Kiara sat on the edge of her bed.
The phone screen glowed in the darkness.
The city lights outside flickered quietly through the window, but inside her apartment everything felt tense… like the air itself was holding its breath.
Two memories kept replaying in her mind.
Her mind refused to rest.
The tissue in the café.
And the photo of her sleeping on this very bed.
At first, the tissue had seemed like a strange coincidence. A random message written by someone with a twisted sense of humor.
But now it felt different.
Now it felt planned.
Because whoever had left that tissue had known exactly where she was sitting in the café.
And somehow… that same person had taken a picture of her inside her apartment.
A slow chill crept down her spine.
Kiara stood up abruptly.
"No… that's impossible," she whispered to herself.
Her eyes began scanning the room.
The walls.
The lamp near the table.
The small clock hanging above the door.
Her heart began to pound harder.
What if there are cameras?
The thought hit her like ice water.
Kiara quickly walked toward the bookshelf, examining every corner carefully. She checked behind the photo frames, under the table, near the air vents, even the smoke detector.
Her movements became faster, more frantic.
Her breathing turned uneven.
"Where are you…" she muttered under her breath.
Her phone buzzed suddenly.
Kiara froze.
Slowly, she looked down at the screen.
Unknown Number.
A new message appeared.
"Relax."
Her stomach tightened.
Another message followed.
"I'm not a pervert."
Kiara's eyes widened.
For a moment she couldn't even breathe.
That meant only one thing.
He was watching her right now.
He had seen her searching the room.
Her hands trembled slightly as she typed.
"Then how did you take that picture?"
The reply came almost instantly.
"Who said I took it inside your house?"
Kiara frowned.
Her mind raced.
If not inside… then where?
Her thoughts immediately jumped back to the café.
The tissue.
The message.
The way she had felt someone watching her that day.
A quiet realization formed in her mind.
Maybe this entire thing had started long before she noticed it.
Her fingers moved again.
"Who hired you?"
The typing indicator appeared.
Her heart started beating faster.
A reply arrived.
"No one."
Kiara narrowed her eyes.
She typed again.
"Then why did you hack my laptop?"
The reply came immediately.
"Just for fun."
Kiara let out a small, disbelieving laugh.
"Fun?" she whispered to herself.
Breaking into a secured corporate system that contained confidential company data worth billions was fun for him?
Before she could respond, another message appeared.
"First I'll destroy your financial backbone."
"Your laptop."
Then another.
"Then slowly…"
A pause.
"I'll destroy you."
"Mentally."
"Emotionally."
A cold shiver ran through her body.
Another message appeared.
"In ways you've never imagined."
Kiara tightened her grip around the phone.
This man is insane.
Whoever Vishwa was, he wasn't just a hacker.
He was dangerous.
And somehow… she had become his target.
But fear slowly turned into anger.
Kiara forced herself to stay calm.
Fear was exactly what he wanted.
She began typing again.
"If this is some kind of game, you chose the wrong person."
She paused before adding another line.
"We'll find you."
Before she could send it, the phone buzzed again.
A new message from Vishwa appeared.
Just three words.
"Are you sure?"
Kiara frowned.
Another message followed.
"Look outside."
Her heart skipped a beat.
Slowly, she turned her head toward the window.
The city lights glowed in the distance.
Cars moved along the road.
People walked by like any normal evening.
Nothing unusual.
And yet…
The feeling of being watched grew stronger.
Kiara swallowed hard.
Because deep down she knew one thing.
Vishwa wasn't bluffing.
And whatever game he had started…
She was already inside it.