Previous Evening





Rajneesh looked at the sleeping figure next to him and smiled. In a couple of hours, they would reach Badarpur, their final destination.





Everything had gone according to the plan. Even the papers were ready. Once his so-called sister signs those papers, everything will be his.





Suddenly his jaw hardened as his gaze fell on the sleeping face. He touched the scar on his cheek and gritted his teeth in anger.





I haven’t forgotten anything, sister mine. And believe me, I’ll destroy you inch by inch when the right time comes.





Suddenly the car stopped with a jerk and Rajneesh would have bumped into the front passenger seat if he hadn’t grabbed the door handle.





The driver tried to start the ignition again but nothing happened. After several attempts, he gave up and got out of the car.





“What happened?” Rajneesh asked the man holding onto Ishani.





“Wait, I’ll check. Don’t get out of the car. Hold onto her,” he said and then opened the car door.





The moment the door jammed into its place again, Rajneesh let her go.





As Ishani’s slumberous body slid to the side, her head banged on the window pane and stayed there.





The man opened the door and instantly her head fell out.





“What the fuck? Can’t you just hold on to her?” he asked as he got inside the car.





“No! What’s the matter with the car?”





“Some problem with the ignition, they are checking,” the man replied adjusting her body against him.





“Then let’s get another car,” Rajneesh suggested looking at the man with irritation.





“No!”





“But—”





“No buts. Rajneesh for once, use your head. Getting another car would be risky.”





“We are losing out time. I want to get this over as soon as possible.”





“Being impatient would never get you what you want. And it’s better to lose on time than letting more people know about this.”





Rajneesh wanted to say something but the warning glare from the man shut him up.





Seconds later someone tapped on the window and the man lowered it.





“Boss we have fixed it but we need to have a look at the engine,” the driver told the man.





“Is it going to work now?”





“I believe so boss but not for long.”





Sighing with irritation, the man shook his head and then narrowed his eyes a little.





“Okay! Take us to the Badarpur farmhouse then. Get the car fixed the moment we reach there. We will stay the night and then move out in the morning.”





“Okay boss!”





“And no more car trouble or I’ll puncture your head.”





Once again they started moving but the car didn’t pick up as much speed as it had earlier. Rajneesh was grunting heavily from the side and finally, the man had had enough.





Grabbing his shirt collar, he pulled Rajneesh towards him and said, “If you don’t stop that noise then you will be the first one to be thrown out of the car. Don’t try my patience.”





Rajneesh instantly backed away and looked out of the window.





Thank God they were at the farmhouse.





The man came out of the bedroom after settling in Ishani. Purposely he hadn’t strapped the holds on her. She was only a woman and he knew women well enough.





Panic and fear were a part of their soul. By the time she would wake up and realise what had happened, fear would set in and then she will completely be a puppet in Rajneesh’s hands.





He climbed down the stairs and gave some instructions to his men. Then he went inside the room where Rajneesh was resting. Looking at him sleeping, he grimaced and locked the door from outside.





Rajneesh was a super pain in the ass. But he can worry about him later. Taking a last look at everything, he went inside his room and switched on the camera, which was connected to her room. As her sleeping image flashed on the screen, he raised his hand and zoomed in on her body. Not able to resist, he started to trace the outline of her body.





Such a pity!





If only he had the choice to not kill her.





Shaking his head, he pulled out a cigarette and sat down on the bed.





Ishani blinked twice and then painfully opened her eyes. Her head hurt and something told her that it was not her familiar surroundings. Then as her head cleared a little, panic and dread took hold of her. She sat up straight on the bed and looked around. She was in a small room on the only furniture in it. All the windows were closed making the room pretty stuffy. She coughed a little as the air was pretty constricting.





She tried to remember what had happened but with the haze in her head nothing became clear. All she remembered was a masked man getting into her auto. Placing her foot on the floor, she tried to get down from the bed but swayed, and sat down again.





The heaviness in her head was slowly turning into a headache.





Suddenly a clanking sound from the other end of the room made her look that way. Her eyes widened as she realised that somebody was opening the door.





Not caring whether she was swaying or not, she got up from the bed and went towards the wall. Just as the door opened, she clutched the bedpost with effort trying her best to drive away the fear starting to grip her mind.





“Ishani, monsters don’t live in caves anymore. They are here among us. You will face a lot of these monsters in your life. Be strong and be brave, and never let your fear get the best of you. Make your fear your strength.”





Just as her grandmother’s words sounded in her ears, she straightened her back and mentally stamped out the fear rising in her.





A man came in and placed a plate of food on the bed.





Before even the man could react, Ishani picked up the plate and rammed it straight into his face. Not giving him time to retaliate, she stamped his foot and then made a run towards the open door.





She started to run down the stairs that were just outside the room she was in. But before she could reach the landing, she stopped seeing a man standing right in the middle of the hall.





Rajneesh!





She turned and was about to run up the stairs but a couple of men blocked her way.





“What do you want?” she asked turning towards Rajneesh as he came and stood behind her.





“You!”







