Page 161 of Since You Stole My Heart

His eyes looked distant, but they burned with rage. ‘Viraj has a lot to answer for. What he did to you, to her, and to everyone else he’s tormented.’

Kashvi covered his trembling fists with both her hands. ‘And he will. But if we make rash decisions now, we’ll only make things harder for ourselves. I understand how you feel, but we have to stay calm.’

His brows furrowed and his lips pressed into a tight line, but eventually he nodded.

Then suddenly, Dhruv burst out. ‘What the hell is this?’

‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ Vihaan muttered, scrolling urgently across the touchpad.

‘What is it?’ Swayam asked, his posture rigid with tension.

Vihaan didn’t answer. He just kept typing rapidly.

Luv blurted out, ‘Brother, you do not want to know.’

‘What is it?’ Kashvi repeated, swallowing the fear climbing up her throat.

Vihaan finally looked at them and said, ‘Okay, so the private folders are encrypted too, and I’ve texted a friend who can crack them. But also...’

‘But what?’ Swayam asked sharply, his patience wearing thin.

Dhruv said, ‘There’s an open folder titled “KK screenshots.” We thought it was about Kashvi, but it’s actually full of transaction records between Viraj and Karthik.’

Kashvi felt frozen in place because the pain was too much. The small, stubborn part of her that had clung to the hope that her father wouldn’t be behind this finally shrivelled and died.

Luv spoke, his eyes glued to the screen. ‘It goes back years. Vihaan got into Viraj’s bank account, and Karthik made a payment just this morning.’

‘I’ll kill him,’ Swayam snapped, the words exploding out of him. ‘I swear to God, I’ll kill him.’

‘I’ll help you hide the body,’ Dhruv offered, equally furious.

Vihaan shook his head, disgust twisting across his face. ‘This is seriously messed up. It’s clearly planned.’

‘What else is in there?’ Swayam demanded.

‘This folder only has payment records, but Viraj’s been on Karthik’s payroll for a long time.’

‘For what?’ Kashvi asked, agitation rising sharply inside her.

‘I don’t know. Kuber, our friend, is working on it,’ Vihaan admitted reluctantly. ‘I accepted the virus he sent through the mail, and he’s trying to bypass the lock. Whatever answers we need, they’re in there. But it will take at least an hour.’

‘I just don’t understand how a father can stomach doing this to his own daughter,’ Swayam said with a grimace.

All Kashvi managed was a whisper, her gaze fixed on the ripped teddy bear strewn across the floor. ‘I should’ve known. There’s no bottom to his greed. I kept telling myself there had to be a limit, but I was too blind to see my mistake.’

‘Hey, look at me,’ Swayam urged, cupping her jaw with both hands. ‘As soon as we have something concrete, we’ll take him to court. It’ll be over soon.’

Kashvi nodded because she could see how deeply he meant it. But she also knew no proof or evidence would answer the one question tearing through her.

Why would he do this?

‘Swayam, come here. I need you to note this down,’ Vihaan called, waving him over.

Swayam looked at her hesitantly, but she nodded in silent reassurance.

‘Why don’t you rest for a while? I’ll come get you when we have something, okay?’ he suggested when she swayed slightly in his arms.

‘Okay.’