Driti looked straight ahead, her heartbeat growing faster, but she could see nothing except the wall in front of her. She wanted to be certain: did someone truly need help, or was this one of those situations she had heard about where a girl was tricked into stopping and then kidnapped under the pretense of helping? She had read and heard too many such incidents. She couldn’t afford to make that mistake. Her family needed her, her mother and younger siblings depended on her. She wanted to live for them, to do whatever she could to keep them safe.

And yet, hearing the sound of someone crying in pain, she couldn’t hold herself back. Gathering every bit of courage she had, she stood behind the wall, whispering a prayer under her breath. Slowly, she leaned sideways, her heart pounding, and peeped through the corner of the wall to see what was happening in front of her.

A man lay injured on the ground while two others were beating him mercilessly. Another man, whose back faced her, stood holding a gun. The sight of the weapon made Driti’s blood run cold. Her breath became uneven, and panic gripped her entire body. Knowing how common such violent scenes had become, she wanted to flee before anyone saw her. Fights turned into bloodshed easily these days. She understood that the current incident was probably just another such case. But as she stared at the injured man, fear gave way to helplessness. If no one helped him, he would surely die.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to step out from behind the wall to help him, but before she could move, the man with the gun suddenly raised it, pointed straight at the injured man’s head, and fired. The sound of the gunshot shattered the silence. The man’s skull burst open before her eyes.

“Ahhhh…”

Driti screamed, frozen in horror. Everyone turned toward her instantly. The man who had been standing with his back to her whipped around sharply. His face was hidden behind a mask. Driti’s eyes met his for barely a second before she turned and ran, her scream still echoing in the alley. Behind her, the sound of hurried footsteps told her they were coming after her. They would catch and kill her. She was certain of it.

Suddenly, she felt a hard jolt. Someone grabbed her neck from behind and slammed her against the wall. In a second, a gun was pressed against her head. She knew exactly what was about to happen. Closing her eyes tightly, she whispered, her voice trembling,

“I didn’t see anything. Even if I did, I swear I won’t tell anyone. Please… don’t kill me. I can’t afford to die.”

The grip on her neck loosened slightly. She was pulled forward and then turned around roughly. Her back hit the wall again, and now she was face-to-face with the masked man. Driti lifted her tear-filled eyes toward him, but the mask covered everything except his eyes.

He pressed the barrel of his gun to her temple, leaning slightly closer. His gaze locked with hers. His eyes moved slowly, studying her face, the wet lashes, and the fear trembling through her body. He trailed the gun gently from her temple down toward her eye, the cold metal grazing her skin. Driti was terrified, but she knew she had to beg for her life. Struggling to steady her voice, she said between uneven breaths,

“I’m telling you the truth… I won’t tell anyone. I thought someone needed help; that’s why I stopped. I shouldn’t have come here at all. I was just going to work. What will I even gain by talking? I know… I saw what you did. You killed that man, and you can kill me too. But I’m begging you, have mercy on me. I have two little siblings and a mother waiting for me at home. Please try to understand… please, don’t kill me. I won’t tell anyone anything.”

The man suddenly tightened his grip on her throat. She looked straight into his eyes. He was staring right back at her. Then, placing the gun under her chin, he kept his gaze fixed on her. Driti’s eyes welled with tears as she whispered,

“Sir, please… My family needs me.”

He kept the gun pressed under her chin, unmoving, his eyes still holding hers. Driti felt paralyzed, caught in those eyes she couldn’t look away from. Her tears fell silently. Then, slowly, his grip eased. He began to withdraw his hand, and Driti felt a strange wave of relief wash over her. The man stepped back a couple of steps, still watching her closely.

Driti glanced past him toward the two men standing behind. Their faces weren’t clearly visible before, nor now; they had masks covering everything up to their noses. She looked back at the masked man in front of her. He said nothing. Without wasting a second, she turned, ran to her scooter, and tried to start it. But it refused to start.

The man rubbed the gun against his forehead in frustration. He had never left behind a witness in his life, and now he was making the biggest mistake he could by letting this girl live. The longer she stayed here, the more dangerous it was for her. It wouldn’t take him long to change his mind. Just then, the sound of her scooter’s engine roared to life. He looked up sharply as the girl sped away. Turning to his men, he said coldly,

“Follow her. We can’t let her go that easily.”

At his words, one of the men snapped his fingers. A car rolled up immediately. All three climbed in, pulling off their masks. The two men glanced at him and smiled faintly. The man, Agni, took off his jacket, changing his bloodstained shirt. His eyes, however, stayed fixed on the road ahead, on the faint light of the girl’s scooter in the distance. One of his men looked at him in surprise.

“Sir, you’ve never left a witness alive. Why let this girl go?”

“There was truth in her eyes,” Agni said quietly. “That truth carried fear, the kind that keeps people silent. But I can’t take any chances. Keep following her. I want every single detail about her. For now, I’m coming with you, I want to see where she goes. Once she leaves here, she might still do something unexpected."

Driti stopped her scooter in front of the club, unaware that a car had halted far behind her, hidden in the shadows. The men didn’t want her to see them. She stood by her scooter for a moment, breathing heavily, her trembling hands still gripping the handle. Agni’s eyes stayed on her, observing every small movement, the way she steadied her breath, and the way she tried to compose herself. He could tell how terrified she was. She glanced at the club entrance, rubbed her palms over her face as if erasing fear, fixed her hair, and hurried inside.

Agni and his men watched her disappear through the door, then stepped out of the car. Losing her trail wasn’t an option. They entered the club quickly like guests, scanning every corner. But she was nowhere to be seen. They quickly separated to search for her.

Agni cursed under his breath, pulling out his phone to call his other men to search the area and get rid of her before she could talk. But as he raised the phone to his ear, his eyes caught sight of something and froze.

There she was.

The same girl dressed in the club’s waitress uniform, holding a tray of wine glasses, serving drinks quietly among the crowd.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and moved to a corner table, sitting where he could watch her clearly. His eyes followed her every movement. She served drinks with her gaze lowered, careful and nervous. He studied the area carefully; it was clear to him that working here wasn’t easy for a girl like her.

As Driti approached one of the tables, a drunk young man touched her exposed thigh, his hand slowly sliding upward. Panic spread over her face. She quickly set the glass down on the table and stepped back.

Agni saw everything. His fingers clenched into a fist on the table, the muscles in his jaw tightening. He said nothing, just kept watching.

When Driti walked toward another customer, she noticed him already looking at her. Fear made her steps falter for a moment, but she forced herself to keep going, placing the glass on the table quickly before retreating again. She found a corner and stood there, eyes closed, trying to calm her breathing. But Agni’s gaze never left her.

Then his eyes drifted from her to the man who had touched her leg earlier and back to Driti again. It was as if he were fighting some silent battle within himself.

Driti steadied herself, drew in a deep breath, and returned to her work, a faint, practiced smile plastered on her lips. She continued serving drinks while enduring unwanted touches from a few men. She tolerated it all, but no one offered her a tip. The disappointment in her eyes was evident; there was no sparkle left in them.

Carrying her empty tray, she walked to the bar counter to refill. Just a few feet away, at a nearby table, sat Agni, his gaze still fixed solely on her. The disappointment on her face seemed to touch something buried deep within him. The bartender glanced at her and spoke bluntly.

“I’ve told you so many times, this job isn’t for girls like you. You can’t handle it. Why don’t you quit?”

Driti didn’t reply. She just waited silently for the glasses on her tray to be refilled. The bartender quickly told her where to deliver them first. Her eyes fell on Agni, he was close by, and he was still watching her. The moment their eyes met, her heart jumped. She looked down quickly, picked up the tray, and walked to his table. As she placed the glass in front of him, Agni watched her hand every small motion from tray to table. When she turned to leave, his voice stopped her.

“Hey… listen.”

Driti froze for a second, a shiver running down her spine. Slowly, she turned toward him. His men, who had been watching her from around the room, came over as soon as they saw her standing near Agni. Seeing them approach, Driti glanced at the bartender, hoping he’d tell her if she was supposed to serve them too. But Agni snapped his fingers softly, forcing her to look at him again. When she did, he raised two fingers, silently signaling for her to place two more glasses on the table.

He pulled out a wad of cash and set it in front of her. The amount was large enough to make her hesitate. Confused, Driti looked at the money for a moment, then went back to the counter, collected change, and returned to offer it to him. Agni’s lips curved into a faint smile. He stood up, looking straight at her, and said with quiet amusement,

“It’s your tip.”

Driti blinked, surprised. Then, seeing the few thousand in her hand, a small smile finally broke across her face. Agni’s eyes softened as he watched her, something strange flickered within him. The two men sitting with him glanced at each other, then at the girl, grinning. Driti quickly bowed her head slightly and said softly,

“Thank you, sir.”

Agni just nodded. She smiled faintly and walked away. As she disappeared into the crowd, his eyes still followed her. The man beside him leaned forward and said teasingly.

“Sir, what’s this? Have you fallen for the girl?”

Agni’s expression didn’t change. “No,” he said quietly. “I just saw something in her eyes, the same helplessness I once had in mine. Keep an eye on her. And as I told you before, I want every detail about that girl.”

He stood up abruptly, his face unreadable, and walked out of the club, leaving behind only the faint trace of his gaze still lingering where she had stood.