12 February 2006
About 47 kilometers away from the city of Patna, a dirt road leads from the highway into a dense forest. In the middle of this forest, on top of a hill, stood a small mansion.
Surrounded on all sides by thick trees, the mansion was almost invisible from a distance—one could see nothing but dense forest. The natural beauty around the mansion was mesmerizing: the cool breeze rustling through the trees, the sound of leaves falling on the ground, and the chirping of birds made the place feel extremely peaceful and romantic. It seemed like a perfect spot for newly married couples and lovers.
Usually, no one lived here. However, for the past few days, there had been a noticeable increase in activity.
Currently staying here was Mr. Avinash Mehra, the owner of India's largest watch manufacturing company, "Phoenix Watch," along with his wife Mrs. Priya Mehra and their six-month-old son, Aarav.
Apart from the Mehra family, a few workers had also come here with them.
"Avinash!"
Priya called out as she entered the mansion's library, carrying Aarav in her arms.
Avinash was sitting at his desk in the library, working on some papers. Hearing Priya's voice, he quickly gathered the documents on the desk. Then he walked over, gently stroked Aarav's cheeks, and said with a smile,
"How are you, my little Mr. Mehra?"
"I have some work in the kitchen. Can you take care of Aarav for a while?" Priya said, placing Aarav in Avinash's arms before heading toward the kitchen.
Avinash began walking around the library while holding Aarav. After a few minutes, Aarav yawned and slowly started to fall asleep. Seeing this, Avinash walked toward a large Mona Lisa painting hanging on the wall in the library. He pressed one corner of the frame and rotated it upside down.
"Click."
With a soft sound of gears, the painting rotated twice, returned to its normal position, and then slowly slid to the right, revealing a hidden door behind it.
Avinash opened the door and stepped inside.
The room looked like an ordinary chamber at first glance. Another door was installed inside the room, which was currently closed. Avinash walked toward a sleeping pod placed in the room.
Opening the sleeping pod, he gently placed Aarav inside. Then, using the screen attached to the pod, he played a lullaby and softly said,
"Rest here, my son. Papa has some work to do. I'll be back soon."
Avinash stepped out of the room and reset the painting to its original position, making everything appear completely normal again.
After leaving the library, Avinash walked toward the elevator inside the mansion. He entered the lift and pressed the buttons in a specific sequence.
Suddenly, the elevator began moving downward at high speed. After a short while, it came to a stop. The doors opened into a long corridor.
After walking through the corridor for some time, Avinash stopped in front of a biometric hand scanner. The scanner began glowing with a blue light as Avinash placed his hand on it.
"Identity confirmed. Welcome, Mr. Mehra."
A soft electronic voice echoed.
As the scanner activated, a large, thick metal door in front of him slowly slid open with a deep rumbling sound.
Inside was a bright, high-tech laboratory—the very lab that only few people in the world knew about:
Avinash Mehra, Dr. Fuji Nakamura, Dr. Ibrahim, Dr. Shruti Verma, and Dr. Ruchika Desai.
At the center of the lab stood a circular platform covered with complex machinery—
a structure made of watches, gears, quantum circuits, and time-rings.
It was the prototype of the Phoenix "Project 24" Watch.
Avinash walked closer to the platform and took a deep breath.
"Just a little more…"
he murmured quietly to himself.