The mention of that night makes me stiffen again, even after all these years. But if Samarjeet wants answers, I’ll give them to him. I step closer until the barrel of my gun is almost touching his skin.
“Ayaan and I both pulled the trigger.”
He takes a few seconds to process that, looking almost shaken by the revelation, but then a twisted laugh escapes him.
“Wow. So you killed your father too?” His grin widens. “Looks like there isn’t much difference between us after all, Raghav.”
Before he can say another word, I slam the barrel harder against his forehead, enough to snap his head back.
“Don’t...” My voice drops dangerously low. “Don’t ever compare us.”
The grin vanishes from his face.
“You murdered your father for his empire. I killed mine and destroyed his empire because he was a monster. He had slaughtered innocent people. He had destroyed lives without an ounce of remorse. And among those people... was my mother.”
The silence that follows is suffocating. We may both have pulled the trigger on our fathers, but that is where our similarities end. I finally lower the gun from his head and step back to pull out a cigarette. But before I can light it, his voice stops me.
“W-wait…” he stammers, his earlier arrogance suddenly gone. “How did you know that I… I killed my father? How the f*ck were you prepared for all of this? Who told you my plan? No one knew about it except me and—”
“I know.” I strike the lighter and take a long drag, letting the smoke fill my lungs before exhaling it slowly into the cold night air. “You never shared your plan with anyone except Singhal and Parag. Which means the person feeding me information was oneof the three men sitting at that table.” I take another drag as I move closer.
The cigarette remains trapped between my fingers as I tilt my head at him. “For a man who spent his entire life chasing power, you were surprisingly blind to what was happening right under your nose, Samarjeet.”
I can practically see the thoughts racing through his mind. He’s replaying every conversation, every meeting, every mistake, trying to find the one crack he failed to notice.
A few days earlier
The day Haider informed me that Singhal was flying to Cape Town, I realised he was my only doorway into whatever the three of them were planning. But the problem was that men like Singhal rarely betrayed their partners for money. They only betrayed when someone they loved became more important than everything else, including their own survival. And Singhal had only one weakness… his daughter, Nitara, whom he wanted to marry off to Parag.
For years, I’d kept women and children away from my wars. Never dragged families into it. Those were my rules, the ones I never broke. That was until Samarjeet came after Siya and turned my family into a target. The moment he crossed that line, the rules of this war changed.
So, I made the call. Haider handled the rest, and Singhal’s daughter Nitara was abducted by us quietly… without any violence, injuries, or manhandling. She was brought to a secure location known only to Haider and me, where she was fed, protected, and kept under watch. I had no intention of hurting her. I only needed her father to believe that I could.
The next morning, when Singhal landed in Cape Town, the first thing waiting for him was a photograph of Nitara boundto a chair, her mouth gagged and fear clearly visible in her eyes.
He hadn’t even stepped out of his private jet when my name flashed on his screen. The second the call connected, his fury exploded through the line.
“Raghav!” His voice shook with fury. “Let my daughter go! How did you even get to her? Release her right now!”
I leaned back in my chair and let him burn.
“No.”
That one word quickened his breathing and stirred panic within him. I let him drown in it, because fear made people do things they never thought they would. Finally, I spoke again.
“You were preparing to come after me, Singhal. Did you really think I would sit still and wait for you to strike? Your daughter is not leaving that place alive for sure.”
His breathing grows heavier.
“You and I had never crossed paths before,” I reminded him. “But the day you sent a hitman after Siya at RK Estate, you became my enemy. Sending him back to you in a body bag should have been enough of a warning, but you chose to ignore it. And now, you are involving yourself in our war. You are standing beside the man who wants to destroy my family.” My voice hardens. “So don’t be surprised if I destroy yours.”
“Raghav—”
“Listen carefully,” I snarl. “It won’t take me long to send Nitara back to you in exactly the same condition as your hitman. She’ll reach your doorstep in a body bag before you even get the chance to meet Samarjeet.”
“No. You won’t do that.” His breath catches as he understands my seriousness. “She’s my daughter, Raghav. I admit I made a mistake coming after Siya, but I only did it because I wanted Nitara to marry Parag. I didn’t know whatSiya meant to you. I didn’t even know you were alive. Don’t drag my daughter in this. Nitara is innocent.”
“So, is my family,” I barked, “whose murder you will be planning in the next few hours with Samarjeet.”
