Satya's fingers trembled as he flipped through the fragile pages of Veer Meghawal's journal. The ink had faded, but the weight of each word pressed down on him like an invisible force. These were Veer's last thoughts. His final warnings. His unfinished story.
Saanvi leaned in, her breath shallow. "What does it say?"
Satya swallowed hard and began reading aloud.
"The walls whisper. The night is never silent. I am not alone in this prison… but I am the only one who will never leave it alive."
A heavy silence filled the room.
Virendra tightened his grip on his dagger. "This place was a prison?"
Aryan Solanki nodded, his face grim. "Not officially. But many like Veer were brought here under false pretenses—artists, scholars, anyone who knew too much. Once inside, they were silenced."
Satya flipped to another page, his pulse quickening.
"I was a fool. I believed in loyalty. I believed in friendship. But the hand that sealed my fate was not my enemy's… it was my brother's."
The words blurred before Satya's eyes.
Saanvi covered her mouth. "Brother?"
Professor Raghav adjusted his glasses. "That could mean many things. Was it a blood brother? Or someone he considered as close as one?"
Aryan exhaled. "That's what I spent years trying to uncover. Veer had a confidant, someone close to him—someone within the royal court. That person betrayed him to save themselves."
Satya turned another page. This time, the writing was more frantic, as if Veer had written it in a rush.
"The truth is buried in the archives. If anyone ever finds this, go there. They erased me, but the ink never fully dries."
Virendra straightened. "The royal archives."
Aryan nodded. "That's where the last records of Veer Meghawal's life are hidden."
Saanvi looked between them. "But if that place still exists… that means we're not the only ones looking for it."
Aryan's expression darkened. "You're right."
A sudden clatter echoed from the passage behind them.
Satya snapped his head toward the sound, heart pounding. Footsteps. Close. Approaching.
They weren't alone.
Someone else was in the hidden passage.
And they had been listening all along.