“You knew this?

  You knew the truth about that killer?!

  Tell me—why… how… how do you know that killer?!”

  Rudra gently freed his collar from Aditya’s grip and asked, his voice trembling, “W–what if I tell you the truth… will we still be friends?”

  Aditya let out a bitter, sarcastic laugh.

  “? You care about that right now? Really?!

  My Anamika is missing. I came here to find her and… and what do I get instead?!

  A DVD where I’m forced to watch my own parents dying in agony.

  You… you tell me—where is my Anamika?

  And this woman—” he pointed angrily at the television, “—this damn serial killer… where is she?!”

  He shouted at the top of his voice, “Tell me!”

  Ira flinched in fear at his outburst.

  Aniket immediately walked up to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, Ira…”

  Clutching Aniket’s hand tightly, Ira whispered, “Brother Aditya… he’s extremely angry…”

  Aniket had no words. He could only gently rub her shoulder, trying to calm her.

  From a distance, Rivan watched silently, thinking to himself, “I can’t believe it… Big bro… how can he lose control like this? I’ve never seen him this angry—angry enough to scare his own little sister…”

  But Rudra no longer cared about the atmosphere around him.

  He felt as if he already had his answer.

  He finally began to speak.

  “I… I wasn’t there at the beginning of this story, so I can’t tell you how it started.

  But today, I can tell you as much as I know… as much as I was a part of.

  And honestly… I do care about what happens to our relationship after you hear this.

  I need to know… will I still have a place in your lives after this?

  Because I was never used to the kind of life I’m living now.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I’ve never had friends like you and Aniket.

  And never—never—have I received the kind of sibling-like love that I get from an innocent child like Ira. Never.

  No one ever knew my real self… except Ruhi.”

  Aditya turned his gaze away.

  Aniket took a deep breath and said quietly, “Rudra… please. At least tell us the truth you know.

  This isn’t just important for Aditya or Ira—but for me too. We need to know who is really behind that mask… and why all these DVDs are here.”

  Rudra replied, “These DVDs… as far as I know… they were her way of expressing love to her daughter.

  The Smiley Mask Murderer committed every single murder to prove one thing to her daughter—that in this world, she was the only one meant to stay with her.

  That she belonged only to her… only to her.

  And anyone who tried to take her away… would have to pay the price.

  Each DVD arranged on that shelf contains countless death videos—videos she made her daughter watch thousands of times.

  So that her daughter would never even think of leaving her.”

  Rivan blurted out in disbelief, “She’s a psycho…”

  Rudra gave a faint smile.

  “Yes… she truly was a psycho—one who managed to fool even the most renowned psychiatrists.

  She proved to everyone that she was mentally stable, while the truth was far from it.

  Her daughter was only five years old when she was separated from her and sent to a hospital for treatment—because she had killed a cat that had injured her daughter.

  But to her, that was perfectly justified. In her eyes, killing the cat was right—it had hurt her child.

  She spent five years in isolation. I… I saw her during those five years.

  But back then, I had no idea she would become a killer in the future.

  I once overheard her say, ‘Our reality is what makes us lonely. If you hide even your smallest bad habit from the person you love the most, you’ll end up alone—even in a crowd of thousands.’”

  Rudra’s gaze shifted toward Ruhi.

  The moment their eyes met, she looked away. A single tear glistened in her eye, which she tried desperately to hide.

  Letting out a bitter laugh at his own fate, Rudra continued, “It took her five years to prove that she was not a danger to her daughter.

  When she was finally discharged, there was a smile on her lips.

  During those five years in the hospital, she spoke to me many times—but I never spoke back. I never even looked at her… and I don’t know why.

  For years after she left, I kept wondering—why did I behave so differently around her? And one day, I found my answer.

  We were the same… .

  Just as she was obsessed with her daughter, I was obsessed with my father.

  I craved his love, his acceptance, his approval. The only difference was—she killed people… and I killed .

  My father was out of the country when a woman was brought into my hospital—dead. From the police, I learned she was supposedly a victim of the Smiley Mask Murderer.

  But when I saw her body… I realized the truth.

  That woman was the Smiley Mask Murderer.”

  Aditya stared at him in shock. “What?! What do you mean?!”

  Rudra nodded slowly.

  “Yes. Six years ago, a severely injured woman was brought to my hospital. By the time she arrived, she was already dead.

  Her post-mortem was being conducted in my hospital. I wanted to know everything about her—and my father’s absence gave me the freedom to do so.

  The report was prepared at night and was supposed to be handed over to the police the next morning. I stayed back in the hospital that night.

  At midnight, I saw a strange shadow entering the room where the report was kept. I followed it… and came face-to-face with the same girl you saw in the video—wearing the Kitsune mask.

  She was injured, which meant she couldn’t fight me properly. Even so, she tried to escape.”

  Aniket interrupted sharply, “We don’t need every detail. Tell us—what did you mean when you said you saw the Smiley Mask Murderer’s body?”

  Rudra replied calmly, “The body whose post-mortem I was talking about… belonged to the Smiley Mask Murderer.

  The Kitsune mask girl came that night to alter the post-mortem report— because if the real report came out, it would reveal who actually killed her.

  She was trying to save someone.”

  “But why?” Rivan asked quietly. “Wasn’t the Kitsune mask girl her accomplice?”

  A slow smile spread across Rudra’s lips. “The Kitsune mask girl was the Smiley Mask Murderer’s slave.

  But she betrayed her… and because of that betrayal— the Smiley Mask Murderer died.”

  “What?!”