Chapter 4

Chapter 3: The Resort ofSecrets

The narrow road twisted like a serpent as the SUV climbedinto Lonavala’s dense hills. Mist clung to the windshield, thickening withevery kilometer. Kriya sat in the back, fingers drumming nervously against herthigh. Rey stole glances at her in the rearview mirror, sensing the stormbrewing inside her.

Swayam, driving, broke the silence. “We still don’t knowwhat they want from us. Why now? Why all of us?”

“We’re not just dancers anymore,” Sharon murmured,staring out the window. “We’re the show.”

The GPS beeped. They’d arrived.

Before them stood the resort — The Seraphim Retreat— once luxurious, now crumbling. Vines crawled over broken railings. The frontgates creaked open slowly… on their own.

“No staff. No guards. Just us,” Rey muttered.

Inside, the lobby had been eerily restored. Litchandeliers, polished floors, and a large poster on the wall:
“Round One: Truth in Motion.”

A projector whirred to life, playing footage of theirpast — intimate, painful moments. Kriya’s emotional breakdown after leavingIndia. Rey’s furious destruction of the rehearsal room. Sharon’s tears afterher fight with Swayam.

They looked at each other, stunned.

“Who filmed these?” Kriya whispered.

A voice echoed from hidden speakers — distorted and cold:
“Dance your truth, or lose your secrets… forever.”

Swayam clenched his fists. “They’re using our pastagainst us.”

“And this is just the first round,” Sharon added, eyesnarrowing.

Suddenly, the doors behind them slammed shut. The resorthad locked them in.

“Welcome,” the voice said again, “to the Inferno.”

Rey reached out, grasping Kriya’s hand.

She didn’t pull away this time.