Hi butterflies 🦋,

Welcome to His Peace.

This story is close to my heart, written with love, chaos, and a lot of late-night thoughts.

Technical parts are simplified for storytelling, so focus on the emotions, the journey, and the characters.

I hope this story feels like a warm hug and a storm at the same time.

Happy reading 🤍

Author’s POV

The Rao mansion was waking up.

It was seven in the morning—sunlight pouring in, the quiet hum of life beginning its daily rhythm. Footsteps echoed softly in the corridors. Somewhere, a kettle whistled. Somewhere, curtains were being drawn.

Everyone was awake.

Everyone… except Shree Rao.

Her room remained wrapped in darkness. Curtains shut tight. Silence broken only by slow, steady breathing.

Shree lay curled beneath her duvet, peaceful and unaware, a small teddy bear tucked securely against her chest. Gogo—her constant since childhood. Her fingers were loosely wrapped around his ear, as if even in sleep she feared losing him.

Last night had been long.

Too long.

She had stayed awake till three in the morning, eyes glued to her screen, fingers dancing across the keyboard. Code after code. Error after error. Until finally—success. Whenever Shree started something new, she gave it everything she had. There was no such thing as “enough” for her.

For the world, she was a brilliant hacker.
Top five in India.

For her family, she was still just their baby.

The door opened quietly.

Dr. Meera Rao stepped inside and paused at the sight. Her heart softened instantly. Shree slept like a child—hair sprawled messily across the pillow, face relaxed, untouched by the chaos she created outside these walls.

Meera walked closer and gently brushed her fingers through Shree’s hair.

“Shree… bacha.”

A soft groan.

“Five minutes more,” Shree murmured, turning her face deeper into the pillow.

Meera smiled. “Shree, get up fast.”

“Mumma,” she protested sleepily, “I slept late last night. I need more sleep.”

And just like that, she turned away—pulling the duvet over her head and drifting right back into her dream.

Meera shook her head fondly.

If only she knew…
Sleep was the last thing her daughter would get today.

Veer’s POV

I was ten minutes away from the CBI bureau.

One earbud in. One hand steady on the steering wheel.

“I’m reaching in ten,” I said. “Tell Arnav to handle the situation.”

The silence on the other end told me everything.

I disconnected.

The moment I entered the bureau, I felt it—tension hanging thick in the air. No chatter. No jokes. Just focused eyes and restless movements.

We had been tracking one man for two weeks.

And we had almost had him.

“He’s active on his phone,” Purvi said, rushing toward me. “We were tracing him.”

“And?” I asked.

“And someone breached our system.”

I stopped walking.

“What?”

Arnav sat frozen at his desk, fingers moving rapidly but unevenly. Sweat dotted his forehead.

“Sir,” he said without looking up, “I’m trying to stop it… but whoever this is—they’re ahead of us.”

“It’s not Malik,” Purvi added quickly. “This hacker isn’t him.”

Rudra scoffed. “What do you mean you can’t handle it?”

Arnav swallowed. “Sir… I need help.”

The room went silent.

“Call her.”

The voice was calm. Commanding.

Everyone turned toward Director Ayushman.

“She’s the only one who can stop this.”

My jaw clenched. “Then why the hell isn’t she here already?”

No one answered.

Of course.

Shree Rao.

Our consultant.

As per DoPT orders, she was officially part of the team. Just one week with us—and she had cracked systems even experienced professionals struggled with.

Twenty years old.

Brilliant.

Annoying.

I never praised her. Didn’t want her getting arrogant.

But facts were facts.

That girl didn’t think like a normal hacker.

She was walking chaos.

Always talking. Always questioning. Always smiling.

Sometimes I wondered if her mouth ever got tired.

And now…

We needed her.

Author’s POV

A sharp vibration broke the silence in Shree’s room.

Once.
Twice.
Then again.

She groaned and buried her face deeper into the pillow.

The phone vibrated again—longer this time.

Encrypted.

Her eyes flew open.

Sleep vanished instantly.

No one used that line unless it was serious.

Shree rolled onto her back, blinking rapidly as her mind snapped into focus. She glanced at the screen.

CBI – PRIORITY LINE

“Damn it,” she whispered.

She accepted the call.

“Yes?” Her voice was still groggy, but alert.

“Shree,” Purvi’s voice came through, urgent and breathless. “We need you. Now.”

Shree sat up, pushing the duvet aside. “What happened?”

“Our system’s compromised. Someone breached our trace mid-operation.”

Shree’s jaw tightened.

“Who?”

“That’s the problem,” Purvi said. “We don’t know.”

Shree swung her legs off the bed. “Put me on speaker.”

Within seconds, the sleepy girl vanished.

She moved fast—hair tied up, laptop open, workstation coming alive. Screens lit up one after another. Her fingers hovered above the keyboard.

“Give me access,” she said, calm and firm.

Arnav’s voice joined in. “Sending credentials.”

“Received.”

Her fingers flew.

Code streamed across the screen, lines blurring as she navigated firewalls with terrifying ease. Her posture changed. Her expression hardened. Gone was the girl who clutched a teddy bear in her sleep.

This was the hacker the world feared.

“Whoever this is,” she muttered, “they’re good.”

Veer watched silently as her voice echoed through the speakers.

Fast. Sharp. In control.

“Shree?” Purvi asked nervously. “Can you stop them?”

“I’m already inside,” Shree replied. “But they know I’m here.”

Her fingers paused for half a second.

Then—

She smiled.

“That means,” she continued calmly, “they’re finally worth my time.”

Veer straightened.

Interesting.

“Shree,” Purvi said, “Director wants to know, can you trace them?”

Shree cracked her knuckles.

“Oh, Purvi,” she said softly, eyes locked on the screen.
“I’m not just tracing them.”

Her fingers struck the keys again—faster, sharper.

“I’m inviting them to play.”

The screen flashed.

The system trembled.

And somewhere…
The hunter realized they were no longer alone.

After half hour of chaos the cube system is safe.

“I have traced the location” she said. While her hands are flying on the keyboard.

And then the voice comes from other side “Shree come to bureau in half an hour”.                

She knows its veer’s voice, as from starting only they were like cat and mouse

Shree sighed at other side and says “yes sir”.

The call disconnects from both the side.

 Shree’s POV

I thought I would sleep till late, but no—God clearly doesn’t want me to rest.

“Good morning, Miss Hacker,” I muttered to myself.

It was 9 a.m.
Why does the world love waking me up this early?

As I pulled the curtains aside, sunlight hit my face directly.

“Oh God…”

Voices floated up from downstairs. Looks like everyone was already up. With a sigh, I left my room and headed down.

The dining table was full—everyone busy with breakfast, crisp clothes, ready to conquer the day.

I walked straight to Mumma. She was sitting beside Papa. I wrapped my arms around her neck from behind and kissed her cheek. Then I hugged Papa and wished him good morning.

I sat beside him as the staff served my breakfast.

“Oye, kitten,” Arjun said, scrunching his nose, “first brush, then eat.”

“I did brush,” I said confidently, flashing my teeth at him.

He rolled his eyes.

I started eating when Mumma spoke casually, “Shree, I’ve filled out the form for Canada University—for your master’s degree.”

My spoon froze mid-air.

Mumma… not now, I whispered silently.

I just hummed in response.

“Do you really want to go there?” Papa asked gently.

Before I could answer, Mumma cut in, “Pratap, it’s good for her.”

“I know, Meera,” Papa replied calmly, “but we haven’t asked her yet.”

All eyes turned toward me. I stayed quiet.

Adi bhai noticed my silence but didn’t say anything.

“Don’t start decisions in the morning,” Bade Papa said, lowering his newspaper.
“And especially not at the breakfast table. How many times do I have to say—no work talk, no serious decisions while eating.”

“And who’s saying this?” Badi Mumma snapped. “The person reading the newspaper at the breakfast table.”

“Seema, I’m just looking at business news,” Bade Papa replied softly.

I smiled to myself.

They were the power couple of the house.
Okay, Mumma and Papa were power couple too—but Bade Papa and Badi Mumma? Pure fire.

Sometimes I wondered how they even started a business together with this constant nok-jhok, considering both were extremely disciplined and work-focused.

Breakfast ended quietly.

Before leaving, Bade Papa looked at me and said gently,
“Shree, do what your heart says. Don’t let your mind overpower it.”

“Yes, Bade Papa,” I replied, hugging him from the side.

Then I turned to Badi Mumma, hugged her tightly, and kissed her cheek.
“Bye-bye, young lady,” I teased.

She smiled, kissed my forehead, and left with Bade Papa.

“Shree, are you going somewhere?” Mumma’s voice came from behind.

And suddenly, I remembered.

Veer sir said to reach within half an hour…
It had already been forty-five minutes.

I turned around. Papa was already in his uniform, and Mumma was adjusting her purse.

They stopped in front of me.

I hugged them both tightly—Mumma kissed my cheek, Papa kissed my forehead—and then they left for work.

Adi bhai and Arjun bhai had already gone. Important meeting at the office.

And just like that, I was alone.

Well… not alone-alone. The staff was still there.

I ran back to my room, got ready in record time, pulled on my hoodie and jeans, grabbed my bag—

And rushed out of the house.