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The morning after Sanaya’s arrest, the city was still reeling from the shock. Maya felt it in the air as she walked through the hallways of the school. Whispers, sidelong glances, and the ever-present media frenzy had turned her life into something unrecognizable. Though Sanaya was behind bars, Maya's life had been upended in ways that felt irreparable. The whispers weren’t just about Sanaya anymore. They were about her.

Tushar walked beside her, his usual warmth replaced by a hesitance he couldn’t mask. "Maya," he said quietly, "we need to talk about what happened. People are saying you were involved, that you knew what she was doing. But that’s not true, right?"

Maya paused, locking eyes with him. "You know that’s not true. Sanaya’s a master at manipulation. She’s been playing everyone—me included."

Tushar nodded, but the doubt was still there in his eyes.

---

The Investigation Deepens

Detective Roy sat hunched over a stack of files, his eyes scanning the papers with a growing sense of dread. The more he investigated, the darker the picture became. Sanaya had been meticulous—each murder was carefully planned, and each victim was chosen for a reason he was only beginning to understand. But what unsettled him most was the discovery of a hidden connection between Sanaya and the murder that had occurred months ago, the one that had initially set off this chain of events.

On his desk lay a photograph—a family portrait. A young Sanaya, her father beside her, smiling in a way that seemed almost out of place for someone who would later become a serial killer. But Roy’s eyes were drawn to the details in the background—the faint, unsettling shadows that hinted at a darker truth, a truth that was just beginning to unravel.

He flipped through more pages, each more disturbing than the last. The murder of her father had been ruled an accident at first, a tragic case of mistaken identity during a robbery gone wrong. But something in the files didn’t add up. The autopsy report. The inconsistencies in the statements from her mother. The strange absence of emotional response from Sanaya at the time.

It was all starting to make sense now.

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Maya’s Theory

Back in her room, Maya sat with her head in her hands, re-reading the notes she had collected over the past few days. She had been investigating Sanaya, trying to piece together the fragments of her past. What she found disturbed her deeply, but it still didn’t explain everything. There were gaps. And those gaps were the key to understanding the monster Sanaya had become.

She thought back to the conversation she’d had with Sanaya years ago, when they were still friends, about her father’s death. At the time, it had seemed like just another tale of loss, a tragic story from Sanaya’s broken home. But now Maya wondered if there was more to it. She couldn’t shake the feeling that Sanaya’s past had shaped her, twisted her into the person she had become.

Could Sanaya have killed her father? Maya’s mind raced. The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. The eerie calm in Sanaya’s demeanor after her father’s death, the way she spoke about him with no real emotion. It was like she had already moved past it, as if she had already let go of any attachment to him long before his death.

Maya decided to call Detective Roy, her voice tense as she spoke. “I think I’ve figured something out. Sanaya—she never told anyone the whole truth about her father’s death. I think she killed him.”

Roy was silent for a moment. Then, in a voice colder than usual, he said, “I was already looking into that. You’re right, Maya. We’re getting closer to uncovering the truth. We just need more time.”

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Sanaya's Silent Smirk

Sanaya sat in her cell, her fingers idly tapping against the cold metal table. The arrest was a temporary setback—nothing more. She had played her cards well, and the game was far from over. Maya might have found the beginning of the truth, but she still had no idea about the depths of Sanaya’s depravity.

As the hours passed, she reflected on her father’s death. It had been the first step in her journey. She had learned early on that power came from taking control, from eliminating anyone who threatened her plans. And her father had been a weakness, an obstacle. He had always been too soft, too blinded by his own moral compass to see what she was capable of.

The detective’s investigation would only scratch the surface. The real story, the one no one knew, was buried deep within her. And she would make sure it stayed that way.

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The Police Department’s Hot Topic

Back at the precinct, the case had become the hot topic among the detectives. It was no longer just a case of a high school girl gone rogue. It was a deeper, more sinister story—one that could shake the city to its core.

Detective Roy leaned over his desk, his mind racing. The implications were enormous. If Sanaya had indeed killed her father, it meant she had been a killer for much longer than anyone had realized. This wasn’t just the case of a troubled teen; this was the case of a serial killer in the making.

“I’ve been going over the evidence again,” Roy said to his partner. “Sanaya’s father—there’s no way it was an accident. We need to revisit the old case files. We need to find out more about her mother, too. I’m convinced she’s hiding something.”

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Maya’s Growing Dread

As Maya walked through the city streets that evening, the weight of everything pressed down on her. She had been right to distrust Sanaya, but the truth was worse than she could have imagined. Sanaya had killed her father. The realization gnawed at her, but it also hardened her resolve. She wasn’t going to let Sanaya’s twisted legacy define her.

But with each new piece of evidence uncovered, Maya couldn’t help but wonder—what else had Sanaya done? What other dark secrets lay hidden in her past?

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