Chapter-23 Someone's Watching
707 Words
The clouds had finally cleared, leaving the morning strangely bright — too bright, as if the world was pretending nothing had changed.
But everything had changed.
Riya, Anika, and Aditya drove to Neelima’s apartment again — not rushed, not panicked — but with a shared understanding:
This conversation could decide the future.
Suresh stayed with Meera at home. They both knew the house could no longer be left unguarded.
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The Visit
Neelima opened the door even before they knocked.
Her eyes were swollen, like she hadn’t slept.
She didn’t greet them.
Just stepped back and let them enter.
The air inside was heavy — the kind of heavy that comes from fear settling like dust in corners.
She sat at the table, both hands wrapped around a cup of tea she wasn’t drinking.
Neelima: “I know why you’ve come.”
Riya sat across from her, gentle but unwavering.
Riya: “We can’t do this without you.”
Neelima shook her head immediately.
Neelima: “You can. You just won’t get far. They’ll twist your father’s memory into something ugly. They’ll call you greedy. Manipulative. Broken.”
Her voice wavered.
Neelima: “They did the same to me."
Anika leaned forward.
Anika: “They threatened you.”
Neelima didn’t deny it.
Instead, she laughed — a small, tired sound.
Neelima: “Threatened? No. They didn’t need to threaten. They just reminded me of what I could lose — my job, my home, my name. And I believed them.”
Silence settled.
Riya’s voice was soft when she spoke.
Riya: “You cared about my father.”
Neelima’s face cracked — the strong mask splintering.
Her voice broke.
Neelima: “He was the only one in that building who remembered that every ‘policy decision’ hurt real people. He was the only one who looked at me like I mattered.”
Tears fell — fast, quiet, unstoppable.
Riya didn’t reach across the table.
She let Neelima speak.
Neelima: “When he confronted them… I should have stood beside him. I didn’t. And I have lived with that every day.”
Aditya exhaled — not angry, just sad.
Aditya: “Then stand with him now.”
Neelima looked up.
Her eyes were wet — but steady.
Not weak.
Seen.
But before she could answer—
There was a sound in the hallway.
Soft.
Barely audible.
A floorboard creaking.
Everyone froze.
Anika stood instantly.
Her body went still — listening.
Riya’s heart thundered.
Aditya moved quietly toward the door.
He opened it sharply.
The hallway was empty.
But something was there.
A small piece of chalk at the foot of the doorframe.
A mark drawn on the outside of the apartment door.
A vertical white line.
Anika’s voice went cold.
Anika: “They’re marking houses now.”
Neelima’s face drained of color.
She whispered — terrified:
Neelima: “They did this when they came for your father.”
Silence.
Not fear.
Realization.
Aditya shut the door.
Locked it.
Then he turned back to Neelima — voice calm, but strong.
Aditya: “You are no longer safe alone. If you come with us — you aren’t a witness we are using. You are family we are protecting.”
Riya nodded.
Riya: “We don’t want your testimony. We want your truth.”
Neelima wiped her tears.
Her hands trembled.
But when she spoke — her voice did not.
Neelima: “Then I will stand with you. I will testify. Publicly. Fully.”
Riya let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.
Anika put her hand gently on Neelima’s shoulder.
Anika: “We leave now. Take only essentials.”
Neelima nodded and stood.
For the first time, she didn’t look afraid.
She looked free.
---
Outside
The street was too quiet.
The kind of quiet that feels watched.
As they walked to the car, Riya glanced at the building across the road.
A man stood on the balcony.
Black shirt.
Hands in pockets.
Staring directly at them.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t flinch.
Just watched.
Their eyes met.
A message passed without sound:
We see you.
We’re coming.
Riya did not look away.
Not this time.
She held his stare.
Then got into the car.
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End of Chapter 23
- Writer
