Chapter 42: Unmasked

The air was electric.

Everything Mira had set in motion — from the GPS logging, to her untouched tea, to the coded notes in her journal — was leading here.

She hadn't slept the night before.

Neither had Rehan.

Earlier that morning, Rehan stood in the basement lab, eyes locked on the test results. His fingers curled into fists as the final chemical report flashed across the screen.

The tea was drugged.

Same sedative used in the candle — carefully diluted.

Enough to disorient Mira.

Rehan didn't wait. He bolted upstairs with the evidence clutched in his hand.

But what he didn't know — Mira already knew who it was.

She was just waiting to face them herself.

That evening, Mira asked for one thing.

"To be alone in the study."

Aarav resisted. "No. Not while someone in this house—"

"I need to do this," she said. "They'll come to me if they think I'm unprotected."

He hesitated. Then nodded. "I'll be right outside."

The study was dimly lit, fire crackling gently in the hearth.

Mira sat with a cup of untouched tea before her, her smart cane resting across her lap. She counted the breaths.

And waited.

The footsteps came at 10:07 p.m.

Soft. Familiar. Unhurried.

She didn't turn. She didn't speak.

The figure stood in the doorway for a moment.

Then stepped inside.

Mira finally broke the silence.

"You've been near me three times in the last two days without saying a word."

The traitor froze.

"But I never confronted you. You know why?"

Silence.

"Because I wanted to give you a chance to choose not to hurt me again."

The voice that answered her came from behind.

Calm. Deceptive.

"You always were too trusting, Mira."

She turned her head slightly. "Why?"

The figure moved into the light.

And there stood Naira.

Her eyes were unreadable. Her lips curled into something between a smirk and regret.

"You were always special to him," she said softly. "And people like me… we're always standing in the background."

The door burst open — Aarav and Rehan charging in, weapons drawn.

Naira didn't flinch. "You're too late. The damage is already done."

"Why?" Aarav growled, stepping between her and Mira. "You tried to kill her."

"I tried to wake her up," Naira snapped. "You think this is about romance? You think it's just a little game of hearts? There are people coming. They're already moving. I was trying to end it quietly."

Mira stood slowly, hand on Aarav's shoulder. "You betrayed us."

"No. I tried to protect everyone else. You just made it harder."

Rehan moved fast. In seconds, Naira was restrained, disarmed, and dragged away.

She didn't fight. But her eyes never stopped burning with something — not guilt.

Conviction.

Later that night, Mira sat silently by the window as Aarav wrapped a blanket around her.

"She was like family," she whispered.

"I know."

"She thought she was saving me."

"She was wrong."

Mira's voice didn't tremble. "Someone sent her. She said they're coming."

Aarav nodded grimly. "We'll be ready."

But deep down, they both knew—

This was only the beginning.