The van drove for what felt like forever.
Avery sat in the back, hands tied behind her back. The scarred man sat across from her, watching her like a hawk.
The figure in the shadows finally leaned forward into the light.
It was a man in his forties. Expensive suit. Cold smile. He looked like a businessman, but his eyes were dead.
"Who are you?" Avery demanded, trying to keep her voice steady.
"My name is Arjun Rathore," he said. "Rohan's cousin. And the rightful heir to the Rathore fortune."
Avery's eyes widened. The cousin. The one Rohan said was trying to steal everything.
"What do you want with me?"
Arjun laughed. "You're the key to everything, my dear. Rohan needs you to stay married for six months to inherit. But if something happens to you before then..." He spread his hands. "The will becomes void. I inherit everything."
"You're going to kill me?"
"Kill you? No, no, no. Too messy. Too obvious." Arjun leaned closer. "I'm going to make you disappear. And when Rohan can't produce his wife, the board will declare him unfit. I take over. Simple."
"You're insane!"
"I'm practical. Rohan has always had everything handed to him. The company. The money. The respect. All because he was born first." His face twisted with anger. "But not anymore. This time, I win."
The van suddenly jerked to a stop.
"We're here," the scarred man said.
They dragged Avery out. She was in some kind of abandoned warehouse by the water. Dark. Isolated. No one around to hear her scream.
They threw her into a room and locked the door.
Avery looked around frantically. One window. Too high to reach. The door was solid metal.
She was trapped.
Her phone was gone. Her hands were tied. No one knew where she was.
Except...
Rohan said he was tracking her. If that was true, he'd know she was here.
But did she want him to find her? After everything Priya said? After the photos? After Anjali?
What if Rohan really was a murderer?
What if she'd married a monster?
Suddenly, she heard gunshots outside.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Men were shouting. Running.
More gunshots.
Then silence.
The door burst open.
Avery screamed and pressed herself against the wall.
A figure stepped through the smoke and shadows.
Rohan.
His shirt was torn. Blood on his face. Gun in his hand. His eyes were wild—dangerous.
"Avery," he breathed.
For a moment, they just stared at each other.
Then Rohan ran to her and cut the ropes around her wrists.
"Are you hurt? Did they touch you?" His hands were checking her arms, her face, looking for injuries.
"I'm fine," she whispered. "But Rohan—"
"We need to go. Now. Arjun's men are everywhere."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door.
But Avery stopped.
"Wait. I need to know something first."
"Avery, there's no time—"
"Who was Anjali?"
Rohan froze. His face went completely blank.
"Who told you that name?"
"Priya Sharma. She said you killed her sister. She showed me photos. A video. She said—"
"She's lying." Rohan's voice was hard. Cold.
"Then tell me the truth! Who was she?"
Rohan's jaw clenched. For a moment, Avery thought he wouldn't answer.
Then he said quietly, "Someone I failed to protect."
Before Avery could ask more, an explosion rocked the building.
Flames erupted behind them.
"GO!" Rohan shouted.
They ran through the warehouse. Smoke filled the air. Avery could barely see.
Rohan pulled her through a side door just as another explosion went off.
Outside, a helicopter was waiting. The blades were already spinning.
"Get in!" Rohan shouted over the noise.
Avery climbed in. Rohan followed and the helicopter lifted off immediately.
Below them, the warehouse was engulfed in flames. Men were running everywhere.
Avery could see Arjun standing in the parking lot, staring up at them with pure rage on his face.
As they flew away, Avery finally allowed herself to breathe.
She looked at Rohan. Really looked at him.
Blood on his face. Exhaustion in his eyes. But also... relief. Like he'd been terrified of losing her.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For saving me."
Rohan didn't look at her. He just stared out the window.
"Don't thank me yet," he said. "Because now, Arjun knows exactly how to hurt me."
"What do you mean?"
He finally turned to face her. And what she saw in his eyes made her heart stop.
Not coldness. Not calculation.
Fear.
"He knows my weakness now, Avery. He knows that I—" Rohan stopped himself. Looked away. "He knows I can't let anything happen to you."
Avery's breath caught.
Before she could respond, Rohan's phone rang. He answered it.
"What?" he snapped.
His face went white.
"When?" His voice was deadly quiet now.
He hung up.
"What's wrong?" Avery asked.
Rohan looked at her. And for the first time since she'd met him, he looked truly shaken.
"Your bakery," he said. "Arjun burned it down. Twenty minutes ago. It's gone. Everything is gone."
Avery felt like the world had stopped spinning.
"No," she whispered. "No, no, no..."
Her grandmother's bakery. Her whole life. The community. The memories.
Gone.
"I'm sorry," Rohan said quietly. "This is my fault. He did this because of me."
Tears streamed down Avery's face.
And in that moment, she realized something terrifying.
This wasn't just a fake marriage anymore.
This was war.
And she was caught right in the middle of it.