Chapter 68
"Jiju..." Akash stood up as soon as Shaurya entered his study. Shaurya shut the door and walked inside.
"Are you insane, Akash? Why did you come here at this time of the night? To tell those people that you're involved in this operation?" Shaurya fumed.
"I was worried, sir. This was a large-scale attack. I'm not just worried about you, but about my sister and niece as well. And now my entire family lives with you, in your residence," Akash said, but Shaurya shook his head in disappointment and rage.
"That doesn't give you a reason, Akash. Suraj and Jasmeet are competent.
They know how to protect me and my family, and they did a fair job.
You should have trusted them instead of coming here.
Do you really think there won't be anyone surveilling this place?
You're here in less than an hour after the assassination attempt on me.
It won't take a genius to understand that you're directly involved in this operation," Shaurya said.
"I couldn't stop myself. I'm not just a bureaucrat reporting directly to you; I'm your brother-in-law. My sister called me in the night, and I was here the next minute. That's what we are going to show the outside world," Akash said.
"Do you think they will believe it? Why do you have to take a chance and then do all these cover-ups, Akash?" Shaurya questioned, rubbing his forehead.
"Because I'm concerned for you, Jiju. Is that so hard to understand?
After di left you more than five years ago, I hated you.
But when I passed the IAS and got posted directly under you, immediately after my training, I decided to keep my hate for you aside and work hard.
I don't know when my hatred for you disappeared.
Maybe seeing you suffer every minute, remembering my sister, lessened my hatred for you.
And then I met di, and I got to know about Siya.
I got to know about her struggles, and how she faced difficulties while giving birth to Siya and raising her.
Seeing you oblivious to the fact that you had a daughter pinched my heart, but my di's sufferings erased that feeling. I thought you deserved it.
But now... after knowing the whole truth, I don't think of you like that anymore.
I don't have any anger toward you. All that is left is affection.
The affection I felt when I first got to know about my di dating you.
I was so happy that I finally got a brother who could save me from di's anger.
Every time you supported me, my education, I felt like you were family.
And if at all there's someone who can understand me and support me after my di, it's you. I feel the same for you now.
Knowing the exact reason and the depth of danger involved in this operation, I can't stay unworried.
I don't want any harm to you. So by coming here, I shifted their attention.
Yes, I baited myself. But we have to create confusion.
We have to buy some time. So my plan is simple.
Tomorrow morning, di and I are going to pretend that it was she who called me, and I came because she was afraid.
I will also ask you about the issue, but you'll dismiss it like you're trying hard to hide it.
This will create confusion. They'll use their time to find out whether I was involved in this operation or whether I genuinely didn't know anything.
By the time they find out, you'll be back in power again.
And if they act smart and get answers sooner, at least by then you can sort out your issues with the party," Akash said.
Shaurya shook his head at the plan. He didn't like baiting his brother-in-law to keep himself safe.
"You do know how desperate they are to find out which officers are involved in this operation.
Even one officer's involvement gets leaked, they'll go to any extent to extract everything they want from him—by any means.
They are cruel. And I didn't know you were this stupid to jump into the fire, knowing it would burn you to ashes," Shaurya said.
"Jiju—" Akash began, but Shaurya shut him up.
"Not a word. We are definitely going to run a show tomorrow morning—but my way.
We're not going to do it in the lawn. If we do, they'll be sure we're just putting on an act, and that will make it easy for them to figure out your involvement.
Instead, we'll pull this drama in a place that isn't easy for them to trace.
But if I'm right about them surveilling this place, they'll surely try to find out what's happening.
And they'll find what we want them to find—but not easily.
If information comes too easily, they won't believe it.
But if something is obtained after a lot of effort, it becomes believable.
And not just that, after the drama tomorrow morning, you'll act like you're trying to find out what I was doing and why I was attacked.
Every time we meet, it'll be under the pretext of solving the sixty-five missing girls' case.
That way, there's no chance anyone will find out you're involved in this.
Also, you're my brother-in-law. People already believe I wouldn't involve you in something this dangerous. Let's use that assumption.
You'll do what I say. Let me run the show from here on, Akash. In the backend, we'll do our job and finish our mission—whatever goals we've set for my first term as Chief Minister," Shaurya said.
Akash nodded.
"How do you plan to convince di for this drama? You know she's not good at these things," Akash asked.
"Yes, and your call has already disturbed my peace. She's upset with me," Shaurya said.
"What did I do?" Akash asked.
Shaurya told him how Akash's call had made her suspicious, how he had to inform her about the assassination attempt, and how she demanded answers about the reason—which he couldn't give because it was highly confidential.
"I'm sorry, sir," Akash muttered.
"You should be. But maybe you'll earn forgiveness if you address me as 'Jiju' instead of 'sir' when we're in private," Shaurya said, smirking at his brother-in-law. Akash nodded with a smile. "And you'll have to convince your sister for this drama—if I fail," Shaurya added.
Akash nodded, knowing Shaurya was capable enough of convincing Akansha. But he didn't know he would be proven wrong the next morning, he would realize that his brother-in-law wasn't a superman—and that convincing Akansha when she was doubly upset would be nearly impossible.
The next two hours went into talking business. Shaurya and Akash knew how important and confidential this was. This operation was against every corrupt politician and the extremely wealthy of society. They knew every secret these people were hiding.
Everyone believed that the biggest achievement of Shaurya's government was the near elimination of corruption, or the shocking development of the state, or the billions of dollars in investments, or the welfare projects he initiated for the people.
But this operation—Operation C Minus—was the biggest achievement of Shaurya as Chief Minister.
He would never be able to publicize or showcase it. But he wasn't doing any of this to secure power. He was doing it so it could genuinely benefit the people of his state—and the country as well.
Operation C Minus was not born out of ambition.
It was born out of disgust.
Years before Shaurya Shekhawat became the Chief Minister, before power and responsibility shaped him into a public figure, he overheard a conversation that changed the course of his life.
It was not a deal being made.
It was a decision being discussed.
A decision about whether a newborn girl should be allowed to live. His sister Aakriti...
His parents weren't talking about love, or fear, or regret.
They were talking about loss—loss of wealth, loss of control, loss of comfort.
Years ago, in a moment of recklessness, Virendar Shekhawat had tied himself to dangerous people for money.
Promises were made when alcohol blurred morality.
Now, with the birth of a girl child, those promises had consequences.
The solution his parents discussed was simple and horrifying:
Kill the child. Erase the problem. That was what they decided...
That night, Shaurya ran away with his days-old sister and ensured she disappeared from their world forever. To everyone else, the girl was declared dead. Only Shaurya knew the truth—and he carried it in silence.
That incident planted the first seed.
Not just revenge.
Awareness too.
Years later, while trying to understand how people like his father and Param could operate without fear for so long, Shaurya stumbled upon a reality that was far bigger than his family.
The forbidden villages.
These villages were real. They existed quietly within the state, hidden in plain sight. They looked like any other rural settlement—fields, houses, temples, daily routines. But they followed a social structure that the outside world neither acknowledged nor questioned.
In these villages, prostitution was not forced.
It was a norm passed down through generations.
The women accepted it willingly, not because they lacked dignity, but because it was all they had ever known.
The villages lived peacefully within their own boundaries.
Outsiders did not interfere, and the villagers did not seek outside validation.
There was no violence, no visible crime—just a closed system functioning by its own rules.
That was why no one paid attention to them.
And that was exactly why powerful people noticed them.
At first, the wealthy entered these villages as benefactors. They brought comforts—better food, medical help, infrastructure, luxuries the villagers had never imagined. Slowly, dependency replaced independence.
Then control replaced goodwill.
The villages turned into safe havens.
Black money was stored there because no one inspected them.