"Aaaaaahhhhh!" A shrill scream echoed as she poured acid on the deep gashes and cuts.

Nandini's POV... The Vizag sun sat high and unforgiving as I pulled out of the Demon's Cave—My mansion. The coastal road stretched ahead—shimmering under the noon heat, salt air drifting through the open window.

I was driving to my NGO, the sea stretching endlessly to my left, indifferent and vast—the way I had trained myself to be. Rushikonda wasn't far.

While driving, my phone rang. It was from Kanan—my best friend, co-founder, the only person in Vizag who knew all my faces. I met her here in Vizag—where my Maasi, Trisha, my mother's sister had brought me after my parents death.

As I picked up my phone to recieve the call, it got cut. I again dialled the number. On the second ring, she picked up the call.

"Kanan, tumne call kiya tha abhi.. kya hua?!" I questioned her as soon as she picked up the call. A very awkward voice answered back,"Areyyyy kuch nahi bhyiii, bss galti se ek bache ne mera phone chheen liya tha!"

I asked her again,"you sure naa? koi problem toh nahi hai na udhar?"

Kanan answered,"nahi nahi.. koi dikkat nahi hai.. by the way.. when are you coming?'

I answered back,"I'm on my way!"

I slid my phone back into the console holder and focused on driving. While turning on a point, I saw few vendors selling little delicacies, toys and flowers.

For a second, I thought of driving away, but then I saw the same pack of chocolates as that boy gave me. I stopped the car. Those memories hit me all at once—sharp and uninvited, like they always did. I felt nostalgia gripping my throat.

Finally, after a long 3 minutes of debating inside my head, I stepped out of the car and went towards the vendors to buy the stuff.

I called out to the man who was selling those exact mini-chocolates,"Ek packet kitne ka hai?"

The man responded with a smile,"20 rupee ka"

"Ye sare de doge?" My question somehow shocked him. He again asked,"Madam, pure din kamana hota hai, aap toh sara samaan hi le jaayengi.. toh phir main kya karunga?"

"Par aapke samaan ke utne hi paise dungi na jitna aap lagaoge. boliye, kitne mein de rahe ho?"

After paying the vendor far more than he asked, I slid back in car and hurried towards my destination. I muttered to myself,"Aaj toh pakka late ho jaaungi.. khair chhodo bache toh khush honge after seeing so many gifts."

After reaching my NGO, I parked my car in the parking stand and asked some of the guards to carry the bags. I took my file and with guards, I entered through garden area.

The NGO had two entrances—one leading to the administrative wing, and the other opening into a garden that breathed life into the place. Inside, swings hung from old trees, their gentle creaking like a quiet lullaby for those who had forgotten what peace felt like. It was a home—for women, children, and souls scarred by domestic violence, sexual assault, and the silent war they had fought against themselves.

As I entered the garden area, the kids ran towards me and threw themselves upon me, making me giggle loudly,"Arey ree re! aram se!! thodi shaanti rakho, dekho tum sabke liye gifts laayi hu!"

One of the little girl, Ishqii asked,"Kya laaye ho didi!?" Excitement clearly visible on their faces. With the help of the caregivers staff, we all distributed those sweet delicacies with toys and little ornaments for the little princesses of the NGO.

After a while playing with them and making sure all of them were sound and healthy, I retreated back to my cabin in the administrative wing. Kanan was already there viewing all the reports and files I've sent her to check.

As I entered inside, I saw her sitting on the balcony swing. She looked up to greet me with a smile. "Files sabhi thik hai.. tumhara ek kaam rehta hai bss"

Author's POV

As Kanan's words dropped to her ears, something in Nandini's demeanor changed entirely.

Her eyes emptied out—not of emotions, but of mercy. She walked towards the cabin's balcony which housed a swing and few potted plants.

Her eyes wandered outside, on little kids playing freely, laughing their heart out, older women sat together in groups enjoying each others company, talking among themselves, and few of them just created little things out of yarn by crocheting or knitting.

For a second, her lips curved in that soft smile as she gazed upon her little family. After a moment her jaw set. Eyes cooled. She turned back inside and took her jacket from her chair.

Kanan moved beside her, the warmth in her posture gone—replaced by something practiced and precise. Nandini walked towards a private room in her cabin, she put her palm and fingers on a digital panel, which scanned her hand. Immediately after scanning her hand, a sliding glass door opened giving the access to enter inside a secret place.

The place was nothing like what one would expect—no damp walls, no flickering lights, no rusted chains. It was almost beautiful, in the way that dangerous things often are.

A sprawling underground space, carved beneath the NGO like a secret the earth itself was keeping. The ceiling was high—deceptively so—lined with recessed lighting that cast everything in a cool, clinical white. The floors were polished concrete, smooth and cold. Every wall housed either a screen, a weapon, or a locked door that required more than just a key to open.

Z+ security wasn't just a number here—it was a promise. Digital panels at every entry point. Eyes scanning systems embedded into the walls. Smart cameras that didn't just record movements—they recorded sound, breathing, heartbeats if needed. Every corner covered. Every shadow accounted for.

The men stationed inside didn't look like guards—they never did. But they were the most trusted in the Shekhawat legacy—handpicked, loyal to the bone, willing to die before they let a secret leave these walls.

And at the far end—a door. Heavy, steel-framed, sealed shut. Beyond it, the forest began—dense, untouched, indifferent. The kind of forest that swallowed sounds whole. Screams included.

As Nandini and Kanan entered inside, Everyone greeted them with respect. One of the men stated with utter seriousness,"Ma'am, vo abhi bhi apna muh kholne ko taiyaar nahi hai."

Nandini answered in a chilling tone which could literally freeze someone who's soft hearted,"Tumne thik tarah se torture nahi kiya hoga na."

The same men, Aksh, answered again,"Ma'am, we've been torturing him from the past ten hours.. but still no response."

She didn't say anything, just took off her jacket revealing her toned muscles and leaving in her jet black tank top. She went to the cell, where that person was kept.

The person was a man in his late fifties. He was tied up to the chair. There were so many cuts on his body, and from several places the blood was still coming out fresh, but still alive and smiling wickedly as his eyes stared at Nandini with lustful gaze.

On her orders, that man was taken out from the cell into a place, which was surrounded by the forest on the backside.

"So, Mr. Kashyap, abhi bhi waqt hai aapke paas, spill the truth." Nandini stated in a grieve voice. The old lag chuckled and exclaimed loudly,"Kya kar legi tu mera? maaregi? arey, tum mein se koi kuch nahi bigad sakta mera! Aur tu, tu khud ko kya samjhti hai?! teri jaisiyon ko toh main apni—"

Before he could say further, a tight punch landed on his jaw, tilting his face away in other direction. "Aapse sach bolne ko kaha toh aapki zubaan nahi chalti, aur bakwaas kitni bhi karwa lo, kyu hai na?" Nandini stood there with an innocent face but her chilled tone making everyone uncomfortable in the room.

The old lag chuckled wickedly and spoke with a cough,"Do whatever you want, You'll never find the truth."

Nobody spoke after that. Not even a single person breathed too loudly. Their eyes alert and alarmed, as if waiting for her next move. Nandini didn't utter a word. She took out a chair from behind, and took a few steps backwards and pulled out a blunt knife from the shelf, which was carved in the side wall.

She spun the chair once and sat on it. The knife juggled between her fingers. "See, Mr. Kashyap, you have two choices—either spill the truth and live your life or beg for your demise. Now, choose." She spoke as she tilted her head slightly to the side.

Looking at her, the old man again muttered,"So, you're gonna kill me with that shitty blunt knife of yours, huh? See, you little s**t, you can't even touch my hair. He will destroy all of your lives! Touch me and you won't live to see the morning sun!"

Nandini straight looked into his eyes. Those honey dark brown eyes, which were soft a few moments ago were now anything but soft. Just empty. Devoid of any emotions. Just that cold and chilling emptiness.

In a second of her snapping her fingers, Aksh nodded. He step forward without a word, polythene bag in hand. No hesitation. No emotion. Just execution. The bag went over the man's head in one swift motion.

At first, it was silence. Then began the thrashing. His hands were tied to the chair with wrist, fingers scratching desperately at the wood as the plastic clung to his face with every inhale. His legs kicked—wild, frantic. The chair scraped against the floor as his whole body writhed, fighting for something as simple as a breath. Something he had never thought twice about—until now.

Nandini watched, unmoved. "Oxygen," she said quietly, tilting her head in other direction now,"aisi cheez hai jiske hone ka ehsaas nahi hota—jab tkk chhin na jaaye."

She let him struggle for exactly thirty more seconds before nodding at Aksh. The bag came off. He gasped for air—ragged, desperate. She leaned in a little closer, voice barely above a whisper,"Ye toh sirf trailer tha." She took a pause before speaking,"Now, where were we? yeah.. Spill the truth or beg for death to consume you."

Her words sent chills through his spine, but still his lips maintained that creepy, ugly smile. "Tum kitni bhi koshish kar lo, sach nahi jaan paaogi!"

Nandini exhaled a long sigh, and cut off the rope with which his wrists were tied to the chair. The old man's face showed a sign of bafflement as he felt his hands being freed.

But before he could try to do anything, he screamed loudly as She twisted his one arm, breaking it completely with an audible click. Her face showed no emotion. He spoke through pain,"k-ky-a," another scream escape his lips as Nandini peeled off a little skin from his pinky finger with the blunt knife with clinical precision.

She used that blunt knife like a hand saw while peeling off the skin from his arm. His breathing came out ragged, desperate. With each cut, She breathed,"one," her voice barely above a whisper, as if She were counting stars, not sins.

The man's screams filled the place. He tried to open his mouth,"t-tu r-rak-sh-shas h-hai!," another cut,"two," She said—the same way one reads a grocery list. Unbothered. Precise. Like she was counting petals off a flower—not wounds off a man.

A strangled cry tore from his throat,"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"

He took a long breath before speaking,"m-meri.. aahhh! m-meri b-baat sun-o!" another slice,"three," Her voice didn't flinch for even half a second, making him see stars.

Nandini stopped and looked at her blood-stained hands and then up at him with slight tilt of her head,"dekho aapne kya karwa diya. agar aap sach bol dete toh ye sab nahi hota naa, hmm?" Her voice, slipped through the silence of the place, very innocent—just like honey laced with poison.

The old man still kept his ground,"Kitna bhi kuch bhi karlo, sach nahi pta lagega!" and laughed wickedly even in pain,"Ha ha ha.."

Nandini didn't say anything. She stood up from her chair, dropping the knife and moved towards a cupboard. She wore gloves in her both hands before opening the cupboard.

She took out a glass bottle filled with concentrated acid. She moved towards the old man, but Kanan spoke up,"ye mar jaayega, aur phir sach ka kya?"

Nandini went ahead, stood in front of the man, She bent down to match his level and clipped in a low tone,"Ye sach toh bolega nahi, mar bhi jaayega toh kya hi ho jaayega."

Aksh responded from behind,"but Ma'am, iske marte hi hume koi information nahi mil paayegi.."

Nandini replied,"Killing you would be merciful. And I'm not feeling particularly merciful today."

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!" A shrill scream echoed as She poured acid on the deep gashes and cuts. She took a step back. Watched. Unmoved. Counting seconds. The acid burnt the skin as the cuts were fresh, eliciting agonizing screams as the smoke rose from his skin. The sound that left him wasn't human anymore.

Right after first twenty seconds of burning, Nandini ordered,"ise thodi der ke liye chain de do" On her demand, A bucket of iced water was emptied on the man, letting out a guttural cry. He screamed until his voice gave out and he passed out then and there.

Kanan appeared beside her—quiet, as always—when the worst of it was over,"You have a meeting with Rathore group tomorrow." Nandini gave a curt nod as her eyes were stuck to the scene of her men clearing away the mess, which happened a moments ago.

She asserted in a low tone,"Call, Dr. Sen. ask him to tend his wounds. I want him alive." Saying this, She left the place.

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