Chapter 18
The days following the explosive boardroom meeting were tense, but there was a new, undeniable clarity to the atmosphere.
Siddhant’s cybersecurity team had successfully traced the IP bounce back to Viraj Khanna’s personal servers.
Siddhant had immediately launched a devastating, highly coordinated corporate attack against the Khanna Group, systematically destroying Viraj’s stock prices and severing his supply chains.
The Devil of Delhi was completely focused on destroying his enemy, and Viraj Khanna was rapidly losing his empire.
However, Viraj Khanna was not the kind of man to lose gracefully. If he was going down, he was going to take Siddhant Chaturvedi’s most prized possession with him.
It was a Tuesday afternoon. Siddhant was at the Chaturvedi headquarters, locked in high-level meetings with his legal team.
Poorvanshi was finally stepping out of the massive mansion. She had an appointment to visit a new construction site for her architectural firm in the heart of Delhi. It was a project she had started before the wedding disaster, and she was desperate to get back to her actual career.
Ishaan, per Siddhant’s strict orders, was driving her.
"The site is just past the next intersection, ma'am," Ishaan said, navigating the heavy black SUV through the crowded city streets.
"Thank you, Ishaan," Poorvanshi smiled, looking out the tinted window.
She wore a sharp, professional cream-colored pantsuit, carrying a large leather tube containing her blueprints.
She felt a surge of excitement. She loved architecture, it was the one thing in her life that was completely logical and structural.
As the SUV turned down a narrower, less crowded side street approaching the construction site, a massive, unmarked white van suddenly pulled out of an alleyway, completely blocking their path.
Ishaan slammed on the brakes, the tires screeching loudly against the asphalt.
Before Ishaan could even throw the car into reverse, a heavy black pickup truck violently rear-ended their SUV, completely trapping them in the narrow street.
"Get down, ma'am!" Ishaan shouted, his hand immediately reaching into his jacket for his weapon.
Poorvanshi dropped to the floor of the backseat, her heart hammering a frantic, terrifying rhythm against her ribs.
Six men jumped out of the surrounding vehicles. They were dressed in black tactical gear, their faces covered with heavy masks. Two of the men ran to the front of the SUV, raising heavy steel pipes, and violently smashed the driver's side window.
Ishaan fought back fiercely, but he was outnumbered and trapped behind the steering wheel. One of the men struck him hard over the head, and Ishaan slumped forward, unconscious against the horn. The loud, continuous blaring sound echoed through the street.
The back doors of the SUV were violently yanked open.
"Don't touch me!" Poorvanshi screamed, kicking out wildly as two large men reached inside.
They grabbed her arms, dragging her out of the luxury vehicle and throwing her into the back of the unmarked white van. The doors slammed shut, plunging her into complete, suffocating darkness. The van sped away, leaving the ruined SUV and the unconscious Ishaan behind.
Poorvanshi scrambled to sit up in the dark, bouncing violently against the metal walls of the speeding van. Her mind was racing. 'Who was doing this?' The cartels looking for Aryan? Or someone else?
She didn't have to wait long for the answer.
After thirty terrifying minutes of sharp turns and rapid acceleration, the van finally screeched to a halt. The back doors were thrown open, completely blinding Poorvanshi with the harsh afternoon sunlight.
The masked men dragged her out of the van and pushed her into an abandoned, massive industrial warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The building was empty, smelling of rust, old oil, and damp concrete.
They pushed her into a heavy metal chair in the center of the massive room and stepped back.
Footsteps echoed sharply against the concrete floor.
A man walked slowly out of the shadows. He was dressed in a flashy, expensive maroon suit that looked completely ridiculous in the dirty warehouse.
It was Viraj Khanna.
"Hello, beautiful," Viraj sneered, an ugly, triumphant smile twisting his face. He held a small, black burner phone in his hand.
Poorvanshi’s heart dropped into her stomach. "You are insane, Viraj. You cannot kidnap me."
"I just did," Viraj laughed, walking slowly around her chair. "Siddhant is dismantling my company. He is taking everything from me. So, I am going to take everything from him. And everyone in the city knows that you are his absolute weakness."
Viraj stopped in front of her, leaning down close. "Siddhant is going to surrender control of the Chaturvedi Group to me. He is going to sign over the Singhania merger. Or, he is going to find his precious little bride in pieces."
Poorvanshi lifted her chin, her dark eyes blazing with absolute defiance. She refused to show him any fear. "Siddhant will never surrender to a pathetic, cowardly snake like you. And he will find you."
"Oh, I am counting on it," Viraj smiled coldly. He lifted the burner phone. "Let's give him a call, shall we?"
***
Across the city, in the massive glass boardroom of the Chaturvedi headquarters, Siddhant was in the middle of finalizing a contract when his personal phone vibrated on the table.
It was a call from Ishaan.
Siddhant frowned. Ishaan never called during meetings unless it was an absolute emergency. He held up a hand, silencing the lawyers in the room, and answered the call.
"Ishaan?"
"Boss," Ishaan’s voice came through the speaker, weak, groggy, and laced with pure panic. "We were ambushed. White van... they took her. Boss, they took Miss Rathore."
Siddhant stood up so fast his heavy leather chair completely tipped over, crashing loudly onto the floor.
The entire boardroom went dead silent. The temperature in the room plummeted instantly.
"Where are you?" Siddhant demanded, his voice a low, vibrating rumble that sounded absolutely demonic.
"Fourth street... near the site," Ishaan groaned. "I'm sorry, Boss. There were too many."
Siddhant ended the call. His vision completely narrowed. The absolute, worst-case scenario had just happened. Someone had touched what belonged to him.
Before he could even step towards the door, his phone rang again. It was an unknown number.
Siddhant answered it, holding the phone to his ear, his jaw locked in a terrifying, deadly line.
"Hello, Siddhant," Viraj Khanna’s smug voice echoed through the line.
Siddhant did not speak. The silence radiating from him was far more terrifying than any threat.
"I have something that belongs to you," Viraj continued, sounding slightly nervous despite his bravado.
"I want the deeds to the Singhania merger, and I want a public statement surrendering the majority shares of your company.
If you call the police, or if you bring your security team, I will hurt her.
You have one hour to come to the old industrial sector on the eastern border. Alone."
"Viraj," Siddhant finally spoke. His voice was incredibly quiet, incredibly smooth, and completely devoid of any human emotion.
It was the pure, unfiltered voice of the Devil.
"If you lay a single finger on her, I will not just kill you.
I will make sure you beg me for death long before I finally grant it to you. "
Viraj swallowed hard on the other end of the line. "One hour, Siddhant. Alone."
The call ended.
Siddhant turned to Kabir, who was standing nearby, looking completely horrified.
"Get my car," Siddhant ordered, his eyes pitch black. "And call the extraction team. They do not move in until I have her secure."
"Siddhant, you cannot go alone," Kabir argued frantically. "It's a trap!"
"I don't care if it is a trap," Siddhant snarled, walking out of the boardroom with terrifying, explosive speed. "He has her."
***
Inside the damp, dark warehouse, Poorvanshi sat completely still in the metal chair.
Her wrists were tied behind her back with thick zip ties, but her mind was actively working.
She was an architect. She was analyzing the structural integrity of the old warehouse, looking for weak points, exits, and potential weapons.
Viraj paced back and forth in front of her, checking his expensive watch every two minutes. He was sweating heavily. The reality of what he had just done, kidnapping the partner of the most dangerous man in India, was clearly beginning to sink in.
"He is not going to surrender his company for me," Poorvanshi said calmly, trying to get into Viraj's head. "Siddhant is a businessman. He doesn't make emotional trades."
"Shut up!" Viraj snapped, pointing a shaking finger at her. "He tore my arm half off just because I touched your hair! He is obsessed with you!"
Suddenly, the heavy, rusted metal doors at the front of the warehouse slowly groaned open.
The bright sunlight poured into the dark, dusty room.
Standing perfectly still in the center of the doorway was a massive, terrifying silhouette.
Siddhant Chaturvedi had arrived.
He was completely alone. He wore no suit jacket, just his crisp white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his powerful forearms. He didn't carry a weapon that Viraj could see.
He simply stood there, his dark eyes scanning the massive warehouse until they landed on Poorvanshi sitting in the metal chair.
When Siddhant saw her tied up, a dark, murderous shadow completely overtook his face.
"Well, well," Viraj laughed nervously, stepping slightly behind Poorvanshi's chair, using her as a physical shield. "The Devil actually came. Do you have the transfer papers, Siddhant?"
Siddhant did not look at Viraj. He looked directly at Poorvanshi. "Are you hurt?"
"I am fine," Poorvanshi said, her voice completely steady, though her heart swelled with overwhelming relief at the sight of him.