The golden sun had already dipped beyond the Arabian Sea, and the velvet of twilight had spread across Mumbai. Crickets began their nightly chorus as the breeze from the Malabar hills carried the earthy scent of moss and distant smoke from hillside kitchens. At the base of the mountain, the Rajput estate loomed like a regal fortress, its red-tiled roofs and colonial arches lit by warm yellow lights.
A black van rumbled up the stone-paved driveway, its wheels crunching softly as it ascended the winding path carved into the lush mountain slope. Tall trees lined the edges of the driveway, swaying as if whispering secrets in the gathering dusk.
The van finally came to a halt before the grand entrance of the estate. The iron gates creaked open as the guards saluted the arriving figure.
