“You think you won?” Daksh snarled, his face inches away. “You think you can walk in here, destroy everything I have built, and walk away untouched? I will not let this go, Karan. I swear on everything, I will make you pay for every single word you have spoken today. For every move you have made. For every humiliation you think you can get away with.”
Karan did not even flinch. He caught Daksh’s wrist, peeled his fingers away, angrily, and shoved him back with a single hard push. There was no struggle in it, no drama. Just pure rage.
“You cannot do anything now,” Karan said, “it’s over.”
Daksh stumbled back, losing his footing, in shock and helpless disbelief. Divya rushed forward and caught him before he could fall. She wrapped her arms around him as tears spilt freely down her cheeks.
On the other hand, the sight of her brother standing there, broken and humiliated, with Divya crying against his chest, broke Mishti completely. She turned on Karan at once.
“How could you do this?” she yelled. “You used me. You knew all along that you were making me work against my own brother’s company. You made me destroy him with my own hands.”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she continued.
“Why? What kind of sick pleasure do you get from this? Playing these games. Watching people fall apart. You destroyed what little relationship I already had with Daksh bhai. Why? How can you be so cruel?”
Karan did not respond.
That silence infuriated her more. She stepped closer and grabbed the lapels of his suit, her fingers curling into the fabric as if she needed something solid to hold on to.
“You cannot stay quiet today, Karan,” she said fiercely. “You owe me an answer. You owe me the truth.”
Tears continuously spilt from her eyes, but she didn’t stop.
“Today was supposed to be the best day of their lives. They announced their pregnancy. Their future. And this is what you gave them in return? You crushed their livelihood on the same day.” Tears rolled down her eyes but she continued. “I understand that you hate my brother. I understand that you hate me. Maybe even my entire family. But what about that unborn child? What did that baby ever do to you? Why are you stealing its future?”
That’s when Karan finally snapped. The calm that had wrapped him until now shattered violently. He gripped Mishti’s arms, pulling her further close.
“Ask this question to your father,Dilip Goel,” he said, eyes darkening.
Mishti froze. His grip on her tightened further in fury, enough to leave bruises on her skin.
“Ask him whatmyfault was?” Karan continued, his voice rising with every word. “What didIdo to deserve losing everything I ever loved? Ask him what my mother’s fault was, that he did not hesitate even once before pulling the trigger and killing her.”
The room shrank around them.
Mishti stared at him, shocked.
“My father?” she murmured. “Killed your…? What… what are you saying?”
“Yes.Yourfather,” Karan snapped. “Your father killed my mother, Mishti. He’s a cold-blooded murderer. And that’s whyyouandDaksh,his children, will keep paying for as long as hebreathes. Because I want him to feel it. I want him to live with the same pain. The same hollow ache in his chest that he gave me every single day for the last fifteen years.”
Her lips trembled.
“My…my father is dead,” she said softly.
“I wish he were,” he said, grabbing her arm tightly as his anger surged again. “But he is alive, Mishti. Very much alive. And not once has he shown regret. Not once has he felt guilty for destroyingmyfamily.The Wadhwas. Everything you and your brother have enjoyed…the power, the luxury, the life you are breathing into? All of it was built onmyfamily’s money. Money your father stole from us. The money that cost me my mother. My family. My childhood.”
Fight drained from Mishti’s body as she heard the real reason for Karan’s actions so far. He wasn’t just a power-hungry, stone-hearted businessman. Each step he had taken so far was fuelled by his revenge.
CHAPTER 26
15 Years Back
Karan remembered those days clearly, even years later. The mornings began early. His father, Ashutosh Wadhwa, dressed in crisp shirts...ready to leave for work. His mother...in the kitchen after her morning prayers, humming softly while overseeing breakfast. Conversations flowed easily at the dining table. There was laughter. There was routine. There was happiness.
His father was not a man who raised his voice to be heard. Employees respected him because he trusted them. Partners listened because he valued fairness over domination. And he was a man who believed success meant nothing if it could not protect one’s family.
But least did he know he was trusting the wrong man all these years. Dilip Goel, an employee at Wadhwa Corporation, had been part of their world for years. He was the man Karan’s father relied upon during long meetings, the one who stayed back when others left, the one whose opinions were asked for and valued.
