Chapter 55 History Repeats
The night reveals what daylight teaches us to hide.
- Author
Ready for the walk?" Vritant asked, stepping into the room.
Adhrita looked up guiltily - she hadn't worn her shoes yet.
Without saying anything, he held her hand, guided her to the sofa, knelt down, and gently took her foot in his palm. He slipped her shoe on carefully, tying the lace with slow precision.
She stared at him, surprised. "When did you learn to tie shoelaces?"
He tightened the knot and looked up, serious as ever. "Is it correct?"
She nodded, and he tied the other lace just as neatly.
Then he stood up, held her hand again, and led her toward the garden.
They walked slowly, his steps matching hers exactly.
"Is it painful?" he asked softly. She shook her head.
He frowned. "Your breathing is abnormal."
"Yeah... babies," she muttered.
He stopped immediately and brought her to the bench. "Sit."
She sat down, trying not to laugh at his worried expression.
"Let's see the doctor," he said firmly.
"It's normal in pregnancy. And I'm carrying two - double trouble," she teased.
But he didn't smile. He kept staring at her, concerned, then took her hand again and gently guided her back inside.
It was still early morning, the kind where the house hadn't fully woken up yet-until the ground trembled beneath them.
One blast.
Then another.
Followed by two more in brutal succession.
Panic cracked through the halls like lightning. Security swarmed instantly, radios sparking to life. The armed forces had already been alerted; sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder.
And then-every single phone in the room started ringing at once.
Four blasts. All within the perimeter of the Prime Minister's residence.
Suddenly, morning wasn't morning anymore. It was war.
Vritant didn't think-he reacted.
He rushed forward, grabbed Adhrita's hand, and yanked her toward him, pulling her into the safety of his chest. His grip was firm, almost bruising, as if letting go meant losing her to the chaos erupting outside.
Her breath hitched, but she didn't resist. Not when the world was exploding around them.
The news channel had already cut to breaking coverage.
Red ticker. Blazing sirens. A reporter shouting over the chaos.
Shaurya's breath stopped.
The room fell silent. Fear did not need volume.
While the outer security rushed to respond, fire brigade trucks rolled into the PM's lane - sirens blazing, uniforms perfect.
But they weren't firemen.
Inside the truck were seven armed men.
Just then, the doors slammed open. A group of masked men stormed inside with military precision.
Before anyone could react, they opened fire-sharp, cold, efficient. Security personnel dropped one after another.
Then the men tossed small metallic canisters across the floor. They clattered once. Twice. And then-hissed.
A thick, pale gas flooded the room.
People coughed, staggered, reached for support... but their limbs gave out. One by one, bodies crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
The attack wasn't just outside anymore. It was here.
Minutes-or maybe hours-later, consciousness returned in heavy, disoriented waves. The gas had cleared, but dread had not.
Armed terrorists stood at every exit, rifles raised, guarding them like prisoners.
They weren't guests in this house anymore. They were hostages.
One of the terrorists stepped closer to Vritant, tone casual and mocking-as if this were a family reunion, not a hostage crisis.
Vritant frowned, unable to place him.
The man smirked and tugged down the black cloth covering his face.
A face from an old nightmare stared back.
Vritant's breath froze. He knew that face.
The last time he'd seen it, it belonged to a terrified child hiding behind the men who kidnapped him and his twin brother at age twelve.
That child... was now a terrorist.
"YOU?" Vritant whispered, shock strangling his voice.
The man laughed-cold, triumphant. Adhrita stiffened beside him, fear sharpening her features.
"Yes, bhaiya," he said. "The same kid. Remember? My father kidnapped you and your brother."
Shaurya's anger snapped. "I will kill you, bastard!"
"You killed my father!" the terrorist roared back, shoving the rifle's butt into Shaurya's face.
Vritant began sweating. His chest tightened-the familiar, dangerous panic. He needed his medicine.
Adhrita noticed instantly. Her hand moved protectively to her stomach, and she shook her head softly, warning him.
He forced a thin, broken smile and tried grounding himself by thinking of the two tiny lives he couldn't afford to risk.
He pushed himself to his feet, taking a step toward her.
The terrorist jerked his rifle up. "Stop moving!" he barked, pointing it directly at Vritant.
"Let her sit properly," Vritant said, voice low but steady.
Adhrita reached out, trying to touch his hand, but the terrorist snapped again-
"STOP moving, you bitch!"
Adhrita jerked back, fear flashing across her face.
"Let her sit," Vritant repeated, sharper this time.
The terrorist smirked. "Fine. You get on your knees, and she can sit properly."
Vritant didn't hesitate. He guided Adhrita gently, helping her sit properly on the sofa. His hands were soft on her despite the chaos.
Then he stood, walked straight to the terrorist- -and slapped him. Hard.
"Dare you shout at her again," Vritant growled.
He returned immediately to Adhrita and dropped to his knees beside her feet.
The room froze.
"You dared to slap Alpha?" the terrorist roared.
"You dared to shout at my wife?" Vritant fired back, louder.
"Vritant, calm down," Shaurya warned, voice tight. He knew the situation wasn't in their favour.
Adhrita stared at Vritant, terrified. This was not rational. Not in this situation. Why was he behaving like this?
Alpha stepped closer, eyes burning. "Now let's come to the main topic."
He leaned in toward Vritant.
"You closed all my ways-ways to reach India, to move people, drugs, fake currency. You shut every route. You bastard, I will kill you and your entire family."
Vritant blinked slowly. "How can you say I'm closing your ways? I'm just a businessman. I have nothing to do with your business. I'm not mafia, nor do I have any connection with the mafia."
"Liar," Alpha spat. "You own all the ports! Our main operations ran through the waterways, and you killed my business. Not just in India-internationally. You ruined my Sri Lankan routes too."
Shock ripped through the room.
Vritant was doing all this?
Adhrita stared at him. Shaurya looked blindsided.
"I'm sorry," Vritant murmured, almost bored.
Then-calmly, almost disrespectfully-he stood and took his place beside Adhrita as if they weren't surrounded by terrorists.
"You-" Alpha began, but Vritant cut him off without looking at him.
"Sit."
He said it like an order to a servant, not the man holding them hostage.
"You mother fu-"
"I said sit."
This time, his voice dropped to a cold, lethal tone.
Alpha sat.
Because if a man wasn't scared in this situation... it meant he had the upper hand.
"Rawat!" Vritant called.
Rawat stumbled forward immediately. "Yes, sir!"
"Call Neil. Tell him to come."
Rawat nodded and ran.
Vritant turned to Alpha. "You wanted to know what I did, right?"
Alpha swallowed and nodded.
Across the room, Shaurya and Vedashree subtly shifted, sensing something shifting in Vritant's demeanor.
"Everyone, please sit. It's going to be a long day," Vritant announced.
Adhrita blinked. Please?
He never requested anyone. Not even in normal life. And definitely not in a hostage situation.
Vritant looked at Alpha again.
"Why don't you call your boss while my PA gets here?"
Alpha froze.
"My... boss?"
"What boss?" Shaurya asked sharply.
"The one who ordered these blasts and this circus," Vritant said, scanning the room with disinterest.
"Dare you-" Alpha lunged at him.
But before he could reach, Vritant's voice sliced through the air:
"Mrutyunjay has a list of all your hideouts and every source of your income."
Alpha stopped instantly.
"You're bluffing," he spat. "It's offline. He's the lord of the online world, not offline."
"Then guess who is the lord of offline?"
Vritant tilted his head.
"Vardhan. One and only."
"I can kill you in a snap!" Alpha snarled.
"If you wanted to, you already would have," Vritant replied calmly. "You can't kill us until your boss gives the order. Right?"
Alpha's jaw tightened.
"It seems the next blast should be in this house," he said, laughing.
Everyone stiffened. Fear swept the room.
Before anyone-especially Adhrita-could react, Vritant said:
"Well, then inform your boss that Ashish is here too."
Alpha's smile died instantly.
His face drained of colour.
"Where?" he demanded.
"In the same building," Vritant replied casually, glancing around.
"You're bluffing," Alpha hissed.
At that exact second, Vritant's phone beeped.
He looked down and said,
"Feel free to blast. The house and its people-your choice."
"Vritant, are you mad?!" Shaurya yelled.
He'd already lost one son in a blast-he knew the cost of that threat. Why was Vritant playing with fire?
"Is he being stupid or what?" Anamika whispered.
"I... don't know, Mumma," Aaradhya said, voice trembling.
"Trust him," Dev said firmly.
Just then, Neil entered-files in hand.
Vritant stood. "All your routes were blocked by me. I am ready to undo everything."
"Good," Alpha growled, pointing his rifle at Adhrita. "Because I will kill your wife first."
Adhrita gasped. The room shook with panic.
Before anyone could move, Alpha reached out, yanked her hairpin, and her bun fell loose.
He uncapped the tiny blade inside the pin and hurled it at Vritant's face.
But Vritant caught it mid-air.
"I said," he leaned in, voice like ice,
"do. not. raise your voice or gun at my wife."
Alpha yelped as Vritant flicked the blade across his cheek-just enough to draw blood. Alpha wiped it with the back of his hand, humiliated.
Vritant scanned the terrorists, counting each one of them with the precision of a commander.
"Here is the file," he said evenly. "I'm ready to give it to you. All routes cleared. We stay out of your business."
He stood, walked over, and handed the file to Alpha.
Alpha glared.
"Everything on a platter, huh, Vardhan?"
He opened the file cautiously.
Alpha looked at him suspiciously.
"I am ready to do anything... leave my family," Vritant said.
Alpha laughed loudly, delighted at the sight of Vritant "pleading."
But Vritant tilted his head, expression suddenly flat.
"You think I would actually say that?" he asked, voice dripping sarcasm. "Please. Don't be delusional."
Alpha's smile faltered.
"You're forgetting Ashish is with me," Vritant added in the same bored, unimpressed tone-as if he was talking about a misplaced file, not a terrorist's greatest enemy.
Vedashree and Shaurya exchanged a look.
Why the hell was he bringing up Ashish again?
Before Alpha could respond, a voice thundered through the hall:
"Vr-it-ant!"
Everyone turned.
Samarjeet Deshmukh strode in, eyes blazing.
"You had my son?" he demanded at Alpha, disbelief twisting his voice.
"Samarjeet?" Vedashree whispered, stunned. She hadn't expected him here. Not today. Not like this.
"My son. Vritant," Samarjeet repeated, stepping closer.
Alpha froze as Samarjeet snatched the rifle straight out of his hands and aimed it back at him.
And then-of course-Vritant opened his mouth.
"Oh, now you show up?" he said, eyebrows lifting.
"I assumed you'd find him by now. But clearly your love for your Rashtradhara Party is stronger than your ability to track your own child."
Samarjeet's jaw tightened.
Alpha swallowed.
Shaurya exhaled sharply in frustration.
Vedashree whispered "Not now, Vritant..."
But Vritant just shrugged.
"What? I'm only telling him what everyone already knows."
Samarjeet's voice crackled with madness.
"I don't care about anything now. My son-Vritant. And trust me, you will regret this."
He lifted the rifle- and pointed it at Adhrita.
Adhrita gasped and instantly moved behind Vritant, clutching his shoulder.
Vritant didn't flinch. He didn't even blink.
"What exactly will you do?" he asked in a cold, bored tone. "Aside from embarrassing yourself further?"
Samarjeet's grip tightened.
"I will kill your wife. And..." his lips curled, "your babies."
A dangerous silence fell.
Vritant tilted his head, expression sharp and calm.
"The way you killed your sister's?" he asked.
Samarjeet froze.
The room did too.
Everyone stared at Vritant, shocked to the core.
"What... what do you mean?" Shaurya asked, voice unsteady.
For a heartbeat, Samarjeet said nothing.
Then he laughed.
A hollow, echoing, terrifying laugh that bounced off every wall.
Vedashree stepped forward. "Samarjeet, what was-"
"Oh just shut up, Tai!" he snapped, eyes wild.
Vedashree jerked back.
Samarjeet continued, voice rising with years of buried venom:
"I am DONE with all of you Vardhans. You think you can outrun Samarjeet Deshmukh? Never."
He glared around the room, hatred burning through him.
"You want to know why Vritant said all this?" Samarjeet shouted.
"You want to know how he knows?"
He laughed again-dark, twisted, echoing through the suffocating silence.
"I killed your son," he said.
The world stopped.
Vedashree's breath broke. "Why?" she whispered, voice trembling.
"Why?" Samarjeet barked. "Are you really asking me why, Tai?"
His rage spilled like poison.
"Since childhood you and Baba were always one team. And me? I was the punching bag. The stupid child. The disappointment. You-always the sharpest, always the favourite. You walked in Baba's footsteps and he gave you everything. His trust. His seat. His party. His future."
His voice cracked.
"And what did I get? Abuse. Mockery. A place at the bottom of the family."
Vedashree's fingers shook. Shaurya placed a hand on her shoulder, but she barely felt it.
"You were more my enemy than Baba ever was," Samarjeet spat.
"Then you fell for a Delhi businessman-Shaurya Vardhan. A perfect husband. Perfect family. Perfect life. And I was always compared to him."
Shaurya's jaw locked.
"When you got married, I thought-finally-you'd leave the family and I could breathe. But no. You got fame. Beauty. A powerful husband. In-laws. Twins. And suddenly you were more famous than Bollywood actresses."
His laugh was bitter.
"You said you were leaving politics to raise your twins, but you came back in two years and took everything again. Like I never existed."
He paced, unhinged.
"I got married. I had a son. But Baba's love? The party's trust? All yours. Who was I? Nothing but the family dog-meant to wag his tail."
Tears brimmed in Vedashree's eyes.
"Then Baba said he wanted to see Vedashree as Prime Minister. That was the final straw."
Everyone stiffened.
"I knew every terrorist route, every waterway. I funded them secretly so one day I could use them. And I did. I planned the blast before the elections. I knew the seat would be mine."
Shock rippled through the room.
"Baba was worried about losing the election. I promised results. He promised me a party position. So I planned the kidnapping."
Adhrita's hand flew to her mouth.
"The security officer took the twins from Shweta and Anamika-exactly as I instructed. I handed them over to the terrorists. In return, the terrorists wanted their captured members released."
Vedashree shook violently.
"I knew you'd do anything for your children. So I stayed close to the terrorists and updated my team. But Vedant... that boy heard something he shouldn't have."
He paused.
"He had to die."
Vedashree let out a choked cry.
"Before the team reached the hideout, I warned the terrorists. They killed Vedant. They tried to kill Vritant too, but your team arrived early and rescued him. And I pretended I led them there."
Shaurya's fists trembled.
"Later, the terrorists called me again-they said the second child must die too. I helped them kidnap Vritant again. But you both rescued him. You always ruined the plan."
He pointed at Vritant.
"And this bastard fought through everything."
He turned to the family.
"He came out of coma in two days..."
"What?" Shaurya and Vedashree shouted together.
"Yes," Vritant said quietly. "I came out of coma in two days."
"And I panicked," Samarjeet said. "So I kidnapped the doctor's children and forced him to keep Vritant in coma. For two years. Until he almost died. But the doctor took a vacation and a new doctor treated him correctly-and he woke up."
Samarjeet shook his head, angry at himself.
"I didn't even know the doctor had changed. When Vritant woke up, I spoke to him about kidnappings, terrorists, everything-but he told me he remembered nothing."
Vritant looked away.
"The terrorist group threatened to kill all of us if their secrets came out. I tried everything. I watched Vritant. He knew nothing. Then Shaurya sent him to London with special security. Untouchable."
Samarjeet's eyes flickered with madness.
"When I thought Vedashree's children died, I believed she'd leave politics. But no. That bitch sat on the throne stained with her son's blood. The country worshipped her. Sympathized with her. They pushed her above everyone. She became everything I wanted."
His voice thundered.
"She is PM today because of me. Because of the things I did. Those children died because of her ambition. And the nation rewarded her for it."
He inhaled sharply, shaking.
"It was all supposed to be mine.
I should be Prime Minister.
Not her."
His voice dropped to a whisper twisted with venom:
"It's all because of you, Vedashree Tai."
"You killed my son?" Vedashree asked again, her voice trembling.
Samarjeet laughed-loud, cruel, almost unhinged.
"No. You killed your son. You and your hunger for the party killed him."
He stepped closer, venom dripping from every word.
"If it wasn't for your obsession with power, why did you sit on a throne tainted with your son's blood?"
"Because I wanted power!" Vedashree exploded-raw, honest, devastated.
She pointed at Alpha.
"Two other groups wanted revenge because Shaurya killed their men. They wanted every Vardhan dead. I wanted enough power that no one could ever touch my family again!"
Her voice cracked as she screamed, and in that moment, everyone finally understood: she wasn't the reason her son died-she became Prime Minister to keep the rest of her family alive.
Samarjeet moved suddenly.
He lunged forward, grabbed Adhrita by the arm, and pressed his gun to her forehead.
"I'll kill her," he hissed. "And you know I can."
Vedashree didn't hesitate.
In one swift motion, she pulled a blade from her bun and hurled it at Samarjeet's face.
He flinched, releasing Adhrita. She stumbled-almost crashing to the floor-but Shaurya and Vedashree caught her just in time. A small cry escaped her, hand pressing to her ribs.
Vedashree rose again-fierce, trembling, but unbroken.
And Vritant already had Samarjeet at gunpoint, eyes burning with a cold, deadly focus.
At that moment Jack stormed into the room. He and Rawat raised their weapons in sync, pinning every terrorist in sight.
Kiaan, Rawat, and Jack moved the instant Vritant lifted his gun.
Years of training snapped into place. In a blur of motion, they charged at the terrorists-precise, lethal, unstoppable.
Gunshots cracked through the air as they fought side-by-side, covering each other's blind spots with the ease of men who had survived dozens of battles together.
Rawat slammed one terrorist into the wall, disarming him before firing point-blank.
Jack ducked under a swinging rifle and drove his knife cleanly into another's throat.
Kiaan took on the largest of them, twisting the man's arm until the gun fell, then shooting him before he hit the ground.
Within seconds, the room was littered with bodies.
The threat was over. The war, for now, was silent.
Vedashree stepped forward and quietly took the gun from Vritant's hand.
"Don't kill him," she said.
Vritant stared at her, stunned.
After everything, she wanted him alive?
"I want him..." she whispered, her voice low and dangerous. "Take him to the Hall of Fame."
Before anyone could process what she meant, Adhrita suddenly yelped in pain.
Vedashree spun around. "Adhrita-she's bleeding!"
"Where is Ashish, Vritant?" Samarjeet demanded again, still panting, blood trickling down his cheek.
"You'll meet him soon," Vritant replied coldly.
"But you said he was in this house," Samarjeet insisted, panicked.
"I am called a manipulative bastard," Vritant muttered, turning toward Adhrita-
-and froze.
Blood was spreading across her clothes.
His breath stopped.
History... was repeating itself?
Wonderful. History's repeating itself-because apparently even fate is too lazy to write new material.
────────── ?? ? ?? ──────────