Chapter 1: The Boy Who Should Have Died

AARAV: THE LAST OWNER

Chapter 1: The Boy Who Should Have Died

The world looked normal from the outside.

People woke up every morning, went to work, attended schools, laughed with friends, and dreamed about successful futures. Cities were filled with lights, advertisements, and powerful companies competing against each other. Governments promised safety. News channels talked about peace and progress.

But behind that fake normal world existed something much darker.

A hidden organization controlled everything from the shadows.

It was called The Empire.

Nobody knew who created it. Nobody knew where its headquarters truly existed. Some people believed it was only a rumor made by criminals. Others believed world leaders secretly worked for it. But one thing was certain—whenever The Empire wanted something, nobody could stop it.

Even governments stayed silent.

Inside that world lived a seventeen-year-old boy named Aarav.

Unlike rich students in the city, Aarav lived a simple life with his family in a quiet town near the coast. His father worked long hours at a small company, while his mother managed the house. Life was not perfect, but it was peaceful.

Every evening, Aarav sat on the roof of his house watching the city lights from far away. He often wondered how the world really worked. Why powerful people always escaped punishment. Why money controlled justice.

His father always avoided those conversations.

“Some truths are dangerous,” he would quietly say.

Aarav never understood what that meant.

At school, Aarav was known as a calm and intelligent student. He rarely fought with anyone, but he noticed things others ignored. Teachers liked him. Friends trusted him. But deep inside, Aarav hated weakness.

He hated seeing innocent people suffer while powerful people smiled.

One rainy evening changed everything.

The weather was strange that night. Heavy clouds covered the sky while cold wind moved through the empty streets. Aarav returned home from school and immediately noticed something unusual.

A black car was parked outside his house.

Then another one arrived.

And another.

Men wearing expensive black suits slowly stepped out. Their expressions were emotionless. Their eyes looked cold, almost inhuman.

Aarav’s heartbeat became faster.

One of the men walked toward him.

“You’re Aarav?” the man asked calmly.

“Yes…” Aarav replied carefully.

The man smiled slightly.

“Go inside.”

Something felt wrong.

The moment Aarav entered his house, he saw his parents standing silently in the living room. Fear covered his mother’s face. His father looked pale.

The suited men entered behind Aarav and closed the door.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.

Then the leader of the group looked directly at Aarav’s father.

“You were warned before,” he said.

Aarav looked confused.

“What is happening?” he asked.

His father suddenly shouted, “Aarav, go to your room!”

But it was already too late.

The leader pulled out a small silver card and placed it on the table.

A strange symbol was printed on it.

X.

The moment Aarav’s father saw the symbol, his face lost all color.

“You people promised to leave us alone,” his father whispered.

The leader leaned closer.

“The Empire never forgets.”

Aarav stepped forward angrily.

“What do you want from us?!”

The man ignored him completely.

Instead, he looked around the house slowly, almost disappointed.

“You should have stayed hidden,” he said quietly.

Then everything happened at once.

The lights went out.

Glass shattered.

Smoke filled the room.

Aarav heard his mother scream.

Someone grabbed him violently and threw him against the wall.

The entire house became chaos.

Aarav tried to stand, but another man punched him hard across the face. His vision blurred. He could barely breathe.

Through the smoke, he saw his father struggling against two men.

Then suddenly—

His father shouted something.

“RUN, AARAV!”

That was the last thing Aarav heard before the explosion.

Fire swallowed the house within seconds.

The heat burned his skin as pieces of wood and glass crashed around him. Somehow, Aarav escaped through a broken window and fell outside into the rain.

He stared at his burning home in shock.

Everything was gone.

The black cars slowly drove away as if nothing had happened.

Aarav screamed for help, but nobody came close.

Everyone watched from far away.

Too afraid.

The next morning, Aarav went to the police station.

No one listened.

The officers acted strangely nervous the moment he mentioned black suits and silver cards.

One officer quietly told him:

“Forget what happened.”

Aarav couldn’t believe it.

“My family is dead!” he shouted.

The officer avoided eye contact.

“You don’t understand who you’re talking about.”

Aarav spent the entire day searching for answers. He contacted reporters. Nobody replied. He tried calling emergency services again and again.

Silence.

It was as if his family never existed.

That night, Aarav sat alone near the harbor under heavy rain. His clothes were dirty, his face bruised, and his eyes empty.

Everything in his life had disappeared in one night.

Then suddenly—

A black van stopped nearby.

Before Aarav could react, several men stepped out.

The same suits.

The same cold eyes.

One of them grabbed Aarav from behind while another covered his mouth.

Aarav fought desperately, but he was too weak.

Minutes later, he found himself tied inside a boat moving across the dark ocean.

One of the men looked down at him.

“You ask too many questions,” he said calmly.

Another man laughed.

“Should we tell him the truth before he dies?”

The leader shook his head.

“No point.”

Aarav stared at them with hatred burning in his eyes.

“You’ll regret this,” he whispered.

The men laughed again.

Then one of them hit Aarav in the head.

Darkness.

When Aarav regained consciousness, cold water surrounded him.

He realized he had been thrown into the ocean.

The boat was already far away.

The storm above him became stronger while waves dragged him deeper.

For the first time in his life, Aarav felt completely helpless.

His body slowly became weaker.

His vision faded.

But inside that darkness, one emotion refused to disappear.

Hatred.

“If I survive…”

Aarav clenched his fists weakly.

“I’ll destroy all of you.”

The ocean swallowed him.

Hours later…

Aarav opened his eyes slowly.

A weak yellow light hung above him.

He was lying inside a small wooden room.

For several seconds, he wondered if he was dead.

Then he noticed someone sitting nearby.

An old man calmly drank tea while watching him.

“You survived longer than expected,” the old man said without emotion.

Aarav immediately tried to stand, but pain shot through his body.

“Who are you?” he asked carefully.

The old man smiled slightly.

“Someone who knows your father.”

Aarav froze.

“What?”

The old man placed a black card on the table beside him.

Unlike the silver card from before, this one looked darker and heavier.

A glowing X symbol covered its center.

Aarav stared at it nervously.

“What is this?”

The old man leaned back.

“An invitation.”

“To what?”

The old man’s expression became serious.

“To The Empire.”

The room suddenly felt colder.

Aarav’s fists tightened.

“The people who killed my family?”

The old man nodded slowly.

“Yes.”

“Then why would they invite me?”

The old man stared directly into Aarav’s eyes.

“Because your story is not what you think it is.”

Aarav’s breathing slowed.

“What do you mean?”

The old man stood up and walked toward the window.

Outside, the storm had finally stopped.

Moonlight reflected across the ocean.

“There are ten owners inside The Empire,” the old man said quietly.

“Ten people who control more power than entire countries.”

Aarav looked confused.

“What does that have to do with me?”

The old man turned toward him.

“Everything.”

Silence filled the room.

Then the old man spoke words that completely changed Aarav’s life forever.

“Kill those ten owners…”

“…and you can become the last owner yourself.”

Aarav stared at him in disbelief.

“You’re insane.”

“Maybe,” the old man replied calmly. “But your father once stood among them.”

Aarav’s heartbeat stopped for a moment.

“…What?”

The old man walked toward the door.

Before leaving, he looked back one final time.

“Your father was not an ordinary man, Aarav.”

“He was Owner Number Eleven.”

The door closed.

Aarav sat frozen in silence.

His mind refused to believe what he had just heard.

His father?

Part of The Empire?

Impossible.

Then suddenly—

The black card on the table started glowing red.

Words slowly appeared across its surface.

WELCOME BACK, HEIR.

ACCESS APPROVED.

TARGETS UPDATED.

And beneath those words…

Eleven faces appeared.

Ten were marked in white.

But the final face…

was hidden completely in darkness.

Below it, only one sentence appeared:

“THE TRUE OWNER IS STILL ALIVE.”

TO BE CONTINUED…

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