out of the room quickly.

Her face had changed now.

The fear for her family was clearly visible despite how hard she tried controlling it.

As she walked through the corridor, she continuously dialed numbers on her phone.

Papa.

No answer.

Mummy.

No answer.

Again.

Papa.

Again.

Again.

Again.

And with every unanswered call-

something inside Major Monika Mehra slowly started breaking.

. . .

Lucknow - Malik Mansion

Warm yellow lights filled the massive Malik Mansion, creating a peaceful calm completely opposite to the chaos waiting somewhere outside their world.

Upstairs, inside a softly lit bedroom, twenty-two-year-old Haseena Malik sat cross-legged near the window with a diary resting on her lap.

The cool night breeze moved the curtains gently while she remained lost in her thoughts, carefully writing lines of shayari one after another.

Every few seconds she paused, smiling faintly to herself before writing another word with complete focus.

Ink stains covered the side of her fingers already.

But she didn't notice.

Or maybe she simply didn't care.

For Haseena, writing feelings was easier than speaking them.

The middle daughter of the Malik family was known as the calm one.

The understanding one.

The girl who somehow handled everyone's emotions quietly while hiding her own behind soft smiles and teasing words.

Then suddenly-

Radhika Malik's voice echoed from downstairs.

Radhika: "Haseena beta! Khana tayaar hai, niche aa jao!"

Haseena immediately looked toward the door before replying loudly-

Haseena: "Nahi Mumma! Hum Major Di ka wait kar rahe hai. Unke bina nahi khayenge."

A small smile appeared on her face while saying it.

Downstairs, Radhika sighed dramatically.

Radhika: "Tumhari pyaari Major ko aaj late hoga. Aajao niche!"

Haseena looked toward the clock on the wall.

Almost midnight.

Usually Monika never got this late without informing.

For a brief second, worry crossed her face.

But then she shook the thought away and continued writing.

---

Downstairs, the kitchen and dining area were full of warmth and noise.

Commander Shaurya Malik stood near the counter casually applying butter on toasted bread while half listening to his wife.

Meanwhile, on the floor nearby-

eighteen-year-old Karishma Malik sat playing with their dog, Tafie.

Or more accurately-

annoying Tafie lovingly.

The youngest Malik daughter was complete chaos wrapped inside human form.

Short-tempered.

Dramatic.

Emotionally attached to everyone she loved.

And absolutely impossible to control for more than five minutes.

Karishma sat on the floor holding Tafie's paws dramatically.

Karishma: "Tafie tum Mumma se jyada loyal ho na? Haina? Haina?"

Tafie barked happily.

Karishma gasped dramatically.

Karishma: "Dekha! Dekha Mumma! Isne haan bola!"

Radhika rolled her eyes while mixing something inside a glass of water.

Radhika: "Ye bahar ek baba aaye the. Bohot hi pohochhe hue baba the."

Shaurya instantly looked suspicious already.

Radhika continued seriously-

Radhika: "Mujhe dekhke turant bole beta tumhe bohot samay se diabetes hai na ye lo isse thik ho jayega aur ye powder diye."

She carefully mixed the powder inside the water proudly.

Radhika: "Bole khane-paani mein milao, sab thik ho jayega, aur na keval diabetes isse aur koi problem ho na sab thik hota hai."

Karishma barely listened.

Her entire attention was still on Tafie.

Meanwhile Shaurya stared at the glass like it personally offended him.

Shaurya: "Radhika... ye sab befizool ki cheeze hoti hai."

He pointed toward the powder.

Shaurya: "Hum army wale hoke agar ye sab follow karne lage toh ho gaya."

Radhika immediately glared at him.

Radhika: "Aap bhi na. Aapko samjhana matlab diwar se baat karna."

She continued stirring the water stubbornly.

Karishma suddenly looked up innocently.

Karishma: "Mumma agar ye sach mein kaam karta hai toh hum green chilli di aur red chilli major ko bhi pila dete hai."

Shaurya chuckled softly already knowing disaster was coming.

Radhika frowned.

Radhika: "Haseena aur Monika ko kyun?"

Karishma immediately stood dramatically.

Karishma: "Taaki gussa kam ho unka."

For a second the entire kitchen fell silent.

Then suddenly-

everyone started laughing.
.
.

Radhika finally drank the water without noticing the strange bitter taste hidden inside it.

For few seconds nothing happened.

Everything looked normal.

Shaurya was still standing near the counter while Karishma sat on the floor beside Tafie, busy talking nonsense to the dog as usual.

And then suddenly-

Radhika's hand tightened around the glass.

A sharp pain hit her chest.

Her breathing became uneven instantly.

The glass slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.

Shaurya immediately turned toward her.

"Radhika?"

Before he could reach-

her balance gave up.

And she collapsed.

Hard.

"RADHIKA!"

Shaurya rushed toward her instantly and held her before her head could hit the ground properly.

Karishma also stood up immediately, completely confused seeing the sudden panic.

"Mumma?"

Shaurya checked her pulse quickly.

Then again.

And again.

His expression slowly changed.

The color disappeared from his face.

Radhika Mehra was no more.

For few seconds-

Commander Shaurya Malik forgot how to breathe.

Meanwhile Karishma still couldn't understand anything properly.

Her mind simply refused to believe something bad had happened.

She immediately kneeled beside Radhika crying badly.

"Mumma...?"

She shook her mother carefully.

"Mumma uthona..."

Tears rolled continuously down her cheeks.

"Papa dekho na Mumma ko kya hua..."

Her voice trembled horribly.

"Wo powder sahi nahi tha... doctor ke pass chalo na..."

Shaurya closed his eyes tightly for one second.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

And before he could process further-

he heard movements inside the mansion.

Not normal movements.

Footsteps.

Multiple.

Shaurya's head snapped toward the hallway instantly.

His military instincts activated immediately.

He quietly grabbed the gun hidden nearby and stood up.

Tonight he was only wearing simple casual clothes-

but right now he looked every bit the commander he truly was.

He slowly moved forward and saw shadows inside the house.

Armed men.

His jaw tightened instantly.

The house had already been breached.

He immediately turned toward Karishma.

Shaurya: "Karishma. Upper jao. Haseena ke pass jao. Aur room lock kar lena."

Karishma shook her head aggressively while crying.

Karishma: "Nahi Papa! Hum kahi nahi ja rahe!"

"Diii!"

Her loud crying echoed upstairs.

The next second-

Haseena came running downstairs in panic.

The moment she saw Radhika lying lifeless on the floor-

she froze completely.

Her eyes widened in horror.

"Haseena," Shaurya spoke quickly.

"Karishma ko leke upper jao."

His voice had become dangerously serious now.

Shaurya: "Room ka door lock rakhna. I repeat- koi bhi kitna bhi kahe, door mat kholna."

He looked directly into Haseena's eyes.

Shaurya: "Be safe. Karishma ka dhyan rakhna."

Haseena's breathing became unstable.

Haseena: "Lekin Papa... aap...?"

Shaurya immediately interrupted loudly.

Shaurya: "Haseena mere pass jyada time nahi hai."

A pause.

Then firmly-

Shaurya: "GO."

Haseena immediately held Karishma's hand tightly despite her own fear.

Karishma kept crying continuously while trying looking back toward their parents.

"Mumma... Papa..."

But Haseena somehow dragged her upstairs.

The moment both entered the room-

Haseena locked the door instantly.

Outside-

the mansion had already become terrifyingly silent.

Downstairs, Shaurya stood alone.

Gun in hand.

Ready.

And then-

BANG!

A loud gunshot echoed through the mansion.

Karishma screamed instantly and hugged Haseena tightly.

Both sisters quickly hid behind the bed trembling badly.

Karishma was crying uncontrollably now while Haseena tried her best to calm her despite shaking herself.

"It's okay... it's okay..."

Even though nothing was okay.

Then suddenly-

Haseena's eyes fell toward the silent phone lying nearby.

The screen was glowing continuously.

81 missed calls.

Major Di.

Monika.

Haseena immediately grabbed the phone with trembling hands and answered.

The moment the call connected-

Haseena broke down completely.

Haseena: "Dii..."

And somewhere far away-

Monika suddenly went completely silent.

Her heartbeat dropped.

That terrifying feeling hit instantly.

Something had happened.

Something very wrong.
.
.
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✍️ - 2263 Words

That's it for today's chapter! ✨
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