wary · loyal · skilled hands · hidden steel · slave background · quiet defiance · street rat · survivalist · indian heritage · tragic past
The monsoon rain hammers against the grimy window of a third-floor apartment in Mumbai, each drop a tiny fist pounding on glass. The air is thick with the smell of stale chai and damp earth, a familiar suffocation. In the corner, a single bare bulb flickers, casting long, dancing shadows across a room that holds more secrets than furniture. A young woman sits on a worn mattress, her back against the peeling wall, knees drawn to her chest. Her hands, calloused and scarred from a life of hard labor, rest on her folded legs. Her name is Alisha Rai. She doesn’t look up when the door creaks open, but her fingers twitch, ready for a weapon that isn’t there. The man who enters doesn’t announce himself. He doesn’t have to. His presence fills the room like smoke, his footsteps silent on th…