The atmosphere inside Mehra Palace was thick with celebration, the air heavy with the warmth of laughter and the glimmer of chandeliers. But for Meera, every echo of joy felt distant, muted by an unsettling dread gnawing at her insides.
"Sameer," she whispered urgently, grabbing his arm. "One of those masked guys… he's gone."
Sameer's frown deepened as he scanned the crowd. Guests danced under twinkling lights, oblivious to the tension creeping between them. "What do you mean? You're sure?"
"I'm sure." Her voice was firm, though uncertainty twisted in her stomach. "I don't know why, but something's off. It doesn't feel right."
Before Sameer could ask for more details, Meera's instincts flared again, sharper this time. "Where's Priya?" she murmured, her voice tight with anxiety. The growing sense of unease was now replaced by urgency.
They searched the crowd, but Priya was nowhere in sight. Her absence sent a ripple of panic through Meera. Something was wrong—too much was happening, too quickly.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, Meera spotted that masked guy slipping through the crowd, moving with purpose.
"There!" Meera pointed, her gaze fixed on that guy. "We need to follow him."
Sameer nodded grimly, his expression darkening as he realized the depth of the situation. They moved swiftly, weaving through the guests with practiced ease until they reached a quieter, dimly lit area near the back gate. The agent stopped, glanced back toward the festivities, then stepped outside without a second thought.
Sameer and Meera exchanged a brief look before slipping through the gate behind him.
Outside, near the parked cars at the edge of the estate, Envy loaded Priya into a vehicle with swift precision, his every movement betraying none of the turbulence he felt inside. He felt disconnected from the world around him, as if trapped in a fog of memories that refused to stay buried.
The sounds of the party faded behind him, replaced by a strange stillness that held him in its grip. His past—memories of lighter days, of laughter and love—seemed so far away now, clouded beneath the weight of years spent in service of The Organization.
As he closed the car door with a sharp thud, the quiet was broken by the sound of footsteps. He turned to see Sameer charging toward him, fury evident in every step.
"You!" Sameer shouted, his voice raw with anger. "Where is she? What have you done?"
Envy didn't respond. He simply shoved Sameer back, but the man wouldn't relent. Determination, driven by worry and fear, surged through Sameer as he lunged forward, fists flying in a blur of desperate strikes.
Meera stood at a distance, her eyes locked on the two men. Her pulse raced, a chaotic mix of fear, confusion, and something else—recognition. She couldn't look away. As Sameer fought with a desperation that bordered on madness, Meera felt the weight of the situation settle in. This was no ordinary fight. This was a confrontation between two people whose pasts intertwined in ways she couldn't even begin to understand.
"Sameer!" Meera called, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of fists meeting flesh, the brutal rhythm of the struggle. She wanted to rush forward, to pull him away, but something in her gut told her that this was something they had to face—together.
Sameer's punch landed against Envy's side, sending a ripple of shock through his body, and throwing his mask away, revealing his face but Envy remained cold, unyielding. His expression didn't shift, and as Sameer's fist connected again, this time with Envy's face, a split second of recognition flickered across his features.
Sameer froze. For a brief moment, everything seemed to stop—the world around them faded, leaving only the echo of a memory long buried.
"No… it can't be," Sameer whispered, disbelief lacing his voice. His eyes searched Envy's face, desperate for some sign that the man he once knew was still there. But there was nothing. Envy's gaze was blank, distant—completely devoid of the warmth Sameer once knew.
Meera moved closer, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes finally locked onto Envy's face. It hit her like a tidal wave—the weight of suppressed emotions, the years of holding back, the questions that had gone unanswered. She staggered slightly, her hand gripping the nearest surface for balance, and before she could stop herself, the tears she had been holding since that fateful day began to fall, silent and unrelenting.
"You shouldn't have come here," Envy's voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried an undercurrent of something far deeper, far darker. It was a warning—an unspoken acknowledgment of their shared history and everything that had been lost along the way.
But before Sameer could react, the other masked guy—the one who had been standing at the edges of the chaos—moved. His presence was sudden, a swift blur in the shadows. His arm shot out, grabbing Envy and pulling him away from Sameer's reach. Envy's eyes flicked toward the agent, then back to Sameer, and in that fleeting glance, Meera saw something—an unspoken decision, a finality that was both heart-wrenching and inevitable.
Meera moved forward instinctively, her heart pounding in her chest, but it was too late. The agent and Envy were already disappearing into the night.
Sameer, too, seemed frozen, his fists still clenched in the aftermath of the fight, but his eyes filled with confusion and anger.
"Where are you going? Stop Alef... Please stop" Meera's voice trembled, her gaze darting between Sameer and the envy had taken.
"They can't be allowed to escape," Sameer muttered, the anger in his voice sharp and cutting. But even as he spoke, Meera could see the conflict in his eyes—he wasn't just angry; he was lost.
Envy and the agent vanished into the darkness, slipping into the shadows like ghosts, leaving behind only the scent of fear and the taste of unfinished business.