đź’” The Contract Groom
Supposed to Hear
The alarms continued screaming through the underground chamber.
Red warning lights flashed across the walls.
Sharp.
Chaotic.
Relentless.
But none of them moved immediately.
Because something far more dangerous than the alarms had already awakened.
Truth.
Dr. Prem stood frozen near the hidden compartment, his breathing uneven beneath the mask.
Aryan.
The name echoed again and again inside his mind like a locked memory forcing itself open.
Fragments flashed violently.
A child crying.
Gunshots outside.
Someone lifting him into their arms.
And a woman's trembling voice—
"Protect him…"
He staggered slightly backward again.
One hand gripping the side of the table for balance.
Sasmita looked between him and Sumitra Devi, her own thoughts collapsing into confusion.
Nothing made sense anymore.
And yet—
everything did.
The photograph.
The reaction.
The memories.
No…
this couldn't be coincidence.
Sumitra Devi's weak fingers still clutched Sasmita's wrist desperately.
"Run…" she whispered again painfully.
Sasmita leaned closer immediately.
"Piusi, who is he?"
But Sumitra Devi's fading gaze remained locked on Dr. Prem.
Tears continued slipping slowly from the corners of her eyes.
As if she had spent years waiting to see him again.
"…Alive…" she whispered weakly.
That word hit him harder than anything else tonight.
Alive.
Not because of its meaning.
But because deep inside—
some part of him already feared the opposite.
Dr. Prem slowly removed one glove, pressing trembling fingers against his forehead.
More flashes.
More pain.
A dark room.
Needles.
Voices arguing.
And someone saying—
"Erase the identity."
He inhaled sharply.
No.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
The alarms suddenly stopped.
Silence crashed into the underground room again.
Heavy.
Almost suffocating.
Then—
a new sound appeared.
Footsteps.
Above them.
All three froze instantly.
Someone was upstairs.
Not hiding anymore.
Not careful.
Walking openly.
Slowly.
Sasmita's eyes sharpened immediately.
Her hand reached for the gun again.
Dr. Prem's instincts returned instantly despite the chaos in his mind.
"We need to move," he said sharply.
But Sumitra Devi suddenly grabbed his wrist weakly.
The contact shocked him.
Her eyes trembled as she looked at him.
"…Don't… trust…"
Her voice cracked painfully.
Then suddenly—
her body weakened again.
The monitors destabilized sharply.
"Piusi!"
Sasmita rushed toward the machines immediately.
Dr. Prem reacted instantly too, forcing himself back into focus despite the storm inside his head.
"Her pulse is dropping," he said quickly.
The footsteps upstairs continued.
Closer now.
Deliberate.
Sasmita looked toward the ceiling briefly.
Then back at her aunt.
Conflict tore through her eyes.
Protect her?
Or face whoever entered?
Dr. Prem made the decision for her.
"Go."
She looked at him instantly.
"What?"
"I'll stabilize her."
His voice remained calm.
"Whoever's upstairs came for something."
"And if they find you here?"
A faint pause.
"They won't."
Something in the way he said it felt different.
Not confidence.
Certainty.
Another loud creak echoed from above.
Closer.
Sasmita's grip tightened around the gun.
Then finally—
she turned and moved toward the stairs silently.
Every instinct inside her screamed danger.
Upstairs—
the house had become completely dark except for faint emergency lights glowing from the hallway corners.
Rain slammed violently against the windows now.
Thunder shook the walls.
Sasmita moved carefully through the corridor, gun raised slightly.
Listening.
Watching.
Then—
she saw him.
A figure standing near the living room window.
Tall.
Still.
Facing away from her.
Rainlight reflected faintly across his black coat.
"You came back," she said coldly.
The man smiled slightly without turning around.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to recognize me."
Sasmita's heartbeat slowed dangerously.
Because now—
she remembered.
The warehouse fire.
The teenage boy.
The eyes watching through flames.
"…Rudra," she whispered.
The man finally turned slowly.
And for the first time—
his face became visible.
Sharp features.
A faint scar near his jaw.
Cold eyes carrying years of darkness.
Alive.
Impossible.
"You look disappointed," Rudra said softly.
"You should be dead."
"So should many people connected to Tiger Gang."
The room fell silent again.
Sasmita kept the gun aimed steadily at him.
"What do you want?"
Rudra's eyes shifted briefly toward the underground entrance.
"Him."
One word.
Enough to freeze the air itself.
Downstairs—
Dr. Prem suddenly looked toward the ceiling instinctively.
As if he somehow heard it too.
Rudra stepped slightly closer now.
"You know who he is now, don't you?"
he asked quietly.
Sasmita didn't answer.
But her silence revealed enough.
Rudra smiled faintly.
Not warmly.
Not kindly.
Almost sadly.
"They lied to him his entire life," he murmured.
Thunder cracked violently outside.
"And if Tiger discovers the truth before him…"
His eyes darkened slightly.
"…everyone in this house dies."
Sasmita's grip tightened instantly.
"What truth?"
Rudra looked directly into her eyes now.
Then slowly—
he spoke the words that changed everything.
"Dr. Prem…"
A pause.
"…is the real heir of Project Aryan."
The storm outside roared louder.
As if the night itself reacted to the truth finally spoken aloud.