Chapter Sixty Five.
I'm so sorry for the late drop!
I wrote this way too long, so editing took time!
?? I'm not a robot, so sorry for late update ?? also, I want to finish this book as fast as possible.
. don't worry, I'm not rushing it.
~??~?~??~
A woman's heels echoed through the dimly lit hallway. Behind her, the thud of two men's combat boots provided a grim percussion as they marched toward the end of the corridor. They stopped before a massive, iron reinforced door.
Without a word, one of the men threw the door open, and the woman swept inside.
The office darkly dim, the personal sanctuary of Samar. He was reclined in a throne like chair, his head tilted back and his eyes closed, seemingly lost in a drug induced trance.
The desk before him was a chaotic map of his empire, stacks of high denomination cash towered on one side, while the other was littered with bags of white powder and scattered weed. In the center, the faint glow of his shisha pipe cut through the gloom.
As the door groaned on its hinges, Samar's eyes flickered open.
"Miss Rani is here.." one of the guards announced, the two men stepping aside to reveal the woman standing behind them.
"Hi, Samar.." Rani said. She wore a smile that looked perfectly innocent at first glance, but the devious glint in her eyes told a different story.
Samar's face twisted in an immediate scowl of displeasure. He didn't move, but the air in the room suddenly felt heavy with his irritation.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you..." she added, tilting her head with a mock sweetness that didn't reach her gaze.
"Leave us.." Samar growled at his men. They vanished instantly, the door clicking shut behind them.
Rani didn't flinch, she began to walk deeper into the cold, intimidating office, her gaze scanning the room with the unbothered curiosity of a tourist.
"The last time you came sniffing around, I didn't see you because of your connection to the Rathores.." Samar said as he watched her every move. "I don't know if you're incredibly brave or just pathologically stupid to find your way back here. You don't seem afraid."
"I can see you aren't exactly thrilled to see me.." Rani replied.
She reached the desk and sank into the chair opposite him, her mask of innocence finally slipping away to reveal a coldness. "Seeing you face to face for the first time... you're exactly how the stories describe you, Samar."
"I don't care what the stories say.." Samar rasped.
"What is a woman like you doing in a place like this?
Usually, when someone from a family as powerful as yours seeks me out personally, it's for a fix.
The kind of drugs that would burn a hole through anyone else. " He let out a dark mocking smirk.
Rani simply rolled her eyes with a bored, aristocratic indifference.
"I don't do drugs, Samar. Those are for the weak who can't handle reality."
"Then why are you here?"
"I came because I need your help to deal with someone.." she said. "I want this person dealt with... mercilessly." Menace glinted in her eyes.
Samar watched her for a few seconds, his expression unreadable and bored. Rani didn't blink, holding his cold gaze.
"High social status, political backing, and enough influence to move mountains.." Samar mused, leaning forward. "And yet, you've crawled to me for a job that could be done and covered up by your own people."
"In as much as I despise crawling into this.
.. filth.." Rani spat, her fingers digging into the edge of his desk.
"I want her dead. I want her erased from this life.
But first... I want her ruined.
Drug her until she loses her mind. Turn her into a toy for the most depraved men in the underworld, a sex slave.
I want her tainted, tortured, and broken beyond repair.
" She looked at him, her eyes burning with a hatred so deep.
."You have the ties to the most dangerous men in the city.
You are the only one who can do this right. "
Even for a man like Samar, the intensity of her request was striking. He dealt in death and pain every day, but this level of destruction was usually reserved for those who had committed the ultimate betrayal.
"Why such a heavy punishment?" he asked, his curiosity finally piqued.
"Because she took what was mine!" Rani hissed, her voice trembling with rage. "I want her to regret the very day she crossed my path!"
"A war between two elites? How poetic.." Samar smirked.
He didn't care about the morality of the task..in his world, there was no right or wrong, only the price. As long as the payout was as heavy as the punishment, he was more than willing to unleash the shadows.
"Elite?" Rani scoffed in arrogance and disgust.
"If only she were! She isn't even worthy of standing in my shadow, let alone taking what belongs to me. She's nothing. A nobody taking his attention."
Samar's smirk widened, his eyes gleaming with a newfound intrigue.
"So, it's a peasant you want to dismantle.." he mused, leaning back in his chair. "She must have stolen something incredibly precious to you to warrant a death sentence this slow."
Rani's jaw tightened..
"Listen... I'm not here to confess my life story or explain her sins. All I want from you is to do exactly what I've asked. I will pay you, I don't care how many zeros are on the check, and I want it started immediately." She snapped the words at him, her patience fraying.
Samar watched her with a bored, detachment gaze for a second before pushing himself up from his chair.
"Fine. I need the basics. Full name, address, a photo, and her routine. If I'm going to ruin her, I need to know exactly when she feels safest."
"Her name is Ira... Ira Verma.." Rani said, as she reached into her designer bag for her phone.
The name hit Samar, his entire body stiffened, his muscles locking into place.
"What name did you just say?" his voice was no longer bored, it was hard.
Rani pulled the phone out, "I said Ira Verma. Her father has some pathetic workshop. Here, look at her pic-"
Before she could finish, Samar snatched the phone from her hand. He stared at the screen, his eyes burning into Ira's face..
The woman who haunted his thoughts, the one he wanted to take away from Devraj just to break him.
A dark, twisted smirk flickered on his lips for a moment, but then the reality of Rani's request... the sex slave comment, the ruining, hit his brain. His mind flared into a sudden, protective rage. Only he was allowed to break her.
"This is the woman?" he erupted, his voice dropping into a dangerous snarl. "You want me to do all that to her? Why?"
Rani stood up, her confusion turning into suspicion as she studied his face.
"Why do you care? Do you know her?"
He couldn't let Rani see how much she affected him, and he definitely couldn't mention his rivalry with Devraj. He forced himself to swallow the anger, his voice coming out in a tight.
"No. I don't know her." he lied, though his eyes remained fixed on the photo. "She just... she looks like someone who wouldn't have the spine to bother someone like you."
Rani rolled her eyes, her face contorting with a sudden ugly bitterness.
"She is a whore!"
"What?" Samar's eyes turned icy as he looked back at her, his obsession flaring at the insult to the woman he was planning to mark for himself.
"She seduced Devraj! Who was supposed to be mine!.. She's got him wrapped around her pathetic little finger." Rani spat,"I saw him first. I want him. Once she's gone, once she's erased he'll have no choice but to look at me. I'll be the only one left for him."
Samar watched her, the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place with a sickening efficiency. A dark understanding spread across his face.
"You just want Ira out of Devraj's life.." he mused, "That's all this is? You want her gone... permanently?"
Rani snatched her phone back from him, her expression a mask of pure malice.
"Yes! I want her away! Out of this world! I want her name to be nothing but a past memory to him!"
"Done." Samar said.. "And you don't need to pay me."
Rani froze, looking at him in confusion. "You... you don't want the money? Why?"
Samar just stared at her, without replying.
"Whatever.." Rani muttered, shaking off the unease. "Just get her out of Devraj's life. I want it done soon." She grabbed her designer bag, ready to flee the suffocating atmosphere of the office.
"I will send you her file. The details-"
"No need.." Samar interrupted, his voice distant.
Rani stopped, her eyes narrowing. "You're being incredibly weird, Samar. You won't accept my money, you won't take the file... what are you playing at?"
"Let's just say.." Samar began, a slow, haunted smile spreading across his lips, "that I hate Devraj Singh Rathore enough to want to take the thing he loves most and bury it forever.
Your problem is my pleasure.
" He leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with a manic intensity.
"Think of the benefits for you, Rani. Once Ira vanishes, you'll be the one to wipe away his tears.
You can stay by his side while he searches, earn his trust..
. he'll stop thinking of her eventually if you're the only one there. "
Rani considered it, the logic of his cruelty appealing to her own desperation. She gave a satisfied nod.
"That's right. He'll have no one else but me."
"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Rani." Samar mumbled as she turned toward the door.
Rani paused at the threshold, glancing back one last time.
Samar was staring up at the ceiling, a smile on his face. He looked haunted, his body trembling slightly. She shrugged, dismissed the chill running down her spine, and disappeared into the hallway.
The moment the door clicked shut, Samar let out a low laugh. He looked... happy. But it was the happiness of a man who had finally cornered his prey.
"I will get her away.." he whispered. "Far, far away... where only I can find her."
~??~
Ira's phone vibrated against the vanity, the screen lighting up for the 15th time. The name Devraj flashed across the glass..
In total, about 150 messages and about 100 missed calls.
She stared at the beeping phone with a cold expression, her hand steady as she finished applying a layer of lip gloss. With a weary exhale, she reached for the phone and, without a second thought, tapped the red icon.
She grabbed her oversized work bag..today was her first day, a fresh start she desperately needed, and headed downstairs.
Near the kitchen, her mother was carrying a crate of fresh vegetables, her footsteps slowing as she caught sight of Ira.
She didn't need to ask, she could see the rigid set of Ira's shoulders and the unnatural quiet that had settled over her daughter for the past forty eight hours.
"I think you should talk to him, Ira." her mother said softly.
Ira paused at the foot of the stairs, her grip tightening on the strap of her bag.
"I'm a mess, Maa.." she whispered.
"I know you are.." her mother replied, setting the vegetables down on a nearby stool. She walked over, her eyes searching Ira's face with a blend of sympathy and concern.
"But if you don't sort this out and speak your truth, it will consume you.
On one side, you have Kunal hanging onto a thread of hope for a word from you.
On the other..." she paused. "There is Devraj.
From the way that phone has been ringing, I'm fairly certain the man is losing his mind, I'm still surprised he hasn't arrived here yet. ."
Ira closed her eyes, her fingers instinctively moving to massage the dull throb at her temples.
"Okay, Maa. I'll sort it out.. " Ira said, "But please... I don't want to hear Kunal's name or Devraj's name in this house again."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked toward the door. Behind her, her mother gave a nod.
Ira stepped outside and took a deep breath of the morning air, trying to steady her racing heart.
She began to walk down the street, her eyes immediately locking onto the silhouette at the corner, the black SUV.
Devraj's sentinels. His living, breathing reminders that she was never truly alone.
She marched straight up to the vehicle and rapped her knuckles hard against the dark, tinted glass. The back door slid open with a mechanical hiss, and RV stepped out.
His aura was as stealthy and impenetrable as ever.
"Do. Not. Follow me." Ira said, glaring up at him. She knew it wasn't RV's fault, he was just a shadow following orders, but right now, anyone who shared Devraj's payroll was an enemy of her peace.
RV hesitated, his expression unreadable behind his professional mask.
"Miss Ira, I didn't inform Sir about the visit from your ex-suitor. If I-"
"It's my life!" she said, cutting him off. "And I'm just going to work. Don't be as insufferable as your boss."
RV's jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, but he gave a short, disciplined nod of compliance.
"Good.." she muttered. She turned and walked away.
"I swear, I need a vacation to a city where no one knows my name." she mumbled to herself, her grip tightening on her bag as she headed for the main road.
~??~
She had barely been standing at the main road, looking for a cab, when a massive, black G-Wagon swerved toward the curb. It screeched to a halt directly in front of her, its hulking frame completely blocking her view of the road.
"What is wrong with people and their parking today?" she mumbled, a flare of irritation rising in her chest. She stepped to the side, trying to navigate around the luxury tank to get a better vantage point for a taxi.
Behind her, the heavy thud of a door slamming shut echoed. Ira didn't bother turning around, she was late, she was stressed, and she had no more room for distractions.
"Ira."
She froze, then slowly turned her head. Samar was leaning against the G-Wagon, a smirk playing on his lips as he watched her.
Ira didn't say a word. She didn't have the energy for any of this. She simply turned and began to walk away, her pace quick. But Samar was faster. He caught up in a few long strides, his hand snagging her wrist.
He jerked her back toward him, the force of the movement jolting her entire body until she was forced to face him.
It was the breaking point. The two days of silence, the hundred missed calls from Devraj and messages, the pathetic begging from Kunal, and the feeling of being a pawn in everyone's game finally collided.
The exhaustion and the fury boiled over in a single instinctive heartbeat.
Ira's palm stung with a numbing heat. Samar's head snapped to the side, the impact so violent that his hair fell forward, masking his eyes and half of his face.
A terrifying silence fell between them. Samar slowly rotated his head back toward her, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He looked at her, and for the first time, he saw it, the raw, unfiltered fire in her green eyes.
The suppressed rage of a woman who had been pushed too far had finally found its target.
"If you men haven't learned the basic decency of how to approach a woman, then consider that a reset for your demented brain!" she spat,
Samar didn't explode. Instead, a twisted amusement spread across his features.
He touched his jaw where her palm had grazed his skin, and he actually smiled.
"Don't you think you're being a little too brave, Ira?" he deceptively asked casually. "Slapping a man like me, in broad daylight... I could do anything I want to you right here, and not a single soul on this road would have the courage to step in and stop me."
The cold truth of his words sent a shiver of genuine fear through her, but she refused to let her knees shake. She stood her ground, her gaze fixed on his.
"You might be strong enough to overpower me.." she countered, "But I promise you, I will leave a mark. I'll make it deep. If we're trading threats, you should know I have a pocket knife tucked away and a hair stick sharp enough to draw blood. I might not win, Samar, but I will make sure you bleed."
For the first time since she'd met him, Samar laughed. A real, deep sound that lacked its usual mockery.
Ira only glared harder, her eyes tracking the way his black shirt clung to his frame and how the dampness of his hair caught the morning light. Up close, the contrast of his eyes, the clouded, blinded one and the piercing blue of the other, was almost hypnotic in its lethality.
"You are so brave.." he smirked, the laughter dying down. "Relax..I just want to talk to you."
"No thanks. I'm quite fine without your conversation.." she snapped, turning to leave.
"Also.." Samar added, his gaze drifting over her shoulder as he scanned the street with a mocking grin. "I see your dog isn't here to protect you yet."
Just as the words left his mouth, a car screeched to a halt a few meters away. They both turned in unison to see Advik stepping out, his expression grim as he took in the scene.
Ira felt a surge of relief and began to move toward him, but Samar's hand shot.
He grabbed her arm, his fingers digging into her skin as he yanked her back against his chest with a possessive force.
Ira let out a gasp, the air knocked out of her as she was pulled into his dark suffocating heat.
Advik's face contorted with a cold fury the moment he saw Samar's hand on Ira.
"Samar... let her go." he gritted out in an impending violence.
Samar didn't flinch. Instead, his smirk sharpened into something unhinged.
"Let her go? I haven't met the devil who can make me do that. Not this time. Not even Devraj!"
Advik lunged forward, his hand reaching out to pull Ira away, but the trap had already been set.
Two black SUVs screeched to a halt, tires smoking against the asphalt.
Samar's most brutal men poured out. They intercepted Advik, three of them slamming into him and pinning his arms back with bone crushing force.
"Advik!" Ira screamed, she was scared now.. very very scared.. and just maybe cursing herself for dismissing RV.
"Let me go!" she shrieked, thrashing against Samar's grip.
As she struggled, the small pocket knife she'd promised him slid from her sleeve into her palm. She went to drive it into his side, but Samar was faster, a man who lived for the kill.
He caught her wrist in a bruising lock, twisting until her fingers went numb. The knife clattered harmlessly to the pavement.
Before she could scream again, Samar's other hand moved. He pressed a heavy, chemical soaked handkerchief over her nose and mouth.
Ira's world began to tilt. She kicked and clawed at his arms, her vision blurring as the sweet, sickly scent of the sedative filled her lungs.
"Breathe, doll... just breathe.." Samar mumbled against her ear, his voice a haunting, possessive caress. He tightened his hold, pulling her limp body flush against his chest. "You're going to be just fine."
"For fuck's sake, let her go!" Advik roared desperately, as he fought against the men holding him.
He wasn't just angry anymore, he was terrified. He knew the city was about to burn.
"Samar! You're starting a war you can't win! You won't be able to handle the chaos you've just called down!"
Advik's voice cracked. He knew better than anyone.. when Devraj found out his soul had been snatched off the street, there wouldn't be enough ground in the city to bury the bodies, and he might finally have Samar's head.
The world dissolved into a hazy blur. As the chemical darkness pulled at her consciousness, a single hot tear traced a path down Ira's cheek.
Her gaze clung to Advik, the last person to her reality, but her mind drifted elsewhere.
Devraj...
Even through the betrayal, the lies, and the crushing weight of his obsession, his was the only name her soul cried out for in the dark.
Devraj...
Her eyes fluttered shut one last time before her body went completely limp against Samar's chest. He didn't just catch her... he claimed her.
Samar hauled her into his arms. Her work bag, slipped from her shoulder and hit the pavement, forgotten.
He carried her to the G-Wagon, placing her onto the leather seat with a terrifyingly gentle touch before slamming the door shut.
He turned back toward his men, his shadow stretching long and menacing across the road.
"Devraj is going to kill you for this!" Advik yelled, his voice thick with desperation. "He's going to burn every inch of-"
The threat was cut short as Samar's fist collided with Advik's jaw in a sickening crack.
Samar leaned down, his voice a snarl of pure malice. "A woman paid for her death, Advik. But I've decided I'm going to own her instead."
He straightened up and looked at his men, his eyes devoid of anything but cold, cruelty.
"Break him. Make sure he can still crawl, then send him back to Devraj."
The men stepped forward, cracking their knuckles.
Samar didn't stay to watch the violence.
He climbed into the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel until the leather groaned.
He looked at Ira's pale, unconscious form in the rearview mirror, and a dark satisfaction settled in his chest.
"Finally." he whispered..
He threw the G-Wagon into gear and drove away, leaving behind a trail of blood, a discarded bag, and the start of a war that would leave the city in ashes.
???