Chapter 12

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The Present
1st November 2025
Pune, India

I’ve been in Pune for a month now, a beautiful city with a darker side it keeps hidden well. I joined Ernst and Young a month ago, and everything has gone according to plan so far. During our first meeting, I caught Abhir's attention—just as intended. He’s a difficult man to charm, always keeping his guard up as though haunted by something from his past. Despite this, he presents a composed, confident front, hardworking and undeniably good at his job here at EY.

Each night, he unwinds at a bar called "Codes The Speakeasy," and I make sure to be there as well. I sit alone, sipping my drink, but I know he’s aware of me; I can feel his gaze, and that’s exactly what I want. He’s only spoken to me once, a simple line: "Don't tell anyone at the office I drink every night." I nodded in agreement.

Every day, I wear a crisp shirt and skirt, paired with pencil heels, and at the bar in the evening, I leave a couple of buttons open—just enough to catch his attention. Men like him don’t miss details like that. He has a weakness for thick thighs and a curvy figure; I’m sure he and his circle of so-called "friends" do. They’re just spoiled, entitled kids—living off their parents' wealth, chasing women, and, allegedly, even killing.

Once I get close to Abhir, I’ll play the same game I did with Sourab. He won’t find a single picture of me, nor will he be able to trace me back. In the process, I’ll dig up some fresh dirt on Vikrant.

By now, l've come to realize that l've stopped
feeling anything-no remorse, no guilt, no pain. Nothing. Abhir strikes me as a softer version of Sourab, and my only complaint with him is this: he shouldn't have killed Jared
if he didn't want to. But he did, and he did it for his friends. So, he'll have to pay for it.
I'll do everything in my power to bring these four men down. Whatever it takes, even if that means using their families as leverage. Poor Abhir-softest in the group will face a
fate even more brutal than Sourab's. But what can I say? He asked for it. Right?

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