The synergistic engine of the Patel Group was now humming, a testament to Harsh's vision. But as the empire grew more complex and its tendrils reached deeper into the Indian economy, a new, more insidious challenge emerged—one that could not be solved with better technology or smarter marketing. It was the challenge of systemic envy and the deep-seated corruption that festered in the shadows of India's economic boom.
The problem first manifested at a Patel Agri-Sciences distribution warehouse in Uttar Pradesh. A local politician's nephew, a small-time thug named Bishan, demanded a "commission" for the "smooth operation" of the warehouse. It was a classic hafta, a protection racket. The local manager, following the company's strict "no bribe" policy, refused.
The next night, the warehouse was set on fire.
The loss was significant, but the message was more damaging: you do not operate here without paying tribute.
Simultaneously, Patel Infrastructure faced a more sophisticated threat. A rival construction company, owned by a powerful state minister's brother, began a smear campaign in local newspapers, accusing Patel of using substandard materials and violating environmental codes. It was a blatant lie, but it was enough to temporarily halt work on the Gujarat highway project, costing lakhs per day in delays.
These were not business rivals playing by commercial rules. These were parasites and power brokers who saw Harsh's success not as an achievement, but as a target.
Harsh's initial reaction was a cold fury. His first instinct was to use the Aethelred Trust's limitless capital to hire the best lawyers, the most feared private investigators, to crush these petty warlords with the full force of his financial might.
But he stopped himself. That was the old way, the brute-force method. It would create more enemies, more shadows to fight. He needed a more elegant, more permanent solution. He needed to build an immune system for his empire.
He summoned Rakesh. "We have been fighting the symptoms," Harsh said, his voice low and steady. "It is time to address the disease. We are going to build a new division. Not for profit, but for protection. Call it 'Group Security and Liaison.'"
This was not a security force in the traditional sense. Harsh's mandate was precise and twofold:
1. Legal Fortress: He tasked a team of the sharpest, most connected corporate lawyers in India, poached from top firms, with a single goal: to make the Patel Group the most legally unassailable entity in the country. Every contract, every land deal, every environmental clearance would be bulletproof, pre-empting any regulatory attack.
2. Strategic Intelligence: He created a small, highly discreet internal intelligence unit. Their job was not espionage, but to map the political and business landscape in every region they operated. To know which politicians were honest, which were corrupt, who held the real power in a district, and how to navigate it without paying a bribe. They would build relationships based on mutual benefit—job creation, local development projects—not extortion.
The response to the warehouse fire was their first test. Instead of sending lawyers or capitulating, the new Liaison team identified the local Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), an honest, frustrated politician who had been trying to combat the very corruption Bishan represented. The Patel Group publicly announced a partnership with the MLA's office to build a new computer lab for the local school, funded by the company. They positioned themselves as allies of development, not victims of thuggery.
The public support for the company isolated Bishan. The police, under pressure from the MLA, were forced to act. Bishan was arrested. The message was sent: attacking the Patel Group was bad for local development and, therefore, bad politics.
For the smear campaign against Patel Infrastructure, the Legal Fortress swung into action. They didn't just deny the allegations; they sued the rival company and the newspapers for defamation, presenting irrefutable evidence of their compliance and the rival's malicious intent. The case was swift and public, a demonstration of the Group's legal might.
The unseen foundation of legal and strategic defense was being laid. It was expensive, it was unglamorous, but it was more vital than any new product line. Harsh was building a corporate immune system, one that would allow his synergistic empire to grow without being poisoned by the toxins of the environment it operated in. The real war wasn't in the marketplace; it was in the murky space where business, politics, and power collided. And Harsh was now building his most powerful weapon yet: an unbreakable shield of legitimacy and intelligence.