Aarya couldn't breathe.
The library suddenly felt too small.
Too quiet.
Too suffocating.
The stranger stood near the doorway.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Dressed entirely in black.
His face remained partially hidden beneath the shadows.
Yet something about him felt familiar.
Painfully familiar.
"I'm your uncle."
The words echoed through the room.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Aarya stared at him.
Frozen.
"No."
The answer came automatically.
Instinctively.
Because that was impossible.
Everything felt impossible lately.
The man sighed.
Slowly.
Sadly.
"That's exactly what your father used to say whenever I annoyed him."
The room froze.
Her father.
The way he said those words wasn't random.
It wasn't a guess.
It sounded like memory.
Real memory.
The stranger slowly
