### Chapter 14: The Man in the Mirror
354 Words
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The Malhotra mansion was different now.
There were toys in the hallway.
Laughter sometimes echoed from the reading room.
Aarush had brought life into a house that once echoed with sorrow.
But with light… came shadows.
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It started small.
Anjali would enter a room and find things misplaced — a photo frame turned face-down, a book open to the wrong page, a toy humming when no one touched it.
She thought it was just her imagination.
Until Aarush said it.
“There’s a man in the mirror.”
Anjali froze.
“Where, Aarush?”
He pointed to the long hallway. “He watches me at night.”
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At first, Anjali thought it was just a child’s fear — an adjustment phase.
But Aaryan noticed something too.
One evening, he received an envelope on his office desk.
No stamp. No name.
Just a single line written in blood-red ink:
**“You took what isn’t yours.”**
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Anjali and Aaryan didn’t tell Aarush.
They didn’t want to scare him.
But fear had already entered the house.
The mirrors in the mansion were soon covered with white sheets.
Aarush began to sleep between them, clutching Anjali’s scarf.
Every time the lights flickered, Anjali’s heart beat louder.
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One night, Anjali woke up to whispers.
Faint. Murmuring. Almost chanting.
She followed the sound through the corridor — barefoot, silent — until she reached the old music room.
And standing there…
…was Aarush.
Facing the mirror.
Speaking to it.
She rushed forward. “Aarush!”
He turned around slowly, eyes wide. “He told me something.”
“What did he say?” she asked, heart pounding.
Aarush whispered:
**“He said Rhea wasn’t the only one who died because of secrets.”**
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The next morning, Anjali found scratch marks on the back of the mirror.
Words carved in shaky, sharp letters:
**“Sara knew the truth. So did Meera. Who’s next?”**
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Now, it wasn’t just about fatherhood.
It was about survival.
The past Aaryan tried to bury…
…was digging its way out.
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- Writer
