writersoul10
STAINED IN SHIMLA
Where the coffee is warm, and the blood runs cold.
"Flashes fade, but secrets stain. The window isn't locked, Ananya."
The year is 2004. The rain in the freezing hill station of Shimla doesn't just fall-it stalks. Ananya Rai thought escaping the chaos of Mumbai to open a cozy, glass-windowed cafe on Mall Road would help her bury her past. But her sanctuary shatters at 2:00 AM when the town's most notorious gossip network, "Aunty," is found murdered in the dark alley right behind her kitchen door.
Left behind at the scene is a vintage leather diary. Inside are the blackmail files and darkest secrets of Shimla's wealthiest families-and the last entry has Ananya's name underlined in blood-red ink. The killer thinks Ananya has the diary. Trapped inside the dark cafe while a brutal monsoon storm cuts the town's electricity, Ananya has only one person she can turn to: Kabir Dev. He is a brooding, quiet local craftsman who smells of cedarwood and secrets. The marketplace whispers that his family has blood on their hands, but his large, scarred hands are the only things keeping Ananya safe.But when Ananya's Nokia flip-phone buzzes with a grainy, flash-blinded snapshot taken from outside the window, she realizes a terrifying truth. Someone is standing point-blank in the freezing fog, watching them through the glass. They are caught over the evidence. Their faces are hidden by the camera glare. And the killer is already testing the lock on the back door.