Chapter 3: The Unraveling Thread
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(Returns to Rohan at the cafรฉ, her face pale) He denied it.
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Denied what? That he knew you?
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Everything. My name, Anya, the connectionโฆ he acted like heโd never seen me before.
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So, maybe you were wrong. Maybe he really doesnโt know you
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No, Rohan. I saw it in his eyes. Just for a moment, before he masked it. He recognized me.
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Then why deny it?
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Because heโs hiding something. Something big.
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(Pulls out her phone, scrolling through the news articles about Veer) Thereโs something off about him. All these articles paint him as a philanthropist, a self-made man, a pillar of the community. Butโฆ it feels like a faรงade.
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What do you mean?
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There are gaps. In his timeline. In his history. Itโs like someoneโs carefully curated his public image.
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(Points to an article about a recent charity gala) Look at this. Heโs always surrounded by the same people. The same faces. Theyโre like his personal entourage.
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Maybe theyโre just his friends.
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Or maybe theyโre part of something else. Something he doesnโt want anyone to see.
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Starts typing on her phone, searching for information on the clock tower) I need to know more about this place. About what happened there.
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The clock tower? What does that have to do with anything?
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Itโs where my dreams always end. Where I seeโฆ Anya. I have a feeling itโs not just a random location.
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(Finds an article about the clock towerโs history) It was closed down years ago after a fire. A tragic accident, they said.
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A fire? Thatโsโฆ
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(Her eyes widen) Thatโs it! The fire in my dreams!
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(Reads the article aloud) โThe fire claimed the life of one individual, whose identity was never officially confirmed.โ
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Thatโs strange.
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Itโs more than strange. Itโs suspicious. They never identified the body? Why?
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(Inner monologue) Because it was me. It was Anya.
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(Stands up, her eyes filled with determination) I need to go there.
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Go where? To the clock tower? Anika, itโs closed. And itโs dangerous.
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I donโt care. I need to see it for myself. I need to find out what happened.
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Anika, pleaseโฆ
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(Looks at Rohan, her voice firm) Iโm not asking you to come with me. But Iโm going.
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(Leaves the cafรฉ, her mind racing with questions)
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(Arrives at the clock tower, the imposing structure casting a long shadow)
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(Sees a broken window, a possible entry point)
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(Hesitates for a moment, then climbs through the window, entering the darkened interior)
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(The air is thick with dust and the smell of decay. She uses her phoneโs flashlight to navigate the winding stairs)
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(Reaches the top floor, the clock mechanism looming in the shadows)
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(Sees a faint scorch mark on the floor, a reminder of the fire)
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(Feels a strange sense of dรฉjร vu, like sheโs been here before)
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(Suddenly, she hears a sound. A faint creak from below)
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(Her heart pounds in her chest. She switches off her flashlight, plunging the room into darkness)
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(Inner monologue) Someoneโs here. And they know Iโm here.
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