I stepped inside the mansion, my shoes crunching against shattered glass.
The living room was drenched in chaos — trails of crimson smeared across the marble floor, lifeless bodies sprawled in grotesque positions. Twisted hands, shattered ribs, faces unrecognizable. The metallic stench of blood clung to the air, thick and suffocating.
My fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white.
"Kabir…" I hissed, my voice trembling with barely contained rage. "You've crossed a line you can never come back from."
Rakshit's hesitant voice trembled behind me.
"B-Boss… these… these people…"
"DON'T!" I cut him off with a snarl, my tone sharp as a blade.
Every step I took felt heavier, my heartbeat drumming in my ears. I stalked through the lobby, following the blood trails like they were mocking me, pulling me toward a nightmare I wasn't ready to face.
When I reached the pooja room, my entire world shattered.
"MAAA!"
"AUNTY! NANI!"
My mother, Shreya's mother, and her grandmother lay crumpled on the cold floor — brutally wounded, their sarees torn and soaked in blood. Their sobs echoed like screams in my head.
For a split second, I froze. The man who could crush empires in his fists was trembling like a terrified child. My throat burned as I fell to my knees beside them.
"Who… who did this to you?!" My voice cracked, tears of rage stinging my eyes.
My mother tried to speak, choking on her sobs.
"V-Vihaan… Shreya…"
Shreya's mom, trembling, raised her hand weakly and gestured toward Shreya's room.
My heart stopped.
"RAKSHITTTTTT!" I roared, my voice thundering through the hall.
Rakshit stumbled back, startled.
"Y-Yes, Boss!"
"Call the bloody ambulance!" I snarled, my voice raw and guttural.
"I don't care what it takes, I want every single doctor in this city here in the next five minutes! If anyone refuses, drag them here by their throats!"
"Yes, Boss!" he shouted, frantically dialing.
I didn't wait. I sprinted, my legs barely obeying me, until I crashed into Shreya's room, slamming the door open.
"SHREYAAA!"
My voice echoed off the walls. Silence answered.
Her bed was empty. Her favourite shawl lay discarded on the floor.
"NO, NO, NO!" I tore through the room like a madman, yanking open closets, pulling curtains, searching under the bed — nothing.
Panic ripped through my veins like acid.
I stumbled into the hallway and tore into the other rooms.
My own door creaked open slightly. My instincts screamed at me.
I shoved it open — and froze.
"Vidhi…" My breath hitched.
My little sister, just twelve years old, was curled up in the corner of my bed, trembling violently under a blood-soaked blanket.
Blood. Her blood.
My vision blurred. My chest tightened until I thought my ribs would shatter.
Before I could move, Vidhi saw me and ran straight into my arms, clinging to me like a lifeline.
"Viihaan bhaiyaa!" she screamed, her voice hoarse from crying.
"They… they… they came, bhaiyaa! There were so many of them!" Her words tumbled out in terror.
"I hid like you told me… but… they hurt everyone… I thought you'd never come back—"
"Shhh…" I held her tight, rocking her trembling frame, even as rage boiled inside me.
"Vidhi, meri jaan… I'm here now. I swear on my life, no one will ever hurt you again."
Her tears soaked my shirt. My hands trembled as I checked her injuries — deep cuts, bruises. My entire body burned with helplessness.
"KABIIIRRR!" I screamed, my roar shaking the walls.
"He's taking this too far now!" My chest heaved.
"Now he won't just die, Rakshit! No… death is too merciful. I'll make him regret why he ever existed in this world!"
Vidhi flinched at my fury. I forced myself to calm, cupping her face.
"Lock the door, Vidhi. Don't open it for anyone but me, do you understand?"
She nodded, sobbing, and I kissed her forehead before leaving her behind — safe, at least for now.
Rakshit caught up to me, his face pale with dread.
"B-Boss…" he stammered.
I whipped around, my voice like a whip.
"Where. Is. Shreya."
He swallowed hard, trembling.
"She's… she's not here, Boss. I… I searched everywhere."
The world tilted beneath my feet. My pulse thundered in my ears.
No. No, she couldn't be gone.
Before I could react, the screech of tires cut through the chaos.
Several cars pulled up outside, doors slamming as figures rushed in.
I didn't care who it was.
My only focus was Shreya.
I bolted up the stairs, my lungs burning, until I burst onto the terrace.
And there she was.
Shreya.
Her body lay crumpled at her favorite spot, her delicate frame broken, blood dripping from her head and hands.
For a moment, my world went utterly silent.
"NOOOOO!"
I collapsed beside her, gathering her into my arms, shaking her lightly.
"Shreya! Open your eyes! Please, angel , look at me!" My voice cracked with anguish.
"Don't do this to me… don't you dare leave me like this!"
Footsteps thundered behind me.
Shreya's brothers — Shashwat bhaiya, Nishant bhaiya, and Nakul bhaiya — burst in with Harsh trailing behind them.
Harsh froze, his face pale, terrified by the carnage around him.
Shashwat bhaiya stumbled forward, his eyes wide with horror.
"Shreya! Oh god, no! What happened here?!"
His voice was raw, desperate.
I turned on him, my pain exploding into rage.
"I WARNED YOU!" I roared, my voice thundering across the terrace.
"Bhaiya, I warned you, and you didn't listen! Look at her! LOOK!"
I thrust Shreya's limp body toward him, my tears mixing with her blood.
"This… THIS is on you!"
"Vihaan, don't—" Nishant bhaiya stepped forward, his voice strained.
"Don't what?!" I snapped, my teeth bared.
"She's lying here half-dead because none of you believed me! None of you protected her like I said you should!"
Nishant bhaiya's jaw tightened. He didn't argue.
Instead, he turned sharply to the others.
"Move! Get to the car now! Vihaan, bring her!"
He sprinted ahead and flung open the car door.
I raced down the stairs, Shreya in my arms, while the others scrambled behind me.
We piled into the cars, Nishant bhaiya driving like a madman, the ambulances following closely behind with the wounded elders.
Behind us, Rakshit and my men stayed with Shashwat bhaiya's men to secure the scene.
As the cars sped through the night, I held Shreya close, whispering fiercely in her ear.
"Stay with me, angel. Please. I can't… I can't lose you like this."
My voice broke, trembling with desperation.
"If you leave me, Shreya, I swear, there won't be a single piece of this world left unburned."
Her breath was shallow, barely there.
My rage solidified into something dark and unstoppable.
By the time we reached the hospital, my hands were shaking — not with fear, but with the monstrous fury consuming me.
My devil was no longer caged.
No laws, no morality, nothing could stop me now.
I burst into the emergency ward, bellowing at the staff.
"Doctors! NOW! If she doesn't get every ounce of care she needs, I'll tear this entire hospital apart with everyone in it!"
Nurses scrambled. Doctors rushed forward, terrified.
Shreya vanished behind the emergency room doors, leaving me standing in the sterile white hallway, drenched in her blood.
My chest rose and fell in violent bursts. My teeth ground together until my jaw ached.
"Kabir…" I whispered, my voice a lethal promise.
"You thought this was a game? You think you've won?"
I lifted my head, my eyes gleaming like a predator's.
"No. You've just signed your own death warrant."
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Rakshit and Shashwat bhaiya's men scoured the carnage.
One of the guards called out, his voice trembling.
"Sir! You need to see this…"
They gathered around a dark corner — more bodies lay piled together, throats slit, their identities hidden beneath black cloth masks.
Shashwat bhaiya's face turned pale.
"Who the hell… who could have done this?"
Rakshit's throat worked nervously.
"This wasn't just an attack," he muttered. "This… this was a message."
His phone buzzed.
A single message glowed on the screen:
"Round one complete."
In a lavish, darkened penthouse across the city, Kabir swirled a glass of wine, smirking.
His secretary approached cautiously.
"Everything went exactly as you predicted, sir," he said.
Kabir chuckled, his eyes glittering with malice.
"Oh no," he murmured softly.
"This was just the opening move."
Back at the hospital, I stood frozen outside Shreya's room, my breathing ragged, my vision red.
Shashwat bhaiya stood a few feet away, watching me closely — suspicion, anger, and something unspoken flickering in his eyes.
I didn't care.
All I could think of was her… and my vow.
My fingers curled into fists as I stared at the emergency doors.
"Kabir," I said, my voice low and dangerous.
"You've awakened the wrong monster. And now…" My lips curved into a chilling smile.
"I will make you wish you were never born."