Chapter 56 The Shadow
Aadhira remained where she was.
She didn't look nervous. If anything, the faint curve at the corner of her lips suggested that she already knew something Vikrant didn't.
"What are you smiling about?" he asked.
"Nothing."
Vikrant scoffed. "You're standing in a room surrounded by armed men, and you're smiling. You really don't understand the position you're in."
Aadhira's gaze moved across the guards before settling back on him.
"I understand it perfectly."
"Then perhaps you should start behaving like it."
"I will."
She paused.
"As soon as you tell me where Naina is."
Vikrant's expression hardened.
"You're still thinking about her?"
"She's the reason I'm here."
"Then sign the documents."
Aadhira didn't even glance at the papers in his hand.
"Let me see her first."
"You don't get to make demands here."
"I just did."
Vikrant stared at her.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Finally, he gave a humorless laugh.
"You really are difficult."
"So I've been told."
He looked toward one of the guards.
"Take her to the other room."
The guard stepped forward.
Aadhira's eyes narrowed.
"I'm walking myself."
Vikrant gestured for the guard to move aside.
"Fine. But don't try anything stupid."
Aadhira walked through the room without another word.
Two guards followed closely behind.
Vikrant came after them.
The corridor was narrow and poorly lit. Every few feet, a broken light hung from the ceiling. The building looked abandoned from the outside, but the number of armed men inside told a different story.
Aadhira noticed everything.
The doors.
The exits.
The number of guards.
The cameras hidden near the ceiling.
She stored each detail away without giving anyone the satisfaction of knowing she had noticed.
Eventually, Vikrant stopped in front of a metal door.
He opened it.
And the first thing Aadhira saw was Naina.
"Naina."
Naina's head snapped up.
For half a second, she simply stared.
Then her entire face changed.
"Aadhira!"
She hurried toward her.
The guards moved instinctively, but Vikrant lifted a hand, stopping them.
Naina reached Aadhira and wrapped her arms around her.
Aadhira immediately hugged her back.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm alive."
Naina pulled away and looked Aadhira up and down.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Good."
Naina turned toward Vikrant.
"Because I've been waiting for you to come and complain about your terrible kidnapping service."
Vikrant stared at her.
Naina pointed toward the guards.
"these people are boring. Nobody talks. Nobody jokes. Nobody even brought me decent food."
Aadhira couldn't help it.
A small laugh escaped her.
Naina looked at her triumphantly.
"See? I told you."
Aadhira shook her head.
"You're impossible."
"I was bored to death."
The guards exchanged confused glances.
Vikrant looked between the two women as if he couldn't understand what he was watching.
He had expected tears.
He had expected Aadhira to panic when she saw Naina.
Instead, Naina was complaining about the quality of her captivity while Aadhira stood there smiling.
Vikrant's patience finally snapped.
"Enough with the fucking drama."
The room went quiet.
Naina turned toward him.
"Oh, look. The entertainment has arrived."
"Shut up."
Naina opened her mouth again, but Aadhira gently touched her arm.
"Let him talk."
Vikrant threw the documents onto a nearby table.
"Sign them."
Aadhira looked at the papers.
Then she pulled out a chair and sat down.
Naina immediately took the chair beside her.
Vikrant frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"Getting comfortable."
Naina leaned back.
"Why rush things? They're finally getting fun."
Vikrant's eyes narrowed.
Aadhira picked up the documents and casually flipped through the pages.
"I never said I would sign them."
His expression changed.
"What?"
"You heard me."
"I brought you here because I wanted your signature."
"And I came here because I wanted Naina."
Aadhira placed the papers back on the table.
"We both got what we wanted."
Vikrant stepped toward her.
"No. You don't understand. You're not being given a choice."
Aadhira looked up at him.
"Really?"
"Yes."
His voice became colder.
"If you want to leave this place alive, you'll sign those papers while I'm standing here."
Naina's expression hardened.
Aadhira, however, remained completely composed.
She leaned back in the chair.
"Do you really think I built my empire that easily?"
Vikrant said nothing.
"So that someone like you could walk in, point a gun at me, kidnap my friend, and take everything I've built?"
Her eyes hardened.
"You're not the first person to try this."
Vikrant's jaw clenched.
"Then you should know how serious I am."
Aadhira smiled faintly.
"No. You should know how outdated your plan is."
His face darkened.
"You're mocking me."
"I'm stating the obvious."
Vikrant reached for his gun.
The movement was quick.
The guards also immediately raised theirs.
Naina tensed.
Aadhira didn't.
Vikrant pointed the weapon directly at her.
"You think you're untouchable?"
Aadhira stared at the barrel.
Then she laughed.
Not nervously.
Not because she had lost control.
She laughed because the entire situation had become ridiculous.
Vikrant's expression twisted with anger.
"You think this is funny?"
"A little."
His finger tightened around the trigger.
"Stop laughing."
Aadhira's smile remained.
"You really should have chosen a different strategy."
Vikrant suddenly turned the gun toward Naina.
"If you won't cooperate, she dies first."
Naina's expression changed.
Aadhira's smile disappeared.
For the first time, there was something dangerous in her eyes.
"Don't."
Vikrant smiled.
"Now you're afraid."
"No."
Aadhira's voice dropped.
"I'm warning you."
Vikrant raised his weapon.
Naina froze.
Aadhira stood.
And before anyone could pull a trigger-
BANG!
The bullet struck Vikrant's gun.
The weapon flew from his hand and hit the floor.
Everyone froze.
Vikrant stared at his empty hand.
"What the-"
Another sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
This time, nobody mistook them for one of the guards.
Several armed figures appeared at the entrance.
Behind them stood someone dressed in dark clothing, face concealed.
The room immediately shifted.
Vikrant took a step backward.
"Who are you?"
The figure didn't answer immediately.
Aadhira looked toward the newcomer.
There was no surprise in her eyes.
Only recognition.
Vikrant glanced around at his men.
"Take them down!"
The first guard charged.
He barely managed two steps.
The mysterious figure moved.
One strike.
The guard fell.
Another came from the side.
The figure ducked beneath the attack, caught the man's wrist and twisted hard enough to force him to drop his weapon.
Aadhira didn't wait.
She moved toward the nearest guard.
He raised his gun.
She knocked his arm aside, stepped inside his reach and drove her elbow into his chest.
The man stumbled.
She grabbed his collar and sent him crashing into the wall.
Naina backed away.
"Aadhira!"
"Stay behind me!"
Two guards rushed toward Naina.
Aadhira intercepted the first.
The second never reached her.
One of the mysterious person's armed guards stepped between them.
The fight exploded across the room.
Weapons clattered onto the floor.
Furniture overturned.
Shouts echoed through the building.
Aadhira fought with a frightening calmness.
There was no wasted movement.
No hesitation.
Every strike had a purpose.
One guard swung at her.
She blocked the blow, twisted his arm behind his back and forced him down.
Another tried to attack from behind.
Aadhira caught the movement in the reflection of a broken mirror.
She turned just in time.
Her fist connected with his jaw.
He dropped.
Naina stared.
"Remind me never to annoy you."
Aadhira didn't even look at her.
"Not now."
The mysterious figure was already several feet away, fighting three men at once.
There was something unsettling about the way they moved.
Fast.
Controlled.
Precise.
There was no shouting.
No unnecessary aggression.
Just efficiency.
One attacker came from the left.
The figure avoided the blade.
Another attacked from behind.
A sharp movement sent the weapon spinning across the floor.
The third barely had time to react before being knocked down.
Vikrant watched his men fall one after another.
His confidence disappeared.
"Get up!"
Nobody listened.
Some were unconscious.
Others were struggling to move.
Vikrant looked around desperately.
Aadhira stood in the middle of the room.
Her hair was slightly disheveled.
Her clothes were stained.
But her eyes were steady.
He suddenly realized something.
He had never had control of this situation.
Not for a second.
"You..."
His voice shook with anger.
"You planned this."
Aadhira looked at him.
"No."
She took a step forward.
"You simply underestimated me."
Vikrant grabbed a fallen weapon.
Aadhira moved toward him.
He fired.
She ducked.
The bullet struck the wall.
Aadhira closed the distance before he could fire again.
She knocked the weapon from his hand.
Vikrant stumbled backward.
"You don't get to threaten my people and walk away."
He looked toward the mysterious figure.
"Who the hell are you?"
The figure finally spoke.
The voice was low and controlled.
"Your mistake was thinking Aadhira needed someone to save her."
Vikrant stared.
The figure took another step forward.
"I am her protector."
A pause.
"Her shadow."
The room became silent.
"When you decided to harm Aadhira, your death was already decided."
Vikrant's face drained of color.
Aadhira looked at the mysterious figure for a brief moment.
Then she turned toward Naina.
"Naina, we're leaving."
Naina shook her head.
"No. I'm staying with you."
"Aadhira-"
"Go."
Naina hesitated.
"I don't want to leave you here."