CHAPTER 20 #2
“I want a fresh start, Trisha,” she says softly now.
“A real one. I think New Zealand is perfect. The kind of life I’ve imagined for myself…
” Her fingers lightly tap against the burner phone still in her hand.
“I can only have that someplace like this. I think I can actually breathe there. Start over. Build something normal with Mom. Queenstown feels like the kind of place where my life can finally belong to me.”
I swallow hard, suddenly understanding the problem. Raghav doesn’t want Siya disappearing into another country. He wants her back with him at RK Estate. Back within his reach.
And Siya… she has absolutely no idea. She genuinely believes Raghav is helping her escape because he wants her free. Safe. Happy somewhere far away from this mafia world.
The innocence of that belief almost hurts.
Because the girl sitting in front of me is dreaming about a peaceful new life in Queenstown, while back at RK estate, Raghav is probably counting down the hours until he can bring her home the second she’s out of the Vardhaans’ hands.
I stare at her quietly for a moment longer before finally standing up. “I need to make a few calls regarding the documents,” I tell her casually. “I’ll be back.”
She nods immediately, still distracted by the thought of her new life. The moment I step out of that room, I already know exactly whom I need to call first.
Ayaan.
I enter my room, lock the door behind me, and pull out my burner phone. Ayaan picks up on the second ring.
“I got the documents,” I tell him immediately. “Passports too.”
“Good,” he says without hesitation. “Then you know the drop point. The rest of the extraction plan stays the same.”
I lean against the table, lowering my voice further. “But Raghav told me to bring Siya back to RK Estate after the extraction. Not fly her halfway across the world to New Zealand.”
“To hell with what Raghav wants,” Ayaan snaps.
I blink.
“This operation falls under GLEN,” he continues sharply. “You are my field resource, Trisha. And I know exactly what’s best for my brother.”
His tone hardens further.
“You will take Siya and her mother to Queenstown exactly as instructed. My team will receive them there, settle them safely, and erase every trace leading back to the Vardhaans. After that, you return. That’s all.”
“And what about Raghav?” I ask, exhaling slowly. “He’s not going to like this.”
“I don’t care,” Ayaan shoots back immediately. “Siya is a mafia princess. I’m not risking my brother, RK Estate, or my family by keeping her anywhere near Raghav.”
So that’s the real issue. It’s not hatred. It’s fear. Ayaan fears that Raghav is walking too close to the same darkness he barely escaped from if Siya is with him.
“Ayaan,” I say carefully, “Think again. Raghav specifically wanted—”
“What does Siya want?” he cuts me off. “Have you asked her that? Does she want to go ahead with New Zealand or not?”
Now I freeze. I glance towards the closed door, remembering the excitement on Siya’s face when she got to know where we are taking her… to Queenstown.
“She wants it,” I admit quietly. “She looked genuinely happy about going there.”
“Exactly,” Ayaan says instantly. “The girl wants it. I want it. And honestly, it’s the best possible outcome. So, you will follow my orders, Trisha. Consider this an official order.”
I rub my forehead slowly. “I can’t betray Raghav. He specifically sent me there to bring her back to RK Estate.”
“And I specifically overruled that decision.”
“Ayaan,” I warn, “you should talk to him before this blows up.”
A dry laugh leaves him.
“I know exactly what will happen if I tell him before the extraction,” he says. “Which is why I’m not doing it.”
I stay silent.
“And you’re not telling him either,” he warns. “Raghav shouldn’t know where you’re taking Siya. You’ll extract Siya and her mother, take them to Queenstown, hand them over to my people, and only after they are safely settled there will I deal with my brother myself.”
“He’ll lose his mind when he finds out.”
“He can lose it later,” Ayaan mutters. “Right now, I care more about keeping everybody alive.”
That shuts me up for a second. Then he adds, calmer this time, “Follow the orders you’ve been given, Trisha. You know how we operate in GLEN. We don’t let emotions influence operational decisions. Take care and good luck.”
The line goes quiet after a second but my heart is beating wildly.
This doesn’t feel like a simple extraction mission anymore.
I’m stuck in the middle of two brothers heading towards a collision neither of them is ready for.
Because I know Raghav. He’s not going to take this well.
Although, I also understand why Ayaan is doing this.
And moreover, Siya herself has no intention of returning to RK Estate. Somewhere she too believes that going back there would ruin the peaceful life Raghav has built after leaving the mafia world behind.
To her, this isn’t just an escape from the Vardhaans. This is a new beginning far away from him too.
Which means if I forcibly drag her back to RK Estate just because Raghav wants it, then I’d be choosing his feelings over her choice.
And that feels so wrong.
Ayaan’s call has left me with a pounding headache.
I stare at the burner phone in my hand for a long moment before finally making my decision.
No matter what happens next, I can’t blindside Raghav like this.
Not after he trusted me with this mission.
If nothing else, he at least deserves to know what’s happening.
So, before this turns into an even bigger disaster, I scroll to his number and press call.
Raghav picks up almost immediately.
“How’s Siya?” he asks, almost impatient. Like he’s already handling ten things at once while waiting for bad news from an eleventh.
“She’s fine. Everything’s set,” I reply, before taking a short pause. “But… there’s been a change in the drop plan.”
Silence greets me from the other end. Not calm silence but the kind before an explosion.
“I’m not bringing Siya back to RK Estate after the extraction.”
“What?” His reaction is instant, and that single word cracks through the line. “Who gave you the authority to change my extraction plan?”
“Raghav, Siya wants this too. She doesn’t want to come back to RK Estate. She herself told me that. She is happy with this new drop location.”
“Who, Trisha?” Raghav repeats, this time his voice growing darker than before. “Who the f*ck changed my plan?”
“You’re not listening to me,” I shoot back. “I can’t bring Siya to you against her wishes.”
“WHO?” he roars on the phone so loud that I literally feel my heart in my mouth.
“Ayaan,” I finally admit. “Ayaan changed the plan. New passports. New identities. New destination.” I close my eyes briefly knowing how my one revelation is going to turn the brothers against each other.
There’s a long pause before I hear him again.
“Where the hell are you taking her?” he asks.
I can already hear his voice. He’s controlling his anger right now, holding back from venting it on me.
“I… I can’t tell you that. Those are his orders.”
That’s enough to anger him further.
“Trisha...”
Just then, I hear the sound of something crashing through the line. Glass maybe. Or whatever poor object happened to be near him.
“You will bring her here,” he commands.
“But Siya wants this, Raghav,” I say firmly. “She was happy when she saw where she was going.”
“I don’t care.” The reply comes instantly and loudly. “My brother doesn’t get to decide where Siya goes.” I can practically hear his jaw clench through the phone. “And if Siya thinks I’m helping her disappear from my life too…” he mutters bitterly to himself. “Then she’s wrong.”
For the first time since this call started, I can sense something in his voice other than rage. He is hurt. Raw and ugly.
“Bring her here, Trisha.” He warns me this time.
“Raghav, please understand. This is not fair.”
“Fair?” he scoffs. “My brother changes my mission behind my back, decides to ship Siya halfway across the world without informing me, and you’re talking to me about fair?”
“He’s trying to protect you.”
“I don’t need protection,” he bites out. “I need control over a mission that exists because I decided to bring her out.”
I rub my forehead slowly.
God. I knew this would go badly. I just didn’t realise it would be this explosive. Because the truth is impossible to ignore now. This man is so deep into Siya that he’s willing to tear apart everything he rebuilt for himself.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps outside the door. It’s probably the Vardhaan guards. I can’t risk having this conversation here anymore.
“Raghav, look,” I say in a rush. “Ayaan gave me direct orders. And only because Siya wants it too, I have to do this. I’m not betraying you. But I don’t have a choice right now. Someone’s outside. I have to go. Bye.”
The call disconnects before I end it.
I lower the burner phone slowly and stare at the blank screen. “I’m sorry, Raghav,” I whisper. “If only Siya, too, had wanted to come back… Then even Ayaan’s orders wouldn’t have stopped me from bringing her to you. I’m so sorry.”
I close my eyes and press the phone against my chest. This is going to turn into a disaster. I can just feel it.