"H.how do you know my n.name?" Ananya asked in fear.

Sneha sighed as she realized her mistake. She shouldn't have acknowledged her by name. In that way, Ananya would never have known that she was in her class. Now, she will have to tell her the truth.

"I am your...classmate." Sneha answered as she gave her hand for her to take. She didn't think she would be able to stand up on her own after the drama.

"I never saw you in my class." Ananya spoke, still not believing her saviour.

Sneha thought of just leaving the spot and Ananya here on her own. But, her conscience didn't let her. She was almost assaulted today. And, she couldn't leave a girl in such a position. What if she gets attacked by other men again?

"We share the EVS class. And, I am not...very famous. So, you don't know me." Sneha explained.

"I don't believe you. Show me your college identity card." Ananya almost ordered. Being the mafia boss' sister had its own cons. She had to doubt every person who gave her a helping hand as they could be her brother's enemy.

Sneha sighed and went to her cycle. Taking out her college id card from her bag, she almost pasted it on Ananya's face.

"Satisfied now?" Sneha asked, a little rudely. The face of the young boy in the college was still fresh in her mind. And, saving Ananya was only her duty.

Ananya read the details properly and gave the card back to her with a smile.

"I am really sorry for doubting you. Thank you so much for saving me! I don't know what would I have done if you hadn't come here." Ananya said honestly.

Sneha only nodded in reply.

"Can you go home now?" Sneha asked as Ananya took her hand and stood up.

"Yes, I guess. I will call my brother. He will come and pick me up. Can you please be here, until he comes?" Ananya asked as she tried to search for her handbag.

Sneha stiffened. Her brother? She didn't want to see her brother. He was a member of the crime organization! What if...

"Sneha, have you seen my bag?" Ananya asked which brought her out of her thought process.

"Yeah! That other guy took it and ran away." Sneha said.

"What! It had my phone inside it! How will I call my brother, now?" Ananya started panicking.

Sneha tried to understand the situation.

'Okay, Sneha. Her brother won't hurt you for saving his sister. You will be fine. Just relax.' She told herself.

"You can use my phone." Sneha suggested as she took out her phone from her bag and gave it to her.

Ananya took it with a grateful smile and typed the number on it. It was an old-fashioned keypad phone. But, Ananya didn't complain.

"Umm...It has only about 2 rupees balance left in it. I was about to recharge it tonight but forgot. So, please be brief and tell him that we are in the Subhaniya road, near the Read in Peace library." She informed Ananya.

Ananya nodded.

Meanwhile, Sneha walked towards her cycle to prepare herself to go back home.

"Bhai (brother)!!!" Ananya started crying.

Sneha got startled when she heard Ananya speak like that as if she just died! Why was she crying now? She wondered.

"Bhai, three men tried to hurt me. They took my bag away. It had all my things in it. I lost everything. Even my favourite clutch. I was just coming back from my friend's home. The driver was not there in the parking lot. Then these three men chased me and took me to a dark alley. They tried to hurt me, bhai. One even took my bag away. Now, how will I get my phone back, bhai!" Ananya continued her wailing.

Sneha looked at Ananya as if she has grown two heads. Was this girl crazy? She wondered. Didn't she just tell her to be brief? If she continued her tantrum, she will never be able to tell him the address!

"Bhai, I am so scared." She started again after a pause. Sneha guessed that her brother might have asked her location. She went quiet for a few seconds again.

"I...I am...in...Sneha, where are we?" Ananya asked.

Sneha reiterated the address. But, until then the inevitable had already happened.

Her prepaid balance was finished. Both of them were doomed.

"We are in...hello? Hello? Bhai?" Ananya checked the phone again. The screen was black and no button seem to lighten it up.

She dialled again but got the message that there was no balance.

"It says, no balance!" Ananya said in an innocent voice.

Sneha sighed and walked towards her with her cycle.

"I told you to be brief. You should have directly stated the address. Now, how are we going to contact anyone? I don't have any money to give you and neither do you have your bag. There is no one here to lend their phone to us." Sneha almost scolded her.

"I had no idea that 2 rupees would let me talk only this much!" Ananya said lowly.

Sneha realized her mistake. Of course, how would Ananya...a girl born into riches...would know things like that. Perhaps, she should have talked to her brother directly.

"But, my bhai can call me on your phone, right?" Ananya asked hopefully.

Sneha sighed.

"My SIM requires balance for receiving calls too." She explained.

"Can you drop me home?" Ananya asked after the reality sank in.

"What?" Sneha asked, completely shocked.

Dropping the mafia boss' sister to the mafia boss' house was definitely not on her bucket list.

"I am...really scared now. It's quite late. I don't know where my driver is. Please, drop me home. I will ask bhai to compensate you properly." Ananya begged.

"I don't need any compensation, Ananya. How about I take you to the main road? There you can take a cab!" Sneha asked.

"I am really scared, Sneha. I can't travel alone, not right now, in this condition!" Ananya said as she showed her clothes.

Sneha looked at her tattered clothes. Her top was torn and was dangling halfway. Her jeans were ripped and now had many holes. She sighed again.

"Okay. Let me take you home. You know the directions, right?" Sneha asked.

"Yes. If you take me to the Avalanche cafe, I will be able to direct you properly." Ananya said.

Sneha nodded. She was scared herself. She was already late. Her parents would be worrying too. Now, thanks to Ananya, she didn't have the balance to call or text her own parents to inform them of her safety.

An idea came to her mind. She thought of asking the first person they meet, for their phone and then ask her brother to come there. But, then she realized it would be time-consuming too. Ananya would stress her to be present with her till her brother came. And, if she had to meet her brother in any case, better drop her home safely.

"Hold on to the seat, firmly." She told Ananya as she sat on her cycle.

"It tickles!" Ananya complained as she sat on the metallic backseat of the cycle.

Sneha rolled her eyes.

She dropped herself from the cycle and took out her scarf from her bag.

Folding the scarf into a small rectangle, she placed it on the backseat.

"I can't make the ride any more comfortable for you, Ananya." Sneha said as she patted her scarf in the seat so that it fits properly. The sarcasm was clear in her voice.

"I am really sorry for being a nuisance to you, Sneha. I am not used to these things. I have never even sat on a cycle before. I am sorry." Ananya muttered.

"It's okay. Now, please sit and hold onto the seat properly. I need to go back home too." She said the latter part to almost herself. Ananya did hear her anyway and that made her feel a little guilty. But, she swore to make it up to Sneha.

Sneha started pedalling fast. It was good that Ananya was light-weighted, or else it would have been a tiring journey.

It took them a total of 45 minutes to reach Ananya's house. As soon as she saw the house Ananya pointed at, Sneha couldn't close her mouth. She openly gaped at the huge mansion. It looked like mini heaven from the distance. It had two floors in addition to the ground floor. It occupied a huge piece of land. It was as big as the library where she worked. The entire area was illuminated by hundreds of lights. It looked like a dream place.

The road slanted upwards and the main gate of the mansion was now visible. She could see guards in front of the gate.

Sneha applied brakes and stood on the ground. She was tired.

"You can go home now, right?" She asked Ananya.

"Yes! Thank you so much. But, don't you want to come home? I can treat you with a coffee?" Ananya offered politely.

"No!" Sneha said, a little too quickly. She didn't want to do anything with the mafia people. She did her moral duty, and that was enough for her.

The guards spotted Ananya. They were already on high alert after Viraj sent five teams to search for his sister. They came running towards the two girls. Sneha turned back to see what the noise was about and she got scared when she saw armed guards running towards her.

"W.why are they coming here?" She asked Ananya.

"Oh, relax. They won't hurt you. They will just ask you a few questions and then they will let you go."

"Why will they ask me anything?" Sneha asked. Of course, she didn't know how things go in the mafia world.

"You were found with me. And they are seeing you for the first time. So, they would want to make sure that you pose no threat to me." Ananya tried to explain.

"You...You can tell them that, right? They wouldn't shoot me, right?" Sneha stuttered while seeing the guns. Suddenly, she hated herself for bringing her here. She should have taken the help of some stranger's phone and called her brother there itself.

"Don't worry! I am here." Ananya assured her.

However, things didn't turn the way Ananya had told her.

Both the girls were forcefully taken inside the house. Well, Ananya was pulled gently while Sneha was almost dragged inside the house throughout the pavement.

"Where are you taking me!" Sneha asked the guards in fear, who were clearly manhandling her.

She looked at Ananya and was stunned to see how she was behaving. She merely looked at the ground like a timid girl. She looked the opposite of how she appeared in the college. What happened to that confident girl, Sneha wondered.

"Be quiet, girl and you won't be harmed." The guard holding her right arm said strictly.

"But, I was just trying to help her." Sneha tried to justify herself when the guards pushed her inside the mansion. Ananya soon followed her.

"Sneha! Please be quiet." Ananya warned her quickly. Sneha might not know how things go in the mafia family, but Ananya was aware of it.

In the mafia world, women were not allowed to raise their voices. Sneha seemed to be doing just that.

"Why should I be quiet? Why aren't you telling them that I was just trying to protect you? And, where is my cycle?" She tried to look behind her.

She completely ignored the many men who were assembled in the hall. Her entire attention was on her cycle. Her sister would be heartbroken if something happened to the cycle. After all, her younger sister had gifted her the cycle on her birthday from her own hard-earned first salary.

"Sneha, please. I will talk to bhai. Till then, just keep your mouth shut, please." Ananya said as the guards left her. She was however still refrained.

Ananya came towards her and tried to explain the situation to her.

"Look. I didn't know that they would understand this situation like this. I will take care of the matter. You...just be quiet. Or else...You have no idea how my brother is. So, please. Okay?" Ananya asked. Sneha only nodded. What could she do anyway?

Exactly at that moment, a deep manly voice rebounded throughout the hall.

"Ananya."