Around 5 a.m. in the morning…
Aditya was asleep when his phone started ringing. He picked it up, and Mr. Shah’s voice came from the other end.
“Sir… they are ready to give the information. After extracting it, should I take them out of the Black Room?”
In a calm voice, Aditya replied, “They were ready to give the information from the very beginning.”
“What? Then why did you capture them and keep them in the Black Room? That’s a torture room, isn’t it?!”
Aditya’s tone turned slightly serious.
“Yes… and I wanted to torture them. They needed to suffer for some time… for me.”
After a brief silence, he added, “Anyway… extract the information and mail it to me. Today, I’ll be at the art exhibition with Ira and Rivan for half the day.”
“Understood, sir. By the way, after taking the information… should I let them go?”
At this question, Aditya took a deep breath before replying, “Alright… let them go. But make sure to tell them this—if they ever dare to look back at this city, or even speak a word about Milo or Anamika… I won’t leave them alive.”
“Understood, sir,” Mr. Shah said, and the call ended.
After putting the phone down, Aditya looked around the room and then got out of bed. Standing in front of the mirror, staring at his own reflection, he muttered to himself, “Soon… very soon, I’ll find you, Anamika. I can’t bear to see myself like this anymore.”
With that thought, he walked out of the room.
On the other side, Koyo entered a room.
It was Anamika’s room.
She was asleep on the bed.
Koyo stood beside her, watching her, and thought, “After a long time, I’m seeing you sleep peacefully. Is it because of this room… this bed… or because your hands and feet are finally free from chains?
Whatever the reason is, I don’t care… as long as this peace doesn’t turn into a dream of escaping my captivity.”
He gently held her wrist. The bandages wrapped around it had become dirty.
He carefully placed her hand down, opened the drawer beside the bed, and took out the first-aid kit. Slowly and gently, he changed the bandages on her wrists, then moved to her ankles and replaced those bandages as well.
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During this time, Anamika shifted two or three times slightly in her sleep. Each time, Koyo shifted his position quietly, almost like a servant, adjusting himself to her movements so that she wouldn’t wake up.
Because whenever Anamika was conscious, she kept her distance from Koyo— In her eyes, Koyo was a danger.
And that couldn’t be completely denied.
Koyo was a beautiful and innocent danger—but not for Anamika. For those who tried to come close to her… for those who wanted to free her and take her away.
After finishing the bandages of his master’s daughter, Koyo quietly stepped out of the room.
That’s when he noticed Milo.
Milo was cleaning the pictures hanging on the walls—or at least pretending to.
Just yesterday, Milo had accepted Koyo’s offer to train under him and become his successor. Soon after, Mr. Lucifer had brought him here.
From the moment he arrived, Milo had started acting—showing off his skills to impress Koyo, all so he could complete Aniket’s mission:
Koyo looked at Milo cleaning near the door and asked, “Why are you doing this?”
Milo smiled and replied, “I noticed there isn’t a single servant in your house. Such a huge place, and no servants at all. That must mean you clean everything yourself.
So I thought I’d help a little—to reduce your workload.”
Behind that sweet smile, Milo thought to himself, “What kind of room is that…? He went inside long ago, yet there wasn’t even a sound. Is it another room of his? Or is he hiding something in there?”
Unaware of Milo’s thoughts, Koyo placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “There’s no need to clean this house. Actually… I live in different houses every few weeks.
While I’m here, Mr. Lucifer takes care of the other houses. And when I move to another one, this house gets cleaned then.
So don’t worry about cleaning—focus on your training instead.
By the way, have you practiced the move I taught you properly?”
Milo made a face. “I trained all night, but still I can’t execute that move properly. It’s really difficult!”
Koyo gently ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry. You’ll learn. Come on—I’ll help you with your training.”
“Alright!”
Milo followed Koyo, but his eyes were still fixed on that door.
Some time passed.
With the rising sun, Aditya was driving Ira and Rivan toward the exhibition site.
Ira was asleep in the back seat, curled up like a cat, while Aditya focused on the road.
Rivan glanced at Ira through the rearview mirror, smiled faintly, and then asked Aditya, “What task have you assigned Mr. Shah? He hasn’t been home for three days.”
Aditya replied,
“Something important.”
“You didn’t assign him the task of finding information about the Grin Reaper, did you?”
Rivan’s tone turned serious.
Aditya glanced at Ira sleeping behind them and said softly, “Yes… something like that.”
Rivan frowned.
“That job is dangerous, yet you gave it to him! You could’ve given it to that money-hungry devil, Milo.”
“No,” Aditya replied immediately.
“He’s too young for such dangerous work.”
Rivan smiled sarcastically.
“Too young? Don’t look at his age. He’s an assassin—a monster who trades in death. God knows how many people he has killed.
If he’s capable of being a weapon, why can’t we use him?”
“You’ve killed many innocent children too—just to keep yourself alive.”
Aditya’s sudden words shocked Rivan. He looked at Aditya in disbelief.
He had never mentioned this before.
Aditya continued calmly while driving, “When I pulled you out of that dark world, I had many questions in my mind.
I even had the same thought you’re having right now—but I couldn’t act on it, and I never will.
My mother used to say: as long as childishness and innocence are alive inside a person, there’s hope they can change.
Milo still has that child inside him—the one who needs help. And if given a chance… he can change.”
Rivan fell silent.
After a few moments, with lowered eyes and a trembling voice, he asked, “Big bro… is our relationship only because you felt pity for me?”
His voice and expression made it clear— if the answer wasn’t what he hoped for, he would break down.
Aditya glanced at him, then turned his eyes back to the road and said, “To be honest… yes. Our relationship did begin with my pity for you.”
Rivan’s fists clenched—only to relax when Aditya gently placed a hand on his forehead and continued, “But our bond became strong because you earned my trust. You are a part of my family now—and that makes me very happy.”
Rivan immediately turned his face away, hiding his emotions.
“Enough… stop buttering me up and focus on driving.”
Aditya smiled inwardly. “I have high hopes for you. I want you to understand Milo—and everyone like him—and help them.”
And just like that, the car continued toward its destination, wrapped in quiet silence and soft emotions.
