94.
Ravi sat alone in the surveillance room, absent-mindedly scanning the CCTV feeds while reviewing overnight security logs. One of the screens caught his attention.
Kabir was entering Yug's room.
Ravi frowned. Kabir stayed inside longer than necessary, then finally came out and headed toward the Unit.
Something felt off.
Ravi left the control room immediately and intercepted Kabir in the corridor leading to the training area.
Kabir slowed but kept his face neutral.
"I told you to keep an eye on him outside," Ravi said coldly. "There's no need for you to go inside his room."
Kabir scoffed. "I don't need your permission."
Ravi stepped closer, his gaze sharp.
"What were you doing there?"
Before Kabir could answer, Ravi noticed the envelope in his hand. His eyes narrowed, and he snatched it away.
"Hey—give it back," Kabir snapped. "I need to take that to Sir."
Ravi ignored him and opened the envelope, pulling out the photographs inside.
"Shaurya asked for these?" Ravi asked, flipping through them.
Kabir nodded stiffly.
Then Ravi's hand froze.
Yug's father's photograph.
For a second, Ravi's expression went blank. Then his eyes darkened, jaw tightening as memories flashed through his mind. His fist slowly clenched, crumpling the photo.
And without warning, his other fist slammed into Kabir's face.
Kabir staggered back with a hiss, blood immediately spilling from his nose.
"I hate liars," Ravi muttered.
Kabir recovered quickly and swung back, but Ravi caught his fist mid-air and twisted his arm away. In the same motion, Ravi grabbed Kabir by the collar and shoved him against the wall, forearm pressing into his neck.
"I know what you're trying to do," Ravi said in a dangerously quiet voice. "And if I see you anywhere near him again..."
His grip tightened. Kabir struggled for breath, grabbing Ravi's arm to pry it away.
"...you'll walk away with a permanent disability. Consider this your warning."
Kabir glared at him, jaw clenched, refusing to look away even as Ravi's hold tightened.
Meanwhile, Aarav walked down the quiet corridor toward Yug's room, carrying a faint worry with him. Yug hadn't shown up for breakfast, and that alone was unusual.
He knocked once before entering.
Yug was sitting on the edge of his bed, staring blankly at the floor, a half-packed bag lying beside him. He didn't seem to notice Aarav enter until he spoke.
"Yug?"
Yug looked up slowly, as if pulled out of deep thought, and let out a long breath he seemed to have been holding.
"Why didn't you come for breakfast?" Aarav asked, stepping closer. "You haven't been eating properly. You'll fall sick."
Yug looked at him for a moment, then gestured beside him.
"Sit with me."
There was something strange in his voice — too calm, too heavy.
Aarav felt unease creep in but nodded and sat beside him.
"What's up?" Aarav tried to lighten the mood. "Bored already?"
Yug shook his head slightly.
"I want to ask you something," he said quietly. "And please... don't hide anything."
Aarav's chest tightened.
"Okay..."
Yug swallowed before speaking again.
"Was my father involved with Ozge?"
Aarav stiffened.
"Yug—"
"Please," Yug cut in, his voice low but firm. "I deserve to know the truth, right?"
Aarav exhaled slowly, knowing there was no way around it. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded.
Silence stretched between them.
Then Yug asked the question he was truly afraid of.
"Did Ravi kill him?"
Aarav's throat went dry.
He didn't answer.
Because he didn't know how Yug would take it. Yug had already lost his mother recently. Another emotional blow might shatter him completely.
Aarav forced a weak smile, trying to divert him.
"What's wrong, Yug? Why are you suddenly asking all this?" he said gently. "Come on, let's go eat something first—"
"He killed him... didn't he?"
Yug's voice barely rose above a whisper.
Aarav couldn't meet his eyes anymore.
He looked down instead.
Yug inhaled shakily, pressing his hand against the back of his own neck, as if trying to steady himself. He tilted his head upward, staring at the ceiling for a second, fighting the storm building inside him.
The silence that followed felt heavier than any answer.
"What the hell did he do to Ravi?" Yug burst out, his voice shaking. "He must've hurt him, right? I'm not expecting anything less if he was involved with those monsters."
Aarav looked at him quietly. The fear in Yug's eyes twisted something deep inside him.
No one wanted to believe their parent could be a monster.
Aarav knew that pain too well. Both his biological parents had betrayed everything he believed in.
Yug exhaled sharply, jaw tightening.
"I know what your silence means, Aarav. He—"
"Yug," Aarav interrupted softly, struggling with his words, "I'm sorry, but Ravi should be the one telling you the truth. I shouldn't—"
"What truth?" Yug snapped, his voice cracking. "That my father raped someone? Or killed Ravi's brother or something?"
His voice broke at the end.
Aarav felt his chest tighten at the raw pain in Yug's tone. He instinctively reached out and held Yug's hand.
"Wait. I'll call Ravi here. He'll explain everything—"
"No." Yug immediately shook his head, pulling his hand back. "Please don't. I... I can't even face him right now."
His voice dropped, strained as he tried to keep control.
"I don't even understand what I'm feeling. I can't deal with this, Aarav. I really can't. I can't live with all this constantly messing with my head. I... I don't think I can stay here anymore."
Aarav's heart sank.
"Yug, I know it's hard," Aarav said gently, placing a hand on his back. "But you're not alone, okay? Talk to me. You can't just leave like this. I'm not letting you go anywhere alone."
His expression darkened slightly.
"And I seriously want to know who told you all this in the first place."
"Kabir did."
The voice came from the doorway.
Both of them turned instantly.
Ravi stood there.
His expression was cold, jaw tight, eyes dark with restrained anger.
Yug immediately stood up, tension returning to his body.
"Ravi—"
"How many times should I tell you to stay within limits?" Ravi said. "Even if it's your father, all these informations belong to the mafia world. Know your place before doing anything".
Aarav stepped in quickly, sensing the situation about to explode.
"Ravi, don't take this the wrong way—"
But the tension in the room had already thickened, and Yug's gaze on Ravi held confusion, hurt, and fear all at once.
"It's not something he should drag others into," Ravi said turning to Aarav, his voice rising despite himself. "If people don't know about my past, then why make them know? My past isn't a topic for discussion."
Yug stayed silent, his gaze fixed somewhere past Ravi, as if he wasn't fully present in the room anymore.
Aarav's phone buzzed in his hand. Shaurya's name flashed on the screen.
Aarav looked at it, then back at Yug, and declined the call.
He turned to Yug. "Talk to him. And if you need me, call me. I'll come immediately."
Then he stepped closer to Ravi, lowering his voice.
"Don't raise your voice. He already knows what his father did," Aarav murmured. "Just stay with him. Don't do anything stupid. Control your anger. I'll deal with Kabir."
Ravi's jaw tightened, his fist clenching at his side, but he gave a small nod.
Aarav squeezed Yug's shoulder once before leaving the room.
The door shut behind him.
Silence filled the space.
Ravi walked closer and stopped in front of Yug.
"I'm sorry," Yug said quietly.
Ravi frowned slightly. That wasn't the reaction he expected.
"Did you tell Kabir about my past?" Ravi asked.
Yug shook his head. "No."
"Then how did you connect everything to your dad?"
Yug swallowed.
"It was obvious. He worked with Ozge. And Bilal once said I looked exactly like someone he knew." He hesitated. "And... you always lost your temper whenever Bilal got close to me. And sometimes I feel like you hate the fact that I even exist."
Before Yug could spiral further, Ravi grabbed both his arms—not roughly, but firmly enough to stop him.
"Stop talking," Ravi said, his tone low but steady.
He waited for Yug to fight back, to question him, to accuse him, maybe even hate him.
But Yug didn't react.
No anger. No confrontation.
Just exhaustion.
And that unsettled Ravi more than shouting would have.
Yug's shoulders slowly slumped.
"I want to go back to Udaipur," he finally said.
There it was.
Ravi had been expecting it.
Yug sank onto the edge of the bed, pressing his palms to his face.
"I don't feel good," he muttered.
Ravi exhaled slowly, some of the tension leaving him.
"Lie down for a while," he said more gently.
Yug looked up at him, eyes dull with emotional fatigue.
"I want to go back, Ravi," he repeated.
This time Ravi didn't argue.
He just nodded quietly, knowing Yug needed distance more than explanations right now.
"I'll drop you there myself," Ravi said quietly, adjusting the pillow behind Yug. "Now get under the sheets."
Yug didn't argue. He simply lay down and pulled the blanket over himself, almost hiding completely beneath it, like he wanted to shut the world out.
Ravi stayed seated on the edge of the bed, watching the unmoving shape under the blanket. For once, he didn't know what to do. No plan, no strategy—just silence filling the room.
After a minute, he exhaled, slipped off his shoes, and lay down beside him. Carefully, he pulled the blanket over himself too and moved closer.
Yug had turned to the other side, his back facing him.
Ravi hesitated for a second, then wrapped an arm around him, pulling him gently into his chest.
"Ravi..." Yug's voice cracked.
He was crying. Quietly. Trying not to let it show.
Ravi's hold softened. "I won't do anything," he murmured.
Part of him knew letting Yug go back might be the right thing. Yug had never complained about anything happening around him. Two days ago, he had witnessed something no one should ever see. And now he'd learned the truth about his father.
Anyone would break under that.
"Did my father... do anything to you? Particularly you?" Yug asked, his voice muffled as he still faced away.
Ravi stared at the ceiling for a moment.
"No," he answered quietly. "It was Bilal's brother who..."
He didn't finish.
He didn't need to.
Yug understood.
Silence stretched between them again.
"I want to be alone," Yug whispered after a moment.
Ravi tightened his arm slightly around him instead of letting go.
"I know."
He thought about getting up, giving him space. But Yug's breathing was uneven, like he was forcing himself not to fall apart again.
So Ravi stayed.
He lay there beside him, saying nothing, holding him quietly until Yug's tense body slowly relaxed and his breathing evened out into sleep.