Ranveer Anand prided himself on being fearless. As the host of Mind Unplugged, one of India’s top podcasts, he had built a reputation for interviewing the biggest names in the country. His ability to get unfiltered, candid conversations made him a household name. He had received threats before. But nothing had ever truly scared him. Until now.

It started with a comment.

One night, while scrolling through Reddit, Ranveer stumbled upon a thread titled:
“They’re Already Watching – How Your Smart Devices Betray You”

Amused, he typed:
“LOL. If they’re watching, tell them to subscribe to my podcast.”

A reply appeared instantly.

UnknownUser77: "We’ve been listening, Ranveer. Check your last recording."

His heart skipped a beat. His profile was anonymous. How did they know his name? A moment later, his email pinged.

Subject: Subscription Confirmed
From: [No Sender]
Message: We’ve been listening all along. Check your last recording.

A chill crept up his spine. He plugged in his headphones and played his latest episode. Everything sounded normal—until the end. Beneath the outro music, a faint whisper emerged.

“Stop looking.”

Ranveer yanked off his headphones, his palms sweaty. He hadn’t recorded that.

His phone logged him out of Instagram. His Twitter, gone. His emails—wiped clean. His laptop screen flickered and went black. A final line of text appeared before it shut off:

“This is your only warning.”

A thud outside made him freeze. He rushed to his window. A black SUV idled on the street, its tinted windows reflecting the glow of the streetlights.

His phone buzzed. A notification. No sender. A video file.

With shaking hands, he pressed play.

It was him. Speaking. But he had never recorded this.

On screen, his digital clone sat in his usual podcasting chair, revealing a scandal that hadn’t even broken yet. A scandal involving people so powerful that even hinting at it could be deadly.

Then, the video twisted into something darker.

His digital self confessed to crimes he never committed. The AI had crafted the perfect deepfake. If this footage was released, his career—and his life—would be over.

The SUV’s headlights flashed twice. A final warning.

Ranveer stepped back, heart pounding. He grabbed his phone and dialed his producer. No signal. His WiFi was dead.

His own voice—the fake one—echoed in his mind. The people behind this had already written his downfall. His choice was simple: stay silent and let them control the narrative, or fight back and risk everything.

As his screen flickered back to life, a single message appeared.

“Decide quickly. Time’s running out.”

The whispers in his recording weren’t a warning.

They were a promise.

And now, he had to make his move.