Mumbai, India

Vedant sat in his dimly lit study, the only light coming from the multiple screens in front of him. Her face filled every screen.

Alessia Corleone.

Tonight, she was in Rome, wearing a white satin dress, her hair tied in a loose bun, sipping wine at an upscale restaurant.

Vedant’s grip on his glass tightened. The man sitting across from her was speaking animatedly, smiling too much. Too close.

He exhaled slowly, rolling his fingers over the edge of his whiskey glass.

"Tujhe lagta hai tu aazad hai, Alessia? Ki koi tujhe dekh nahi raha?" (You think you're free, Alessia? That no one is watching you?)

A slow, dark smirk formed on his lips.

"Pagli… jab bhi tu hansti hai, main dekhta hoon… jab bhi tu saans leti hai, mujhe pata hota hai… aur jab tu sochti hai ki tu akeli hai, tab main tere sabse kareeb hota hoon."

(Foolish girl… whenever you laugh, I watch… whenever you breathe, I know… and when you think you are alone, that's when I am closest to you.)

With a single flick of his fingers, he tapped on his phone. A message. No name. No number. Just a whisper through the darkness.

𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒕:

"Careful, Alessia. White suits you, but red… red is your color."

He leaned back, waiting. Because now, she would feel him.

Rome, Italy

Alessia picked up her phone the moment it buzzed. A message.

She frowned, reading the words. Her fingers curled around the wine glass.

"Careful, Alessia. White suits you, but red… red is your color."

Her breath hitched. Eyes lifted. Scanning. Searching.

Her expression didn’t change, but inside, something shifted. Who?

She looked around the restaurant. Everything seemed normal. Too normal.

"Toh khel shuru ho chuka hai?" (So, the game has begun?) she murmured under her breath.

She typed back, keeping her face neutral.

𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒕:

"Who are you?"

She hit send.

And miles away, Vedant chuckled darkly, watching her reaction from his screen.

"Meri jaan… tera anjaana parchaayi tere itna kareeb hai, par tu kabhi jaan nahi payegi."

(My love… your unknown shadow is so close to you, yet you will never know.)

He deleted the message. No reply. No trace.

Let her wonder. Let her feel his presence even in his absence.

Because this was just the beginning.