**1.Aarya Velen – The Codebreaker Seeking Truth ( Female lead ) **

At just 21, Aarya Velen is a woman hardened by silence and loss. Her piercing eyes seem to decode the world around her, always alert, always calculating. Aarya’s life shattered the night her older brother, Ilan, disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a trail of encrypted messages and a void that no justice has ever filled.

She now lives in the shadows of secrets, her life a relentless pursuit of truth buried in codes only she can understand. Aarya hides her pain behind a composed exterior, rarely letting anyone close enough to glimpse the storm inside. Her mind is her greatest weapon—sharp, strategic, and fuelled by an unbreakable resolve. Beneath her calm lies a woman fighting every day to stay ahead of the danger that inches closer with every secret she unravels.

Aarya is not looking for love. She’s looking for answers. But fate has other plans.

** 2. Rivan Cole – The Hacker With A Hidden Past 9 (Male lead )**

Rivan Cole, 24, is a man cloaked in shadows and sarcasm. With a jawline that could cut glass and a smirk that hides more than it reveals, Rivan is a tech genius who has walked both sides of the law. Once involved with classified government operations, he now operates in the Gray—hacking, surviving, and hunting a conspiracy that has haunted him for years.

Rivan’s past is as encrypted as the files he breaks into. When he appears in Aarya’s life at her lowest point, she doesn’t know whether to trust him or run from him. He’s too calm, too clever, and far too curious about the same codes she’s been trying to protect.

His motives are unclear, his loyalty questionable—but one thing is certain: Rivan is connected to her brother’s disappearance. And as much as Aarya wants to believe she doesn’t need him, the deeper they dig, the more she realizes the danger can’t be faced alone.

He could be her saviour… or her undoing.

** 3. Zia Monroe – The Fierce Best Friend**

Bold, brash, and unapologetically loud, Zia Monroe is Aarya’s childhood friend and one of the few people who has never abandoned her. Behind her vibrant personality lies a young woman who has survived her own tragedies, choosing humour and honesty as her armour.

She’s fiercely protective of Aarya, but even she doesn't know the full extent of what her best friend is hiding—or what’s coming for them both.

**4. Kael Renner – The Hacker’s Loyal Shadow**

Once Rivan Cole’s closest ally in the underground hacking world, Kael Renner is the only person who knows both the man Rivan used to be and the one he’s become. Their friendship began not in a classroom or coffee shop, but on an encrypted dark web chatroom during a time when neither of them trusted anyone. Kael recognized Rivan’s brilliance—and his recklessness—and instead of fearing it, he matched it.

** 5. Ilan Velen – The Missing Link**

Once Aarya’s protective older brother, Ilan Velen vanished without warning, leaving behind only silence and encrypted messages that hint at a deeper truth. Officially, he's presumed dead. But Aarya knows better. His trail hasn’t gone cold. He’s still out there—or someone wants her to believe he is.

He is the reason she wakes up every morning. He is the reason she might not survive what’s coming.

**6. Detective Rehaan Mir – The Watchful Eye**

Rehaan Mir is the lead investigator in the mysterious string of cybercrimes Aarya is tied to. Calm, skeptical, and endlessly patient, he doesn’t trust easily—especially not Aarya, whose involvement runs too deep to be coincidence.

But when logic fails and the system turns corrupt, even Rehaan may need to choose between justice and the law.

**7. Shadow – The Faceless Informant**

No one knows who Shadow is—not even Rivan. They are a voice through a screen, a presence on the dark web that seems to know everything before it happens. Whether friend or foe, Shadow is pulling strings from the darkness—and the final move may belong to them.

These are the main characters in my story...So lets begun the story..

Rain hammered against the rusted metal rooftops as the city of Virell sank deeper into midnight. Neon signs flickered like broken signals, and alleyways stretched like secrets—twisting, shadowed, and dangerous.

In a cramped apartment tucked on the edge of the old district, Aarya Velen sat hunched over a desk covered in papers, code printouts, and half-burnt photographs. Her fingers hovered above her keyboard, hesitating, before finally typing in the last string of characters.

“014E-X7//IR3”

The encrypted file blinked once. Then twice.

A soft chime.

Access granted.

Lines of data unravelled like a puzzle collapsing into itself. Aarya’s heart pounded. For weeks she’d been chasing these strings—bits of binary poetry left behind by her brother, Ilan, who had disappeared two years ago without a trace. Presumed dead. But she never believed that.

Not when he was the kind of genius who could disappear and still leave behind a digital ghost trail for her to find.

The screen shifted.

A message appeared.

Short. Cold. Terrifying.

"They know. You’re next. –I"

Aarya pushed back from her desk, eyes wide. “No...”

She’d always feared the truth wouldn’t just explain Ilan’s disappearance—it would pull her into it. And now it was too late to turn back.

Somewhere across the city, buried deep in a secure bunker lit only by the glow of a dozen monitors, Rivan Cole watched the same message appear on one of his screens.

He hadn’t meant for her to crack it. Not yet.

But she had.

He leaned back, dark eyes flicking toward the camera feed. He’d tapped into her system long ago—watching, observing, protecting… and maybe manipulating. A smirk tugged at his lips. "You’re quicker than I thought, Aarya."

And now she was in danger.

With a flick of his wrist, Rivan sent a silent signal through the darknet.

A faceless profile lit up.

Username: Shadow.

“She found it. Protocol Alpha. No delays.”

The reply came instantly.

“Understood. And Rivan… don’t get attached.”

He didn’t reply. He never did when it came to warnings about his heart.

Back in her apartment, Aarya packed fast. She knew better than to stay once a message like that dropped. Her best friend, Zia Monroe, would ask too many questions—and maybe get herself killed trying to help.

But the door creaked.

Aarya spun, gripping the closest thing to a weapon—her metal desk lamp.

“Easy,” came a deep, amused voice. “If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t have time to grab that.”

Rivan.

He stepped into the dim room like he belonged there. Drenched from the rain, leather jacket dripping, but expression unreadable.

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded.

“I’m the one keeping you alive,” he said coolly. “And your brother isn’t dead.”

Her blood froze.

“What did you just say?”

“You heard me.” He took a step closer. “But if you want the rest of the truth, you’ll have to trust me. And let me warn you, Aarya—trusting me is a terrible idea.”

**to be continued**

AUTHOR WORDS:

Hey my dear Story buns!

Here’s the very first chapter of Encrypted Whispers! I truly hope you enjoy diving into Aarya and Rivan’s mysterious world. I’ll be waiting eagerly to hear your thoughts—so don’t forget to leave a comment and share what you think. Your feedback means the world to me!!!

The silence between Aarya and Rivan stretched like a wire pulled too tight—one wrong move, and it would snap.

She kept her grip on the lamp. Her voice didn’t waver. “Say it again. About my brother.”

Rivan’s dark eyes locked on hers, unreadable. “Ilan Velen is alive. But if you want to see him again, we need to move. Now.”

“You’re lying.”

“I don’t lie,” he said, stepping further into her space. “I edit the truth.”

That did it.

Aarya lunged—not to attack, but to get to her laptop. The file was still open, blinking. She had to copy the string before—

Click.

She froze at the sound. Rivan had drawn a gun and aimed it—not at her—but at the power box near the corner of her room.

One shot. The lights went out. The laptop screen blinked and died.

“Are you insane?!” she shouted.

“Encrypted data leaves a trail. You just broadcast your location to everyone who’s after Ilan. You think you're the only one chasing his breadcrumbs?” he said, coldly. “They’ll be here in under ten minutes.”

Her stomach dropped.

“Who are you?” she whispered.

“Someone who knows what losing a brother feels like,” he answered, softer this time. “I also know what it takes to survive this game. Come with me, or stay here and hope they’re merciful.”

For a split second, she saw a flicker of something in his eyes. Not just urgency. Regret.

Against every instinct screaming otherwise, Aarya grabbed her coat and followed him into the pouring night.

...---...

Outside, a matte-black motorbike waited at the curb. Rivan handed her a helmet.

“No questions?”

“Oh, I have plenty,” she said, climbing on behind him. “But I figure if you were going to kill me, you wouldn’t be wearing such expensive cologne.”

He smirked. “Hold on tight, codebreaker.”

...---...

Two blocks away, inside a surveillance van marked as a utility repair truck, Detective Rehaan Mir stared at the red dot on the screen that just blinked out.

He cursed under his breath.

“She cracked another file,” said his junior.

“I know,” Rehaan replied. “And now she’s not alone.”

His eyes narrowed at the glitchy CCTV footage showing a blurred man leading Aarya into the storm.

“I don’t trust that guy,” Rehaan muttered. “But damn it… neither can I stop her. She’s too close.”

He opened a drawer and pulled out a sealed envelope marked CLASSIFIED. On the front: “Operation Echo Code – Rivan Cole”.

...---...

Back in a secret location—an abandoned underground subway station lit by blue LEDs and filled with servers—Rivan keyed in a passcode that opened a hidden door.

“Welcome to the safe house,” he said, casually.

Aarya stepped inside, soaked to the bone, heart pounding. The space was high-tech, cold, and sterile—like a scene out of a sci-fi thriller.

She turned to him. “If you really knew my brother, tell me something no one else would know.”

Rivan hesitated. Then said quietly, “When he was twelve, Ilan built a drone from scraps and used it to drop a water balloon on your strict neighbor. You covered for him, even took the blame.”

Her breath caught. “How did you—?”

“Ilan told me. Before he disappeared.”

Aarya sank into the nearest chair. Her whole world was shifting, and this mysterious man seemed to hold the pieces.

But there was one thing she still needed to know. “Why are you helping me?”

Rivan didn’t answer immediately.

Then, with a haunted look in his eyes, he whispered, “Because I was supposed to protect him. And I failed.”

...****************...