The office room inside Jogra Palace was lit only by screens.
Bharat stood at the head of the long black table, sleeves folded once, expression steady.
Ram, Samar, and Viraj were on the screen.
Samar spoke before anyone else could.
“Your right hook is still impressive, bhai.”
Ram's expression remained neutral, though something shifted briefly at the corner of his mouth.
Viraj smiled, even though the look on his face said he was calculating the political implications.
“The press conference is trending,” Samar added. “The social media and news channels are having a field day.”
“Samar.”
“Yes, bhai.”
“Let’s begin.”
A pause.
Samar straightened. “Right.”
And just like that, the levity was gone, and all four of them focused on the latest development.
“There was another cyberattack on my security company server this evening,” said Samar. “The second one in the same month.”
“Coincidence?” Viraj asked.
“No,” Samar replied. “They are too aligned with other slow disruptions. International advertising renewals have been delayed. Two overseas security partnerships are under review.”
The attacks were systematic.
“I sent the funding trail through this evening,” Samar continued. “The consortium routed through three shellfoundations. Two in Singapore. One in Zurich. The money reached the protest groups from there.”
Viraj added, “They disguised it as climate advocacy grants. Clean paperwork. Strategic timing.”
Bharat nodded once. “This was competitive leverage. Disguised as activism.”
Green steel contracts. Regulatory influence. Market positioning.
A brief pause settled over the call.
Bharat said nothing for a moment.
Then he pulled up a file on the laptop and projected it on the screen.
“I looked at the Singapore foundations,” he said. “Two of them appeared in your infrastructure bid leaks eighteen months ago, Ram.”
Ram's expression shifted. He leaned forward. “The same ones?”
“Same registration dates. Same nominee directors. Different account layers, but the same origin point.”
Silence.
“That wasn't a competitor protecting market share,” Bharat said. “A competitor goes after one target. One industry. One contract window.”
