CHAPTER 44 #2
“We’re not friends. We never will be. And I’m not foolish enough to call either of you my allies.” My eyes move from Parag to Singhal. “But whether we like it or not, we share the same enemy now... Raghav.”
I take a slow sip of my drink.
“He has messed with all three of us. You. Him,” I nod towards Parag, “and me.”
My jaw tightens. “And men like us do not survive by accepting defeat.”
I place the glass on the table with a soft thud.
“So before he decides how the future unfolds, before he decides which one of us he will kill first, before he decides to rule the underworld again...” I lean forward, my gaze moving between them. “We kill him. But not before we strip him of everything he has taken from us.”
They both nod. None of us in this room wants the Dark Prince alive. But none of us is stupid enough to underestimate him either. We all know what the Dark Prince is capable of, and that’s precisely why this alliance exists.
“All of that sounds impressive,” Singhal says, tapping ash into the tray.
“But do you really think getting to Raghav is going to be that easy? The man spent years pretending to be dead while still keeping one hand wrapped around the throat of the underworld. We were all staring at his grave while he sat in the shadows, watching every move we made. Had it not been for Siya, he would have remained exactly where he wanted to be. Dead to the world and untouchable.”
He’s right. If it hadn’t been for Siya, Raghav would never have stepped out of the shadows. But now that he has, he’s no longer untouchable.
The moment Raghav took Siya away, I started digging into his life.
Through Michael, I already knew he was running RK Estate.
But what interested me was something else…
the people he met, the ones he trusted, every ally, every weakness, and every person he would willingly burn the world down to protect.
And investigation led me to something interesting.
Tej Khurana had two of his closest friends in India: Kailash Shergill and Pratap Walia.
One was a respected social reformer, and the other was the Chief Minister of an entire state.
More importantly, their families had become Raghav’s family. They had taken him under their wing, and they were now the only people he truly cared about. The Shergills, especially. They became my next targets because anyone close to Raghav was worth hurting. And hurting them meant hurting him.
My gaze shifts to the projector screen mounted on the wall, where Raghav’s photograph is displayed.
It was taken from the CCTV footage of Vardhaan Mansion on the day he showed up with his army and married Siya.
Holding a rifle, he stares directly into the camera as though daring the entire world to come after him.
For a moment, nobody speaks.
Then Singhal finally breaks the silence. “I’ve never met him or had any connection with the Bat gang over the years. But every time somebody talked about him...” His gaze moves to the photograph. “...they described him like some kind of a myth. A man with many aliases.”
“He’s just a man. Don’t make him sound immortal,” Parag scoffs. “He’ll bleed too. He shot me twice, took away Siya, and humiliated me before the entire underworld.”
Parag’s eyes burn with rage as he leans forward. “I want him to witness everything he built falling apart. His men. His family. His RK Estate. Everything.”
Singhal nods slowly. “But how?”
The question silences the room because all three of us already know the answer.
Singhal had sent his men after Raghav’s family to keep an eye on them.
They failed.
I tried to plant my own people inside RK Estate. I tried to turn his staff against him. Tried to buy information from his suppliers. Tried to create cracks in his security from the inside.
I failed too.
Every move I made somehow reached Raghav before it even began.
“It’s not that easy,” Singhal adds. “The b*stard has eyes and ears everywhere. For all we know, his men are already buried deep within our organisations, wearing our colours, taking our money, pretending to be loyal while feeding him every piece of information we have. And that’s the worst part.
We wouldn’t even know who they are. Every word we say, every plan we discuss, Raghav could already know about it through them. ”
“Not this time,” I say coldly.
A grin appears on my face as I look between the two men.
“That’s exactly why I called this meeting with just the three of us.
Three kingpins. Three men who want the Dark Prince dead more than anything else in this world.
Whatever is spoken tonight dies inside these four walls.
Our men won’t know what we’ve decided. They would never know our plan or when we intend to implement it.
And by the time they do, it will already be too late for Raghav to defend himself and protect his family. ”
My grin widens. “For once, Raghav won’t be the man standing ten steps ahead of everyone else.”
Singhal doesn’t look entirely convinced, but Parag seems more than ready to move forward.
“I know that as long as he’s alive, he’s dangerous, perhaps even more powerful than before,” I continue. “But I don’t give a damn. Because no man, not even the Dark Prince, can stand against three empires moving as one.”
My gaze drifts back to the projector screen. Back to Raghav’s face. I stare at him, replaying every possibility, every move, every outcome in my head. For years, the Dark Prince has been the storm everyone feared. Now, he’s about to discover what it feels like to stand in the path of one.
We spend the next hour devising a plan to attack Raghav. The game is about to get interesting because this time, he won’t be facing one enemy. He’ll be facing three mafia empires coming at him together. The Vardhaans, the Reddys, and the Singhals.
Raghav had humiliated us and made the entire underworld bend around his existence. Now, when we attack the RK Estate together, there will be nowhere left for him to hide. No place to run, and no one powerful enough to save him.
“Soon enough, Raghav,” I murmur under my breath, my eyes never leaving his photograph. “Let’s see how untouchable you really are.”
“So it’s decided,” Parag says. “We attack RK Estate. When are we flying?”
I look away from the screen and meet his gaze. “Tomorrow. We’ll attack the estate in three days.”
Singhal studies both of us for several seconds before finally nodding. And just like that, the alliance is sealed. Not with contracts or promises, and certainly not with trust. But for now, we are doing this together. To win.
My eyes flick back to Raghav’s image one final time, and the mere sight of him irritates me.
Maybe it’s the confidence in his eyes. Maybe it’s the fact that even in a photograph he somehow looks like the most dangerous man in the room.
Or maybe I simply hate being reminded that, for the first time in a very long while, there is someone powerful enough to stand directly in my path.
Furious, I pick the gun lying on the table, aim at the screen, and pull the trigger.
Bang.
The gunshot explodes through the room. Smoke curls from the barrel as I keep my eyes fixed on Raghav’s photograph, now torn apart by the bullet.
My lips curve into a sinister smile as I walk towards the screen and lower the weapon.
“Enjoy your happiness while it lasts, Raghav,” I murmur, staring at his face on the screen.
“Because I’m coming to collect what you took from me…
my mother and Siya.” My grin only widens.
“And there’s nothing you can do about it.
You marched into my territory with your army and turned my world upside down.
You humiliated me on my own land. You stood in front of everyone and made us look powerless.
Now, it’s my turn. Now I will walk into your kingdom.
Let’s see how untouchable the Dark Prince really is when the fire reaches his own doorstep. ”
I press the barrel again on his torn image, glaring at him.
“You made us a laughing stock that night, and I won’t even give you that chance.
Because the moment you come before me, you’ll be dead.
But before that, I’ll make you watch everything you love slip through your fingers.
You’ll mourn the loss of your family, every single one of them. ”
I pull the trigger and keep firing, emptying the entire round of bullets into the screen.
One tears through Raghav’s chest, while another punches straight through his face.
The white fabric of the projector jerks violently with every impact, becoming a mess of jagged holes and hanging strips.
The image distorts, shreds, and finally breaks apart.
By the time the gun falls silent, there is barely anything left of the man staring back at me.
The damaged frame finally snaps, sending the screen crashing to the floor. Only then do I step back and admire my creation
The fall of the Dark Prince.
And this time… forever.
RAGHAV
Present (Office Cabin at RK Estate)
Siya is still standing at the doorway, unable to believe what she’s just heard.
The shock hits her so hard that for a second she simply stands frozen and stares at us.
Then, I see her sway, her fingers shooting out to clutch the doorframe.
Before she can stumble and collapse, I’m already on my feet, crossing the room.
I reach her just in time and pull her straight into my arms.
Behind me, Haider understands immediately that this conversation is no longer for him. Without a word, he quietly walks away, leaving us alone.
Siya looks up at me, as though hoping I’ll tell her she heard everything wrong. Then her lips part.
“He… he killed Dad?” she whispers, her voice trembling.
“Siya, calm down…”
“You want me to calm down?” she snaps instantly, pulling away from me. “Samarjeet killed Dad, and you want me to calm down?”