Chapter 1: The Knight in a Hoodie

Mumbai, India -- 2026

The monsoon had just washed the streets of Andheri, leaving behind that particular Mumbai scent--wet earth, exhaust fumes, and the distant promise of vada pav from a street cart. Sanju stepped out of the tiny flat he shared with his mother, adjusting the strap of his laptop bag. At twenty-five, he looked unremarkable in his faded jeans and plain black hoodie. No one would guess that the code he’d pushed to a repository last night from an anonymous GitHub account would save the municipal corporation crores in water management efficiency. No one would guess that the hoodie-clad young man was, in fact, one of the wealthiest individuals in the country.

He walked down the narrow lane, past the banana-leaf vendor and the chaiwala who always called out, “Sanju bhai, one tea?” He waved with a smile but kept walking. The gym at the corner of the lane was his first stop, an old-school dojo, where he had practiced martial arts for nearly a decade. His body, honed by years of consistent practice and the odd jobs he’d done through school and college, was lean and muscular. At five-foot-eleven, with broad shoulders, a defined chest, and the subtle, corded arms of a martial artist, he moved with an economy of motion that made him seem utterly relaxed until the moment he needed to strike.

After an hour of punishing practice, he walked out feeling centered. That was when he saw her.

She was walking as fast as possible, without running, and not in the way people do it for exercise. Her sandals slapped against the wet pavement, her long dark hair streaming behind her, her chest heaving with panic. Behind her, three men were gaining, their intentions written in the ugly grins plastered across their faces.