Bonus Chapter: The Night of Ashes

15 Years Ago

Location: Kaur Estate, Punjab Countryside

Time: 2:16 AM

The wind howled outside the Kaur mansion.

A storm brewed above, but what roared inside the estate was far more violent.

⸻

Scene: Living Room – Blood on Marble

Kiranjeet Kaur lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath. A gash on her temple bled into the white tiles as her husband, Ranjan, staggered toward her, trying to shield her from the intruders.

"Please..." he whispered, body trembling. "Take the safe... just leave her alone."

But the man in the black hoodie didn't care about money.

"Where's the girl?" he barked.

A younger Param Singh, just 22 then — stood behind him, eyes burning, a twisted smile on his face.

"She's upstairs. Room to the right."

"Don't hurt her too much. I want her alive."

Ranjan lunged at him in a last-ditch effort — but a gunshot cracked through the air.

He collapsed, blood blooming from his chest.

Kiranjeet screamed.

"No— Ranjan—!"

She crawled to him, weeping, shaking, cradling his face.

Param leaned down beside her, cruelly calm.

"Your daughter belongs to me now. She was always meant to be mine."

"You're...sick..." she spat, eyes blazing even through the blood.

"You'll never touch her. I swear—"

"Swear it to the dead," he hissed.

He stood up and turned to his masked accomplice.

"Go. I'll follow."

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Upstairs – Piya's Room

Fifteen- year-old Piya had locked herself inside her room.

She could hear the screams... the shots. Her knees trembled.

The door was being kicked.

Again.

And again.

Then — the wood cracked.

A masked man burst in.

"There you are, sweetheart—"

Piya screamed, bolting toward the window. But she couldn't run fast enough.

He caught her by the wrist. Slapped her hard. She fell, hitting her head on the bedpost — blood trailing down her cheek.

⸻

Elsewhere – Hidden in the Wine Cellar

Karamjeet, the family's 65-year-old butler, crouched with an old Nokia phone, fingers trembling as he dialed the local police line.

He whispered into the receiver:

"Emergency... Kaur estate... two dead... they're after the girl... send help— please—"

Then he crawled up the servant stairs, grabbing the only weapon he could — a rusted iron rod.

⸻

Back in Piya's Room

The masked man pinned Piya to the floor. She was semi-conscious, whispering her mother's name.

The man unbuckled his belt.

"This won't take long—"

CRACK!

The door swung open — Karamjeet smashed the rod against the man's head.

"You touch her, you die tonight!"

They struggled. The man stabbed him in the side with a pocket knife, but Karamjeet fought like a dying lion.

Downstairs, sirens were already wailing.

Param fled, sprinting out the back as headlights appeared through the estate gates.

The masked man was knocked out cold, bleeding, just as officers burst in.

⸻

2:39 AM

    •    Ranjan and Kiranjeet were declared dead on the scene.

    •    Piya was found unconscious, bleeding, curled beside her bed.

    •    Karamjeet survived with deep injuries — he would later testify in silence.

A female officer wrapped Piya in a blanket. She looked up with wide, hollow eyes.

"M-mama?"

The officer swallowed hard.

"We'll take care of you now, beta. You're safe."

⸻

End of the Night. Beginning of the Storm.

That call. That rod.

That one act of defiance... saved her.

But the scars stayed.

The nightmares.

The silence.

Until fifteen years later, that silence turned into justice.