A silent billionaire.
A woman trained to kill.
When power marries danger, love turns lethal.
The moment the words left the assassin's mouth, the entire battlefield changed.
"It's a trap!" she shouted again.
The confidence that had carried her through the attack vanished in an instant.
Around her, several of her men immediately turned toward the truck, disbelief flashing across their faces as they found nothing but empty metal walls. There wasn't a single crate inside.
Before any of them could react further, my earpiece crackled.
"Bhaiya, the real shipment has reached the warehouse safely," Nishant reported through the communication channel. "All the crates have been unloaded. Our men are armed and ready to move."
A faint smile crossed my face. Everything had gone exactly as I had planned.
They thought they were trapping me. Unfortunately, they had become the ones trapped.
"Move."
Within seconds, dozens of black SUVs burst from concealed positions surrounding the forest. Every vehicle carried armed reinforcements who had already equipped themselves with the weapons from the real shipment.
My men jumped out before the vehicles had even come to a complete stop, immediately taking positions throughout the forest.
The hunters who had confidently walked into my trap suddenly found themselves trapped instead.
Gunfire erupted from every direction as my men advanced with disciplined precision. Hidden sniper teams reopened fire from elevated positions while fresh drones replaced the ones that had been destroyed earlier, their cameras once again filling every monitor with live footage.
Every escape route had already been marked long before the operation began.
This forest wasn't unfamiliar territory to us. For years, countless illegal transactions, secret meetings, and private operations had taken place here. My men knew every inch of it.
They weren't chasing intruders through an unknown forest.
They were hunting inside their own territory.
The attackers immediately realized the situation had reversed. Several attempted to flee deeper into the woods, only to run straight into another team waiting ahead. Others opened heavy fire in desperation, but my men's disciplined formations quickly overwhelmed them.
The forest echoed with explosions, relentless gunfire, and desperate screams as the battle spread in every direction.
One by one, the attackers fell. Some died where they stood. Others threw down their weapons, only to be forced onto the ground with rifles aimed at their heads.
My men showed no mercy. Anyone who resisted was eliminated, while those who surrendered were restrained.
Within minutes, bodies lay scattered across the battlefield as the survivors were dragged away for interrogation.
Only one person refused to abandon the fight.
The masked assassin.
Even after realizing the mission had failed, she didn't think about herself first. Instead, she repeatedly covered the retreat of her remaining men, placing herself between them and the incoming fire.
She dragged one injured companion behind a fallen tree before firing back at my advancing guards.
Another attacker stumbled after being shot in the leg, and she immediately turned back, pulling him to safety despite bullets striking the ground around them.
As I watched her movements through the drone cameras, I recognized something familiar.
She and Velvet Viper had been trained by the same master. Their movements, instincts, and battlefield awareness were nearly identical.
And I knew exactly who had taught them those skills.
He was dead now, but I still remembered the principles he had drilled into every one of his students.
Protect your own.
Never abandon a fellow assassin or reveal another assassin's identity.
Even if two of his students became enemies, they would still protect each other before protecting themselves.
If I captured the masked assassin and questioned her about Velvet Viper, she would say nothing.
Likewise, if Velvet Viper were ever captured and questioned about this woman, she would remain silent even if death stood before her.
Her movements remained precise, but even the best couldn't avoid every bullet forever.
A sharp shot tore through her leg, forcing her against a tree. Blood immediately soaked through the black fabric covering her leg, dripping onto the forest floor, yet she refused to stop.
I had already instructed my snipers not to kill her under any circumstances. Wound her if necessary, but keep her alive. I wanted her captured.
Ignoring the pain, she continued leading the few remaining survivors deeper into the forest.
By the time they finally separated, most of her team had either been killed or captured by my guards.
She was alone.
A live feed immediately appeared on the screen as one of the drones followed directly above her.
She ran deeper into the forest, each step leaving small drops of blood across the forest floor.
"Don't lose her," I ordered.
The chase began.
My guards spread throughout the forest while the drones tracked the trail of blood from above.
"She's slowing down," Kartik said. "The distance is closing. We're close to capturing her."
Then, within minutes, she disappeared into a dense stretch of towering trees and thick undergrowth.
The canopy was so dense that the drones could no longer see beneath it, and flying any lower risked getting them tangled in the branches.
"Send the ground teams in," I ordered. "Recall the drones and surround the entire area. Don't let her escape."
The guards moved into the dense undergrowth. Through the live feeds from their body cameras, I watched every step they took.
The blood trail suddenly ended.
The search teams pushed through the thick bushes until they reached the other side of the forest. Beyond it stood a quiet roadside bus stop beside the highway.
By the time all three teams secured the area, there was no sign of her.
Through one of the cameras, I noticed a public bus already disappearing into the distance.
She had escaped.
She must have boarded the bus with the other passengers before my men reached the road.
"Search the forest one more time," I ordered.
One of the guards suddenly found something. He lowered his body camera toward the ground.
She had done exactly what a professionally trained assassin would do.
Hidden beneath the cover of the dense trees, she had erased every trace of her identity as an assassin.
Her black tactical uniform had been discarded beneath loose soil and fallen leaves, with her mask lying beside it. Several bloodstained bandages were scattered nearby. She had wrapped a fresh bandage tightly around her wound, slowing the bleeding just enough to keep moving.
Within minutes, she had transformed herself from a masked assassin into an ordinary woman.
By the time the public bus arrived, she looked like just another passenger.
The bus had already driven away.
My guards had arrived only a minute too late. After searching the entire area once again, they found nothing, and one of them lowered his weapon in frustration.
"Sir... she escaped."
"Return," I said with a faint smile.
The operation had still ended exactly as I intended.
The first shipment was secure. Every crate had reached my farmhouse safely. The explosives and illegal weapons were already under my control.
The enemy had lost dozens of men. Several attackers had been captured alive.
Only their leader had slipped through my fingers.
My eyes lowered to the digital map still displayed across the command screen as I replayed my entire strategy in my head.
The plan had never been only about protecting the shipment. It had been about exposing the traitor.
The moment I decided to change the route, I had already begun suspecting Valentino Ravello's loyalty. Instead of using the highway he had originally suggested, I informed him that the convoy would travel through the forest.
Apart from my own team, only Valentino knew about that change.
If the enemy appeared inside the forest, I would have my answer and they did. Which meant Valentino had passed our route to someone else.
Exactly as I had expected.
While everyone focused on the armored convoy, the real shipment had been transferred before the convoy entered the forest. Every crate had been loaded into an ordinary cargo truck.
Just like the hundreds of other vehicles on the highway, it traveled unnoticed along the original route Valentino had suggested and reached my farmhouse without attracting any attention.
By the time the enemy attacked the decoy convoy in the forest, the real shipment had already arrived safely.
My men unloaded every crate, armed themselves with the very weapons the enemy believed they were about to steal, and immediately moved toward the forest.
The attackers thought they were hunting my shipment. In reality, they had walked onto my battlefield. Every inch of that forest belonged to us.
By the time they realized the convoy was empty, my reinforcements were already closing in from every direction. The ambush they had prepared for me had become their own.
I rose from my chair.
"Separate every prisoner. Question them individually. But first, get every injured guard to the medical facility."
My men nodded and immediately carried out the orders. Not a single guard had been killed, the shipment was secure, and the operation was a success.
I walked toward the window, watching the forest slowly disappear into darkness.
By the time I returned to Rathor Mansion, the night had settled over the estate. The grand hallways, usually filled with conversations and footsteps, had fallen silent. Most of the lights had been dimmed, leaving only a few lamps burning softly along the corridors.
The operation had ended in our favor, but victory carried its own weight. My head ached from hours of planning, my clothes still carried the scent of smoke and gunpowder after I visited the site and exhaustion settled heavily on my shoulders.
A servant approached as soon as I entered.
"Sir, shall I serve dinner?"
I shook my head.
"No. I am not hungry."
Without another word, I headed upstairs.
Normally, after an operation like this, I would have gone straight to my office to review reports and prepare for whatever came next.
Tonight, my feet carried me to our room.
The bedroom door opened quietly. Moonlight spilled through the curtains, bathing the room in a pale silver glow.
She was exactly where I expected-either asleep or pretending. But I was almost certain she had fallen asleep barely ten minutes ago.
It was midnight. What had she been doing this late? I was sure the whole mansion had gone to sleep around ten o'clock, everyone in their rooms. So what had she been doing this late, all alone?
Her one hand rested beneath her cheek while the other lightly clutched the blanket.
I was getting a strange feeling in my head, but I was tired too. I should sleep. I had admired my wife enough.
The next morning, I woke later than usual. For a few seconds, I simply stared at the ceiling, still half-lost between sleep and the memory of the night, before turning toward the other side of the bed. It was empty, of course.
Trishika was already gone.
Considering how quickly she had become attached to my sisters, I assumed she was probably downstairs with them. Perhaps she was having breakfast with Maa, or being irritated by Ankita and Radhika with one of their new schemes.
I glanced at the clock and realized I was already late.
"Perfect."
There was an important meeting at the office, and I didn't have enough time to look for my wife or even have breakfast, so I left without it.
The morning disappeared into meetings.
By the time the final discussion ended, I was standing beside the conference table, going through the last few documents when my phone vibrated.
Kartik.
I answered immediately.
"What happened?"
"Sir, we have a message from Velvet Viper. She wants to meet us at the farmhouse."
I narrowed my eyes and quickly picked up my coat.
"I'll be there."
I made my way to the farmhouse and was just getting out of my car when I noticed someone walking through the farmhouse gate.
I recognized her immediately.
She was dressed entirely in her signature color-black clothes paired with black sunglasses. The way she walked through the gate made it look as though she had been there a hundred times before.
I closed the car door and started toward her.
She noticed me almost immediately, and her lips curved into a faint smile.
"Mr. Ranbir," she said, her voice teasing, a spark dancing in her eyes. "Leaving your car just to welcome me?"
She took a few steps toward me.
"Yes. After all, you are a very, very important person to me." I smiled. "How are you?"
A smile appeared on her lips as her gaze slowly scanned me.
"I am good."
Her smile widened.
"You've become quite bold."
"Only around women who can handle it," I replied.
She stepped slightly closer.
"Maybe I'm allowing this," she continued. "Maybe I like being close."
That caught me off guard for half a second.
She noticed, and her gaze briefly dropped to the small distance between us before returning to my eyes.
"That's an honor for me," I replied with a smile. "And I hope I didn't disappoint you. I hope you enjoyed the whole night."
Her cheeks turned red.
I had hit the right spot.
She managed to control her smile before stepping a little closer, reaching my ear, and whispering,
"You are good."
Then she pulled back and scanned the entire area, her gaze moving over my guards and the new, exclusive weapons they carried.
"I guess something interesting happened that I missed. Someone achieved a great victory in fulfilling their needs," she said.
A quiet laugh escaped my lips at her words.
She was teasing me, making fun of my victory.
"Unfortunately, but I have recordings of the whole event for you. You can enjoy them."
"Thanks for thinking so much about my entertainment," she replied, lifting one eyebrow. Then she turned and continued toward the farmhouse door.
A few minutes later, I followed her inside.
Kartik was already standing beside the large screen in the strategy room, a file open on the table. Velvet Viper had taken one of the chairs in the corner, sitting comfortably.
I took the seat opposite her.
Kartik glanced at both of us before beginning.
"Yesterday's shipment reached safely. The attack happened exactly where we expected."
He clicked the remote, and the screen changed.
"An armed group ambushed the decoy convoy in the forest. They destroyed several vehicles and took down multiple drones. Our men were forced to fall back until the reinforcements arrived."
Another click, and the footage appeared.
The masked assassin stepped through the smoke.
This briefing was meant to bring Velvet Viper up to date on what had happened yesterday. For me, however, it was another opportunity to gather information from her.
My team had searched the CCTV footage from every bus stop along the route where the bus had stopped-the same bus we believed the assassin had used to escape. We found nothing.
Unfortunately, the bus stop itself was in the middle of an isolated stretch of road, far from any CCTV cameras. By the time our men reached the area and searched the bus, there were only male passengers and one very elderly woman inside. That was it. The woman had already gotten off the bus and disappeared.
I didn't look at the screen for long. I had already watched every recording countless times and found nothing that could bring me any closer to that assassin.
So instead, I focused on Velvet Viper.
Her expression had changed slightly. Her relaxed face had gone still, and her eyes remained fixed on the woman moving across the screen.
Then she realized I was watching her.
Almost immediately, she corrected herself. Her shoulders relaxed, and her expression became neutral again-but far too quickly.
That was interesting.
Kartik continued explaining the battle, but I barely heard him.
The assassin appeared on the screen again, destroying one of our drones before moving toward the shipment truck.
I leaned back.
"Do you have any idea who this woman could be?"
Her answer came almost instantly.
"No."
I studied her face.
She didn't look away from the screen. Her eyes remained fixed on it, but I had already noticed what I needed.
I knew Velvet Viper well enough to understand one thing about her. Even if she knew exactly who that assassin was, she would never tell me. Not even if her life depended on it.
Some people protected their secrets because they were afraid. She protected hers because of loyalty.
I didn't need a confession.
Her first reaction had already given me enough information. No matter how much I pushed her, she would never say a word. Even if I put a knife to her throat, her answer would remain the same.
And I didn't want to force or hurt her.
"You answered very quickly," I continued. "Take your time. Look at her properly. Maybe you know her and you're just forgetting."
Her eyebrow lifted, and her eyes held enough anger to burn me alive, but she controlled herself and gave me a faint smile.
"I don't like wasting time. And my memory isn't weak. If I say I don't know her, then..." She paused briefly. "I don't know her, Mr. Rathor."
Our eyes remained locked for a moment before I looked back at the screen.
The masked woman was still frozen in the final frame.
I clicked the remote and turned the screen off.
"Our remaining half of the shipment will arrive in a few days," I continued. "Would you like to help us with the operation?"
She remained silent, thinking, calculating the situation, choosing her answer carefully.
"Normally, yes." Her lips curved into a faint smile.
She leaned back slightly, her eyes shifting toward the blank screen.
"If that woman and her team appear again, I'd like to be there. I'd like to have a match with her."
I knew exactly what she meant.
I opened the screen again and moved the timer to the exact moment when my snipers had shot at the assassin's leg.
I wanted to see what Velvet Viper would do when she realized the woman she was protecting had been injured.
And as expected, her face changed.
A thin layer of sweat appeared across her forehead, and the color drained from her face, leaving her unusually pale.
"Did she get hurt?" she asked.
Her expression looked as though she were watching the most horrifying scene in a horror movie-and I was both the director and the producer of it.
"Hurt, but not killed. She's still alive," I said with a faint smile.
"That's good..." she murmured. Then her expression shifted again. "That's amazing. She is weak now. If she comes again, we'll succeed in capturing her."
She forced a fake smile on her face.
Had no one ever told her that her forced smile or pretending look too fake? Or am I the one who is observing her too much to notice this?
I watched her from across the table.
She glanced at me from the corner of her eyes, and for the briefest moment, I saw regret there.
She knew she had made a mistake.
From the beginning of this conversation, her hesitation and discomfort had caught my attention. She knew I wasn't believing her lies.
And that was exactly what I wanted.
I smiled faintly.
"Then we'll let you know when the shipment arrives."
She nodded.
"Fine."
She stood and picked up her sunglasses from the table before putting them on. She gave the screen one final glance, then her eyes moved back to me.
I couldn't tell whether she was looking at me because she wanted to help me or because she wanted to kill me for hurting her assassin friend.
She slipped on her sunglasses.
"I'll wait for your message."
She turned and walked toward the door.
I watched her leave.
She didn't look back, but somehow, I knew she was thinking about the same woman I was.
Kartik remained beside the table, watching the door for a few seconds before turning toward me.
"Don't trust her," I said. "Not completely."
I picked up the file from the table and closed it.
Kartik frowned.
"But you invited her to the next shipment. You just told her we'd call her."
He looked confused and studied me for a moment before understanding began to settle in.
"We don't intend to include her. Not in the actual operation," I said.
He nodded slowly.
"But why?"
I glanced toward the screen where the assassin's footage had been playing moments earlier.
"Velvet Viper is a pawn. She wants that assassin. She knows that woman; they both have a connection."
Kartik folded his arms.
He remained silent.
"She may never tell us directly," I continued. "And I don't intend to force her. There's no point. But if she wants to meet that assassin badly enough, she'll lead us closer to her herself."
Kartik glanced at the dark screen.
"So we're using her. And what about the next shipment?"
"We'll handle it the same way we handled this one," I continued. "Velvet Viper won't be part of the security plan. She doesn't need to know where the real shipment is, how we're moving it, or what we're preparing."
Kartik nodded.
"And if the assassin appears?"
I gave him a faint smile.
"Then Velvet Viper will do exactly what she wants to do. She'll go after her," I said and picked up my coat.
"She thinks we're offering her an opportunity. In reality, we're giving her a reason to bring us closer to our target."
Kartik gave a quiet nod.
"And if she realizes what we're doing?"
"She won't. Because the next time we meet, I'll make sure she believes she's hunting the assassin."
I walked toward the door, then paused briefly.
"In reality... we'll be watching both of them."
A faint smile touched my lips.
I left the farmhouse shortly afterward.
There was still work waiting for me at the office, so I made my way to the company.
The afternoon disappeared into reports, calls, contracts, and meetings. By the time I finished everything that needed my attention, the sun had already begun to sink, and darkness had filled the sky.
I closed the final file and headed toward home.
By the time I reached Rathor Mansion, it was late.
Not as late as yesterday, but still late enough that most of the house had already fallen silent. The corridors were dim, the servants had disappeared into their quarters, and even the usual sounds of the mansion had faded into the quiet of the night.
I loosened my tie as I walked upstairs, intending to go straight to the bedroom, but then I noticed a light was still on in the library.
The office and library were connected, and both doors were slightly open. I frowned as I approached.
Only I could enter the office because it was my personal space. There were confidential files inside, and I didn't like anyone wandering in there without permission.
Especially not when I wasn't around.
I pushed the door open slightly. The library was empty. A few books were lying on the table, but nothing looked disturbed.
Then I heard the faint metallic chime of a payal. I turned toward my office and froze.
Trishika was standing near my desk, her back partially turned toward me. She wasn't touching anything. She was simply looking at one of the paintings hanging on the wall.
"Trishika."
She jumped. Her shoulders stiffened, and she immediately turned around.
"What are you doing here?"
She blinked.
"I-I was..."
She looked toward the painting and then back at me.
"I came here to see how this place looks."
She quickly continued, "I didn't touch anything. I swear. I didn't move anything either."
I glanced toward the desk. Everything was exactly where I had left it-the files were untouched, the drawers were closed, and nothing had been disturbed.
"I believe you."
She stared at me, almost as though she hadn't expected that answer. Then she relaxed slightly.
"I really didn't touch anything. I was just looking at the painting."
"I can see that."
Her fingers nervously played with the edge of her saree as she lowered her eyes.
"I know I'm not supposed to come in here without asking," she continued. "I'm sorry."
I looked around the room again.
This was exactly what I disliked. There were things here that couldn't simply be left lying around. One misplaced file, one opened drawer, one photograph seen by the wrong person... it could create problems.
But I didn't want to make her feel as though I was angry with her. Especially when she hadn't actually done anything wrong.
She moved toward the door.
"Trishika. You really didn't touch anything, so there's nothing to be sorry about."
A small, uncertain smile appeared on her face, and she turned toward the door again.
"I'll go. Good night."
I nodded.
She walked out, the soft sound of her payal following her down the corridor.
Still, I walked over to the desk and checked the drawers one by one, more out of habit than suspicion. Everything was exactly where it belonged. I closed the final drawer and walked out of the room.
There was a confidential file from my past, and I knew no one could have found it.
Because no one knew where it was.
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