Some houses don't forget. Some love stories don't die. And some secrets... were never meant to be uncovered.

When 28-year-old documentary filmmaker Anaya Rathore returns to her ancestral haveli in Rajasthan for her grandmother’s death anniversary, she expects dust, rituals, and a few awkward family conversations. What she doesn’t expect is a sealed box, a set of forbidden love letters, and a name no one dares to speak: Aarav.

Inside the mansion's forgotten wing — the Rang Mahal, once famed for its vibrant murals and now locked for decades — Anaya finds a portrait on the wall. A woman in red. Eyes too lifelike. Watching.

The woman is her grandmother, Meera — who everyone claims died in childbirth.

But the mural tells another story.

As Anaya dives deeper, using her filmmaker’s instincts to uncover fragments of the past, she discovers that Meera was in love with a lower-caste artist, and that their relationship was violently torn apart under the guise of “family honor.” The truth was whitewashed — literally — hidden under paint, lies, and generational silence.

But that’s only the beginning.

Because the deeper she digs, the more she uncovers the truth about her own identity, a missing child, and a father who may not be who he claims to be. And at the center of it all, stands the Rang Mahal — a tomb of color, pain, and a love so fierce it refused to die quietly.

Now, Anaya must choose: walk away with the truth... or set fire to the legacy that raised her.

The ghostly courtyard held its breath as Anaya faced the cruel reflection of herself — the doppelgänger who spoke for the curse that haunted her bloodline.


Her heart thundered, the weight of centuries pressing down like chains.


The doppelgänger smiled, a twisted mockery of Anaya's own face.


"You cannot run from your destiny," it hissed. "The legacy is part of you. It always will be."


Anaya's mind raced — memories, fears, and fragments of love swirling in a chaotic storm.


But beneath the fear, a small flame flickered.


"I choose love," she whispered, voice steady but trembling.


The mist around her shimmered as the courtyard softened.


The shadows receded, revealing the true forms of the trapped souls — not angry ghosts, but weary spirits bound by pain and regret.


Meera and Aarav stepped forward, their faces kind yet sorrowful.


"Forgive us," Meera said gently. "Break the cycle. Free us from this prison."


Anaya remembered the ancient incantation from the diary, the ritual words that could undo the binding spell.


She began to chant, voice growing stronger with every syllable.


The mural on the Rang Mahal walls glowed in her mind's eye, cracks spreading like lightning.


Suddenly, the peaceful moment shattered.


Veer's voice echoed through the courtyard, cold and triumphant.


"Foolish girl," he sneered. "You think love can save you? It only makes you weak."


He stepped from the shadows, eyes blazing with anger.


Veer lunged at Anaya, his hand reaching for the glowing rune pendant around her neck — the last key to breaking the curse.


Anaya dodged, heart pounding as she realized Veer never wanted the curse broken.


In the struggle, the rune pendant slipped from Anaya's grasp and shattered on the ground.


The courtyard trembled, the spirits' wails rising in anguish.


Veer's laughter echoed as darkness began to swallow the light.


Anaya's fate — and the legacy of Rang Mahal — hung in the balance.


Chapter 8 - The Heart’s Reckoning