Chapter 21: The Digital Leash
[System Notification: Mystery Genre Unlocked — 'The Paper Trail']
While Ishaan was nursing his "victory" back pain and Arjun was aggressively hammering nails into the subflooring, Ananya was sitting on a pile of flour sacks, staring at her phone with a face that had turned the color of parchment.
"Meera," she whispered, her voice barely audible over the construction noise. "Come here. Now."
I excused myself from Ishaan (who was currently trying to convince a plumber that he knew more about fluid dynamics because he was a doctor) and hurried over.
"What is it? Did the sourdough starter die?"
"Worse," Ananya said, sliding the phone toward me. "Look at the flower delivery notification. I was looking for the sender's address to send Julian a 'Cess and Desist' letter, but I found the payment receipt instead."
I looked at the screen. The transaction wasn't from a London bank. It wasn't from Julian's personal account.
Transaction ID: 998271
Paid via: Joint Account — Sarita Khanna & Julian Vane
My jaw dropped. "A joint account? Why does your mother have a joint account with your ex?"
The Financial Trap
"She doesn't," Ananya hissed, her eyes filling with a mix of rage and terror. "Julian managed her investment portfolio for years. He must have convinced her to sign over 'management rights' before we broke up, claiming it was for the 'Tech Hub' taxes. He's not just sending flowers, Meera. He's tracking us."
She opened her mother's banking app—the one she still had access to—and showed me the statement.
Friday: Fuel - Lonavala Highway
Saturday: Tiffin Delivery - Gulmohar Lane
This Morning: Lonavala Florist & Gift Shop
"He knows every move we make because my Mom is still using that account for her daily expenses," Ananya realized, her voice trembling. "He's watching her spend money on our wedding sarees. He's watching her pay for the Patisserie's electrical deposit. He knows exactly how much we've spent and where we are."
I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning. Julian wasn't just a jerk; he was a predator. He was using Ananya's mother's lack of financial tech-savviness to keep a digital leash on them.
The Counter-Strike
"We have to tell her," I said.
"No!" Ananya gripped my arm. "If I tell her now, she'll panic and call him. And he'll manipulate her into thinking it's a 'security feature.' We need to cut the link first."
Just then, Ishaan walked over, sensing the shift in the atmosphere. "What's wrong? You two look like you've found a ghost in the blueprints."
We explained the situation. Ishaan's expression went from weary to lethal in three seconds. He didn't say a word; he just took the phone, scrolled through the transactions, and then pulled out his own.
"I have a friend from medical school whose brother works in Cyber-Crime," Ishaan said, his voice flat and dangerous. "This isn't just 'tracking.' If he's using a joint account to monitor movements without consent, it's financial stalking."
"Ishaan, what are you doing?" I asked.
"I'm ending it," he said, already typing a message. "Ananya, can you get your Mom's phone for ten minutes tonight? We need to transfer her funds to a private account and flag the joint one for unauthorized access. But we have to do it before Julian realizes we've noticed."
The Midnight Operation
That night, the 'Golden Trio'—plus a very sleepy Biscuit the cat—gathered in Ananya's living room while Mrs. Khanna was snoring in the next room.
It felt like we were teenagers again, sneaking out to a late-night movie, but the stakes were much higher. Ishaan was the "hacker," Ananya was the "inside agent" holding her mother's phone, and I was the lookout.
"Almost... there..." Ishaan whispered, his brow furrowed as he navigated the banking security layers. "I'm rerouting the 'management access' back to Ananya's email. One... more... click."
Ping.
[System Notification: Access Revoked. Connection Terminated.]
"Done," Ishaan breathed, leaning back against the sofa. "He's locked out. He can't see the transactions anymore."
But just as we were about to celebrate, Ananya's phone lit up. A private number was calling.
We all froze. Ananya hit 'Accept' and put it on speaker.
"You're getting clever, Ananya," Julian's voice purred through the speaker, sounding disturbingly close. "But shutting the door doesn't mean I'm not already inside. Did you really think I only had one way to watch you?"
"Leave us alone, Julian," Ananya snapped, her voice finally brave.
"I'll leave when I get what I'm owed," he replied. "Check the mailbox, Meera. I believe the 'Shadow Architect' has some explaining to do to the Council."
The line went dead.
[Author's Corner]
THE TWIST! 😱 Julian isn't just stalking them; he's attacking Meera's professional license! What did he send to the Council? Is he trying to get her barred from practicing architecture?!
Status Update:
Ananya: Financially free (mostly).
Ishaan: The Hacker Doctor.
Meera: The new target.