..."Some secrets are locked away for protection. Others are locked away because the truth is too dangerous to survive."...
...Sara stared at the stranger standing in front of her....
...Ayaan Malik....
...His eyes had not left the bundle hidden behind her....
..."Did you take anything from down there?"...
...Sara's fingers tightened around the old cloth....
...She didn't answer....
...Ayaan noticed....
...For a moment, neither of them moved....
...Then Sara stepped backward....
..."How do you know there's a room beneath the library?"...
...Ayaan's expression remained calm....
..."I didn't say there was a room beneath the library."...
...Sara's eyes narrowed....
..."You didn't have to."...
...Ayaan looked at her carefully....
..."You've already found it."...
...It wasn't a question....
...Sara felt a chill....
..."Who are you?"...
..."I told you. Ayaan Malik."...
..."That's not what I mean."...
...Ayaan sighed....
..."I knew your grandmother."...
...The words immediately changed Sara's expression....
..."You knew Amara?"...
..."Everyone in Noorabad knew Amara."...
..."That's not what you said."...
...Ayaan looked toward the manor....
..."I knew her better than most."...
...Sara stepped closer....
..."Then tell me what she was hiding."...
...Ayaan's eyes darkened....
..."Some things are better left buried."...
...Sara almost laughed....
..."That's exactly what everyone keeps telling me."...
...She pulled the cloth bundle from behind her....
...Ayaan immediately noticed the keys....
...His face changed....
...Only for a second....
...But Sara saw it....
..."You recognize these."...
...Ayaan didn't answer....
...Sara lifted the key with the handwritten tag....
...NOT YET....
..."What does this mean?"...
...Ayaan stared at it....
..."Where did you find that?"...
..."Underground."...
...He went silent....
...Sara watched him carefully....
..."You knew about the passage."...
..."I knew there were passages."...
..."And you knew about these keys."...
...Ayaan looked at her....
..."I knew Amara kept them."...
..."Why?"...
..."I don't know."...
...Sara gave him a skeptical look....
..."You expect me to believe that?"...
..."No."...
...His answer was immediate....
...That surprised her....
...Ayaan stepped inside the mansion....
..."That's why I'm here."...
...Sara closed the door behind him....
...The manor suddenly felt different with another person inside....
...Less empty....
...But somehow......
...More dangerous....
...Ayaan walked through the entrance hall as if he had been there many times before....
...Sara noticed....
..."You know this place."...
..."Everyone in the village knows this place."...
..."You walked straight toward the library."...
...Ayaan stopped....
...Sara folded her arms....
..."How many times have you been here?"...
...Ayaan looked at the staircase....
..."Once."...
..."When?"...
..."When I was a child."...
..."Why?"...
...He didn't answer....
...Sara followed him....
..."Ayaan."...
...He finally turned....
..."I came here with my father."...
..."Why?"...
...His jaw tightened....
..."He was looking for someone."...
..."Who?"...
...Ayaan looked directly at her....
..."You."...
...Sara froze....
..."What?"...
..."You disappeared."...
...The room suddenly seemed colder....
...Ayaan continued....
..."When we were children, you disappeared from Noorabad."...
...Sara shook her head....
..."I grew up in Mumbai."...
..."I know."...
..."My parents moved there when I was five."...
..."I know."...
..."Then why are you saying I disappeared?"...
..."Because before Mumbai..."...
..."You were here."...
...Sara's mind went blank....
...A faint ringing began inside her ears....
...A memory flashed....
...A garden....
...Two children running....
...A woman's voice shouting....
...Then darkness....
...Sara grabbed the railing....
...Ayaan immediately stepped toward her....
..."Sara?"...
..."I'm fine."...
...She wasn't....
...She pressed her fingers against her temple....
..."I don't remember."...
..."I know."...
..."Stop saying that!"...
...Her voice echoed through the hall....
...Ayaan stepped back....
..."I'm sorry."...
...Sara looked away....
...For the first time since arriving at Amara Manor, she felt genuinely angry....
...Not frightened....
...Angry....
...Everyone seemed to know something about her life except her....
...Her grandmother....
...The villagers....
...Ayaan....
...Even this house....
...Everyone......
...Except her....
...That evening, Ayaan stayed....
...Sara didn't invite him....
...He simply refused to leave....
..."The weather will turn again tonight," he said....
...Sara looked out the window....
...The sky was clear....
..."You can see the weather?"...
..."No."...
..."Then how do you know?"...
...Ayaan didn't answer....
...She sighed....
..."Fine. Stay."...
...He nodded....
..."Thank you."...
...They spent the next few hours searching through Amara's study....
...The room was filled with locked cabinets and old documents....
...Sara found several property records....
...Birth certificates....
...Newspaper clippings....
...Photographs....
...Then she found something strange....
...A newspaper dated twenty years earlier....
...The headline read:...
...CHILD MISSING FROM AMARA MANOR...
...Sara's hands went cold....
...She read the article....
......"A seven-year-old girl disappeared from the residence of Amara Khan during the early hours of October 17."......
...The rest of the article had been torn away....
...Sara looked at Ayaan....
..."Who was she?"...
...He didn't answer....
..."Ayaan."...
...Still nothing....
...Sara slammed the newspaper onto the desk....
..."Who was the girl?"...
...Ayaan finally spoke....
..."I don't know."...
..."Liar."...
...His eyes met hers....
..."I don't know what happened that night."...
..."But you know something."...
..."Yes."...
..."What?"...
...Ayaan hesitated....
...Then he said quietly,...
..."Your grandmother told everyone the girl had never existed."...
...Sara stared at him....
..."Why?"...
..."Because she was afraid of what would happen if people remembered."...
...A loud crash came from upstairs....
...Both of them looked toward the ceiling....
...Ayaan immediately stood....
..."Stay here."...
...Sara grabbed his arm....
..."No."...
...His eyes met hers....
..."This isn't a joke."...
..."I know."...
..."Then stay downstairs."...
..."I'm coming."...
...They climbed the stairs together....
...The hallway was dark....
...At the end stood the forbidden room....
...The door was open....
...Sara's heart began racing....
..."It was locked."...
...Ayaan stared at it....
..."Don't go inside."...
...Sara looked at him....
..."Why?"...
..."Because Amara never allowed anyone to enter."...
..."She left the house to me."...
..."And left you a warning."...
...Sara stepped toward the door....
...Ayaan grabbed her wrist....
..."Sara."...
...She looked down at his hand....
...He immediately released her....
..."Sorry."...
..."What are you afraid I'll find?"...
...Ayaan didn't answer....
...Sara pushed the door open....
...The room was empty....
...Completely empty....
...No furniture....
...No mirror....
...No boxes....
...Nothing....
...Sara slowly stepped inside....
..."This is strange."...
...Ayaan remained at the doorway....
..."What?"...
...She pointed toward the floor....
...There were scratches....
...Deep scratches....
...As though something heavy had been dragged across the wooden boards....
...Sara followed them....
...They ended at the wall....
...She ran her fingers over it....
...A faint symbol had been carved into the wood....
...The same symbol as her pendant....
...The crescent....
...The rose....
...The cracked mirror....
...Then she noticed something else....
...A tiny sentence had been scratched beneath it....
...Sara leaned closer....
...Her breath caught....
...It said:...
..."One key opens the door. The other locks the truth."...
...Ayaan stepped forward....
..."Don't touch it."...
...Sara turned....
..."Why?"...
...His expression had changed....
...Because he had recognized the handwriting....
..."That's Amara's."...
...Suddenly......
...The grandfather clock downstairs began ticking....
...Once....
...Twice....
...Three times....
...Sara looked at Ayaan....
..."What time is it?"...
...He checked his phone....
...His face went pale....
..."2:57."...
...The clock continued....
...Tick....
...Tick....
...Tick....
...Sara stared toward the hallway....
...Three minutes remained until 3:00....
...Ayaan quietly said,...
..."We need to leave this room."...
..."Why?"...
..."Because whatever happens at three..."...
..."It doesn't always stay inside the manor."...
...Sara's stomach dropped....
..."What happened at three before?"...
...Ayaan didn't answer....
...The clock struck....
...3:00 AM....
...Every light in the mansion went out....
...Then came a sound....
...Not from the hallway....
...Not from the stairs....
...From inside the walls....
...A child's voice....
...Soft....
...Almost playful....
..."Where is my key?"...
...Sara froze....
...Ayaan whispered,...
..."Don't answer."...
...The voice came again....
...Closer this time....
..."Where is my key?"...
...Sara slowly looked down....
...The bundle of keys was still in her hand....
...But something had changed....
...The key marked NOT YET......
...Was no longer there....
...Sara's blood ran cold....
...She looked toward the empty doorway....
...A tiny metallic sound echoed from somewhere inside the darkness....
...Jingle......
...Then another....
...Jingle......
...As if someone unseen were walking through the hallway......
...Holding the missing key....
...Ayaan grabbed Sara's hand....
..."Don't move."...
...Sara whispered,...
..."Why?"...
...Ayaan stared into the darkness....
..."Because..."...
...His voice trembled for the first time....
..."...someone is standing behind you."...
...Sara slowly closed her eyes....
...She could feel cold air against the back of her neck....
...Then a child's voice whispered directly beside her ear:...
..."You promised you would give it back."...
...Sara turned....
...There was no one there....
...But on the floor......
...A single old key lay at her feet....
...And beneath it was a tiny piece of paper....
...Sara picked it up....
...Only four words were written on it....
..."Ask Amara about Zara."...
...Sara looked at Ayaan....
...His face had gone completely white....
...For the first time......
...He looked terrified....
...End of chapter 4 ~...
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