Darkness clung to Anaya's skin like a second shadow as Veer's cold hand gripped her wrist.
"Let me go!" she demanded, twisting free, but the chill lingered—like a curse.
✦ A Fractured Trust
Veer stepped back, his eyes never leaving hers. "You don't understand what's at stake. The Rang Mahal doesn't forgive. It doesn't forget."
Anaya's mind swirled with doubt. The man was her uncle, yet his presence felt like poison. Was he an ally or another enemy?
✦ The Hidden Chamber
Veer motioned toward a hidden door behind the mural.
"Follow me if you want answers. But beware — some truths will shatter you."
With trembling steps, Anaya crossed the threshold, entering a chamber bathed in flickering torchlight. Walls were lined with faded portraits — ancestors with stern eyes that seemed to watch her every move.
✦ Secrets in the Shadows
At the chamber's center was a large, cracked mirror.
Veer touched its surface, and it rippled like water.
"This mirror shows the Rang Mahal's darkest secrets," he said. "The price of betrayal etched in blood."
Anaya peered in. The glass clouded, then cleared — revealing a vision of her grandmother Meera, standing with Aarav beneath a full moon, their hands clasped tightly.
But the scene twisted — Meera's face contorted in fear, and Aarav's eyes filled with sorrow.
Suddenly, Rajiv appeared behind Meera, holding a dagger.
✦ The Psychological Web
Anaya gasped, her heart wrenching. The betrayal was deeper, more brutal.
Veer's voice cut through her shock: "Your family's sins are not just stories. They are curses, alive and hungry."
She felt the walls close in, the chamber's silence pressing on her mind.
"Why tell me this now?" she asked, voice shaking.
"Because," Veer said, "you're the last hope to end it. But only if you face the darkest parts of your own soul."
✦ Aarav's Warning
A soft voice echoed again — Aarav's.
"Trust yourself, Anaya. The shadows will try to break you, but your light is stronger."
The mirror shimmered, and for a fleeting moment, Anaya saw herself — not as she was, but as the Rang Mahal wanted her to be: trapped, silent, broken.
✦ The Choice
Anaya's gaze hardened. The legacy of Rang Mahal was a curse — but it was also her destiny.
To break free, she had to confront the family's darkness, her own fears, and the twisted love that had doomed her ancestors.
As she turned to leave, the chamber door slammed shut.
From the shadows, a chilling whisper:
"Welcome to the true prison, Anaya."
And behind her, the mirror cracked — spreading spiderweb fractures across the glass… and across her soul.