Twenty years had passed. The cursed palace now stood like an abandoned mansion. Yet today, suddenly, the main gate opened. A massive black car came to a halt at the entrance.
When the girl stepped out of the car, the old gardener dropped the bucket of water from his hands. His body began to tremble. It was Laboni—exactly as she had been twenty years ago. The same facial features, the same calm chin, those deep, mysterious eyes. It felt as if Laboni had regained her youth and returned to the palace once more.
In truth, this was Laboni's rebirth. At the very age at which she had died, she had returned in the same form. Her name was now Ananya. She had come as a forensic expert, assigned by the government to recover old files and evidence hidden inside this palace.
Ananya slowly climbed the stairs. A strange feeling stirred inside her—as if these walls were deeply familiar. She stopped at the exact spot in the drawing room where Laboni had once fallen, drenched in blood.
Just then, a young man came down the stairs. He was the current caretaker of the house. Seeing Ananya, he froze.
Ananya (in a calm voice):
"Good morning. I'm Ananya. Was I invited here to study the old case files of this house, or will I be given some other assignment?"
The young man couldn't speak properly. Stammering, he said,
"Y–You… are you Dr. Laboni?"
Ananya smiled faintly. That smile carried both the sorrow of her past life and the fierce energy of this new one.
Ananya:
"You killed Laboni twenty years ago. I've come to work. But yes—there were some unpaid dues tied to this house. Perhaps that's why I've returned."
In a dark prison cell, the aged Henry was counting the moments until death. Suddenly, he heard a sound—like the soft jingle of Laboni's anklets. He screamed,
"Laboni! You've come back? Set me free!"
But freedom was not what Laboni—now Ananya—had come for. She had come to settle the final accounts. Henry had no idea what terrible game nature was about to begin with him.
When Ananya entered the bedroom where Henry had once tortured her, she stood before the mirror and adjusted her scarf—just like in her previous life.
Hearing the young man's words, Ananya (Laboni's rebirth) froze for a moment. Standing before her was Rehan—the very man for whom Laboni had once risked her life. Rehan's eyes were filled with shock and tears.
Rehan (with a trembling voice):
"My name is Rehan. I'm Laboni's elder brother. I know this is impossible, but looking at you—it feels like my sister has risen from her grave. The same gaze, the same personality!"
Ananya stepped toward Rehan. An unfamiliar tremor spread through her chest. Vague memories of her past life crashed into her mind. She held Rehan's hands.
Ananya:
"Brother Rehan? You're still guarding this cursed palace? I thought you had left the country."
Rehan (sighing deeply):
"I did leave. But the memory of Laboni's blood-soaked end never let me live in peace. I came back to find traces of Henry's sins in every brick of this house. But you… who are you, Ananya? Why do you look exactly like her?"
Ananya looked toward the window. Dark clouds were gathering outside.
Ananya (softly):
"Not all answers lie in science, Brother Rehan. Some souls remain restless until they exact full vengeance for their humiliation. Henry is rotting in prison—but is that enough? He crushed Laboni's honor. Has justice truly been served?"
Rehan stared in disbelief. In Ananya's eyes burned the same fire Laboni had carried in her final days.
Ananya:
"You said you'd give me work, didn't you? My real work begins today. I'll go to the prison. I'll stand face-to-face with Henry. I want him to know, before he dies, that the woman he tried to destroy never truly ends. Laboni returns… again and again."
Rehan understood then—this was no coincidence. Perhaps his sister had indeed returned in another form to finish her unfinished task.
Rehan:
"Should I inform Sara? She's a renowned doctor now. She's coming to the city today."
Ananya smiled.
"No, not yet. Let me meet my old 'enemy' first. Will Henry even recognize me now?"
Then the course of events took a strange, supernatural turn.
When Henry was finally released from the dark cell after twenty years, everyone assumed he would emerge as a frail old man. But as he stepped out through the prison gates, the crowd and the police officers stood frozen in shock.
Henry looked not old at all—if anything, he appeared even younger than before. Twenty years of imprisonment had left no mark on his body. His skin was taut, his eyes burned with the same sharp intensity, and his movements radiated an indomitable strength. It was as if he had preserved his youth through some unholy means.
At that very moment, Ananya stood at the gate with Rehan. Henry walked straight up to her and stopped.
Henry (with a familiar, ugly smile):
"What did you think, Laboni? That you'd scare me by dying and being reborn? Just as you returned, my power kept me from dying too. These twenty years, I didn't just eat prison food—I strengthened the demon inside me."
Rehan shuddered.
"This is impossible! How can a man's age stop like this? Henry, are you human—or some devil?"
Ignoring Rehan, Henry leaned dangerously close to Ananya. His hot breath brushed her cheek, awakening memories of that horrific night twenty years ago.
Henry (whispering):
"The law punished me, but nature granted me immortality. You were reborn only to lose to me again. This time, no police, no videos will stop me. Our game has just begun, Ananya."
Ananya did not step back. She met his gaze directly—no fear, only a deep, unsettling calm.
Ananya:
"Your body may be young, Henry, but your soul is still rotting in the same sewer. You think you're immortal? You don't know this—sometimes nature keeps people alive only so they can witness their final destruction with their own eyes. Yes, you're free today—but today also marks the beginning of your eternal fall."
Henry threw his head back and laughed. Free at last, seeing Laboni's same face again, his old lust resurfaced. What he failed to realize was that Ananya had not returned merely as a doctor—she had come as nature's judge.
Henry studied Ananya closely. The Laboni of twenty years ago had embodied elegance—often wearing tops or short skirts at home, enhancing her grace. But this reborn Laboni was entirely different.
Ananya wore a crisp white formal shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, paired with dark trousers. Heavy-framed glasses rested on her nose, adding a sharp, intellectual edge to her appearance. She was no longer timid or helpless—she looked professional, confident, and formidable.
Henry sneered at her glasses.
Henry:
"Changed clothes, added glasses—but you couldn't change that stubborn soul, Laboni. This shirt-wearing doctor might be even more thrilling to tame than the skirt-wearing girl you once were."
Ananya calmly adjusted her glasses and looked at him, her expression devoid of emotion.
Ananya:
"Your memory is still stuck on skirts and tops, Henry. I wear these glasses so I can clearly see trash like you from up close. And do you know why my sleeves are rolled up? Because this time, I'll be cleaning the filth myself."
Standing beside her, Rehan saw the transformation clearly. Laboni hadn't just returned with a body—she had shed her old weaknesses and come back as a modern warrior.
Henry (stepping closer):
"Do you think these glasses and that shirt can protect you from me? I'm still Henry—the man you once trembled before."
Ananya:
"You're wrong. Twenty years ago, I had the chance to kill you and didn't—I respected the law. This time, I didn't come to study the law. I came to settle accounts. Can your 'youthful' body stop bullets? Or will this bespectacled woman's sharp mind tear your brain apart?"
Ananya pulled a small digital device from her bag, making it clear—she wasn't just Laboni in appearance; she was far ahead of Henry in modern technology.
She slid her glasses slightly up her nose, a mysterious crooked smile forming on her lips. Leaving Henry standing there, she walked slowly toward her car. There was no hesitation in her stride—only the firm resolve of a modern woman with rolled-up sleeves.
Rehan followed her, shaken. Before she got in, he grabbed her hand and whispered:
Rehan:
"Listen… my whole body is shaking. The same smile, the same voice—I can't take it anymore. Ananya, are you truly my sister Laboni? Have you really come back?"
Ananya opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat. She removed her glasses and placed them on the dashboard. Then she looked at Rehan and smiled easily—a completely new smile, free of any past-life burden.
Ananya:
"Oh, Brother Rehan! Are you talking strangely like that devil too? No, I'm not Laboni. I was just teasing him. I wanted to psychologically torture him a little after reading his case file. I know exactly what kind of monster he is. Rebirth? That's nonsense. I'm just Ananya, here to work with your team."
Rehan stared at her, stunned, feeling all his emotions dissolve in an instant.
Ananya:
"I'm a forensic officer. Playing with human psychology is my specialty. When he saw that I resembled his dead wife, I simply used that opportunity to strike his ego."
She started the car. But when Rehan looked into her eyes, he saw a hidden glint of victory.
As the car drove away through the gate, Ananya glanced at her reflection in the mirror and thought to herself:
"Brother Rehan, I won't tell you the truth and put you in danger. To witness Henry's downfall, it's far more important that I remain 'Ananya'."
The car disappeared down the road. In the distance, the still-youthful Henry stood frozen, staring after it—unable to understand whether he had crossed paths with a human… or whether nature had begun a new, cruel game with him.