I had just returned from the office when Avni stopped me in the hallway.
Rishabh,” she said softly, “Ruhi came home… but she didn’t even sit outside. She went straight to her room.”
That was all it took for me to know that something was wrong.
Ruhi never did that. No matter how tired she was, no matter how heavy her day had been, she always checked in even if it was just a smile, just a glance.
I didn’t wait. I went straight to her room.
When I opened the door, the sight of her made my chest tighten.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, laptop open in front of her, hands resting limply in her lap. Her face wasn’t crying, wasn’t panicking.
It was blank.
That terrified me more than tears ever could.
“Ruhi,” I said gently as I walked toward her. “What happened? You came straight up… is everything okay?”
She didn’t answer.Not a word.
She simply turned the laptop toward me.
The moment I saw the screen, the air left my lungs.
CCTV footage.
A man in a black hoodie. A mask hiding his face. Standing in the parking lot like he belonged there. Like he wasn’t afraid of being seen.
And then the worst part.
He looked straight into the camera.Not surprised. Not cautious.
Aware.
As if he knew this moment would come. As if he was waiting for us to watch.
My hands clenched involuntarily.
Before I could even process it, Ruhi handed me the note.
Doll, it’s time. We will meet.
I didn’t trust myself to speak.
I closed the laptop slowly, deliberately, forcing my expression to stay calm even though something dark and violent was rising in my chest.
I could not let her see it.
Not again.
“It’s okay,” I said, keeping my voice steady, controlled. “Don’t think too much. I’ll take care of it.”
I looked at her, really looked at her, my little sister, sitting there trying to be brave when she shouldn’t have to be.
“Go downstairs,” I added softly. “Avni’s calling you. And Aayan is looking for you.”
She nodded. No argument. No questions.
That hurt more than anything.
When she left the room, the door closing quietly behind her, I finally let my composure crack.
My fist slammed into my palm.
I felt sick.
Useless.
Like I had failed her all over again.
I had promised myself once years ago when she was small and scared and I was just a boy who couldn’t protect her… that one day, when I was strong enough, powerful enough, I would make sure nothing ever touched her again.
I had grown up.I had become CEO.I controlled an empire.
And yet my sister was being threatened in her own office parking lot.
Right under my watch.
My jaw tightened, eyes burning.
“No,” I whispered to myself.
“This ends now.”
Because whoever thought they could scare Ruhi Raichand…They had just made the worst mistake of their life.
I went back to Ruhi’s laptop first.
Without hesitation, I transferred the entire footage to my own system. Every second. Every frame. I made sure nothing was missed. Then, deliberately, I deleted it from her laptop.
Not because she didn’t deserve to know.
But because I knew her.
She would replay it again and again. Study every movement. Every shadow. Every second where that man looked into the camera like he owned the moment. Fear doesn’t stay still it loops.
I wouldn’t let that happen to her.
Not this time.
Once it was done, I went to my room. Under the warm light, I clicked clear photos of the note front, back, every crease, every mark. Then I sent everything to Aayansh.
The footage. The note.
No explanations.
He’d understand.
My phone rang almost immediately.
I didn’t need to check the screen.
I picked it up.
He didn’t say hello.
“What was that?” he demanded. “Is Ruhi okay? Where is she? Is she safe?”
The panic in his voice was raw. Undeniable.Anger sat just beneath it, barely contained.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “She’s okay.”
I paused, choosing my words carefully.
“The note was on her car. On the windshield. In her office parking lot.”
Silence followed.Heavy. Dangerous.
Then I added quietly, “He wanted us to see it.”
Because that was the truth.
This wasn’t a threat sent from the shadows.
It was a message delivered in daylight.
And whoever had done this wasn’t testing boundaries anymore.
They were crossing them.
Aayansh’s POV
I was in my room, files spread across the table, my attention fixed on numbers that usually made sense. Contracts. Reports. Closure.
For the first time in days, things were settling.
Then my phone buzzed.
Rishabh.
I frowned slightly. He never sent things without reason.
Before I could overthink it, another notification followed.
A video is still downloading.Then a photo.
I opened it.
And everything inside me shifted.
It was a note.
Just a few words, written deliberately. Calm. Personal.
My jaw tightened, my fingers curling around the phone so hard it hurt. The room suddenly felt smaller, the air heavier. This wasn’t a threat thrown blindly.
This was intent.
The video finished downloading.
I pressed play.
And my breath stopped.
A man stood there tall, still, completely aware of the camera. His face hidden behind a black mask, hoodie pulled up, body relaxed. Too relaxed. Like he wasn’t afraid of being seen.
Like he wanted to be seen.
I watched as he placed the note on Ruhi’s car.
Her car.
In her office parking lot.
Then he looked straight at the camera.
Not hurried. Not nervous.
And I knew even without seeing his face that he was smiling.
Something dark twisted in my chest.
Anger surged first. Hot. Violent. The kind that makes your vision narrow.
Then guilt followed sharper, more destructive.
Because no matter how much control I had regained at work…
No matter how quickly I had handled the company crisis…
I had failed where it mattered most.
I had promised myself I would keep her safe.
And someone had walked right up to her car in broad daylight and proved how easily they could reach her.
I replayed the clip.
Once.Twice.Each time it felt worse.
This wasn’t random.
This wasn’t fear driven.
This was confidence.
Whoever he was, he wasn’t hiding anymore.
I immediately called Rishabh.
I didn't even let him speak
I didn’t say hello.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, my voice tight. “Is Ruhi okay? Where is she? Is she safe?”
I heard myself barely breathing.
“Yes,” Rishabh said firmly. “She’s okay.”
Relief hit me briefly, incomplete.
“The note was on her windshield,” he continued. “In her office parking lot.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“He wanted us to know,” I said quietly.
Rishabh didn’t deny it.
I stared at the paused frame on my screen, the masked man frozen mid glance, caught between movement and intention.
“He’s not playing games anymore,” I said slowly. “He’s stepping forward.”
And for the first time since this started, I wasn’t thinking like a businessman.
I wasn’t thinking like a strategist.
I was thinking like a man who had been warned.
And whoever thought they could touch Ruhi to distract me…
They had just made the worst mistake of their life.
I pressed the phone harder to my ear. “Rishabh,” I asked again. “Tell me she’s okay.”
“Yes,” he replied immediately. “She’s with Avni right now.
I exhaled, but the relief barely touched me.
“I deleted the footage from her laptop,” he continued. “She doesn’t need to see it again.”
“Good,” I said. My voice sounded calm,
Because if she watched this the way I was watching it now she’d never feel safe again.
“When did this happen?” I asked.
“Less than an hour before she reached home.”
My jaw clenched.
He knew her routine.He knew her timing.
And worse he wasn’t afraid of being seen.
“He stood there, didn’t he?” I asked quietly.
Rishabh didn’t hesitate. “Yes. He looked straight at the camera.”
I closed my eyes.
That wasn’t a threat.That was an invitation.
“This ends now,” I said.
Not loudly. Not emotionally.
Decisively.
“I’m increasing security,” I continued. “Around her. Immediately. No blind spots. No gaps.”
“I’m already doing that,” Rishabh said. “But this isn’t just about guards.”
“yes,” I agreed. “It’s about control.”
I looked again at the frozen frame on my screen the man’s posture, the ease in his movements.
“He wanted me to see this,” I said slowly. “Which means he wants a response.”
There was a pause on the line. “And are you going to give him one?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t hesitate.
“But not the one he’s expecting.” I said and told Rishabh ill tell youll find out what im going to do.
Then I ended the call.
I didn’t sit down. Didn’t pace. Panic was useless now.
I went straight to my desk and opened my laptop, fingers moving fast, focused. Security logs. Access records. Parking permissions. Vendor passes. Camera blind spots.
Patterns always existed.
People always make mistakes.
And this man had just made his first one and he stepped closer.
Across the city, though I didn’t know it yet, a new alert lit up on his screen.
But at that moment, all I could think about was Ruhi.
I know right now she might be trying to act normal.Pretending she wasn’t shaken.
The thought burned.
I grabbed my keys.
I was done sitting still.
Whatever this had become it wasn’t distant anymore.
It was personal.
And somewhere, I knew this with absolute certaintyThe man who left that note thought he was in control.
He was wrong.
Because the moment he touched Ruhi’s world
He stepped into mine.
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