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“Riya… Stop! I’m like your brother… I will not do anything wrong.”

“No!” she shouts, her voice filled with fear. “I used to call you Brother, but you're not my brother. All of you are disgusting! You kidnapped me and my mother just to take revenge on Sonakshi. Your men used to touch me in such a filthy way. What were they planning to do to me today?”

Vikrant’s breath catches in his throat. For a few moments, everything around him seems to stop.

PAST EVENT

“Sir… I need to tell you something,” Akhil says quietly.

Vikrant looks at him with burning eyes, anger clouding his face. But Akhil holds his gaze firmly, refusing to look away. Vikrant's attention again goes to his naked chest; he immediately understands the gravity of the situation. He knows Akhil would never interrupt him like this unless it was extremely urgent. Even Jhankar senses the tension and intervenes immediately.

"Vikrant, I’m absolutely fine. Please go and see what has happened. Make sure no one else is hurt."

Vikrant cannot bring himself to tell her how many have already died, but right now, it’s more important to listen to Akhil. He quickly follows him after placing Jhankar securely in the helicopter, heading toward wherever Akhil is leading him.

“Akhil, what happened? What do you want to show me?”

Vikrant demands, his voice tense. But Akhil doesn’t answer. He simply gestures silently with one hand in a corner and lowers his eyes. As they approach the site, Vikrant notices a group of men standing silently with their heads bowed. They gradually move away, unveiling a sight that profoundly affects Vikrant.

There is a girl lying on the ground. Akhil has tried to preserve her modesty by covering her with his jacket and shirt. The implication strikes Vikrant hard, she may not have been wearing clothes. She is completely unconscious. Dread twists inside Vikrant, and a storm of questions swirls in his mind. He steps closer slowly, the heaviness in his chest growing. The moment he sees her face, the ground slips from beneath his feet. It’s Riya—Sonakshi’s younger sister. She’s only 16. Vikrant whirls toward Akhil.

“When we arrived, sir,” Akhil begins solemnly, “all the men around her were already dead. Riya didn’t get hit by a single bullet. A boy either shielded her or fell on top of her after getting shot; I don’t know. We think those men brought her here to rape her…. I don't know anything else; when I enter here, she is lying naked.”

Vikrant’s gaze returns to Riya. Her hands and legs are tied, slap marks bruise her cheeks, and she’s unconscious. His jaw tightens with fury. He begins scanning the area for any survivingguard, someone who can answer his questions. But Akhil, still looking down, starts to speak again.

“Sir, Mark's men killed all of them. The few surviving men of Chandel that we managed to catch say that Chandel had struck a deal with Mark. In return for some dream or fantasy Mark had, Chandel promised him a shipment. I think, sir… he offered Riya as part of that deal…. I don't know if Mark came here to frame you in Riya's kidnapping or if she's already here."

Vikrant’s fury explodes. He grabs Akhil by his neck, eyes blazing. But Akhil continues to speak, voice steady, gaze unmoving.

“Sir, this property belongs to Ravindra Sir. Nothing happens here without his consent. Even you don’t come here, because you know how much he treasures this place. If he had kept Riya anywhere else, you would have found out. That’s why… he kept her here. And beyond this, sir, I can’t say anything.”

Vikrant’s hands tremble. He releases Akhil and turns to look at Riya once again, unconscious and fragile. He walks over to her and kneels down, gently caressing her head with trembling fingers. His voice breaks as he asks,

“Has something happened to Riya?”

“Sir, I can’t confirm anything,” Akhil replies quietly. “There are a lot of beating marks on her body, but until the doctors examine her thoroughly, we can’t say anything for sure.”

Vikrant can’t bear to look at her like this. He remembers her laughter, her mischief, and the way she always found joy in the smallest things. Ever since his engagement to Sonakshi, Riya used to tease him endlessly. He had never minded; in fact, he had always found her antics endearing. She had always seemed like a little sister to him, carefree, sweet, and full of life. Taking a deep, pained breath, Vikrant turns to Akhil.

“Take her to the hospital right now. No one must see her in this condition. I’ll personally speak to Papa… to understand what the hell made him do this. But for now, her treatment is the most important thing.”

PAST EVENT ENDS

Vikrant sits down on the floor right in front of Riya, who is crouched there in fear. He gently places his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort and reassure her.

“Riya… look here….”

“I haven’t done anything wrong. Please don’t hurt me… Don’t touch me,” she pleads, her voice trembling with panic and helplessness.

“Riya, nothing has happened to you… No one was able to harm you. All of them died before they could do anything to you. But I need to know what exactly happened down there. First, tell me that. And how can you be so sure your mother is still there? We didn’t find anyone. We searched the entire place before leaving. There was no one there.”

Riya looks at him, her eyes filled with confusion and distress. Then she shifts her gaze toward Akhil and finally back to Vikrant before speaking.

“No, my mom was there… She was with me. But suddenly, some of your bodyguards came into the basement and forcibly dragged me away from her. They separated us and said they would ‘enjoy’ today.”

Vikrant closes his eyes for a moment, his jaw tightening. An intense wave of rage rises within him, rage directed at Ravindra. Vikrant feels disgusted by the idea that Ravindra would stoop to such depravity by enticing Chandel with this innocent girl.His thoughts are racing now, trying to piece together the logic behind his father's plan. It’s clear to him now, his father must have believed that by capturing Chandel’s wife and daughter, he could force him into the open. But what they failed to consider was that the men they entrusted with the job might have sinister motives of their own.

The fault may not lie in Ravindra’s objective but certainly in the method. Using these two innocent lives as bait was a grave mistake. If Vikrant had ever wanted to do something similar, he could have done so long ago, but he never did. He lived by rules, one he honored deeply. As he is lost in thought, Riya suddenly grabs his hand, snapping him out of his thoughts.