Location: Secret Apartment Safehouse, Zenith Outskirts
Time: 3:02 AM
The city lights flickered far in the distance.
Vashti sat cross-legged on the dusty floor, still in half of her bridal wear, her dupatta tossed aside. Her hands trembled as she opened the rusted metal box Arya had just retrieved from a hidden lab—a box once owned by her father, Vivek Dhiman.
Inside, among crumpled research papers and old photos, lay an envelope.
Yellowed at the edges.
Her name scrawled across it in his tight, familiar handwriting:
> To Vashti. For when the world begins to burn.
She stared.
She remembered this letter.
He had given it to her when she was twelve. Told her to open it only when she no longer knew who to trust.
She had laughed then.
She wasn't laughing now.
---
FLASHBACK – Age 12 – Rainbow International School Grounds
Her father had knelt in front of her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"You have your mother's fire," he said. "But fire… it either protects or destroys. You must learn which you are."
She frowned. "Why are you talking like that, Papa?"
He handed her the envelope. "One day, you'll need this. When no one else can tell you who you are. When your heart is loud, but the truth is louder."
"Is it a science clue?"
He smiled sadly. "It's the truth… and the burden of your name."
---
PRESENT DAY – Back at Safehouse
Her fingers tore the seal slowly.
Inside, a single handwritten page. It read:
> My Vashu,
If you're reading this, then the shadows I once worked in have caught up to you.
Project Mirage was never just science. It was a weapon. A map to memories—able to delete, manipulate, even rewrite who a person believes they are.
And your mind, Vashti… you were the first successful test.
At age 6, I erased something. Something dangerous. I thought I was protecting you. But now I fear I only delayed the war.
Trust no one except your instinct. Except your anger. That rage? It's not a flaw. It's your alarm system. Use it.
And if Shabd is still by your side… then trust him too. I always believed he'd protect your fire.
Forgive me. Or don't. But survive.
—Vivek Dhiman
---
Vashti's eyes blurred with tears.
Her voice cracked as she whispered, "He… tested on me?"
Shabd sat beside her, jaw tense. "You were part of Mirage all along."
She nodded.
"He wiped part of my childhood… maybe even people I knew. Memories that could've cost my life."
Shabd gently took her hand. "We'll get it all back. Together."
She looked at him, heart breaking, mind burning.
"No," she said. "We don't get it back."
"We steal it back."
---