ch 74 broken truth
VEERAJ(crying, screaming)
"Twenty-four years ago... Aditya was twelve. I... I am not his father."
Aarav's eyes narrowed.
VEERAJ
"I'm his uncle. Veeraj Kapoor ... Arjun Kapoor's younger brother who was aditya's father. Everyone thought we were a happy family... laughing, eating, smiling. But no one... NO ONE knew how much I hated him."
His voice turned into a hiss.
VEERAJ
"Since childhood, our parents adored Arjun.Arjun this... Arjun that...For every little thing, they praised him. And me? They scolded me... insulted me... compared me."
Aditya's jaw twitched.
VEERAJ
"Arjun acted like the good brother. But when father made him CEO of Kapoor Industries...
I broke."
(he laughs between tears)
"He sat on that chair happily. Didn't even think once what I wanted. What I deserved."
His face twisted with pure hatred.
VEERAJ
"So I decided... If my life is ruined because of him, I will ruin EVERYTHING he ever loved."
Aarav felt his fists clench.
VEERAJ
"I joined hands with the underworld. Secretly built my own syndicate. And on Arjun's birthday night... When the whole family was celebrating..."
A beat. A heavy, horrifying beat.
VEERAJ
"I planned to kill them all."
Kabir froze.
VEERAJ
"I mixed sleeping pills in the food. Waited for everyone to fall unconscious.
And then... I burnt the house."
Aarav's throat tightened.
VEERAJ(whispering shakily)
"I don't know how Aditya survived. And her... the little baby... She was just one month old."
Everyone turned to her.
VEERAJ
"I saved her. Not because she was a baby. But because she held the key to the Kapoor Empire."
His lips curled into a disgusting smirk.
VEERAJ
"Arjun wrote everything in her name. All the property. All the shares. And I would get them... only when she turned eighteen."
The room felt colder.
Aarav, Kabir, raghav, and Aditya froze
Raghav stepped closer, his voice low and trembling with fury.
RAGHAV (teeth clenched)
"Where is that girl now? What did you do to her?"
Veeraj's eyes flicked up full of defiance.
Before he could answer, Aditya snapped.
He drove the knife straight into Veeraj's other hand, deeper this time blood splashed across the floor.
ADITYA (voice breaking, feral)
"WHERE IS MY SISTER?!"
"What did you do to her?!"
Veeraj screamed... then suddenly stopped.
A slow, twisted smile spread across his blood-stained lips.
He began to laugh.
VEERAJ (evil, breathless laugh)
"You... you want to know about your sister...?"
Aditya's breath froze.
Veeraj kept laughing louder, crazier despite the pain, his body shaking.
VEERAJ
"Never."
(his eyes darken)
"I will NEVER tell you."
Before anyone could move
He jerked his wrist sharply.
Something clicked.
Aarav shouted
"KABIR! STOP HIM—!"
Too late.
Veeraj bent forward and bit down on a small capsule hidden inside a slot under his watch strap.
A crunch.
A chemical smell.
His eyes widened... then rolled back.
Foam touched his lips.
Aditya grabbed him, shaking him violently.
ADITYA (screaming)
"NO—NO—DON'T YOU DARE—!
WHERE IS SHE?! WHERE IS MY SISTER—?!"
Veeraj's body convulsed once... twice...
And then
Stillness.
His head fell sideways.
Dead.
Just like that.
Taking the truth with him.
Aditya fell to his knees, fists shaking, breath breaking into ragged sobs.
Aarav and Kabir exchanged a horrified look.
Raghav clenched his jaw, whispering under his breath:
RAGHAV
"He died... without telling us... where the girl is."
Kabir whispered, almost to himself:
KABIR
"Aditya's sister... She's alive. But where...?"
Aditya stared at Veeraj's dead body, whispering like a broken child:
ADITYA
"Where are you, little one...? Where are you...?"
The room went silent.
A new mystery was born.
Aarav felt your body go stiff in his arms.
Not trembling.
Not crying.
Just... still.
Too still.
Your eyes were open wide unblinking fixed on Veeraj's dead body on the dirty floor.
Breath shallow.
Face pale.
Like your soul had frozen mid-air.
Ashiana was gone.
Only a hollow shell remained, looking at the man she once hoped was her father.
Aarav tightened his arms around you carefully like you were glass.
AARAV (whispering, terrified)
"Arshi... look at me... Baby, look at me..."
But she didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe properly.
her heartbeat felt like a faint echo in his chest too slow, too weak.
her lips parted slightly...
ASHIANA (barely a whisper, empty)
"He... wasn't... my papa..."
A tear slipped down her cheek but she didn't even feel it.
Aarav cupped her face gently, turning her away from the corpse, forcing you to look at him but her gaze didn't focus.
It was like her mind was stuck in shock.
Behind her, Kabir, Raghav, and Aditya fell silent, watching with heavy guilt.
Even Aditya, furious seconds ago, froze when he saw her state.
KABIR (softly)
"She's in shock..."
RAGHAV
"She heard everything... every detail..."
Aarav's voice broke as he pressed his forehead to her.
AARAV
"You're safe. You're with me. Arshi... I'm here, okay? Come back to me... please."
But she just stared past him.
Past everyone.
her voice cracked, empty and detached almost childlike
ASHIANA
"He lied to me... He hugged me... He hugged me like a father..."
her body finally shuddered.
Aarav pulled her into his chest, wrapping both arms tightly around her, almost desperately.
He whispered again and again like he was begging
AARAV
"It's over now... I've got you... I won't let anyone touch you ever again..."
But she remained pressed against him like someone who forgot how to feel.
Broken.
Silent.
In shock.
Ashiana suddenly jerked out of Aarav's arms.
So fast he didn't even get a chance to react.
her legs felt numb, her vision was spinning, but shestood upexpression blank, breath uneven her eyes still fixed somewhere far away.
Then she took a step back.
Another.
And before anyone could say a word
Aashiana turned and began walking.
Slow at first...
Then faster...
Faster...
her breathing cracked into a sob, her hands shaking, her heart pounding painfully in her chest.
AARAV (panicked)
"ASHIANA—STOP! WAIT!"
But she didn't hear him.
she was running.
Running from the truth.
Running from the pain.
Running from her.
she stumbled outside the warehouse, tears blurring everything, the cold night air burning her lungs.
There one of their cars.
Ashiana rushed to it blindly, threw open the door, sat inside, and with trembling hands
Started the engine.
Aarav, Kabir, Raghav, and Aditya came running after her.
AARAV (shouting, terrified)
"ASHIANA!! DON'T—WAIT—DON'T DRIVE—"
But she was already sobbing, gripping the steering wheel so tight her knuckles turned white.
And then
she drove off.
Tires screeching.
Dust flying.
her cries echoing inside the car.
she didn't know where she was going.
she didn't care.
she just needed to escape.
From Veeraj's lies.
From the betrayal.
From the truth of what he did.
From the guilt of trusting him.
From herself.
Behind her
AARAV (broken roar)
"DAMN IT!"
Kabir grabbed his arm.
KABIR (urgent)
"Bhai! We have to go she's not in her senses!"
RAGHAV
"I'll track the GPS give me 30 seconds!"
ADITYA (clenching jaw, voice shaking with guilt and fear)
"She heard everything... she saw everything... She's shattered, bhai... she's going to hurt herself like this!"
Aarav stood up, eyes red, expression dark and terrified.
AARAV
"No.
No.
I'm not losing her.
Not tonight.
Not ever."
He rushed to his car, the brothers following behind him.
KABIR
"Let's go before she crashes she's driving blind!"
RAGHAV
"Got her location! She's heading toward the city outskirts!"
Aarav's voice was low, deadly serious, filled with fear and fury:
AARAV
"Ashiana... Hold on. I'm coming."
And all four cars raced into the night, chasing desperately after the girl who was breaking apart piece by piece.
Ashiana's car screeched to a halt in front of the old, familiar house.
The house that raised her.
The house that held every memory of her childhood.
The house she once called home.
She stepped out slowly, her legs barely carrying her, her breath trembling as she stared at the door.
After a long second
She entered.
The silence inside hit her like a punch.
Her eyes moved around the living room...
And suddenly
She saw it.
A small five-year-old version of herself...
Sitting in Veeraj's lap...
Laughing with ice cream in her hand...
His hand wiping her cheek softly...
The image faded, leaving emptiness behind.
Her lips trembled.
She took a step toward the kitchen.
There Another memory.
A ten-year-old Ashiana, in her school uniform, running inside excitedly:
"Papa! Papa! Aaj mujhe gold star mila!"
Veeraj turning from the stove, smiling, bending down as she hugged him.
That memory too faded.
Ashiana's throat burned.
Tears gathered.
Her breaths shook.
She turned toward the hallway, where pictures hung on the wall.
One frame caught her eye.
Her and Veeraj.
She was six, sitting on his shoulders.
They both looked happy.
Perfect.
Her fingers shook as she lifted the frame off the wall.
A single tear rolled down her cheek and landed on the glass.
Her jaw clenched.
Because now she knew Every smile in those pictures... Every comforting hug... Every "I love you beta"...
All of it was a lie.
Her hands tightened on the frame.
And then
She hurled it against the wall with a scream.
The frame shattered, glass scattering across the floor, her photo ripped apart.
Her breath broke.
A sob burst out of her chest.
Something in her snapped.
She saw a cricket bat lying near the corner.
Her fingers curled around the handle.
A dangerous silence filled the room.
Then
S M A S H
She hit the coffee table wood cracked.
S M A S H
She hit the bookshelf books flying everywhere.
S M A S H
She shattered the lamp glass raining around her feet.
Her cries echoed through the house.
Her heartbreak filled every wall.
"WHY?!" she screamed.
"Why did you lie to me?!"
Another smash.
"Why did you kill them?!"
Another smash.
"Why did you ruin my life?!"
Another smash.
Her tears poured uncontrollably; her chest felt like it was tearing apart.
She stormed into her bedroom
Tore the curtains...
Threw the pillows...
Ripped open the wardrobe...
Hearts, memories, childhood everything breaking around her.
She stood in the middle of the destroyed room, breathing hard, hair messy, eyes red, bat trembling in her hand.
She felt empty.
Broken.
Alone.
Ashiana stood in the middle of the wrecked house.
Broken glass everywhere.
Shattered furniture.
Her breaths coming in sharp, painful gasps.
The bat slipped from her fingers.
Her vision blurred.
Her knees weakened.
And she whispered barely audible
"...Papa..."
Then
Her body swayed.
Her foot slipped
right toward a large shard of broken glass on the floor.
She was about to fall face-first onto it
When
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