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“Nobody can avoid me…”

As Jhankar starts pushing Sharda’s wheelchair toward the dining hall, Sharda begins to complain.

“I can walk just fine, but you and Vikrant don’t want me to walk at all.”

“Do you think I don’t know how much you take advantage of our absence? Not only do you roam around the house, but you also start doing chores in the kitchen, even though the doctor has clearly said you need rest. Still, you don’t listen to us. That’s why when we’re around, we don’t want you to even lift your arms to walk.”

Sharda laughs and glances at Vikrant, who is already at the dining table and listening to their conversation. Ravindra, noticing that Jhankar is dressed formally, asks her,

“Why are you wearing formal clothes today?”

“I’ve got a job. From today, I’ll be going to the office and then to the hospital to see my father, since he’s getting discharged tomorrow.”

Hearing this, Ravindra immediately looks at Vikrant, who begins eating as soon as Sharda arrives. Sharda’s eyes shift to Ravindra, who is clearly surprised and visibly angry. He slides his breakfast plate aside and says,

“I have a meeting with a political party today, so I’ll have breakfast there.”

Vikrant pauses for a moment but then resumes eating. Ravindra leaves, and the remaining three continue their breakfastpeacefully. Afterward, Vikrant takes Sharda to her room and says to Jhankar,

“I’m going that way, so I’ll drop you at the office.”

Before Jhankar can respond, he enters Sharda’s room with her. Sharda keeps staring at Vikrant, prompting him to say,

“You know Papa very well. He didn’t want Jhankar to work, which is why he used his influence everywhere to block her opportunities. But finally, she’s got a job at V International.”

“But that’s your company—and even Ravindra doesn’t know this.”

“I can’t say anything in this matter, but I honestly don’t think I should stop Jhankar from doing what she wants. If she wants to work, then she should.”

Sharda smiles broadly at his reply, which makes Vikrant uncomfortable—his words to her contradict his actual thoughts. He quickly leaves, and Jhankar, still standing in the hall, says upon seeing him,

“I’ll go on my own. I don’t need your help. If someone sees me getting out of an expensive car, it’ll create a certain image—which is why I need a job.”

Without waiting for a response, Jhankar leaves, and Vikrant watches her go before calling his security and instructing,

“Wherever Jhankar goes and whatever condition she’s in, I want to know everything.”

~~~~

Vikrant has a gun pointed at a man’s head, who sits before him with folded hands, trying to save his life. He can feel deathlooming, knowing that if Vikrant himself has come, his death is certain.

“Speak up…”

Hearing Vikrant’s voice, the man begins trembling and shuts his eyes, then starts speaking rapidly.

“Chandel sir promised me no harm would come to me today, and that if you’re spending money to protect them, he’d match it. So I’ve been collecting information for him.”

As he displays a pen drive, a nearby guard grabs it, plugs it into a laptop, and shows the contents to Vikrant. The drive contains Sonakshi’s current address, a picture of her with Vyom, her pregnancy reports, the place where Vyom started working a week ago, and his forged identity documents used abroad.

“I’m sorry, sir… Mr. Chandel lured me in. I made the mistake of giving in to temptation. I haven’t given him any data yet—I was waiting to raise its value. Just today, he said he’d pay me around 20 crores. I was just about to go. He doesn’t know anything yet, and now I won’t give him a thing. Please, spare my life.”

Vikrant watches him calmly. The man starts sobbing and begging for mercy, knowing Vikrant is as deadly as he is calm. He tries to crawl forward to touch Vikrant’s feet, but just then, Vikrant’s phone rings. The man freezes, understanding that interrupting him could be fatal. Vikrant answers the call—it’s from the guard keeping Jhankar under surveillance for her safety.

“What happened…?”

“Sir… The rain is getting very heavy. It’s hard to get a taxi or bus. Madam is drenched and struggling, and I can’t help her directly. It would be best if you came immediately.”

Vikrant instantly grasps the situation and begins to leave. As he walks out, everyone in the room watches him, and the man, relieved, believes his life is spared. But a sudden bullet pierces his head, killing him instantly. Everyone turns toward the doorway, where Vikrant stands silently, watching the smoke from his gun.