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The storage room was dimly lit, every shadow stretching long and ominous. Silence hung in the air – the kind that always came before chaos. I moved swiftly, fingers trailing over rusted metal cabinets. My pulse steady despite the tension crackling in the air. I wasn’t here to waste time. I need the damn file.

Project Inferno.

A classified dossier that contained covert military operations, some of which had the power to tear down the underworld - my world. If this fell into the wrong hands, it wouldn’t just expose my empire. It would burn it to the ground.

My eyes locked onto the cabinet labelled Confidential. I yanked it open and reached inside, my fingers closing around the worn edges of the file when –

Wait, I heard a footstep very faint footstep approaching near the door. The person opened the door. I shot my hand out from the darkness, gripping the barrel of the person’s rifle.

A slow exhale left my lips and I lifted my gaze, a smirk curling at the edges despite the rage simmering beneath my skin.

This girl is really powerful and brave. And then she hit me really hard with the butt of her rifle. She was standing there with rifle gripped tight in her hands and her eyes dark, yes, burning with fury. Not fear. Fury.

Most people who dared to challenge me ended up regretting it before they even landed a hit. But she...she had no hesitation. No fear in those eyes. Just pure determination to destroy me.

“Not bad,” I drawled, voice deceptively calm. She didn’t respond. Just lunged at me again.

Now she was top of me and then the world shattered around us.

The ground trembled violently beneath my feet and in the next second a wave of fire and debris tore through the room swallowing everything in the path.

Shaurya. My reckless brother. He set off the charges early. I forced myself to move, pain ripping through my limbs as I tightened my grip on the file. The mission came first. Always.

Through the smoke and chaos, I saw her.

She was struggling to get up, blood dripping on her arm, her breath uneven.

But I didn’t have time for distraction. I turned on my heel and vanished into the firestorm, leaving her behind.

Sirens wailed in the distance, soldier barking order and scrambling to contain the mess. I pressed a hand to my forehead feeling the sticky warmth of my own blood. The memory of her eyes sharp, defiant, unyielding flashed in my mind.

I let out a short, humourless chuckle shaking my head. Foolish.

But not weak. No, she was something else entirely.

The screech of tires pulled my attention back to the present. A black jeep rolled to a stop a few feet away. The door swinging open before the engine fully dies.

Shaurya.

He stepped out, stretching his tall, athletic

frame like he had come from a casual night at the rink instead of detonating a goddamn building. His hockey jersey was replaced by a fitted black shirt. His usual easy going smirk intact, his eyes held the sharp edge of someone who had scene far too much blood in his life.

“You’re bleeding,” he remarked, leaning against the jeep as he tossed me a cloth. “What happened?”

I caught the cloth mid- air dabbing at the wound. “No. A woman hit me.”

Shaurya blinked. Then grinned. “No fucking way. Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me, the dark monster, the man who strikes fear into the underworld got his ass handed to him by a woman.”

“Kisi ne sach kaha har aurat Maa Kali ki roop hoti hai”I shot him.

He shaked his head. “I knew there’d be a day someone humbled you but I didn’t think it’d be a woman with a rifle.”

I ignored his teasing and sliding into a passenger seat. “Did you get what I needed?”

Shaurya followed tossing a duffel bag onto the backseat before shifting into drive.

“Project inferno is secure. The explosion covered our tracks but we need to make sure there are no loose ends.”

Shaurya hummed in agreement, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. ”And the woman?”

“She didn’t know who I am. Thanks to my mask.” I smirked.

Him being completely unfazed. “If a woman managed to land a hit on you, she’s either really good or you were really distracted.

~

By the time we pulled into the estate, the sky had darkened. The mansion loomed ahead- ornate, grand yet quiet. It was always like this. A house filled with secrets, power and unspoken tensions.

Shaurya parked the jeep, stretching his arms lazily. As we stepped inside the scent of sandalwood and old books filled the air. The dim lighting cast long shadows along the walls, the quiet hum of the household settling over me like a weighted blanket.

“Well, look who finally decided to show up.”

Samaira.

I turned just in time to see my youngest sister strolling down the grand staircase in a silk robe, her freshly manicured nails tapping against the railing.

“Raunaksh bhai, you look like you just got out of a street fight,” she mused tilting her head. Then her eyes darted to Shaurya. “And you look...the same. Useless.”

Shaurya rolled his eyes. “And you look like you spent the entire day shopping for things you don’t need.”

Samaira gasped dramatically placing a hand on her chest. “Excuse me, fashion is a necessity. Unlike whatever shady business of two were up to.”

Her eyes gleamed as she stepped closer looking up at me with a smirk. “So...who did this to you?” She gestured to the wound on my forehead.

Shaurya grinned. “A woman.”

For a second, Samaira just stared. And then she burst out laughing. She clutched her stomach doubling over. “Oh my God, this is golden.”

“Shut up.” I muttered brushing past her.

“Who is she?” she called after me. “Should I start preparing a bhabhi welcome gift?”

Before I could reply, my mother walked in.

Siya Devraj Thakur, our mother, the renowned author, the woman with a smile that could calm storms and yet when she walked in, she was nothing like the woman everyone saw on the outside.

The elegance that usually defined her was gone. Instead, she looked at us- her eyes filled with a mix of anger, worry and something else..something darker.

She took one look at my dusted shirt, bloodied forehead, Kabir’s scraped knuckles and before any of us could explained, she snapped.

“What the hell happened to you two?” Her voice cut through the air like a blade, “You’re not in a damn war zone. What do you think you’re doing acting like a children?”

We didn’t say anything. How could we? The truth didn’t feel right to spill not after everything. She knew what happened to our father. She knew how we lost him but she wasn’t going to let us go down the same path. Not like this.

I had to swallow hard as she looked at us. “You came bruised today but your..your father didn’t come back at all. What to do you think that you’re immortal?” Her voice cracked at the last word.

She was right. Our father. The man who taught us everything about power, control and ambition—he was gone. The world saw him strong, silent force of nature.

But we knew the truth. His death wasn’t some accident. It was culmination of a life filled with danger, decisions and secrets. We had questions and we would never have the answers. Not from anyone.

But we had each other. And we aren’t about to lose any more of us.

“I didn’t raise you two to get yourselves killed over a bloody fight,” she said, her voice still sharp. “You’ll answer me later. But right now, get yourselves cleaned up.”

Shaurya and I didn’t argue. We just nodded.

Then she turned to go to the study room. We, three descended to our own room.

I stood in front of the mirror, rolling my shoulders before reaching for the first-aid kit. Tch. That woman had good aim. I turned the tap, letting the cold water pool into my palm before splashing it over the wound. A sharp sting shot through my skin but I ignored it watching as the crimson swirled down the sink.

Grabbing a cotton pad, I poured antiseptic over it. The moment it touched my wound, a searing burn followed. My jaw clenched, muscles tightening but I didn’t so much as flinch.

Pain was familiar. Predictable. I pressed harder, cleaning away the last traces of blood before reaching for the bandages. The mirror reflected my steady hands as I wrapped the gauze around my head securing it with the practiced ease.

The bathroom smelled like antiseptic and iron. A reminder. Of tonight. Of the mission. Of her.

I exhaled slowly, rolling my neck before tossing the bloodied cotton into the trash. My fingers brushed against the towel still damped from washing the blood off my hands.

One mission. One unexpected variable. And yet, my mind kept circling back to her.

I turned off the light and walked out leaving the sting of the wound behind. But the irritation? That, I carried with me.

The mission was done. But loose ends always came back to haunt you.

Who else was after Project Inferno?

Had someone set me up?

And if so, who needed to die for it?”

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