(100% connected – starts exactly 2 minutes after Chapter 1 ends)
I walked through the side door on legs that still felt like jelly.
The corridor was dim, lit only by soft golden wall-lights. My wet shoes left dark prints on the white marble.
A maid appeared from nowhere, bowed, and silently led me deeper into the palace.
We stopped at a room that made five-star hotels look like PG hostels.
She left. The door closed by itself.
I collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a full minute.
Then my phone buzzed on the bedside table.
Bank Alert
₹50,00,000 credited
Narration: Salary – November
Sender: F.O. Enterprises
Fifty lakh rupees.
In my account.
Real.
I called my mother with shaking hands.
"Vikram beta? Kahan hai tu itni raat ko?"
"Mummy… ek bahut badi company mein job lag gayi. Live-in hai, abroad posting milegi. Aaj hi joining hai."
She went silent for five seconds, then started crying happy tears.
Dad took the phone and only said, "Proud of you, beta."
I hung up before my voice broke.
That night I couldn't sleep.
At exactly 2:17 AM (same time I got the first message), the door opened without a sound.
The butler entered carrying a silver tray with one black envelope.
He placed it on the bed and left.
I already knew what was inside.
A photograph.
Night-vision. My parents' bedroom. Mom and dad sleeping peacefully.
On the back, in golden ink:
Rule Three:
Never disappoint the Master.
I didn't sleep again.
6:59 AM sharp. One knock.
The butler: "Master requires you on the rooftop helipad."
Private elevator. 72nd floor.
Mumbai sunrise was blood orange.
A matte-black helicopter waited, rotors turning slowly.
Fluffy stood beside it wearing a tiny leather pilot jacket and aviator goggles pushed up on his crown.
He looked like a dog that owned half the planet (because he did).
The butler handed me a palm-sized black box, sealed with the same golden F.O. wax.
"Third task. Deliver this.
Address is on the base.
Do not open.
Do not be late.
Master will know."
Fluffy climbed the custom golden stairs and settled into the co-pilot seat like a king.
I got in behind him.
As the helicopter lifted off, the palace shrinking below us, Fluffy turned his head and looked straight at me.
For the first time since I met him, he did something new.
He winked.
One slow, deliberate wink.
And in that moment I understood the final unspoken rule:
I didn't work for Fluffy Oberoi.
I belonged to him now.
(To be continued in Chapter 3…)