Midnight Doubt
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Walls Have Ears
Polished Version - "Truth of the Screen"
Final Lock Version - "The Price of Power"
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When Zaheer Sahib went from the bedroom toward the kitchen to drink water, his eyes fell on someone lying on the sofa. It was Asmaa. Asmaa had been working on her laptop. There was a chill in the air, but the weather had not become that cold yet. These were the days when you would start feeling a light chill at night. Working away, she had fallen asleep right there. She was curled up, as if trying to give her body warmth. Zaheer Sahib looked at her closely. There was a hidden softness in his eyes. At first, he thought of waking Asmaa up.
"She works so hard... she must have fallen asleep out of tiredness. If I wake her up, her sleep will be ruined." He went back to his room. A few moments later when he returned, he had a shawl in his hand. He gently covered Asmaa with the shawl.
Even if children put their parents in a court dock, parents still care about their children.
At that moment, instead of a drug dealer, murderer, or mysterious man, he looked like just a father. A father who could not see his child in discomfort.
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Orphanage Building:
"My child..."
"How are you, Wafa?"
As always, Sakina Auntie's voice carried warmth and softness for Wafa. "I'm fine..."
Wafa remained silent for a few moments, then said softly, "I came to ask you something."
"Yes, speak," Sakina Auntie looked at her.
"But do not dig into things that could bring danger to you." There was a warning in her voice.
Wafa's heartbeat quickened. "Who are my parents?" Silence filled the room.
"Who left me here?" There was a longing in her voice to know herself. Sakina Auntie kept sitting in silence.
"You gave me a firm promise that when I became capable of keeping myself safe, you would tell me everything," Wafa pleaded. "Sakina Auntie... please..." Sakina Auntie lowered her eyes.
"Wafa, if you came to talk about this topic, then leave." The softness in her tone disappeared all at once.
"And if you want to talk about this same topic in the future, then don't come again." There was a strange coldness in her voice. Wafa looked at her with tearful eyes.
"Can't I even know who I am?" There was no complaint in her tone. It was just years of feeling deprived.
It felt as if someone had jabbed a handful of thorns into Sakina Auntie's heart. But she still remained silent. Wafa waited for an answer. When she got no response, she slowly got up and walked away with quiet steps. The soft sound of the door closing echoed in the room. For a long time, Sakina Auntie kept sitting just like that. Then a tear dripped from her eyes and flowed down her cheek.
"My child..." she whispered in a low voice.
"I cannot put you in danger." With shaking hands, she opened the drawer.
Inside lay an old, yellowed photo. In the photo, a little girl was smiling. Sakina Auntie's eyes fixed on the picture.
"If you find out the truth..." Her voice cracked. "...then maybe those people will find you too." She pressed the photo against her chest. As if keeping Wafa away from her family was the only guarantee of her safety.
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Underground Building:
Big names of the city were present in the spacious conference hall. Power sat at every table. Someone was running a drug network. Someone was in the weapons business. Someone had access to politicians. A debate was going on. Voices were being raised. Everyone was busy trying to prove themselves the most powerful. Suddenly, the door opened. No one made an announcement. No guard cleared the path. But as soon as that person entered inside, the atmosphere of the room changed. People who were talking just moments ago fell silent. One by one, people started standing up from their chairs. No one gave an order. Still, everyone was standing, except for one young gang leader. He remained seated with a mocking smile.
"Why this drama?" he said with contempt.
"Is he a king or something?" The color drained from many faces sitting in the room. An old man lowered his eyes immediately. Another started tapping his fingers nervously on the table. But Phantom did not stop. He kept quietly moving toward his seat, as if he hadn't even heard those words.
The young man laughed again and said, "I don't stand up for anyone." This time Phantom stopped. For the first time, he raised his eyes to him. Just one look. No anger. No threat. No reaction. Then he sat down on his chair.
"Start the meeting." His voice was calm. Everyone in the room sat down, except for that young man. Because at that very moment, his phone rang. He looked at the screen, and all the pride disappeared from his face.
His man's trembling voice came through the phone. "All our warehouses... police raided them all at once." The young man's hands shook.
"H... How?" Silence fell on the other end. Then came the answer: "Someone sent our entire file to the government." The young man looked helplessly at Phantom. Phantom sat as calm as ever, as if nothing had happened. That was when the young man understood for the first time.
The people in this room were not afraid of Phantom because he could kill people.
They were afraid of him because he could destroy someone without even touching them...
The weather was beautiful. Shadows of clouds were floating across the sky. Children were playing in the park. Some kids were buying balloons. Some were busy eating ice cream and chocolates. Some young boys were spending time playing cricket. And a boy with messy hair falling over his forehead was silently watching them. Whenever life gave him a free moment, he would come and sit right there.
"Bhai, I think I'm going to become very rich." An innocent voice broke his thoughts.
He knew that listening to others' conversation was not a good habit, but there was such innocence in that girl's voice that he couldn't help listening.
"Actually, my left foot is itching. That means a lot of money is coming to me." She spread both arms to emphasize her point.
"But isn't it the left hand?" another child interrupted softly. Hearing this, a slight smile appeared on the boy's face.
"Then I will buy lots of chocolates!" Instead of paying attention to what the other child said, she was lost in her own little world.
The boy with messy hair felt like going over right now to fulfill the children's wish to eat chocolates, but he didn't want to interrupt their conversation.
He wanted to listen to this innocent argument a bit more.
"I'll give you some too," the girl continued talking.
"But then I'll be going off to boarding school," the other child interrupted once again. The girl suddenly went quiet. Seeing the girl go quiet so suddenly, the boy was taken aback. The children's voices kept echoing in the park... but to him, it felt as if everything had gone silent for a moment.
He immediately looked toward her face.
"Please Fatima, don't cry now. I promise I'll come to see you every week." That child was trying to comfort her like an elder brother.
Suddenly, expression appeared on the face of the boy who had been lost in their conversation. He remembered a promise made to someone.
The promise to stay together forever.
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Asmaa was sitting in her room, busy talking to Wafa.
"Wafa, can you do something for me?" "Just command me. Why do you need to ask permission?" Asmaa smiled.
"There are some people in our lives who stand by us even when we lose faith in ourselves."
"The things we try to hide even from ourselves, we share with them without hesitation."
"Maybe those are the people called friends." She sent a picture of a strange triangular object from her mobile to Wafa.
"I need full details about this." "Okay, I'll check." Right as Wafa's reply arrived, an unknown notification appeared on Asmaa's mobile.
"You are chasing a story that does not end well. Some people become powerful by knowing secrets. And some people... disappear. The choice is yours."
As soon as she read the message, the smile disappeared from Asmaa's face.
She immediately looked toward the window.
At the back of the house, a dark shadow moved quickly and vanished into the darkness.
For a moment, she felt as if someone had been keeping an eye on her for a long time.
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First Real Meeting in the Elevator
Asmaa was working late into the night. The hotel was almost empty. She entered the elevator. The door was about to close when a hand stopped it.
Wearing a hoodie, simple pants and shirt, with a face hidden inside the hood. A man stepped inside. A few moments of silence.
Then suddenly he asked her:
"Do you always ask so many questions?" Asmaa was startled.
"Pardon?"
"Reading room..."
"Triangular pills..."
"Trips to the top floor..."
Her heart missed a beat.
She immediately realizes what he wants to know from her.
"I was just doing my job."
Only the sound of Asmaa's heavy breathing could be heard:
"Sometimes doing your job can be dangerous too."
The elevator stops. Asmaa begins to step out. That's when he spoke his final sentence:
"If you ever find a door closed... don't try to open it."
Asmaa turned around right away to look.
"Is this advice or a threat?" For the first time, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Sometimes you have to pay a very heavy price to know the difference." The elevator closed.
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It was that same underground hall.
On a big screen mounted on the wall, footage of a building was playing. Goldie was sitting in front of the screen with a laptop. His fingers were moving fast across the keyboard.
He ran the final command on the laptop..
"Sameer... is everything ready?" Shadow's cold voice echoed in the hall.
Without taking his eyes off the screen, Sameer gave a thumbs-up sign.
Phantom was standing quietly, looking at the screen. All his attention was focused on a man sitting in the front row of the hall. Today was a university graduation ceremony.
The hall was decorated beautifully. Students were happily taking pictures with each other, parents were feeling proud of their children, and smiles were scattered everywhere.
A few moments later, the ceremony officially began.
On stage, the usual traditional welcome words, speeches filled with dreams of success and hopes for the future were going on—speeches people had heard countless times.
In the front row, Advocate Safdar was sitting with his wife.
Pride was visible on both their faces.
With full satisfaction, they were enjoying the graduation ceremony of their son, Waseef Ahmed.
They probably didn't realize that the price of ruining another person's son's life has to be paid sooner or later. Phantom's eyes remained fixed on them.
There was no expression on his face, but years of hatred were buried in his silence..
A few moments later, he said slowly,
Reality:
Sameer pressed a button.
At that very moment, the lights in the entire hall went out.
A few seconds later, the power came back. But this time, the big screen behind the stage had changed.
Where student achievements were being shown just moments ago, now only one sentence was written:
"Welcome to Reality"
Then the words written on the screen changed.
"The scapegoat is the compromise." The whole hall fell silent.
The very next moment, a video started playing on the screen.
Advocate Safdar was receiving a large sum of money from a person.
Then bank transaction details.
Then an audio recording.
With every new piece of evidence, whispers in the hall kept growing.
"What... what is happening?"
"Is that really Advocate Safdar?"
"He is taking bribes!" Advocate Safdar stood up from his seat in panic. "Stop all this!" he yelled.
"This is a lie, all of this is fake!" He ran toward the stage.
"Turn off the screen, turn it off right now!" But no one could do anything. It was now his son Waseef's turn to receive his degree.
But now no one's eyes were on him. The whole hall was only looking at the screen. In just a few moments, years of reputation of a respected lawyer had shattered in front of thousands of people. A person is often more afraid of his sins being exposed than committing them in the first place.
Silence hung on the other side of the screen. Sameer and Shadow looked toward Phantom. He wasn't jumping with joy. He wasn't celebrating victory. There was just a faint smile on his lips. Then a soft chuckle escaped his lips.
It wasn't a roar of laughter...
It was the sound of a burden buried in his chest for years finally becoming lighter.
"This is not the end, only the beginning," Phantom said in a quiet voice.
Expenses were rising with time. Wafa considered the money given to the orphanage as her duty. She knew that the needs of the children there never ended. But now fulfilling these responsibilities was not as easy as before.
And then she had a dream too. The dream of traveling the world. But dreams ask for money too.
Passport, visas, tickets, and countless travel expenses...
With her current income, she could neither make decent savings nor reach anywhere close to making her dreams a reality.
Late into the night. She was a freelancer, and in the room, there was only the blue light of the laptop. She kept looking through various freelance projects. One after another. But most offers were low. Low pay, high work. She scrolled through the screen tiredly. Then suddenly, her eyes rested on an advertisement.
"Cybersecurity Expert Needed"
She opened the post instinctively. The budget was unusually high. So high that for a few moments, she couldn't believe her eyes.
Only the client's name was listed.
S-K Khan
There was no picture on the profile nor any specific information. Just a name.
S-K Khan
Wafa stared at the profile for a few moments.
The cautious freelancer inside her whispered:
"This is strange." But the girl inside her, who wanted a better life for the orphanage children and who had dreams of seeing the world in her heart, ignored that whisper.
When a person becomes in need of something, they often focus on getting it, not on its background.
Wafa did the same. She quietly wrote a proposal. Read it a few times. Made necessary changes.
Then her cursor slowly moved over the Apply button.
The same silence remained in the room. No explosion happened. No unusual sound was heard. Everything was just as before. But sometimes, noise isn't needed to change the direction of life.
Just one click is enough.
Wafa closed her laptop and went to sleep, unaware. How could she know that clicking this simple button was going to change the direction of her life forever?
A message arrived on Shahzaib's phone: "The person you are searching for is very close to you." And alongside it, an address was written.
On the underground floor, those three were sitting in the same chairs. Tension was thick in the air. And the prevailing silence bore witness to the gravity of the situation.
"Boss, that girl is becoming a huge danger now. Her curiosity could cost us dearly," the one in the golden mask said.
Then he paused for a bit and added, "She is asking too many questions, and she had reached the reading room."
"Today she is asking questions, tomorrow she might find answers."
"I told you nothing should happen to that girl."
Phantom's cold voice echoed. His tone was as if this wasn't even up for debate.
As if the decision had already been made.
"Phantom, keep your emotions under control." Shadow's voice had a strange calmness.
"Those who become slaves to their emotions get wiped out." He held up the mirror of reality. And reality has always been ugly.
Phantom just raised his eyes and looked at him. As if there was no room for any change in his decision.
"He cannot endanger others because of Phantom," Shadow said softly.
Then he leaned back against the chair.
"Dangers are not ignored." Silence filled the hall.
"Sometimes the price of saving one person..."
He paused for a few moments.
"...is the death of ten people." A cold spark glinted in Phantom's eyes.
"And sometimes..."
he said slowly.
"...the blood of one innocent sinks an entire empire."
Shadow gave a light chuckle.
"You are changing, Phantom."
"No."
Phantom's voice was colder than before.
"I just don't want to repeat the mistake I have already paid a heavy price for." Shadow looked at both of them in surprise. He could feel that the conversation had moved beyond that girl now.
It was about an old wound. About a secret that most people in this hall knew nothing about.
"If you want to stain your hands with the blood of an innocent," Phantom said, fixing his eyes on Shadow,
"...then Phantom will not do this work." Shadow tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair.
"The work Phantom leaves unfinished..." His voice was like a whisper.
"...it becomes Shadow's duty to complete it." Complete silence filled the hall for a moment. No one said anything. No one even dared to breathe. Shadow had decided an outcome in his thoughts.
And everyone knew that when Shadow arrives at a decision, people usually only get to see the consequences.
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It was two in the morning.
Asmaa was sitting in her room talking to Wafa on the phone.
"Wafa... I'm feeling scared. Why? What happened?" Asmaa looked anxiously toward the window.
"I think someone is following me. Strange things have been happening for the last few days." Wafa was just about to say something when suddenly the whole room plunged into darkness.
The power had gone out.
Asmaa's heart beat wildly.
"Asmaa?"
Wafa's panicked voice came from the phone.
And at that very moment...
Crash!
The window glass broke.
Asmaa screamed in fear. A black-clad shadow leaped through the window and entered inside. A knife glinted in his hand. Asmaa backed up a few steps. Her hands were trembling.
"W... Who are you?" But in response, there was only silence. That shadow slowly began moving toward her.
Asmaa's body froze in terror.
She wanted to scream, but the voice got stuck in her throat.
And then...
Bang!
The sound of a gunshot echoed through the entire room. The attacker startled and jumped to one side. The bullet hadn't hit him, but it passed so close to him that it lodged into the wall. He immediately sensed the danger.
Someone was present in the dark corner of the room.
Asmaa looked over there as well.
A tall figure was standing in the darkness. White and red mask...
Phantom.
The attacker didn't waste a single moment. He turned immediately and jumped out through the broken window. Phantom took a few steps forward but didn't chase him. As if he already knew that the main goal was not to catch the killer.
It was to save Asmaa.
Asmaa was still trembling.
