Framed By Him
The First Ping
Mumbai was soaked in monsoon blues. The streets were glossy with rain, the skies gray with secrets.
On the 14th floor of a quiet apartment building, Shreya Singh adjusted her lens and clicked “Export” on her latest photo edits — a moody shoot of a couple under black umbrellas. The storm outside hadn’t ended. Neither had the one in her head.
SHREYA SINGH (24)
Profession: Freelance photographer
Personality: Creative, bold, sarcastic, emotionally guarded
Hobbies: Street photography, journaling, crime podcasts
Status: Single (but too curious for her own good)
That’s when her phone buzzed with a message.
No name. No number. Just… the words.
Unknown
📱I see the color red in your photo folder.
Unknown
📱But it wasn't there yesterday.
Shreya blinked. A chill zipped down her spine.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Who the hell is this?
Unknown
📱Don’t act surprised.
Unknown
📱You’ve always had a thing for shadows.
Unknown
📱But some shadows… stare back.
She froze. Her eyes flicked to her open folder — the one where she'd saved her shoot files.
She had added a red-toned photo this morning.
She hadn’t posted it. Hadn't even synced it to the cloud.
Her fingers hovered over the screen, debating between calling Maya or the cops.
📱LinkedIn:
Aarav Agnihotri viewed your profile.
She didn't know him. Had never met him. Never tagged him.
So why was he suddenly watching her?
AARAV AGNIHOTRI (28)
Job: Founder & CEO of Solvex Technologies
Personality: Brilliant, brooding, unreadable
Known for: His silence, lawsuits, and disappearing from the public eye
Rumors: Said to have left London after a scandal no one could prove
Shreya hurriedly texted Maya
MAYA KAPOOR (23)
Shreya’s cousin & confidante
Fashion student + chaotic energy
Knows more gossip than Google
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Someone’s texting me creepy stuff.
Like they’re watching my files.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Also… Aarav Agnihotri just viewed my LinkedIn 😐
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱STOP. 😳
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱THE Aarav Agnihotri??
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱Mr. Billionaire Ghost Man with the icy jawline and scary past?? 🕶️
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Yes. That one. 😒
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱What if he’s the stalker? Or the reason you’re getting messages?
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱This is giving Netflix series vibes.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱I’m serious, Maya.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱Okay okay. Do NOT delete anything.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱Do NOT reply again.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱And if he’s hot in real life, do NOT fall for it. 🔥❌
Shreya stared at her screen.
Something in her chest coiled tight — anxiety or anticipation, she couldn’t tell.
Then her phone buzzed again.
Unknown
📱You looked scared when you clicked the shutter.
But fear looks good on you. 😈📷
Her heart skipped.
Was it someone she’d photographed?
Was she being watched? Or warned?
Whatever this was… it wasn’t a joke.
And whoever it was… they weren’t just texting.
They were watching. 👁️
She had always framed the world through her lens.
But this time, she was the one inside the frame.
Red in the frame
The rain hadn't stopped all night.
Shreya lay awake, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling as thunder echoed faintly in the distance. ⛈️
Her phone sat beside her — silent now, but somehow louder than ever.
The last message from the unknown number still burned in her mind:
"Fear looks good on you." 😈
What scared her more — the words? Or the fact that they knew she was afraid?
The next day, Shreya packed her camera bag and headed to a small café in Bandra.
A client meeting — nothing serious. She just needed to act normal. Be normal.
But paranoia followed her like a shadow.
Just then her phone buzzed with the message
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱Any more creepy texts? 😬
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱No. But I feel like I’m being watched.
Even in my own home.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Is it weird if I say I checked behind my shower curtain?
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱Umm… it’s not weird.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱It’s survival. 😐
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱You should get pepper spray. And a knife. Or just… don’t go anywhere alone.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Too late for that.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Have to shoot a café today. Small client.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱I’ll be fine.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱If you go missing, I’m using your face on my merch. 😒
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱#MissingButAesthetic
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱Wow. So touched. 🫠
The café shoot went smoothly. Soft lighting. Warm tones. Minimal drama.
But as she reviewed the raw photos later at home, something made her stop. 🖥️
There, in the corner of one shot… a man. Standing near the window.
Not looking at the café.
Looking directly into the lens.
Tall. Formal suit. Sharp features. Eyes... blank.
His face wasn’t familiar. But it felt familiar.
Like a presence she’d sensed before.
She hadn't noticed him when shooting. He wasn’t a customer.
Unknown
📱You framed him beautifully.
Unknown
📱But did you even see him? 📸👤
Shreya Singh (FL)
What the hell is happening?
Later that night, she did what she swore she wouldn’t —
She searched Aarav Agnihotri online.
No Instagram. No recent interviews. No tagged photos.
Only press articles from two years ago. Most vague. A few unsettling.
“Tech prodigy vanishes from public view after failed merger.”
“Solvex CEO avoids court appearance. Settles in private.”
“No photos available.”
Every article used the same outdated headshot.
It wasn’t the man in her photo.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱Hey. You okay?
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
📱You want me to come over?
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱No. I want to know who the hell is watching me.
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱And why.
She stared at the image again.
The man in the window.
The message.
The silence.
She thought she was just capturing moments.
But maybe, just maybe —
She had captured something she wasn’t supposed to see.
Faces in the Blur
For a city of 20 million, Mumbai had never felt this empty to Shreya.
Every corner she turned, every shadow she passed — it all whispered the same thing:
It had been three days since the message about the man in the café photo.
She hadn’t replied. She hadn’t blocked the number.
She just… waited. And watched.
Her sanctuary — Studio Grind, a small café tucked between an old bookstore and a tailor shop. It was where writers, coders, and photographers buried their burnout in coffee and quiet playlists.
Shreya ordered a black coffee ☕, chose the farthest corner seat, and opened her laptop.
But before she could even click "File Explorer," she heard that voice.
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
You're ghosting your ghostbusters. I called you three times. 😤
Tanya Deshmukh (25)
Fashion stylist | Loud, loyal, and brutally honest
FL former Client and bff
Shreya Singh (FL)
I’ve been working. And thinking. And possibly losing my mind.😮💨
Tanya comes and sits on the opposite chair
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
You know, if I didn’t love you, I’d tell you to go to therapy.
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
But since I do, I’ll tell you to email the creep to me. I’ll forward him to Rohan.
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
Rohan cracked a medical database last week just to cancel his hospital bill.😏
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
He can trace a ghost if you give him five minutes and a signal.
Shreya Singh (FL)
And a few felonies, I assume.
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
Minor details. 😇
Rohan Malhotra (27)
🖥️ Cybersecurity consultant | Tanya’s ex-ex-turned-tech-ally
🔎 Cynical, awkward, but brilliant
🧠 Thinks feelings are malware
Shreya hesitated. She wasn’t ready to make this real.
Not yet. Not until she had more proof.
She took a deep breath and opened the photo from the café again — the one with him.
A crowded space. Laughter blurred in the background.
Light poured through the window like gold.
And in the corner… the man.
Not blurry. Not candid.
Standing still in a moving crowd.
His eyes fixed straight at the lens — almost like he knew she’d look back. 😨
Shreya Singh (FL)
He wasn’t in the room when I shot this. I would’ve noticed him.
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
Then maybe he wasn’t part of the room.
Tanya Deshmukh (FL bff)
Maybe he was part of you. 😶🌫️
Afternoon: Client Shoot in Colaba....
Later that day, Shreya headed to a boutique opening — a regular client, nothing dangerous.
She set up her camera and tripod along the sidewalk and began snapping the models in natural light.
Everything felt normal. Ordinary.
Until it didn’t.
Across the street, a man stood still beside a newsstand. Black jacket. Neutral expression.
But again — those eyes.
Not scanning the crowd. Not distracted.
Focused. On. Her.
She raised her camera instinctively. But this time, when she clicked — he was already turning away.
Gone.
Unknown
📱Snap all you want. But not every face is meant to be captured. 📷🚫
She dropped her camera bag. Her stomach turned cold.
This wasn’t random. This was targeted.
She immediately texted Maya
Shreya Singh (FL)
📱He was there again. Watching. No expression. No phone. Just… staring.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
You NEED to go to the police.
Shreya Singh (FL)
Not yet. I want to catch him. I want to know.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
This isn’t a documentary, Shreya.
Maya Kapoor (FL cousin & bff)
This is how true crime podcasts begin. 😰
Shreya lit a candle. She always worked better in low light.
She opened her laptop and created a new folder.
FOLDER NAME: “SUSPECTS” 🗂️
Inside, she placed:
The café photo 🖼️
A still from the boutique shoot 🧥
The anonymous messages 📲
A screenshot of Aarav Agnihotri’s LinkedIn view 🕶️
Shreya Singh (FL)
💭I don’t know who you are.
Shreya Singh (FL)
💭But I swear… I’ll find you first.
Somewhere in an empty boardroom, Aarav Agnihotri leaned back in his chair, staring at the very same café photo.
A flicker of amusement crossed his otherwise unreadable face.
Aarav Agnihotri
So she noticed. 🖤
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