Darkness.
Cold walls.
The smell of blood and metal mixed together in the air.
Somewhere water dripped slowly.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Like time itself was waiting for something terrible to happen.
Sia's eyes opened slowly.
Pain hit instantly.
A sharp sting near her forehead.
Chains locked tightly around both her wrists above her head. Blood had already dried near one side of her temple.
For a second her vision blurred—
then the screens in front of her became visible.
Three monitors.
Three rooms.
Three girls.
"Durga…"
Her voice came out rough.
Durga was tied against a chair, bruises visible on her arms, still struggling despite the drugs in her system.
"You people torture like unpaid interns."
"And also..." Durga coughed weakly, "…this is officially the worst stadium review of all time."
Even now.
Even like this.
Sia almost closed her eyes in disbelief.
Another screen.
Saraswati hung against chains, unconscious for few seconds before cold water was thrown at her face harshly.
She woke coughing.
"You wasted cold water on kidnapping?
Environmental crime."
Immediately observing exits.
Weapons.
People.
Numbers.
Always calculating.
Then the last screen.
Radhika.
Her hands were tied behind a metal chair.
Head lowered slightly.
Breathing uneven.
Blood near her lip.
The drugs were affecting her badly.
But even then—
her eyes still looked stubborn.
Sia's jaw tightened.
"What do you want?" she asked coldly into the darkness.
Slow clapping echoed through the room.
One.
Two.
Three.
A masked man stepped out from the shadows.
Black gloves.
Black clothes.
Voice distorted.
"The famous Queens."
"Yet too new to know that this world can't be trusted , you don't even know the game you are playing .." he continued," has no rules not even the system."
"What do you want ? Should I clap for the speech?" Sia said with no fear.
Just than a punch landed right on her face.
" Oops ! To clap you have to open my wrists" she said with a mocking smile,"Clap right on your face."
"You are too confident compared to the situation you are in." The mask man replied.
Sia stared at him without fear.
"You kidnapped girls and expected applause?"
One of the men punched her directly in the stomach.
The chains shook violently.
Pain spread through her body.
But she didn't scream.
The masked man chuckled softly.
"Still arrogant."
Sia slowly lifted her head again.
Eyes burning.
"You still talk too much."
Meanwhile—
inside another room—
Radhika forced herself to stay conscious.
The lights there were dimmer.
Quieter.
Dangerously quieter.
Footsteps echoed slowly toward her.
Not hurried.
Not loud.
Calm.
Confident.
Only his eyes visible.
Watching her carefully.
Too carefully.
On the monitor --
Sia looked at it and screamed
" Ask your man to stay away from Radhika and others, we can talk about this."
one of the men grabbed Saraswati harshly by the hair.
Another pushed Durga back against the chair violently.
Durga shouted immediately,
"Sia don't you DARE—"
A slap cut her off.
Sia's breathing changed instantly.
Then—
from the third screen—
Radhika's voice echoed weakly.
"Stop…"
Everyone looked toward the monitor.
Radhika struggled against the ropes tied around her wrists.
Drugged.
Barely conscious.
Still trying to stand.
"Leave them alone."
Her voice cracked slightly this time.
One of the guards laughed near her.
"You should worry about yourself."
Radhika ignored him completely.
Eyes fixed somewhere ahead.
"If you want someone…"
A rough breath.
"Take me instead."
" Kill me.Don't touch them."
Eyes filled with tears.
Sia and others asking her not to do something... she shouldn't but just then...
A laugh echoed across the room.
The room suddenly became quieter.
Too quiet.
Even Sia frowned slightly.
Something felt wrong.
Then—
the lights inside Radhika's room slowly turned on.
Not fully.
Just enough.
Enough to reveal someone standing directly beside her chair.
A black boot rested against the edge of the metal seat.
Calm.
Comfortable.
Too close.
Like he belonged there.
The same masked man everyone thought was standing in front of Sia.
But he wasn't.
He had been beside Radhika the entire time.
Watching.
Waiting.
Interested.
Sia's eyes widened instantly.
Durga stopped struggling for one second.
Even Saraswati looked shocked.
The "mastermind" talking to Sia was just another puppet.
The real one…
was with Radhika.
The man slowly bent down near her.
One gloved hand reaching carefully toward her face.
Not rough.
Not violent.
Almost careful.
Then slowly—
he removed her mask.
Radhika tried turning away despite the dizziness.
But his grip tightened slightly.
And for the first time—
her face became fully visible under the dim light.
Blood near her lip.
Hair falling messily around her face.
Eyes still stubborn despite the drugs.
The mastermind stared at her silently for few seconds.
Too silently.
Then he smiled beneath the mask.
Slowly.
"So…"
A pause.
"You really are beautiful."
Sia's expression changed instantly.
Realization hitting her all at once.
This was never about Queens.
Never about rankings.
Never about the mission.
It was about Radhika.
The mastermind leaned slightly closer toward her.
His voice softer now.
Obsessively calm.
"The others were only bait."
A faint smile.
"But you…"
His fingers tapped lightly against the chair.
"…you're the reason the trap exists."
Radhika looked at him with disgust despite barely being conscious.
"Take me.
Break me.
Burn this entire place if you want.
But if one scream leaves their mouths because of me…
I'll come back from death just to ruin yours."
He laughed softly.
Actually amused.
"I was wondering when you'd say something interesting."
Then suddenly—
on the screens—
the men beside Saraswati and Durga raised their weapons again.
Sia instantly pulled against the chains violently.
"Leave her alone!" she shouted.
The mastermind finally looked toward Sia's screen.
Unbothered.
Then back at Radhika again.
Like nothing else mattered more.
And that—
terrified Sia more than the weapons.
"Kneel."
The fake leader in Sia's room repeated coldly.
Sia's fists tightened.
"Kneel," he repeated, "or they suffer first."
Radhika immediately shouted despite the pain,
"Sia don't—"
A blade touched Saraswati's neck.
Durga was forced down harder against the chair.
And Sia broke.
Not from fear.
Not weakness.
From love.
For her team.
Slowly—
without even a second of hesitation—
Sia lowered herself onto her knees.
"You want me to kneel? Fine.
But if even one drop of their blood falls after this…
I swear this place will remember my name longer than yours."
The chains clinked sharply against the floor.
"A leader's ego means nothing in front of her people.
So congratulations… you won the knees.
But you'll never win Queens."
The entire underground hall fell silent.
And somewhere beyond those rooms—
inside another dark corridor of V Stadium—
a masked man walking past suddenly stopped mid-step.
Ram.