Chapter 32
Branches tore against my skin while I ran blindly through the forest.
My lungs burned violently.
Bare feet slipping through mud.
Rain crashing endlessly over me.
Behind me,
Flashlights.
Voices.
Men screaming.
"THIS WAY."
"SHE CAN'T HAVE GONE FAR."
Fear exploded through my veins like poison.
I couldn't stop.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't breathe properly.
Only run.
RUN.
A branch caught my arm sharply making me stumble hard against the wet ground.
Pain shot through my knees instantly.
I gasped trying standing again.
Behind me,
The voices were getting closer.
Too close.
Panic nearly crushed me whole.
Then suddenly,
Light.
Ahead.
Bright headlights.
And beyond the trees,
A highway.
Relief slammed into me so hard I nearly cried.
Road.
People.
Help.
I pushed myself harder running toward it desperately.
Rain blurred my vision completely now.
Cars sped through the storm dangerously fast.
I stumbled out onto the road gasping violently.
Behind me,
The men burst from the forest too.
"STOP HER."
My heartbeat crashed in terror.
I started running across the highway desperately trying waving at cars.
"HELP!"
HONK.
Blinding headlights suddenly appeared directly beside me.
Too fast.
Way too fast.
For one horrifying second,
Time slowed.
A giant truck speeding through the rain.
The driver slamming brakes violently.
My terrified reflection in the windshield.
And then,
CRASH.
Pain exploded through my body.
The impact threw me across the wet road brutally.
My head slammed hard against the ground.
Everything blurred instantly.
Thunder.
Rain.
Screaming.
Then darkness swallowed everything whole.
...
The truck driver stumbled out panicking violently.
"Oh God!"
He rushed toward me trembling.
Blood mixed with rainwater beneath my body.
I wasn't moving.
"Oh God she's alive-"
Then suddenly,
The kidnappers emerged from the darkness.
The driver's face drained instantly.
One man grabbed him harshly.
"Get back in the truck."
The driver panicked.
"She needs hospital-"
Another man pulled out a gun silently.
And the driver froze.
Terrified.
Meanwhile one of the kidnappers called someone immediately.
"Boss."
Pause.
"She escaped."
Another pause.
Then looking down at my unconscious body:
"But she got hit by a truck."
Silence.
Rain crashed harder around them.
Then the kidnapper nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
A cold laugh afterward.
"Looks like an accident now."
The blood in my veins would've frozen hearing the next sentence.
"Good."
Pause.
"Leave her there."
Thunder cracked violently overhead.
The man nodded again.
"No one will suspect much."
Then the call disconnected.
The truck driver looked horrified.
"You can't just leave her-"
The gun pressed harder against him instantly.
"Drive."
The poor man shook violently.
"But she'll die-"
The kidnapper leaned closer coldly.
"Then let her."
The driver stared at my motionless body one last time helplessly before finally climbing back into the truck trembling.
Moments later,
The truck disappeared into the storm.
And then,
The kidnappers left too.
Leaving me alone on the dark highway bleeding beneath the rain.
Like I was never human at all.
...
Meanwhile,
The Malhotra mansion had become hell.
Absolute hell.
A vase shattered violently against the wall.
Glass exploded across the floor.
Dhruv stood in the middle of the living room breathing heavily while another object crashed beside him.
No one dared move.
No one dared speak.
Because Dhruv Malhotra had completely lost control.
And it was terrifying.
"USELESS."
His voice echoed violently through the mansion.
An entire team of officers stood silently before him terrified.
"I gave you the entire city."
Another glass table shattered beneath his hand.
"And you still can't find ONE GIRL?"
Nobody answered.
Nobody could.
Because every road had been searched.
Every hotel.
Every private property.
Nothing.
No trace.
Like I disappeared from existence itself.
Meanwhile Dhruv looked ready to kill someone with his bare hands.
His shirt sleeves rolled upward messily.
Hair disheveled.
Eyes bloodshot from hours without blinking properly.
He hadn't slept.
Hadn't eaten.
Hadn't stopped moving since my kidnapping.
Phones rang endlessly around him.
Ministers.
IAS officers.
Police commissioners.
Every powerful contact in the country suddenly under pressure from one terrifying billionaire.
But still,
Nothing.
Dhruv grabbed another officer by the collar suddenly.
"CHECK THE FOREST ROUTES AGAIN."
"Sir we already-"
"I SAID AGAIN."
The man immediately nodded fearfully.
Meanwhile nearby,
Dhruv's mother sat crying on the couch trembling violently.
Her eyes swollen red already.
"Bring my child back..."
Her voice broke completely.
"Please..."
Even the servants looked devastated.
The mansion felt cursed without me there.
Empty.
Cold.
Wrong.
Meanwhile Dhruv's aunt sat farther away looking irritated more than worried.
Honestly irritated.
"This is becoming too dramatic."
Silence crashed across the room instantly.
Armaan slowly turned toward her.
And the fury in his face looked murderous.
"What did you say?"
His voice came dangerously quiet.
Dhruv's aunt crossed her arms coldly.
"I'm saying clearly someone targeted her personally."
Then sharply toward Dhruv:
"And all this chaos for a contract wife-"
"ENOUGH."
Dhruv's voice shook the entire room violently.
Everyone froze instantly.
Because the look in his eyes now,
Pure destruction.
He walked toward his aunt slowly.
Terrifyingly slowly.
And for the first time ever,
Even she looked nervous.
Then coldly,
"If anything happens to her..."
His jaw clenched violently.
"I swear nobody in this house will survive my anger."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Because everyone heard it now.
Everyone understood finally.
This wasn't contract anymore.
Not even close.
Meanwhile Armaan stood near the windows equally furious.
His fists clenched tightly.
Because he loved me too.
And right now,
All he could think was one thing:
Dhruv failed to protect me.
Armaan suddenly turned sharply toward him.
"You should've had more security on her."
Dhruv looked at him instantly.
The tension exploded dangerously.
"I DID."
"Clearly not enough."
Dhruv stepped forward.
"And what exactly were YOU doing there?"
Armaan laughed angrily.
"I tried saving her."
The room felt seconds away from violence now.
Because both men looked ready to destroy each other.
Not over ego.
Over me.
Then suddenly,
Dhruv's phone rang again.
Unknown number.
The entire mansion froze instantly.
Dhruv answered immediately.
Silence.
Then,
A distorted voice.
Cold.
Mocking.
"Still searching?"
Dhruv's expression turned deadly instantly.
"Who are you."
Soft laughter echoed through the phone.
Then one sentence destroyed the room completely.
"You should start searching highways instead."
The moment the call disconnected,
Dhruv moved instantly.
"TRACE THE NUMBER."
Cyber teams immediately activated again.
Screens lit up.
Calls connected.
Entire departments started tracking the unknown line.
But five minutes later,
Nothing.
No tower location.
No digital footprint.
No origin.
Like the call never existed.
One officer looked pale while reporting.
"Sir... the number is untraceable."
Silence.
Dhruv's expression turned lethal.
"Impossible."
"We tried everything."
The officer swallowed nervously.
"It's military-grade masking."
Even Armaan frowned sharply at that.
Because ordinary criminals couldn't access that kind of technology.
Someone unbelievably powerful was involved.
Then suddenly,
Another phone rang.
One of the senior officers.
He listened for two seconds before his face changed completely.
Then immediately toward Dhruv:
"Sir."
Pause.
"We found her."
Everything stopped.
Dhruv turned so fast the room itself seemed to freeze.
"WHERE."
"City Hospital."
The breath left everyone's lungs instantly.
"Critical condition. Unidentified female admitted after highway accident."
Dhruv didn't wait another second.
He was already moving.
....
The Rolls-Royce sped through the city like death itself.
Rain still poured endlessly outside.
Meanwhile inside the car,
Dhruv's breathing remained dangerously controlled.
Too controlled.
Because fear had finally reached a level beyond panic now.
Armaan sat beside him equally tense.
"She's alive."
The sentence sounded more like prayer than reassurance.
Dhruv said nothing.
But his grip around the steering wheel tightened harder.
Alive.
Only thing keeping him sane right now.
The hospital finally appeared ahead.
Huge private medical building glowing under storm lights.
The second the car stopped,
Dhruv stepped out before it fully parked.
Security guards rushed after him instantly.
He entered the hospital lobby dripping rainwater everywhere.
People froze immediately.
Because Dhruv Malhotra looked terrifying.
Bloodshot eyes.
Soaked black shirt.
Pure violence radiating from him.
The receptionist looked terrified already.
"Sir-"
"Riya Malhotra."
His voice cut sharply through the lobby.
The receptionist panicked slightly typing fast.
Then suddenly her expression changed.
"I... I'm sorry sir."
Dhruv's jaw clenched instantly.
"Room number."
"I can't provide that information."
Silence.
Dangerous silence.
Dhruv stepped closer slowly.
"Excuse me?"
The receptionist visibly trembled now.
"The patient's family specifically instructed not to allow anyone-"
Family.
The word hit like a bomb.
Dhruv stared at her coldly.
"What family."
"I-I don't know sir but-"
Then suddenly,
Dhruv pulled out his gun.
The entire lobby froze.
Gasps erupted instantly.
Security guards panicked.
But Dhruv didn't blink.
Didn't hesitate.
He placed the gun directly against the counter calmly.
And somehow,
That calmness terrified everyone more.
"Room."
The receptionist looked seconds away from fainting.
"W-Ward 3."
Tears formed in her eyes instantly.
"Private ICU. Fifth floor."
Dhruv moved immediately.
Armaan followed right behind him.
The elevator ride felt endless.
Every second torture.
Then finally,
Fifth floor.
The doors opened.
And both men froze.
Because the entire floor looked like military lockdown.
Black-suited guards lined the corridor.
Armed.
Professional.
Deadly.
Not hospital security.
Private elite security.
At least twenty men stationed outside one ICU alone.
Dhruv's brows furrowed sharply.
Who the hell,
Then suddenly,
Through the small ICU glass window,
He saw me.
Unconscious on the hospital bed.
Machines attached everywhere.
Bruises visible against pale skin.
Bandages.
Blood.
Small fragile body lying completely still.
Something inside Dhruv broke instantly.
He moved toward the ICU immediately.
But the second he approached,
Two guards blocked him.
"Stop."
Dhruv stared at the hand stopping him.
Then slowly,
Very slowly,
His eyes lifted.
And honestly?
The guards had probably never seen death look this human before.
"Move."
Cold.
Deadly.
One guard remained firm.
"No unauthorized entry."
Behind Dhruv,
His own guards immediately stepped forward furiously.
"How dare you touch Mr. Malhotra."
They shoved the men back instantly.
The corridor erupted into chaos immediately.
Weapons nearly drawn.
Hospital staff panicking.
Armaan stepped forward too.
Meanwhile Dhruv never took his eyes off the ICU door.
"That's my wife."
His voice shook slightly for the first time tonight.
And somehow,
That terrified everyone most.
The guard still didn't move.
"Orders are orders."
Dhruv looked ready to kill someone barehanded now.
Then suddenly,
A voice cut through the chaos calmly.
"Enough."
The entire corridor fell silent instantly.
Even the guards straightened immediately.
Footsteps echoed slowly across the floor.
And then,
He appeared.
Tall.
Impossibly regal.
Cold grey eyes.
Black tailored suit.
The kind of face that carried generations of power effortlessly.
Veer Rajput.
Billionaire.
Royal bloodline.
Heir to the richest royal family in the world.
The kind of family politicians feared offending.
The kind of wealth even billionaires respected carefully.
And somehow,
Every guard there looked more loyal to him than governments.
Veer walked forward calmly.
But the fury beneath his composure felt terrifying.
His eyes shifted toward the ICU first.
Toward me.
And for one brief second,
Pain flickered across his face.
Real pain.
Then gone instantly.
His gaze finally landed on Dhruv.
The atmosphere changed immediately.
Two kings entering war.
Dhruv spoke first.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"Move your guards."
Veer's expression didn't change.
"You need to leave."
Armaan frowned sharply beside him.
"And who exactly are you to decide that?"
Veer ignored him completely.
His eyes remained fixed on Dhruv.
Then calmly,
"She needs rest."
Dhruv laughed once.
No humor.
Pure rage.
"That's my wife inside."
Something dark flashed through Veer's eyes instantly.
"Wife?"
The word sounded almost offensive to him.
Dhruv stepped closer.
"And I'm not leaving."
The corridor air became suffocating now.
Because neither man looked willing to back down.
Then Veer spoke again.
Quietly.
Dangerously quietly.
"Stop this nonsense and leave."
The fury barely contained in his voice sent chills through everyone present.
Because somehow,
It didn't sound like jealousy.
It sounded personal.
Much more personal than that.
Dhruv noticed too.
And suddenly,
One horrifying thought entered his mind.
How did Veer Rajput know Riya?