Obsession’S Crown: Two Faces, One Heart
Chapter 4
She's just returned from the Devrath estate. The invitation is still in her coat pocket.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(unlocking her door, flatly) Lights on.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
Security on.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
Logic on.
The moment she enters, she stops. Something feels... off. The room is untouched. Perfect. That’s the problem.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(stepping in slowly) No scent. No sound. No disruption.
She looks at the table. A box. Small. Black. Velvet-lined. Not there when she left.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(deadpan) We’re leaving gifts now?
She opens it. A USB. Nothing else. No note. No seal. Just a red thread tied around the device — military silk, ceremonial, used for uniform sword knots.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(muttering) Symbolism and silence.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
His favourite language.
She plugs it into her laptop. The screen glitches. A single file loads — no name. Just a timestamp. Today. 3:42 AM.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(frowning) That’s... in two hours?
She hits play. Her own bedroom. Her own body. Sleeping.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(voice hollow) That’s… now.
She fast-forwards. Nothing. Until—
Footage
(time stamp: 3:43 AM) Her door creaks open.
Footage
No one enters. But the mirror across from her bed fogs over… as if someone is breathing behind it.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(sits down hard) This isn’t possible.
She freezes the frame. Zooms. In the mirror, faint — like a ghost behind glass — are two eyes. Watching. Unblinking.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(whispers) There are cameras… in my dreams.
Phone rings. Unknown ID. She answers. No sound for three seconds.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
(finally, low and smooth) Sleep suits you, Rithanya.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
You’re quieter. Softer.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
Almost… touchable.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(dead cold) How did you get this footage?
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
Wrong question.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
The real question is —
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
Why did you leave the bathroom light on?
She stares at the light now. Still on. Her stomach coils.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
This is surveillance-grade tech. You’d need access to multiple locked frequencies.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
I didn’t access anything.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
I built the locks.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
Then I broke them.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
You could be arrested for this.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
(smiling audibly) Then arrest me.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
Come find me.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
Cuff me, Rithanya.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
But don’t pretend this doesn’t make your skin burn.
She closes the laptop. Breathing shallow. She’s angry. Not afraid. That’s what disturbs her most.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
You’re violating every boundary of human sanity.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
You left the door open, little profiler.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
I just walked through.
Click. Call ends. She stares at the mirror. Her own reflection feels... foreign. Watched.
Next Morning — Military Facility Surveillance HQ
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(slamming the USB onto the desk) Play it. I want every pixel analyzed. Right now.
Tech Officer
(confused) Ma’am, this footage was pulled from your room’s internal feeds. But we have no records of access.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
Exactly.
Tech Officer
How is that possible?
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
Because the man I’m profiling doesn’t need access.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
He leaves fingerprints in memories, not on keys.
She steps out. Cold wind hits her face. She dials.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
Connect me to Raghav Devrath.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
Now.
Tech Officer
He’s not responding, Ma’am. But tracking shows he’s inside the estate… asleep.
Rithanya Venkatesh /Veritas/FL
(whispers) No, he’s not.
Meanwhile: Devrath Mansion — Raghav’s Bedroom
Raghav sits up in bed. Breathing hard. Shirt damp with sweat. On his palm? A faint smear of red ink.
Raghav Devrath /Black Monarch /ML
(confused) What the hell…
He looks at the nightstand. A photo. It wasn’t there before. Her. Rithanya. Age 8. In a cage. Smiling through the bars.
Raghav Devrath /Black Monarch /ML
(whispers) Where did this come from?
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
(from inside, quietly) I never sleep.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
She was always mine.
Yugendran Aadityan/Requiem/ML 2nd PL
You just forgot.
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