## **Chapter 20: The Stranger in the Footage**
374 Words
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The cold realization of Rhea’s mental health records sank deep into Anjali’s heart like a stone. It answered some questions, but created new ones that terrified her even more.
If Rhea had been mentally unstable…
If she had hidden a part of herself from everyone…
What else had she left behind?
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That evening, Anjali sat in her bedroom, Aarush asleep beside her, as she reviewed the motion detector footage again. Her fingers trembled, but her resolve was steady. She had to protect her son.
She paused the video at the clearest frame.
A tall figure. Long coat. Broad shoulders.
But something was off… the gait. The posture. It wasn’t a man.
She zoomed in again.
Her breath hitched.
**It was a woman.**
And the way she moved—graceful, almost familiar.
She ran downstairs with her phone in hand and showed it to Aaryan, who was still in the secret room, reviewing Rhea’s old medical reports.
“Look closely,” she said. “That’s not a thief. That’s a woman.”
Aaryan's eyes narrowed. “This can’t be…”
He opened another drawer in the hidden room and pulled out an old photo.
A younger woman, maybe in her late twenties, stood beside Rhea in the photo. Her face was sharp, eyes cold, posture exact.
“This is her,” Aaryan whispered. “Her cousin. Roshni. They were close… but Roshni always wanted what Rhea had. Her family. Her money. Even me.”
Anjali felt a cold shiver down her spine. “Where is she now?”
“She disappeared after the funeral. No one’s seen her since.”
Anjali’s voice cracked. “She’s here, Aaryan. She’s in this house.”
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Later that night, Anjali woke up to the creaking sound of a door. She quickly checked on Aarush—he was still there, sleeping peacefully.
But the noise came again.
She grabbed her phone and crept through the hallway, heart pounding.
At the end of the corridor, the light to Rhea’s secret room was on.
Slowly, she stepped inside.
Empty.
But something was written on the wall, in red lipstick:
> *“You stole my place. Now I’ll take yours.”*
Her scream echoed through the mansion.
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- Writer
