The biometric door sealed behind them.

Only two people were allowed here.

Abhimanyu.

Tiger.

Dim light. Silent monitors. No network connection to the outside world.

Abhimanyu removed his watch and placed it on the metal table.

"Call him."

Tiger hesitated for the first time in months... then dialed the secure line.

One ring.

He picked up.

No greeting.

No voice change.

Just presence.

Abhimanyu leaned forward.

"Enough games," his voice dropped - calm but lethal.

"You said 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢. Now tell me."

Silence for three seconds.

Then the mysterious boy spoke:

"You finally reached the right question, Abhi."

"Name."

A pause.

Then-

"𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗘."

Tiger's jaw tightened.

Abhimanyu didn't react.

"Explain," he ordered.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀," the boy said quietly.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗳𝗶𝗮. 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿."

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀."

The screens flickered slightly as if the word itself carried weight.

"𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼... 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱.

𝗨𝗻𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱. 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 - 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿.

> 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻."

Abhimanyu's eyes narrowed.

The boy continued.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀. 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝘀. 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀.

𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱... 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝘀.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺,

𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗻... 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 - 𝗥𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗮𝘃 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 - 𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘀, 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 - 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗱𝘀, 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿 - 𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁 𝙤𝙧 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚- 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆... 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀."

Tiger slowly looked toward Abhimanyu.

Abhimanyu was completely still.

"𝗥𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗮𝘃 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴," the boy said.

> "𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘀.

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.

𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆.

𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀."

A pause.

Then quietly-

"You people are a 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻."

Silence thickened.

"You don't fracture. You tighten."

The more pressure... the stronger the response."

Tiger whispered, "So the kidnapping..."

"Wasn't kidnapping," the boy replied.

> "𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙚."

"To measure response time.

To identify the decision maker.

To see who breaks first."

Abhimanyu spoke for the first time in minutes.

"And now?"

The answer came softly.

"𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲... 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗢𝗻𝗲."

Tiger's blood ran cold.

Abhimanyu's eyes darkened.

"What is 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝘄𝗼?"

A longer silence.

Then-

"Public destabilisation."

The room went still.

"𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲. 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗹 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀... 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀."

Abhimanyu stood up slowly.

"So they want to break the family."

"No," the boy corrected.

> "𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻."

Call disconnected.

The monitors went dark.

For the first time in years...

Tiger looked at Abhimanyu and asked quietly:

"Sir... yeh dushman hai ya experiment?"

( Sir.... It is a rival or experiment? ")

Abhimanyu's voice was ice.

"They are studying us."

He picked up his watch.

"now we hunt them "

But

The call hadn't actually ended.

The line was still live.

A faint breath came from the other side.

Tiger immediately looked at Abhimanyu - he hadn't cut it.

The boy spoke again, quieter now.

"You heard the history... but you still don't understand the scale."

Abhimanyu didn't sit back down.

"Then explain properly."

A soft chuckle.

"𝙎𝙃𝘼𝘿𝙀 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙮 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙤𝙢𝙡𝙮, 𝘼𝙗𝙝𝙞.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩."

Silence.

Then-

> "𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬... 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢."

Tiger frowned.

"What do you mean touched?"

The boy continued calmly:

"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮... 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚."

"𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮."

A pause.

"𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱... 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲."

Abhimanyu's gaze sharpened.

"Names."

The boy listed them one by one.

"𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 - 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀."

Tiger instantly spoke.

"Second? Then who is first?"

The boy hummed lightly.

"Guess "

Abhimanyu spoke

"𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 "

He chuckle abhimanyu can sense it

The room stilled.

Tiger's eyes snapped toward him.

The boy continued before they could react.

"𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 - 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙤 𝙞𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙩—”

Abhimanyu rolled his eyes

“𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙝

𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬......

𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙨. 𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮-𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙨.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮... 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛.

𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙥𝙨𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚."

Abhimanyu's voice lowered.

"And what stage are we in?"

"Observation ended," the boy replied.

"𝙇𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙."

Tiger muttered, "Aavya..."

No answer - but silence confirmed it.

Then the boy added:

"𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙚𝙘𝙚."

Abhimanyu's jaw tightened.

"What."

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙃𝘼𝘿𝙀 𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧."

A pause.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙮𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙖𝙨

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚

𝙃𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚."

"I didn't tell you about him intentionally."

"Ask your elders."

The words carried weight.

For the first time - Abhimanyu understood why they had hidden something.

---

Then the boy spoke again, tone changing.

"𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙨𝙞𝙧."

Tiger stiffened - he rarely used that word.

"𝙍𝙖𝙜𝙝𝙖𝙫 𝙎𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙈𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙞."

Both men froze.

"And?"

"𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣."

"How?" Abhimanyu asked.

"Public exposure testing."

A short pause.

"𝙃𝙚'𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨... 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨."

The air turned cold.

They didn't need the name spoken.

Aavya.

Children.

Crowd.

Unpredictable variables.

---

Abhimanyu picked up the phone slowly.

His voice dropped to a dangerous calm.

"Let his event come to my school."

Tiger looked at him.

Abhimanyu's eyes had already turned into strategy.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙞𝙢..."

A faint pause.

> "...𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨."

The call finally disconnected.

And this time - it felt like a war invitation had been accepted.

---

---

𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝟰:𝟬𝟬 𝗔𝗠

The mansion was silent.

Not asleep...

Just quiet in the way storms are quiet before breaking.

The main doors opened.

Abhimanyu walked in - still in the same clothes from yesterday, aura colder than the winter marble beneath his steps.

The guards straightened instantly.

He didn't stop.

"Call everyone to the private chamber."

No greeting. No explanation.

Within minutes - lights across the mansion turned on one by one.

Half-asleep brothers.

Elders in shawls.

Confused footsteps in corridors.

Something was wrong.

---

Private Chamber

Rajveer.

Maan Singh.

Divya.

Ved.

Abhiraj.

All seated.

Then the six brothers entered together.

Rudra came last - eyes sharp, already sensing danger.

Abhimanyu didn't sit.

He stood at the head of the table.

And spoke one word.

> "𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗘."

The effect was instant.

Chairs scraped.

Maan Singh stood up.

Divya's hand tightened on the armrest.

Rajveer's expression hardened.

Silence.

Heavy. Revealing.

Abhimanyu watched them carefully.

Maan Singh's voice turned firm.

"We are not going to tell you anything."

Lakshya snapped, "Dadu sa-"

Ved raised his hand, but the brothers were already reacting.

Karan: "They are targeting Aavya!"

Rudra's jaw clenched.

"Enough hiding."

But the elders began standing up - conversation over.

That's when Abhimanyu spoke again.

Calm.

Controlled.

Deadly accurate.

---

"𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀."

They froze.

He continued.

"𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁. 𝗚𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁. 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗿. 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝘁/ 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙙𝙜𝙚."

No one moved.

"𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀."

Divya slowly turned toward him.

Abhimanyu's eyes didn't leave them.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀... 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀."

Rudra looked at him sharply now.

Abhimanyu finished quietly:

"𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗢𝗻𝗲."

Silence shattered.

Even Rudra was shocked.

Rajveer spoke slowly.

"...𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀?"

For the first time - a faint smile appeared on Abhimanyu's face.

Small. Almost unreadable.

But dangerous.

> "𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿... 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴."

No one noticed Tiger standing near the door.

But the elders did.

And that's when they realised-

This wasn't suspicion anymore.

Their children were already inside the war they tried to hide from them but now..

The room no longer felt like a family discussion.

It felt like a courtroom...

and the elders were the accused.

Maan Singh slowly sat back down.

For the first time - age showed on his face.

Rajveer looked at him.

"Bapu sa ...."

A long silence passed.

Then Maan Singh spoke.

"𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝙛𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗼... 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲."

Everyone looked at him.

"𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁."

Rudra's eyes sharpened.

Ved continued, voice heavy,

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆. 𝗘𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲."

Abhiraj finished quietly,

> "𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀... 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀."

Abhimanyu didn't react.

He already knew the answer.

"𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗘."

Maan Singh nodded slowly.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆," Rajveer said.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀... 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀... 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗲."

Divya's voice trembled slightly.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀... 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀."

Lakshya frowned.

"𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺?"

Maan Singh looked straight at Abhimanyu.

"No."

A pause.

> "𝗪𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺."

---

Ved spoke,

"𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲... 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁."

Karan's jaw tightened.

Abhiraj continued,

"𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱 - 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆. 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿."

Rudra muttered, "Psychological warfare."

Abhiraj added

"𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚"

Every head snapped toward him

Maan Singh nodded.

"𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 3-4 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨... 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝘀."

The room went completely still.

Rajveer's fists tightened.

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀."

"Then?" Aayan asked softly.

Divya whispered,

> "𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿."

No one breathed.

"𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱."

Maan Singh looked at all six of them.

"𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲."

Abhimanyu finally spoke again.

One word.

"𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲?."

Every elder's expression changed.

Not fear.

Something deeper.

Recognition.

Rajveer exhaled slowly.

"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁..."

Abhimanyu didn't blink.

"Who is he?"

Long pause.

Maan Singh answered.

---

> "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲... 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱."

Shock.

Ved added,

"𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀."

Divya:

"𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆... 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗽𝘀𝗲."

Rudra leaned forward.

"𝗦𝗼 𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺."

Maan Singh shook his head.

"No... he 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲."

---

"𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 years ago," Rajveer said quietly,

"𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁."

Abhiraj looked at Abhimanyu.

"𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗱..."

Pause.

"...𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝘀."

The realization spread across the brothers.

Aayan whispered, "He helped Rathores survive."

Abhimanyu's gaze darkened.

"So he's alive."

Maan Singh didn't answer directly.

But his silence confirmed it.

---

And then Abhimanyu spoke the sentence that froze everyone again:

> "Raghav Sinha is in Mumbai."

Every elder stood up instantly.

Divya: "Impossible."

Rajveer: "No.."

Abhimanyu's eyes remained calm.

But dangerous.

The silence after Abhimanyu's last sentence was suffocating.

Rudra muttered

“What about bridge? ”

Maan Singh slowly removed his glasses.

For the first time... his hands tresaid quietly.

"𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝... 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚."He mumbled.

"I should have told you earlier," he

Divya closed her eyes.

Rajveer looked away.

The brothers stood frozen.

---

Maan Singh continued.

"He wasn't like the others."

"𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 - 𝗥𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗮𝘃 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮 - 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀."

"𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺..."

A pause.

"𝗛𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆."

"𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲."

Maan Singh looked straight at Abhimanyu.

"𝗜𝗳 𝗥𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗮𝘃 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁..."

> "𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗿."

The word hit hard.

Lakshya stiffened.

Ved explained,

"𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲. 𝗡𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲."

"𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁," Divya whispered.

"He questioned outcomes."

Rajveer added quietly,

"𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗺𝘆."

Silence.

> "𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆."

The brothers' expressions shifted instantly.

"He helped us fight SHADE from inside," Abhiraj said.

"𝗛𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲."

"𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁..."

Ved finished,

> "𝗛𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺."

---

Rudra's voice was sharp.

"How many are alive?"

Maan Singh answered slowly.

"𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗱."

"𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻."

"𝗥𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗮𝘃 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗵𝗮."

"𝗜𝗹𝗯𝗮𝘇 𝗞𝗵𝗮𝗻."

"𝗔𝗻𝗱..."

He stopped.

The air felt electric.

"𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁," Rajveer continued,

"𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗮𝘃𝘆𝗮 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙤𝙧."

"𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲..."

Divya's voice cracked.

"𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀."

Lakshya inhaled sharply.

"And we were the last family he saved."

Abhiraj's tone turned grave.

"𝗦𝗼 𝗥𝗮𝗴𝗵𝗮𝘃 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗹𝗯𝗮𝘇..."

"...𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸," Rajveer finished.

---

Rudra stepped forward.

"What. Is. His. Name."

The elders looked at each other.

Maan Singh shook his head.

"Not now."

Rudra's patience snapped slightly.

"Not now? He is the reason they are after our sister!"

Rajveer's voice hardened.

"There is a reason we are not telling you."

Abhimanyu had not spoken this entire time.

He was calculating.

Patterns aligning.

Raghav in Mumbai.

School events.

Public testing.

Bridge missing.

Abhiraj suddenly looked at him.

"But Abhimanyu... who is giving you all this information?"

Every eye turned to him.

Abhimanyu didn't hesitate.

"My 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺."

Tiger remained silent at the back.

Rudra's gaze narrowed.

Lakshya crossed his arms.

Neither of them were convinced.

Rudra stepped closer.

"Since when do you hide teams from us?"

Abhimanyu met his eyes calmly.

"Since 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 decided to hide a 45-year war from us."

That shut the room.

Tension cracked between brothers - not anger.

Concern.

Because Rudra knew that tone.

When Abhimanyu built walls, it meant danger was closer than anyone thought.

---

Maan Singh spoke again quietly.

"If Raghav Sinha is truly in Mumbai..."

Rajveer finished,

"Then this is no longer testing."

Divya whispered,

"This is reclamation."

---

---

The chamber was still heavy with truths no one was ready to carry.

Rajveer finally broke the silence.

"You all want answers," he said firmly, looking at each of them.

"Then find them."

The brothers' eyes lifted.

Ved added calmly,

"But within limits."

Abhiraj nodded.

"No reckless war. No public chaos."

Divya's voice softened but carried weight,

"You are Rathores. Not hunters running blind."

Maan Singh concluded,

> "𝘿𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩... 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 - 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣."

A long pause followed.

No arguments.

No defiance.

Because this wasn't restriction.

It was permission - with responsibility.

---

One by one, the brothers turned.

Rudra first.

Lakshya next.

Shorav exchanging a silent glance with Aayan.

Karan unusually quiet.

Abhimanyu moved last.

As they stepped out of the chamber together, the air shifted.

Not confusion anymore.

Preparation..

--

The door shut.

For a moment no one spoke.

Then Shorav dropped onto the table edge.

"So... 45-year secret society hunting our sister," he exhaled.

"Normal Tuesday."

Aayan rubbed his face.

"I preferred kidnappers. At least they had motives."

Lakshya opened the digital board.

"We stop reacting. We predict."

Rudra leaned against the wall, arms folded.

"No."

Everyone looked at him.

His eyes were cold.

"We end them."

Karan muttered,

"Still vote for ending."

Rahul sighed,

"Can we find them before ending them?"

All eyes shifted to Abhimanyu.

He had been silent since leaving the elders.

Thinking.

Calculating.

Then finally -

"SHADE doesn't attack randomly," he said.

"They measure pressure points."

Aayan understood first.

"They're studying family response patterns."

Shorav added,

"So next move won't be kidnapping."

Lakshya finished,

"It will be public."

Abhimanyu nodded once.

"And we'll let them start it."

Rudra's gaze sharpened.

"You already know where."

Not a question.

Abhimanyu picked up his phone.

"School event."

Silence.

Then Karan groaned,

"Great. Psychopaths coming to annual function."

But no one laughed.

Because all of them understood the same thing at once -

The battlefield had shifted.

From shadows...

To daylight.

---

---

The chamber had grown quieter after the planning.

Screens dimmed.

Footsteps gone.

Only a few remained.

Rahul stood beside Tiger, arms folded, thoughts heavier than the air.

He finally spoke,

"Sir... one thing I still don't understand."

Everyone's eyes lifted.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙮 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙤...

𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙃𝘼𝘿𝙀..."

He hesitated.

"𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝘼𝙮𝙪 𝙣𝙤𝙬?"

Silence stretched.

No one answered immediately.

Then Abhimanyu looked up from the tablet.

His voice was calm - but certain.

"Because 𝘼𝙖𝙫𝙮𝙖 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣."

Rudra frowned slightly.

Abhimanyu continued,

"𝙏𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙬𝙤-𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙖𝙜𝙤... 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙."

Aayan's eyes widened a little.

Lakshya slowly lowered the tablet in his hand.

Abhimanyu's gaze hardened.

"But now we do."

He paused.

"And the world does too."

The meaning settled slowly inside the room.

Maan Singh's earlier words echoed in everyone's memory.

𝘏𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺.

Abhimanyu spoke again, quieter this time,

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙨... 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙙𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚."

Tiger murmured,

"A 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧..."

Rahul finished the thought under his breath,

"𝙎𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙖 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩..."

Rudra's jaw clenched.

"𝙎𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙚."

Abhimanyu nodded once.

"Exactly."

He looked toward the dark window.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙧... 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣."

A long pause.

"𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠... 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚𝙙."

No one spoke after that.

Because for the first time -

they weren't protecting Aavya only from enemies.

They were protecting her...

from the value she held.

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙍𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙨?

Don't go without reading my note 📝

______________________________________

𝙎𝙤 𝙠𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙖 𝙡𝙖𝙜𝙖 𝙖𝙥𝙠𝙤 𝙮𝙚𝙝 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧😎😎😎

𝘼𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 📝

I hope you all like this...

Well mera birthday gift ho gya

Means today my birthday so aaj ka gift yeh tha aap logo ke liye ...

𝘼𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙗 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙝𝙞 𝙖𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙜𝙖 𝙟𝙖𝙗 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙤 𝙜𝙖.....

𝙁𝙪𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮📖📖📖

𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵....

𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚🤏🤏🤏 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙩

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸

𝘎𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰???

𝘉𝘺𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦𝘦