chapter 4

Cold air touched Aadhira Mehra’s face as she slowly regained consciousness.

Pain hit her almost immediately.

A sharp throbbing spread through the back of her head, making her shut her eyes again for a brief second. Her entire body felt heavy and weak, as if every muscle had given up after hours of exhaustion.

When she finally opened her eyes properly, everything around her appeared blurred at first.

Dark figures.

Voices.

Vehicles.

For a moment, she could not understand where she was.

Then the memories returned all at once.

The forest.

Gunshots.

The masked man.

The execution.

Her breath slowed instantly.

Aadhira forced herself to stay calm.

Her father had always taught her one thing during emergency training sessions years ago:

Never panic first. Observe first.

Slowly, her vision became clearer.

Around five armed men stood nearby, all dressed in black. Some carried rifles casually while others remained alert, watching the surroundings carefully. The black SUVs from earlier were parked a short distance away beneath the trees.

One of the men noticed her moving.

“She’s awake.”

The others immediately looked toward her.

Aadhira quietly pushed herself up into a sitting position despite the dizziness attacking her again. Her head hurt badly, but she refused to show weakness in front of strangers.

“Who are you?” one of the guards asked coldly.

Aadhira ignored the question for a second and looked around carefully instead.

No roads nearby.

No lights.

No signs of civilization.

Only forest.

Her heartbeat slowly became heavier.

Where exactly had they brought her?

A sharp sound suddenly came from one of the communication devices attached near a guard’s collar.

The man immediately straightened.

“Yes, sir.”

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Even the others became quieter.

Aadhira noticed it carefully.

Whoever was speaking through that device clearly held authority over everyone present.

The guard listened silently for a few moments before speaking again.

“No, sir. She hasn’t contacted anyone.”

Another pause.

“Yes. Understood.”

The communication ended.

Nobody explained anything to her.

That silence disturbed her more.

One of the younger guards looked nervous. “She saw everything.”

Another replied quietly, “Then she becomes a problem.”

Aadhira’s jaw tightened slightly after hearing that.

Problem.

That was what they considered her now.

Not an injured woman.

Not someone lost after an accident.

A witness.

Aadhira slowly stood up despite the weakness in her legs.

“I don’t know what kind of illegal business you people are involved in,” she said carefully, “but my car crashed near the highway. I entered this forest by mistake.”

Nobody reacted.

One of the guards picked up her phone from the ground and checked it briefly.

“No signal.”

“Keep it,” another said.

Aadhira immediately frowned.

“That’s my phone.”

The man ignored her completely.

Frustration flashed across her face.

She hated losing control over situations, especially in front of men who clearly enjoyed power.

The communication device crackled again.

The same guard answered immediately.

“Yes, sir.”

Silence followed.

Aadhira watched carefully.

“No, sir. She’s alone.”

Another pause.

Then the guard’s expression became serious.

“Yes. We understand.”

After the call ended, the atmosphere around them changed again.

The guard looked toward the others. “We leave now.”

No one questioned the order.

That frightened Aadhira more than anything else.

Who exactly were these people?

And who was giving orders from the other side?

One of the guards opened the back door of the SUV.

Aadhira immediately stepped backward.

“I’m not getting inside that car.”

The tension around them sharpened instantly.

Several guards exchanged looks.

“She’s becoming difficult,” one muttered quietly.

Aadhira crossed her arms despite the pain in her body.

“I want answers first.”

“You ask too many questions,” one of the older guards replied coldly.

“And you people are hiding too much.”

Silence.

A younger guard suddenly spoke nervously. “What if she tells someone what she saw?”

Another answered calmly, “She won’t.”

The certainty in his voice sent fear through Aadhira’s chest for the first time.

Real fear.

Because suddenly she understood something terrifying.

These men might never let her leave.

Aadhira slowly looked around the forest again.

No signal.

No help.

No escape route.

And her body was reaching its limit.

Before she could think further, movement shifted behind her.

Then suddenly—

Something struck the back of her head hard.

Pain exploded instantly through her skull.

Aadhira stumbled forward, trying to stay conscious, but the world around her had already started spinning violently.

Voices became distant.

The trees blurred.

And just before darkness consumed her again, she heard a calm voice through the communication device.

“Move her before sunrise.”

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