Author's pov-

(Mumbai)

12:00pm

Street was quiet. Too quiet.

Then came the low purr of engines luxury cars.

One by one, they pulled up outside an old, unfamiliar building its facade hidden in shadow, windows blacked out. The engines cut off, and silence returned.

Click. Clack. Doors opened in unison.

Men spilled out of the vehicles broad, expressionless, all armed. Their movements were sharp, rehearsed. They surrounded the area like a swarm silent, deadly, waiting.

Then came the Maserati Quattroporte. It stopped with precision, its presence commanding more fear than all the others combined.

A tall man in a dark trench coat stepped forward. No weapon in his hands he didn’t need one. He opened the rear door with the calm grace of a man trained to kill.

Smoke curled out before the man did.

A polished Italian shoe touched the pavement. Then the rest of him followed.

He stood tall 6'3, built like a war machine in a custom-tailored charcoal suit.

Green eyes, sharp and unforgiving, scanned the scene as he took a slow drag from his cigarette.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. The air shifted the moment he arrived.

He went inside that building and We walked to the corner, where a man sat tied to a chair, his eyes closed and covered with a black cloth.

He spoke in his low commanding voice..

"You know I can’t stand people who cheat.”

“ Le.. -ave.. Me… plea..se..” The man said in trembling voice

"I think you don't know me yet, otherwise you wouldn’t have told me to leave you.”

“ Ple… Ase.. Lea-ve .. Me.. I.. Hav.. E.. A.. Famil.. Y…” the man begged

"You should’ve thought it through before betraying me”

“ I'm… so… rry.. Plea-

Without a word, he snatched the gun from one of his men and shot.

The crack of a gun tore through the air, echoing like thunder.

"Take care of the body. And give his wife 50 lakhs along with a message that he was cheating on her.”

He walked back to his car and drove straight to “Singhania Industries.”

As soon as he entered the building, the atmosphere shifted. Employees bowed their heads and greeted him with hushed respect. No one dared make eye contact for too long.

He stepped into the private elevator . With a soft chime, the elevator doors slid open directly into his office.

A massive, high-ceilinged space with floor-to-ceiling windows, dark marble floors, and shelves lined with expensive liquor and rare books. Power echoed in silence.

He loosened his tie, tossed it aside, and sank into the leather chair behind his grand desk.

After few minutes

His door knocked**

“Come in” He said

The door opened and his assistant (krish) came inside

“Good morning sir. Sir you have a lunch meeting with Mr. Rajvansh at 2:pm”

“Is it important?” he asked

“He told me that he wanna discuss some things about our new project” krish answered

“i know he don't have anything to discuss for project. All he wants is to shove his stupid daughter into my life.”

“Sir , the project is important so I think you should go”

“Yeah I'll go don't worry”

Krish left.

Ishan started doing his work in his laptop .

At 2:00 PM

He went to the restaurant in which Mr. Rajvansh was waiting for him.

Ishan singhania's pov-

I already knew that damn Mr. Rajvansh only wants to meet me because of his daughter. God, I can’t stand her—she’s way too clingy. I’ve told her a hundred times that I’m not interested, but it’s like she doesn’t get it. I guess she’s brainless.

I approached the table where he was seated, his ever-clingy daughter right beside him.

“ oh hello Mr. Singhania, its good to see you” Mr. Rajvansh greeted me

“Good to see you too, Mr. Rajvansh. But I assumed this was about business clearly, I was wrong. Seems like you just wanted to waste my time," I said, my eyes shifting to Lavanya, his daughter.

“Oh come on, babe… You must be happy to see me, right?" She said, leaning closer with that annoying sparkle in her eyes.

“First of all, Miss I’m not your ‘babe.’ And second, I came here to talk about the project. That’s it. Mr. Rajvansh, I have other things to attend to. I’m not here for casual chats or matchmaking I don’t have time for that. So if there’s nothing else to discuss regarding the project, I’ll take my leave.”I looked Mr. Rajvansh in the eye and said it plainly he was wasting our time. I’d already told him I wasn’t interested in his daughter, yet here we were again.

“Oh my child, just sit and relax" Mr. Rajvansh said

I looked at him, half-laughing, half-losing my mind.

Is this man crazy or what? Am I seriously the last guy left on this damn planet for his daughter to marry?

“Apologies, Mr. Rajvansh, but I have more important matters to handle. If you’re still interested in the project, contact my assistant he’ll brief you on everything you need."

I said it to him straight.

"Darling, please don’t go" Lavanya said

“Shut up" I snapped, walking out of the restaurant without looking back. I had barely sat in the car when my phone rang it was Dad.

I picked up the call and said, "Hello, Dad.”

“hi ishan. Where are you?” He asked me

"Mr. Rajvansh invited me to lunch. He said he wouldn’t be discussing anything about the project. I’m just heading back to the office now," I said.

“okay, come home now.”

“why? Is everything alright?” I asked

"No, nothing’s wrong. I just need to talk to you about something.” he replied

"Okay, Dad. I’ll be there in five minutes" I replied. With that, the call ended.

I drove toward my mansion, thoughts swirling in my head. What does he want to talk to me about?

Did something serious happen? I sighed, gripping the steering wheel a little tighter.

Let’s just hope it’s nothing big. Either way, I’ll know in five minutes.

I reached my mansion. A few minutes later, I stepped into the grand lobby. The silence was heavy, almost tense.

There he was .. my dad, sitting on the couch, waiting. His expression was unreadable.

“Hey dad” I said

“oh ishan! Come sit.”He said wait. He’s smiling. He’s actually fucking smiling.

What the hell is going on?

“What’s with the smile? What happened that made you this happy, huh?" I asked.

"You remember my best friend, Rahul? Well, his daughter… she’s grown up now.” he said

“Yeah, she’s been staying with her grandmother in Pune, hasn’t she?" I asked .

Yeah I remember dad once told me that he had a best friend named Rahul who was killed one night. The case was closed quickly, and no one not even a single lawyer took it up because it was connected to the mafia.

"Yes, she’s coming to Mumbai tomorrow.”he answered

“For what?" I asked.

“I don’t know. She just said she has some work here" Dad replied.

“Then why exactly did you call me here?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I called you here to let you know that she’ll be staying with us until she leaves.” he answered.

Wait what?

“Why?" I asked, clearly annoyed.

“Because she's my best friend's daughter, and I don't want her to stay in some hotel.” He replied

"Oh great, so my house is a damn hotel now? Anyone can just come and stay for as long as they want?" I snap clearly irritated

“Ishan, shut up. This is my mansion, not yours and she’s staying here. End of discussion”

Well then, let’s just wait and see who this special little guest is.