For a few seconds, nobody on the call said a word. Because the scene unfolding before us felt too unreal to process. Raghav calmly checked the weapon, then took another slow drag from his cigarette before walking towards the entrance of the mansion.
“Oh my God…” Meher whispered weakly from the other end of the call.
Even Kailash Uncle had gone visibly pale, while Ayaan and Krish stared at the screen in horror. Because the man walking towards Vardhaan Mansion was no longer the Raghav we had known for the past two and a half years.
This was the Dark Prince, the very version none of us ever wanted Raghav to turn into again.
A bullet flew past him. He didn’t even flinch. One of the Vardhaan guards suddenly charged towards him from the side with a weapon raised, but Raghav shot him dead without even slowing down.
Another guard came from the opposite direction.
Another bullet.
Another body collapsed.
And Raghav just kept walking.
Like death itself had entered Vardhaan Mansion tonight wearing black. Bloodshed had once been second nature to him. And tonight, he had stepped right back into it without the slightest hesitation.
The entire family had always avoided discussing Raghav’s past in detail. We all knew pieces of it, but few of us had ever seen the Dark Prince in action. But today, we were all watching him live, and it was horrifying. This ruthless version of Raghav showed no hesitation, no panic, and no humanity on his face. Only brutal rage.
Raghav kept killing Vardhaan men one after another without a second thought. I heard Krish swear under his breath on the video call. Meher gasped softly. Ayaan stood frozen in shock and anger. Colour drained from Kailash Uncle’s face as he slowly sat down on the couch behind him, as if his legs had suddenly lost their strength.
“No…” he whispered brokenly. “Raghav…”
My chest tightened painfully at the fear in his voice. Meher immediately sat down beside him and held his arm while tears gathered in her own eyes too. Because each one of us watching now understood the same terrifying truth. Raghav was no longer hiding from the underworld. Tonight, he had stepped out of the shadows and brought the Dark Prince back to life for one woman… Siya Vardhaan.
He was here to take her back to RK Estate. Because Ayaan had changed the plans at the last minute. Somewhere deep down, the realisation made guilt crawl through my spine. Ayaan had specifically instructedme not to tell Raghav about the change in drop-off location for Siya. And yet I had told him. Had I not, this situation today might have been averted.
But I never imagined Raghav would react like this. Never thought he would resurrect his entire mafia identity overnight and storm straight into a Vardhaan wedding with enough ammunition to start a war.
My hands trembled while holding the phone, but I kept showing them live feed of everything happening in front of me almost mechanically.
The gunfire. The screaming guests. The blood spreading across the pathways of the mansion.
Raghav kept shooting every man who crossed his path. Men dropped dead in front of him while he continued walking towards the mandap like nothing around him mattered except Siya.
When he shot Parag on his shoulder, Ayaan completely lost whatever composure he had left.
“Raghav, what the f*ck are you doing?” he yelled, as if Raghav could somehow hear him through the screen.
“Should I intercept?” I asked Ayaan and Krish, who were still watching everything in shock. When neither of them answered, I repeated again. “I’m waiting for your orders.”
Krish immediately shook his head, clearly hating the idea. That’s when Ayaan spoke up.
“Don’t,” he said, clenching his jaw. “You have done enough damage already, Trisha.” The hurt in his eyes hit harder than his words. “Despite my orders, you told him about the change in plans, didn’t you? That you are not taking Siya back to the RK Estate, but somewhere else?”
I swallowed, unable to respond. While Ayaan glared at me knowingly, Krish shook his head in equal frustration.
“You told him, Trisha?” Krish asked, furious. “How could you? You knew he would react immediately. Then why didn’t you keep your mouth shut for once?”
“I told Raghav because he’s my friend. He had trusted me with this mission. But I didn’t know he would do this…” I shot back, controlling my own anger and guilt.
“You can’t justify this,” Krish shouted. “Look at what you have done. You have awakened the beast. Everything changes now because of your one decision. It’s gone too far already,” he added.
I realised that too. No matter how hard we tried, stopping Raghav seemed impossible now. That darkness of his old mafia life had completely taken over him again. And we all knew this version of Raghav didn’t pause to think emotionally. Once he snapped, he only brought destruction.
Keeping my distance, I followed Raghav and his men into the vast lawn inside the mansion. I stayed hidden in the shadows while continuing to film everything, ensuring he or his men didn’t spot me.
