This chapter contains violence and strong language. Reader's discretion is advised.
THIRD PERSON
Somewhere in a basement
The small room was dimly lit, with a lamp hanging from the ceiling. One could barely see through the dark haze of what was happening. The air was filled with smoke and metallic-blood odour, mixed with an intoxicating smell.
A man was sitting on a chair, with a knife in his hands and a smirk on his face, looking at the blood dripping from it. His strong hands and veiny arms made the big knife look like a toy. He sat there casually, playing with the knife. In front of him was a guy tied to the chair, with a cloth in his mouth. His muffled screams had stopped now.
The man got up from his chair and walked up to the table, placed at the other end of the room. He placed the knife there, picked up the pack of cigarettes, and took one out. He took it in his mouth and lazily went for the lighter, which was in the right pocket of his blue rugged denim jeans. He lit his cigarette and came back to his chair.
"You dog, you spoiled my t-shirt." He said mockingly. The black T-shirt that he was wearing had splashes of blood all over it. His neck, face, and hands were covered with drops of blood, making him look more primal and dangerous.
Blood was dripping from the guy's chest, as there were huge cuts on it. His face was covered in blood, and he was beaten black and blue. It was evident that he had been tortured mercilessly, which had almost made him lifeless.
He let out rings of smoke from his mouth, exhaling lazily, closing his eyes, and tilting his head on the back of the chair. He promised himself not to go too far this time, but he cannot help himself when it comes to blood.
Poor guy, he just wanted his job. But this man couldn't let him have it. Not when this was the moment he was waiting for. It was his. It had to be his. He couldn't let this opportunity slip from his hands.
He stood up and went over to the guy who was tied to the chair, lifelessly, with his head down. He extended his hand to him, "Want to hand it over to me now?" with a smirk on his face. The guy slowly looked up and nodded his head in agreement.
The man untied him. The guy put his hands in the pockets of his pants and handed something over to him. It was an ID card, 'Kabir Singh- aged 27 years.'
"Hmm," he said firmly. "So now I have to be Kabir Singh instead of Yuvraaj Singh Rana. Not bad." He quickly glanced over the ID card.
The guy took this as an opportunity and stood up in the snap of a moment, and ran towards the door of the room. He nearly escaped, but how can anyone escape the wrath of Yuvraaj?
Just as he thought he made it out of that room, a bullet hit his stomach. Yuvraaj, standing where he was, still looking at the ID card, took out his gun that was tucked in his waist, and shot it once at the stomach of the guy. He didn't even turn his face to see him. His aim was perfect.
"Bad move", he said, his voice now dark and heavy. Then he went over his body, towards the door, and went out. "Dispose it," he commanded over to the guards standing outside the room.
This was Yujraaj Singh Rana, walking out with a new identity and victory in his hands, which would lead to the destruction of the Bedi house.
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As soon as her classes got over, Ananya wanted to go home. Her friends were not present, which made her not want to stay any longer in college.
Ananya was a quiet person. She did not have many friends. Just two girls from her class, who were also her friends in school. She decided to go home and call them and tell them about the good news, that her family finally said yes to pursue further studies.
She stepped out of the college gate. Her car with the driver was waiting at a short distance. As soon as she started walking towards it, she felt something behind her head. A chill ran down her spine, sensing someone was standing just behind her. As soon as she turned around to look, her eyes widened with fear.
A man was standing with a gun pointing towards her head. She became numb. She couldn't move and was standing still. Fear overpowered her. The man suddenly pressed the cold metallic surface of the gun to her forehead. She squeezed her eyes shut, thinking it was all just a bad dream.
"You bitch, I will not leave you. Your bloody family has destroyed me." The man shouted in anger. As soon as she heard those words, she knew it was not a bad dream, but a living nightmare.
"I worked for them for so many years, gave my loyalty to them, and as soon as I refused to cover up their filthy business, they threw me out? As if I was some garbage!" he continued.
"W..wha.." she mumbled, unable to make sense of his words. Her mind was spiraling around too many questions now. Who is he, what is happening, why is he doing this, but most importantly, what filthy business was he talking about?
Her words dried in her mouth, before she could speak again, the man took her by her hair behind and pulled them, forcing her to look up. She yelped in pain, and now tears had started flowing from her eyes.
"You are the most precious thing to that b'stard Rajat Bedi. Now he will know what it feels like when your life is turned upside down in a split second. I'm not going to leave you."
Saying this, he let go of her hair with a jerk and grabbed her face with so much force that it hurt her. He squeezed it, and clenching his jaw, he barked, "You will die today, b'tch." He aimed the gun again towards her forehead and pressed against it. Ananya cried her eyes out and shouted in fear.
Just when she thought it was over, she heard a gunshot. Her driver, who was standing at a distance, fired towards the man. The bullet hit his arm, which was holding the gun. In an instant, the gun fell and the man stumbled due to the pain from gunwound.
The driver yanked Ananya by her arm and immediately brought her to the car, shoved her inside, went to the driver's seat, and started the engine of the car. The next moment, they drove off.
"Baby ji, are you okay?" asked the driver hurriedly while looking over his shoulder towards her. Ananya was in shock. She could not fathom what had just happened 2 minutes ago. She felt she would die today.
"Baby ji, talk to me, please. Are you hurt?" the driver repeated. "N..no.." Ananya mumbled faintly. Her pulse was running extremely fast. She felt dizzy, and she closed her eyes. She sank into the car's seat, thinking about everything that had just unfolded.
Her ears were ringing with just one sentence. What filthy business was he talking about? She knew that her family was quite influential and had multiple businesses. And all of them were either real estate businesses or import-export. Everything was legal. Then what was the man referring to?
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The car came to a halt. It was a huge white mansion with a large garden. The golden nameplate outside read "The Bedi House". Ananya stepped out slowly, still feeling weak. She walked towards the gate and opened it. As soon as she entered her house, she saw her mother.
"Ananya, my doll, you are here already! I've made your favourite cake today. You are going to lo.." before her mother could complete the sentence, Ananya rushed towards her mother and hugged her tightly. Tears shed from her eyes, and she sobbed and cried to her mother.
"Ananya! Hey Bhagwaan!! What happened, my dear? Why are you crying like this?" asked Shivani, Ananya's mother. Ananya couldn't say anything as her voice was muffled by her cries.
"Ananya, meri jaan nikal rahi hai tumhe aise rote dekhte hue! batao mujhe, kya hua hai"? asked her mother
("Ananya, seeing you crying like this is killing me. Please tell me what happened?"
"M..maa.." Ananya finally uttered a word, still crying. "I was s..scared, I was so scared ma.."
"What! Scared of what? Has something happened? Tell me, for God's sake!" Her mother took her to the sofa nearby and made her sit down. She gave her a glass of water, which was kept on the table in front. Ananya was still sobbing.
"Madam, someone attacked baby Ji just outside the college." The driver said, rushing inside the house. Shivani's eyes widened in fear and shock.
The driver narrated everything that had happened outside her college. All this while, Ananya clung to her mother's arms like a baby.
"Uss madarch'd ki itni himmat! Meri beti ko dhamkaya aur haath lagaya?" Rajat spewed in anger. He heard everything while descending the stairs to the hall.
("How dare that motherf'cker threaten and touch my daughter!")
Hearing all the hue and cry, Vikram and Mira came out of their room. The driver explained everything to Vikram in detail. Vikram's face was red and boiling with anger. He clenched his fist and turned his head towards Ananya.
He didn't say a word. He went to her, picked her up, made her stand, and took her into his arms. Ananya sobbed as soon as she hugged her brother. He gently caressed her hair, calming her, and patted her back.
"Don't cry, my precious. That man will not be spared." He said, controlling the anger in his voice.
"He..he said something bhaiya..something about your 'filthy business'..I couldn't understand what he was talking about. Why did he want to kill me, bhaiya?" Ananya asked, with tears still rolling down her cheeks.
Rajat and Vikram instantly looked at each other as soon as Ananya uttered those words. Vikram clenched his jaw and said, "It's nothing..you don't worry about it. Just calm down and wipe your tears."
"I cannot see my little sister cry like this." He said, kissing her temple.
"But bhaiya..what did he mean when h..." Ananya asked again, but she was cut off in the middle. "I told you, it doesn't concern you. Just relax and don't worry about it," said Vikarm, sternly this time.
Ananya did not question him again, knowing her brother's short temper. Her mother came and took her by her hand and walked her to the stairs up to her room. "Beta, you should change and freshen up now," said her mother, hugging Ananya once again.
Tears swelled up in Shivani's eyes as she said, "I'm just glad that you are not hurt. Ananya, you are a piece of our hearts, our most precious thing. God forbid, if anything happens to you, we will die. Your father and brother can burn down this world for you, if they see as much as a scratch over you."
"I'm fine, maa..don't worry, please. I just need to take some rest." Saying this, Ananya went inside her room.
As soon as she closed the door, she leaned back against the door, her heart still thumping from the whole situation. She closed her eyes, trying to relax, reassuring herself that she is safe now.
But the same question still lingered in her head. What was that man talking about? Is there anything that her family is hiding?
"No..that cannot be true.." she whispered it to herself. She went to the washroom and stood under the cold shower, trying to wash away the thoughts that were creeping into her mind.
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"I told you, don't let her go. Now see what has happened." Vikram roared. Rajat was sitting on a throne-like chair, with a cigar in his mouth. His gaze was fixed on the wall in front.
"And now you have sent her to pursue further studies! You know about the dangers that are lurking outside the house. For decades, we have collected more enemies than allies, and it has come to bite us now." Vikram rubbed his temple in exasperation. "I will not let her step out of the house, no matter what. The elections are already on our heads. We cannot take any chances now, Dad. You have to win this time, too. And we cannot afford to have any kind of scandals at this stage."
"Enough!" Finally, Rajat spoke in a heavy voice, asserting his dominance, taking a puff from his fat cigar. "That b'stard was just a normal employee in one of our offices. There may be 100s of them like him. I don't care. But I'm not going to break the promise that I made to my daughter. I cannot see her upset anymore."
"So what do you suggest, Dad? That we leave Ananya on her own?" Vikram turned around, facing his father.
"We cannot do that. Not when the elections are just around the corner. With passing time, danger is also increasing. And that is why I have decided that Ananya will have a personal bodyguard." Rajat announced.
"A bodyguard?" Vikram questioned, not sure he heard his father correctly.
"You heard me. That way, Ananya can continue her studies, go out wherever she wants, without us worrying about her." Rajat said.
"Are you sure about this? Will Ananya agree to this idea?" Vikram doubted about this.
"She has to." Said Rajat strictly. "She has no other choice. Either this, or no stepping out of the house. She can decide for herself." Vikram nodded in approval.
Both of them thought they were protecting Ananya, oblivious of the fact that this would become the very reason for her and their ruin.
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