Part 22 – The Marked Children

The silence in the administrator's office was suffocating. The weight of the truth pressed down on them. They had been chosen.

Maya's fingers trembled as she turned another brittle page in the file. It was an old medical report. Her name was on it. So was Aditya's.

Arjun peered over her shoulder. "Why would an orphanage keep medical records this detailed?"

Maya's eyes scanned the paper. Then she stopped.

Distinguishing Marks: Subject bears a crescent-shaped scar on the back of the neck.

Her breath hitched.

She reached back instinctively, fingers brushing the base of her neck. She had always had a small, faint scar. She had never thought much about it.

Aditya stiffened beside her. He reached back and rubbed his own neck.

"Maya… I have the same scar."

A slow, suffocating dread curled inside her. She turned the page frantically, looking at the other children's reports. Every single one of them had the same note.

All of the children who had visions—who had been adopted from this orphanage—had the same scar.

Arjun stepped back, running a hand through his hair. "This isn't normal. This isn't some coincidence."

Maya's heartbeat pounded in her ears. What had been done to them?

Aditya clenched his fists. "We need to find out who ran this place before it shut down."

Maya flipped through more pages, her eyes landing on a name.

Dr. Raghav Malhotra – Head Administrator

Status: Deceased

Her heart sank.

"Dead," she muttered.

Aditya cursed under his breath. "Of course."

But then Arjun pointed at something else.

Last known contact: Dr. Raghav Malhotra's assistant, Mrs. Leela Sharma.

"Maybe she's still alive," Arjun said. "Maybe she knows what happened to us."

Maya inhaled sharply. She was their only lead now.

Aditya shut the file. "Then we find her."

Maya looked down at the names of the marked children. The ones who had come before them. The ones who had died.

She didn't know what was coming next. But whatever it was, she knew it was dangerous.