The Death That Set Her Free
Anika died at 3:17 a.m.
At least, that’s what the news reported.
A burned-out car was found at the edge of the river, twisted metal still smoking, a body inside so charred it couldn’t be identified. Dental records were inconclusive. The name released to the media was Anika Rao.
Vikram watched the footage in silence.
Too silent.
“She was smarter than this,” he murmured.
But the world believed it. Candles were lit. Social media mourned. A monster was declared dead, and the system exhaled in relief.
In an underground safehouse miles away, Anika watched herself die on a cracked television screen.
Leela switched it off. “Congratulations,” she said flatly. “You’re officially erased.”
Anika didn’t smile.
Her mother lay in the next room, sedated, hidden under a new identity. Alive—but fragile. Every breath she took was borrowed time.
“What now?” Anika asked.
Leela slid a folder across the table.
Inside were photographs.
Men in suits shaking hands with men holding rifles.
Containers marked medical aid filled with weapons.
Children’s shelters doubling as recruitment camps.
Stamped across every page was the same symbol.
A stylized R.
“The Rao empire doesn’t just kill,” Leela said. “It feeds on silence. On distance. On people who think this is someone else’s problem.”
Anika flipped the final page.
A name stared back at her.
Dr. Sameer Kulkarni
Humanitarian.
Whistleblower advocate.
Secret Rao financier.
“He launders money through relief funds,” Leela continued. “Testifies in court. Wins awards. Sleeps well.”
Anika closed the file.
“I’ll take him,” she said.
Leela studied her. “Your first kill won’t be heroic.”
“I’m not looking for heroic.”
Dr. Kulkarni died alone.
Anika followed him for three days. Learned his routines. His prayers. His lies. On the fourth night, she stepped into his apartment wearing a nurse’s uniform and a borrowed face.
He didn’t even see her coming.
She poisoned his tea slowly—enough to paralyze, not enough to kill. She wanted him awake.
“Who sent you?” he gasped, eyes wide, body betraying him.
Anika leaned close. “A man you erased. And a child you thought wouldn’t remember.”
She injected the second dose.
As life drained from his eyes, she felt nothing.
No relief.
No horror.
Only clarity.
By morning, his death was ruled natural.
Leela said nothing when Anika returned. She only handed her a towel to wipe the blood from her hands.
“You crossed it,” Leela said quietly. “The line.”
Anika nodded. “I know.”
That night, Anika dreamed of her father—not dead, not bleeding, but watching her from across a table.
Finish it, he said.
When she woke, her phone was vibrating.
A message from an unknown number.
You’re becoming exactly what he feared.
Attached was a photo.
Her mother.
Awake.
Terrified.
Another message followed.
Come alone.
Anika stared at the screen, something inside her cracking—not breaking, but sharpening.
Vikram Rao wasn’t hiding anymore.
He was daring her.
And for the first time, Anika smiled.
Because death had already set her free.
And now…
She was coming for him.
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