Struggling to open my eyes from my sleep, I was awakened by Inaya loudly shouting "Breakfast time!" I groaned and groggily sat up, putting my hands over my ears.

"Why are you shouting so early in the morning?" I finally spoke up, feeling tired."I'm not shouting! Was it loud?" she asked.

"Of course, it was loud, Ina! What if my ears burst?" I said, narrowing my eyes at her.

"Come on, It was not that loud. Come out, breakfast is ready," she said, walking out of the room. I rolled my eyes dramatically, then followed her and saw Inaaya and my uncle settled at the breakfast table, while my aunt was serving breakfast. I joined them and settled myself beside Inaya.

"So, how was your time in London?" my aunt asked. "Ugh, I enjoyed there. I will miss those days," I replied with a queasy smile.

"So what have you decided for now?", she asked me.

"Maybe i will join a job. I have already applied for some companies.", i said dubiously. "That's great.", she responded while serving my breakfast.

We were all gossiping when my phone rang, and I picked up the call.

"Ma'am, we have scheduled a meeting for you at our company," I heard, which made me happy. "You will receive all the information by email," she said. I replied with a quick "Thank you."

They all were looking at me excitedly noticing my happy face. "What happened?" Inaya asked me and i told them "I have got an approval for a meeting." They all congratulated me and became happy for me.

At 5:00 p.m., I suited up in a casual jumpsuit and white shoes. Ready to conquer the world (or at least the meeting room)!

I stepped out of my room and spotted Inaya and my aunt chilling in the hallway. I gave them a heads-up that I was heading out before making my way to the exit.

Cab driver was waiting for me. I sat on the car and he drove me to the company. After reaching, I stepped inside the building and went to receptionist.

***

Meanwhile, on the other hand, an old man was kneeling down, clutching his hands and begging for his life infront of those emerald eyes with no emotions.

He was chuckling like a maniac, watching his state. That person was bleeding from mostly every part of his body. It seemed like he was tortured insanely and in an inhumane way.

Out of blue, his expressions changed out of a sudden from chuckling and hawling to nefarious and venomous.

He gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw hard and fisted that old man's collar and growled on his face "This is the condition when you try to be too over-smart with Rian Mehrotra."

The old man was in a fragile condition, and was endlessly begging and gumbling. Rian was deucedly growling, when his one guard informed him that he has to attend an important call.

He punched him on his face hard, causing him to fall on the ground and got himself busy on the call.

Mayra's PoV:-

I strutted out of the building post-meeting, and Inaya buzzed me up. She wanted the scoop, and I spilled the beans-it was off-the-charts amazing!

It was already 9:00 p.m. at night. I walked to the streets to have some tasty snacks as I was too hungry. Yes I'm a foodie!!

After enjoying a satisfying meal, I decided to take a leisurely stroll instead of calling a cab. I wanted to savor every moment of being back on these streets after six long years. I kept this to myself, as I didn't want to cause any unnecessary concern for my uncle and aunt.

As I was walking, I suddenly realized that I had lost my way. I couldn't believe this was happening. I reached for my phone to use Google Maps, but to my dismay, my phone's battery had died.

I found myself standing on a nearly deserted road, surrounded by silence and emptiness. There was hardly anyone in sight whom I could ask for directions. I noticed a man nearby, but something about him made me hesitant to approach, so I continued on my way.

Suddenly, a chilling sound pierced the air, causing me to stop in my tracks. It was the anguished cry of someone in excruciating pain. My heart skipped a beat as I followed the sound and witnessed an elderly man lying on the ground, writhing and screaming in agony. It was a gut-wrenching sight, and I felt a mix of fear and compassion wash over me.

Despite my fear, I forced myself to take slow, cautious steps toward the suffering man. The situation was too horrible.

But my footsteps, in an instant, halted at their place, time seemed to stand still the moment I laid eyes on a figure approaching that elderly man. A surge of fear washed over me as I noticed the menacing skull mask covering his face and the glint of a dagger in his hand. My body tensed grudgingly, rendering me unable to move, trapped in that harrowing moment like a statue.

He begin stabbing that man inhumanely, and his screams became louder. I wanted to run away as far as possible but I could not help myself move an inch. He grabbed his shirt and stabbed on his neck. That man was endlessly yapping for help, and suddenly his gaze went to me. He shouted "Help" looking at me longing for help.

My heart just skipped a beat when I noticed that masked man turning his head to me. I knew now maybe I could not be able to run. The old man's screams were making my heart wrench in pain. I could not bear all this. That inhumanity infront of me.

That masked man turned his head to that old man and begin stabbing and hitting him non-stop. Musturing some courage, I took my footsteps forward and finally shouted "Please Stop" whereas my eyes could not control tears slipping down from them. I knew it could be my last day.

He didn't react and was just hitting him carelessly. I came forward and again shouted "Why? Why are you killing him?", now I finally saw him turning his head towards me. I shrinked, when I saw him standing up on his place.

"Noooo!!", a scream escaped from my mouth, and i took a step backwards. "ple...please leave him. What he did to you?", i mumbled, meanwhile my eyes glistened with tears.

"Get away!", i heard a growl from him but it came out low because of the mask he was wearing. "Ple... Please..leave him.", i again mumbled, instead my mind was telling me to run.

My face became quizzed as I heard him laughing like a maniac. "Don't you love your life", he asked me, causing my legs to quiver in fear. And i became frozen as I noticed him taking footsteps towards me.

"Nooo..Noo...please leave me" I screamed my lungs out. I clutched my hands infront of me, as I realised he's gonna attack me. I quickly stepped backwards shivering, and tried running away from him. But before that he grabbed my arms tightly, making me flutter and stop at my place.

He grasped my hair tightly and dragged me to falling on the road. I hissed in pain badly. I tardily opened my eyes and the sudden realization hit me.

I noticed that chain he's wearing around his neck; it looks familiar, like I've seen it on someone else before.

"You Scumbag?!!"

I don't know how and why my mouth unlatched like that, heedfully. But it was probably the biggest mistake I have made.

❉❉❉