ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʟʟ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ

Some hours earlier…

Nepal

The hostel room was quiet except for the faint sound of wind brushing against the window.

Sujata Swaraj sat near the window, a folded letter in her hands.

It was not an ordinary letter.

The paper had already softened from being opened too many times. The ink had slightly faded at the edges, yet the words still carried the warmth of the person who had written them.

The person she loved the most.

The person who was no longer alive.

Her fingers traced the handwriting slowly as she read it again, just like she had done countless times since it arrived. Each word felt like a memory, something she was trying desperately to hold on to.

As if reading it again and again could bring that person back.

Her eyes stopped at the last line.

For a moment, the room felt unbearably quiet.

Just then—

Her phone vibrated beside her.

A message.

From an unknown number.

Sujata frowned slightly and opened it.

The moment her eyes scanned the text, her breath caught.

"Sujata Swaraj."

"Daughter of Shalini Swaraj and Shravan Swaraj."

Her grip on the phone tightened.

The message continued.

"Thinking how I know you?"

"You don’t need to worry about that, dear."

"I just wanted to tell you something."

Her heart started beating faster as she read the next line.

"The letter you’re holding right now…"

"The person who wrote it…"

"I know how they were killed."

Sujata froze.

Her eyes widened in shock.

The message ended with another line.

"Want to know the truth?"

"Come to the location below."

A map location appeared under the text.

For several seconds, Sujata just stared at the screen.

Her mind raced with questions.

Who was this person?

How did they know about the letter?

And most importantly—

How did they know about the death?

Without thinking any further, she grabbed her jacket and rushed out of the hostel room.

The hallway lights flickered as she ran down the stairs and out into the cold night air.

Her only thought was finding answers.

Finding the truth.

She didn't stop to wonder whether the message could be dangerous.

She didn’t stop to question why a stranger knew so much about her.

All she knew was that someone claimed to know the truth about the person she had lost.

And she needed to hear it.

What Sujata didn’t know…

Was that the location she was heading to had already been prepared.

A perfect trap.

Set by Vidhwan Sinha.