Chapter 29
Siya honked as a warning, then overtook a sedan in front of her in a sharp cut. She barely registered the blur of the city flashing around her as she quickly weaved through the chaotic evening traffic in a mad rush to the office.
She turned into the familiar curve of the private driveway and took the last parking lot which led to a hidden entrance, shielded from every surveillance camera and meant only for Kartik.
The tires ground gently against the stone pavement as she brought it to a stop. The building loomed over her, and adrenaline coursed through her as she quickly put in the security code.
The glass doors parted with a gentle hiss, and her heels clicked sharply on the marble lobby floor as she walked in. The night staff greeted her, and she offered a polite nod but didn’t stop. There was no time for idle chitchat.
Namita was packing up for the day when Siya walked up to her desk. Her eyes widened when she caught her boss standing there.
‘You’re—hi. Um, I wasn’t feeling well so I thought of leaving early but I didn’t know you were coming today. Should I—’
Siya waved her hand and said, ‘Don’t worry about it. You can leave anytime you’re done.’ She leaned closer and asked in a hushed tone, ‘Is my father in?’
Namita quickly tapped on her screen and shook her head. ‘No ma’am. He’s out with the media team preparing for the exhibition. He should be back by eight.’
Siya glanced at her watch. She only had an hour. He’d check the vault surveillance camera the moment he sat down on his chair.
‘Should I call him or leave a message with his assistant?’
‘No!’ Siya said sharply, then composed herself. She softened her smile and said, ‘It’s fine, I’ll manage.’
Namita watched her for a moment, then picked up her bag, and rounded her desk. Before walking past her, she whispered to Siya. ‘I didn’t see you come in, ma’am. I’m feeling down so I was gone by five today.’
Siya gave her a grateful smile and turned to her father’s cabin waiting for her down the hallway. With every step closer, the air seemed to constrict. If Kartik found out what she was planning to do, he’d boot her out of the company before she uttered another word.
Her hand hovered briefly over the polished brass doorknob, looking around to make sure the hall was empty of curious eyes. She pushed open his cabin door and softly shut it behind her.
The room looked more sterile than she remembered, though the air held a faint scent of cedarwood and leather.
Dimmed light spilled from the lamp, casting long shadows across the desk.
The surface was entirely clean, with pens and folders lined neatly along the edges.
Her father didn’t believe in clutter. His orderliness had always felt surgical.
She moved to the desk first, pulling out one drawer, careful not to make a sound.
Thick folders labelled Marketing, Legal, and Operations were lined up.
She sifted through them, but found no sign of his work diary that held the codes.
Only Kartik had it. Only Kartik ever used it.
There was no other way to find the codes if he'd taken the diary with him.
She’d grown up in the quiet corners of this office, and she’d watched her father guard that vault like it contained the secrets of the universe. No one could enter it unless he personally authorised it, which he never did, but she had to find a way in.
She shut the drawer carefully and crouched low beside the bookcase, pulling aside leather-bound volumes and boxes, looking for anything that didn’t belong. She scanned every surface, every shelf, muttering to herself for something to be easy for once.
A soft creak echoed as the door behind her opened, the bright hallway light spilled into the dark room, and her spine went rigid.
‘Siya, what the hell are you doing here?’
Her shoulders hunched as she relaxed and turned to see Dhruv standing at the half-open door, holding a rolled-up set of graphic posters against his chest.
She straightened slowly, setting the folder in her hand on the table. ‘I’m looking for something,’ she said.
She used to think Dhruv was loyal to her father to a fault, almost akin to his shadow. But now knowing everything, she couldn’t predict his reaction. He might run to their father, or not, but either way, she was busted.
He stepped into the office, and closed the door shut, leaning against it. Great, he was blocking her only exit and she had less than an hour now.
‘I can see that, but why are you behaving like a thief, lurking around in Dad’s office in the dark? What are you looking for exactly?’ he asked, confusion etched into his features.
Embarrassment rushed to her cheeks. For one splintering second, she almost lied but Vihaan’s words echoed in the back of her mind. There’s a lot you don’t know about Dhruv. And she wouldn’t know more about him until she let him in.
Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she played a huge gamble. She said, ‘I’m looking for Dad’s work diary.’
‘Why?’
‘I want the access code for today. I need to get into the vault.’
The crease between his brows deepened. He crossed his arms against his chest as he asked, ‘Does Dad know about this? Did he approve it?’
She let out a frustrated exhale. ‘If he had, do you think I’d be here, sneaking around like this?’
‘What exactly are you looking for in the vault?’ he asked after a moment.
‘I don’t know, exactly. A legal document, a folder. I’ll know when I see it.’
He clapped lightly, mocking her. ‘So, you thought of this whole heist without knowing what you plan to steal?’
‘I do know that I’m not supposed to know it exists.’
Humour fled from his gaze as he studied her closely. ‘You think Dad’s hiding something from you?’
‘I know he is. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t sure,’ she replied with conviction. Now, she just had to find the extent of his lies.
‘And if you find it?’
‘I’ll finally have proof for what I’ve often suspected, that Dad has been lying to us for a long time.’
‘But you don’t do such rebellious things. What changed?’
‘It’s something my mother left for me, which I should have received when I turned eighteen, but didn’t,’ she said, swallowing the curse words threatening to come out.
She stole a glance at her watch and her heart kicked into a panicked rhythm. ‘C’mon, help me find it,’ she urged and turned back to the desk.
Dhruv scoffed, moving away from the door. ‘What makes you think I’ll help you?’
‘Ah,’ Siya said, facing him again. ‘Let me guess, you don’t care about me enough to steal from our father, right? Is that why you’ve been stealing my designs and pushing me out of the design team for years?’
‘I never stole anything! Dad… he didn’t want to hype you in the eyes of the investors and he knew you’d try to argue with him, so he’d put my name on your designs. You expected betrayal from me so he always used me as a shield.’
‘And you let him do it because you don’t care about me, right?’
Her tone made him pause, and he gave her a hesitant nod.
‘Is that why, three days after I learned I can’t have kids, you sent us to an orphanage where you’re the benefactor to celebrate my friend’s birthday?’
His eyes widened, and he looked away. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
When he reached for the door handle, Siya quickly said, ‘I read the text you sent to Raghav. Also, Vihaan told me everything.’
Dhruv froze, the handle half-turned, but didn’t say anything.
‘Maybe you’re right. You don’t care about me. After all, when Dad and Dadi were ripping me apart at dinner the other night, you just sat there.’
‘No, you don’t understand,’ he blurted out. ‘They don't tolerate split loyalty—especially not when it comes to you or Kashvi. If I’d defended you, it would’ve only made things worse. I learned that lesson the hard way, so I taught myself not to care.’
Siya stepped around the desk, and walked up to stand behind him. ‘Why help me realise my shot at building a family isn’t over if you don’t care about me?’
‘It wasn’t for you,’ he shrugged, still facing away.
‘Whether it was for me or not, why do you care enough to talk to Vihaan and set up everything?’
‘If you had bothered to know me a little, you’d know why.’
‘Why don't you enlighten me now?’
‘Because you’re my sister!’ Dhruv snapped, anguish burning in his eyes. ‘But you don’t even think I deserved to know that you’ve been married to Abhay for two years, so I shouldn’t be surprised.’
Siya blinked. ‘What?’
‘You didn’t think I had at least one percent right to know that part of your life? I may not be your favourite person, but I thought that still meant something. Apparently, I was wrong.’
‘You… you aren’t in on it?’ she asked, voice barely above a whisper.
‘In on what?’ he asked, confusion slicing through his anger.
Siya took a step forward, guilt rising like a tide in her throat. ‘Oh my god, you actually believe it. Dhruv, no, that’s not what happened. I wasn’t married to Abhay for two years. Dad made it all up.’
He just stared at her, frozen.
Her fingers curled against her palm as she repeated the story for the second time today.
‘It was all for PR appearances. When the Patel-Riaz partnership was announced, Dad became paranoid about losing his place in the market. He forced us to marry, then made up a story of how we’d already been married for two years to avoid suspicion and rumours. ’
‘But why would you agree to such a thing?’
When Siya told him how he’d used Kashvi to blackmail her into saying yes, his face became pale, and his eyes went wide as saucers. His arms dropped to his sides, and his gaze fell to look at the floor.
‘I thought you knew,’ she whispered. ‘I thought you’d been a part of his plan.’
‘You really thought I’d go along with something like that? Of course, you wouldn’t need another reason to believe the worst in me.’
His taunt brought her pain to the surface. ‘I didn’t think you’d care.’