The monsoon rain hit Jaipur like bullets that night — the kind of storm that seemed to wash the city's sins off the streets but never quite did.
Inside Central Jaipur High School, the lights flickered. Students whispered about the annual cultural function that was only days away. The stage was half-built, the smell of paint mixed with wet soil, and laughter echoed faintly down the corridors.
Lucy Mehra walked quietly through the empty hallway, her eyes sharp even behind her glasses. On the surface, she was just another 18-year-old student — top of the class, polite, always on time.
But the small black earpiece hidden under her hair told another story.
> "Target confirmed. He'll be at the school library in ten minutes," a voice whispered in her ear.
Lucy's heart thudded.
She knew who it was — Sid Verma.
Kind. Gentle. Always smiling at her during chemistry class.
And completely unaware that she wasn't who she seemed to be.
Lucy paused in front of a window. Rain streaked down the glass like veins of silver.
She hated herself for what she was about to do.
But orders were orders. The agency had been tracking a secret file — one Sid's brother, Nick, had hidden. And somehow, Sid was the key.
Her hand trembled as she adjusted the mic.
> "Control, I'm moving in," she said softly.
"Copy that. Make it clean."
The library was silent when she entered. Sid sat by the window, sketching something in his notebook — a drawing of her.
Her throat tightened.
> "Lucy?" he smiled, surprised. "Didn't expect you here this late."
Her voice nearly cracked. "I needed… to talk."
As she stepped closer, every part of her training screamed to stay calm.
She had a tracking pen — one click would send his data to her handlers.
> "About what?" he asked.
"About your brother," she whispered.
Sid's face changed — curiosity, then confusion, then fear. "Nick? What about him?"
Before Lucy could speak, a loud crash came from the corridor.
Gunfire.
Screams.
The agency had moved in too early.
In seconds, chaos filled the school.
Lucy grabbed Sid's hand. "We have to go—"
But a bullet tore through the window.
Sid froze. Blood blossomed across his chest like a red flower.
"Sid!" she screamed, catching him before he fell.
His last words were barely a breath.
> "Lucy… you were the only thing real."
And then — silence.