Inside, the board members were already seated, murmuring amongst themselves. The moment I entered, silence fell.

Good.

I took my seat at the head of the table. "Let's make this quick."

The CFO, a man in his late fifties with thinning hair, cleared his throat. "Sir, the quarterly profits have exceeded expectations. However, we've noticed an increase in competitors trying to undercut our contracts. We may need to reconsider-"

I cut him off with a single look. "Reconsider nothing. Anyone who tries to undercut us-destroy them. Buy them out, or bury them in lawsuits. Make it clear that no one competes with Shekhawat Industries."

The room was silent. They knew better than to argue.

The meeting continued, but my mind drifted.

Sanjna.

The moment the meeting ended, I strode back to my office, locking the door behind me. My fingers moved swiftly across the laptop keyboard as I opened Instagram.

Her profile was the first thing that popped up.

@thesassy_sanjna

Her account was private. But I had my ways.

I scrolled through the hidden photos, each one a piece of her life she didn't know I had access to. A candid shot of her laughing at a café. A blurry selfie with her friends. A picture of her standing on a private jet

I exhaled sharply.

She looked... happy.

A version of her I hadn't seen in years.

But there was something in her eyes. A flicker of something she thought no one would notice. A secret. A lie.

What the fuck are you hiding, Sanjna?

I leaned back in my chair, fingers steepled. If she was playing a game, she was playing it well. But no one outplayed me.

If she thought she could keep her secrets hidden, she was wrong.

A knock on the door snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Sir?" It was Rhea. "Your car is ready."

I shut the laptop. Time for the mission.

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Back at the mansion, I changed into black tactical gear-a fitted shirt, combat boots, and a bulletproof vest. My Glock rested against my hip, its weight familiar, reassuring.

Tonight, we weren't dealing with businessmen. We were hunting a predator.

Alex Bruno.

A man who trafficked women and children, a rat who thought he could operate in my city.

I stepped outside where Arsalan and my men were waiting.

"Finally," Arsalan smirked. "I was starting to think you'd rather stalk Sanjna all night."

I shot him a glare. "Shut the fuck up."

He chuckled. "Fine, fine. Let's go. We've got a rat to exterminate."

As we climbed into the armored SUV, I felt it again. The itch. The pull.

The unshakable feeling that something was about to change.

And for the first time in years...

I wasn't sure if I was ready for it.

-----

The armored SUV sped through the dimly lit streets, heading toward an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Jaipur-Alex Bruno's hideout for the night.

Inside the car, the air was thick with tension. My team was silent, focused. Every man here knew what was at stake. We weren't just taking down a rival-we were delivering a message.

No one fucked with my city.

Arsalan, sitting beside me, checked his gun, his usual smirk replaced with cold determination. "Intel says he's got twenty men inside. Armed, but not expecting us."

I nodded, my fingers tapping against my Glock. "We take them fast. No survivors."

The moment we reached the warehouse, we killed the lights. My men, dressed in tactical black, melted into the darkness like ghosts. The only sound was the faint clicks of safeties being turned off.

I gave a sharp nod. "Move."

---

The Assault

Two guards stood at the entrance.

Fools.

I moved first, a swift shadow in the night. Before they could react, I grabbed the nearest one, my knife slicing cleanly across his throat. Blood sprayed as he gurgled, collapsing soundlessly.

The second guard barely had time to reach for his gun before Arsalan put a bullet through his skull.

Two down. Eighteen to go.

We slipped inside, sticking to the shadows. The warehouse was a filthy, rust-covered hellhole, crates stacked high, the stench of sweat and stale blood lingering in the air.

I signaled to my men-split up, eliminate quietly.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Aman take out another man with a silent blade to the heart, lowering him gently to the ground. Another guard turned, sensing movement, but before he could shout, I drove my knife under his ribcage, twisting it deep.

He gasped, eyes wide, before I pulled the blade free.

He hit the floor. Fifteen left.

But then-

A door slammed open.

A guard stepped out, eyes widening in shock before he yelled-"INTRUDERS!"

Fuck. So much for stealth.

Gunfire erupted. The warehouse turned into a war zone.

Bullets whizzed past as my men took cover behind crates, returning fire. Sparks flew as metal and concrete shattered under the barrage.

I rolled behind a steel beam, reloading my Glock. Two guards rushed me.

The first swung a crowbar-I ducked, driving my elbow into his throat, making him choke. In the same motion, I grabbed his wrist, twisted, and forced his own knife into his gut.

He collapsed, blood pooling beneath him.

The second raised his gun-too slow.

I fired.

One shot. Right between the eyes.

His body dropped. Thirteen left.

Across the room, Arsalan was a blur of motion. He vaulted over a crate, dual pistols blazing, dropping three men before his feet even touched the ground.

I smirked. Show-off.

A guard charged me with a machete, screaming. I let him come, waiting until the last second before I sidestepped, grabbed his wrist, and snapped it with a sickening crack. He howled in pain.

I silenced him with a bullet to the skull.

The fight was chaos. Brutal. Ruthless. Bloody.

My men were lethal.

Aman took down another with a sniper shot from the rafters. Ravi broke a man's neck with his bare hands. One of the guards begged for mercy. Arsalan shot him in the mouth.

We left no one standing.

---

The Final Kill - Alex Bruno

Soon, only one man remained.

Alex Bruno.

He was cowering in his office, barricading the door with furniture, shaking like a rat in a cage. Pathetic.

I kicked the door open with a violent crash.

Alex scrambled back, sweat dripping from his bloated face. "P-Please! We can talk!"

I stepped forward, gun aimed at his forehead. "You traffic women and children."

He gulped. "I-I can pay! Name your price!"

My lip curled in disgust. "There's no price for filth like you."

His face twisted with desperation. "Wait! You're making a mistake! Someone bigger than me is involved! If you kill me, they'll come for you!"

I tilted my head. "Let them."

Before he could beg again, I pulled the trigger.

The bullet exploded through his skull, painting the wall behind him red.

Silence.

Then Arsalan let out a low whistle. "Well, that was satisfying."

I holstered my gun, exhaling. Another enemy erased.

But even as I looked at Alex Bruno's lifeless body, my mind drifted back to Sanjna.

She was hiding something.

And if she thought she could keep it from me...

She was wrong.

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𝑺𝑰𝑳𝑬𝑵𝑻 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑹𝑺 𝑷L𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑬 𝑽𝑶𝑻𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑴𝑬𝑵𝑻 𝑶𝑵 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑺....