Chapter 15
The grand foyer of the Chaturvedi mansion was finally silent, but the heavy, suffocating weight of the confrontation still hung in the air like thick smoke.
Siddhant stood perfectly still, his large hand resting securely on Poorvanshi’s waist. He was breathing in slow, measured patterns, actively forcing his violent, protective instincts to calm down.
The sight of Aryan trying to touch her, trying to claim her after everything he had done, had pushed Siddhant to the absolute brink of his control.
He slowly turned his head to look down at the beautiful woman standing by his side. Poorvanshi’s brown eyes were clear, steady, and filled with a fierce, unwavering support. She had not backed away from him when he had shown her the monster hiding inside him. She had anchored him.
"I need to finish this," Siddhant said, his deep voice slicing through the quiet space. It was not a question, it was an absolute necessity. "My brother and my father think they can hide in the West Wing and pretend this never happened. They are wrong."
"I am coming with you," Poorvanshi stated immediately, her tone leaving absolutely zero room for argument.
Siddhant looked at her, his dark eyes searching her face. "It is going to be ugly, Poorvanshi. The things that are about to be said... it will not be polite. You do not have to subject yourself to their toxicity."
"I am already in the middle of it," she reminded him softly, placing her hand gently over his heart. "They used my father. They used my life as a distraction. This is my fight just as much as it is yours. And I told you, I am not going to let you face the dark alone anymore."
A powerful wave of emotion completely softened the harsh, sharp lines of Siddhant’s face.
He nodded slowly. He adjusted his suit jacket, his cold, calculated mask sliding effortlessly back into place, transforming him back into the terrifying Devil of Delhi.
But this time, as he held out his hand to her, he wasn't dragging her into a forced arrangement. He was taking his partner into battle.
Together, they walked across the polished marble floors, passing the invisible, unspoken boundary that separated the rest of the mansion from the highly restricted West Wing.
The West Wing was completely different from the areas Siddhant inhabited.
While Siddhant preferred dark woods, clean architectural lines, and cinematic, moody lighting, Nandini had decorated her domain with excessive, gaudy luxury.
There was too much gold, too many overly ornate mirrors, and heavy, suffocating velvet curtains.
It looked like a museum built entirely on fake, hollow wealth.
Siddhant did not bother to knock when he reached the heavy double doors of Raghav’s private family lounge.
He placed his hand flat against the polished wood and pushed the doors open with a violent, resounding crash.
Inside the room, the scene was utterly pathetic.
Aryan was sitting on a plush velvet sofa, holding a glass of scotch in one hand and pressing an ice pack to his bruised throat with the other.
He looked miserable and terrified. Nandini was pacing frantically back and forth across the expensive Persian rug, wringing her hands, while Raghav was standing by the window, aggressively whispering into his mobile phone.
When the doors crashed open, all three of them jumped in sheer terror.
Raghav instantly dropped his phone. Nandini let out a high-pitched gasp, rushing over to stand protectively in front of Aryan, like a mother hen shielding a spoiled chick.
Siddhant walked into the room, his tall, massive frame completely dominating the space. Poorvanshi walked right beside him, her head held high, her face a mask of perfectly calm, elegant indifference.
"Siddhant," Raghav started, his voice shaking as he raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Siddhant, please. Let us all just calm down. We can sit and discuss this like a civilized family."
"We are not a civilized family," Siddhant replied softly. His voice was a low, deadly vibration that echoed through the luxurious room. "We are a business. And right now, I am conducting an audit."
Aryan sneered, lowering the ice pack from his neck. His fear was slowly being replaced by his natural, deeply ingrained arrogance. "An audit? You are crazy. You attacked me in the hallway! I should call the police and have you arrested for assault. I am the victim here!"
"You are a coward," Poorvanshi shot back instantly, not letting Siddhant waste his breath.
Her voice was sharp and perfectly clear.
"Victims do not steal millions of rupees from their own family company, wire it to an offshore account in the Cayman Islands, and use a fake wedding to flee to South America. "
The absolute silence that followed her statement was deafening.
Raghav’s face drained of all color. He looked like he had just seen a ghost. Nandini’s mouth dropped open in complete, horrifying shock. Aryan froze, the glass of scotch trembling violently in his hand.
They had thought their secret was completely safe. They had thought the doctored ledgers had worked.
"H-how..." Raghav stammered, staring at Poorvanshi and then at Siddhant in pure panic. "How do you know about that?"
"Did you honestly think you could hide a massive corporate embezzlement from me, Raghav?
" Siddhant asked, his voice dripping with absolute, freezing contempt.
He didn't even call him 'father'. "Kabir and I have been tracking the money for a week.
We know about the dummy corporations. We know about the Geneva shell company you tried to use yesterday when Aryan called you begging for more cash to pay off his cartel debts. "
Aryan leaped up from the sofa, his face completely pale. "You hacked my accounts?! You have no right!"
"I have every right!" Siddhant finally raised his voice, a terrifying, thunderous roar that made the crystal glasses on the table violently rattle.
Siddhant took a massive, heavy step into the center of the room, completely cornering his family.
"I built the global foundation of the Chaturvedi Group from the ground up!
" Siddhant snarled, his dark eyes blazing with years of suppressed, burning fury.
"I am the one who sits in endless board meetings.
I am the one who crushes our competitors.
I am the one who single-handedly brought this empire back from the brink of absolute ruin while the three of you sat in this gaudy, expensive wing and spent the money I made! "
"That is not true!" Nandini shrieked, tears of frustration streaming down her face. "Raghav is the Chairman! He built this company!"
Siddhant let out a dark, bitter laugh that held absolutely no humor. He looked at his father with an expression of pure, unadulterated disgust.
"Is that the lie you still tell yourself, Nandini?" Siddhant asked smoothly, though the anger was radiating off his body in waves. "Is that the fairy tale Raghav feeds you so you can sleep at night?"
Poorvanshi watched Siddhant carefully. She could see the deep, old scars tearing open inside him. This was the exact moment the hidden truths were finally going to surface.
"Tell them, Raghav," Siddhant commanded softly, his eyes locking onto his father. "Tell your precious wife and your golden boy exactly why I left for London ten years ago. Tell them the truth, or I will hand the evidence directly to the authorities right now."
Raghav swallowed hard, completely trapped. He looked at the floor, unable to meet the eyes of his wife or his youngest son. He looked old, pathetic, and entirely defeated.
"Tell them!" Siddhant roared.
"I was bankrupt!" Raghav suddenly shouted, his voice cracking with deep humiliation.
"Ten years ago, the original Chaturvedi industries completely collapsed!
I made terrible, illegal investments. I borrowed money from dangerous people.
The company was millions of dollars in debt, and I was going to be indicted for corporate fraud and sent to prison! "
Aryan and Nandini stared at Raghav in absolute shock. They had always believed the family wealth was untouchable, ancient, and completely secure.
"And how did you survive?" Siddhant pushed relentlessly, acting like a ruthless prosecuting attorney.
Raghav closed his eyes, tears of shame leaking out. "I... I drained the private trust fund."
"Whose trust fund, Raghav?" Siddhant’s voice was a deadly whisper.
"Your mother’s," Raghav admitted, his voice barely a squeak. "I took all the money your late mother left entirely for you. And when the board of directors found the missing funds... when the authorities started asking questions about the illegal investments..."
Raghav stopped, unable to say the final, horrific truth out loud.
But Siddhant was not going to let him hide.
"He framed me," Siddhant finished the sentence for him, his voice completely hollow and heavy with decades of pain.
Poorvanshi’s heart completely stopped. She stared at Siddhant, her eyes wide with shock.
Siddhant kept his dark eyes fixed on his father, but he was speaking to the entire room. "I was twenty-four years old. I had just finished my degrees. And my father, the man who was supposed to guide me, forged my signature on the illegal investment documents. He used my name to protect his own."
"You did what?!" Nandini gasped, looking at her husband in complete horror. She was manipulative, but even she hadn't known the terrifying depths of Raghav's cowardice.
"I had a choice," Siddhant continued, the absolute bitterness of his past bleeding into his words.
"I could go to the police, prove the forgery, and send my father to a maximum-security prison.
It would have completely destroyed the family name.
It would have left a fourteen-year-old Aryan with the legacy of a criminal father. The media would have feasted on us."