Dedicated to pavxoxo for always reminding me of the time to update😉

Neev.

I clutched Riya's hand tightly and looked around.

"What do you want to talk about?" I asked slowly and Sebastian's smile widened.

"Now, this is why I like you Nivin, you catch up fast, can we move inside?" he turned to us from our doorway.

So five minutes later, all of us were seated on my settee, Sebastian looked around.

"Whoa... I missed this place, but I have to say, you have modified it to be much better than James-"

"What do you want from me?" I asked back, getting angry now.

Riya touched my hand and I gripped her hand, I need to calm down, I know that I can't lose my cool, I need to protect Riya.

"I need to borrow her," Sebastian looked at Riya.

"No!" I said. "That's not going to happen," I said firmly.

"I am not going to hurt her," Sebastian said. "There's no need to get so worked u-"

"You expect me to believe that? You betrayed your best friends, you framed Riya's father and threw my Amma out of the family, you attempted to kill Uncle Dev and Grandpa too, you are a cold-blooded murderer!" I said incredulously.

Riya's eyes snapped up to me in shock, I know I haven't talked to her about it.

I know it now, Riya's Dad was a victim, I don't have any evidence, but I know Uncle Dev is right!

"It was not me; it was Riya's Dad who betrayed James-"

"Shut the hell up, it was you!" I shouted.

"Why would I do such a thing Nivin-"

"You betrayed everyone, you framed him and you got hold of all his shares, I was following you from the moment Uncle Dev told me about you,"

"Do you have evidence?" Sebastian looked at me evilly.

"Just wait there, we are going to prove it, Uncle Dev and I will-"

"You are not the only one who has challenged me, Nivin, look at what happened to Anil Ragunad-"

"Shut up!" I shouted.

"Wh...What?" Riya looked at us; her eyes were filled with pain, "What did you do to my Dad?" she looked at Sebastian.

I glared at him. I was going to tell her that, I was trying to make it easier for her, I was waiting for her Dad's name to be cleared first before telling her, but Sebastian just ruined everything.

Yes, when the police "lost" the CCTV footage of the highway accident, Uncle Dev was doubtful, he already told me that it was not an accident, but a planned murder executed by Sebastian but I never expected Sebastian to confess it like this!

He's confident that we don't have any evidence, He's so confident that he could get away with it!

"It... It was not an accident," I mumbled, "I... I am so sorry Riya..." I said slowly.

"My... my dad was killed?" Riya's voice trembled and I pulled her to me, "It really wasn't a car accident then?"

"I am so sorry...Riya..." I said gently, not caring about others, she was deeply hurt and I just wanted to console her, "I... I couldn't tell you, I wanted to prove his... Innocence before...telling you," I said slowly.

"I don't understand why people try to protect others when they can't even protect themselves," Sebastian said and Riya turned to him.

Her eyes were still filled, but a fire burned in them.

"Someone like you will never understand it because there's... there's no trace of humanity in you; you are just a murderer who doesn't have a conscious,"

"I am not here to hear you preach," Sebastian got up from the sofa, looking angry, "And I won't let someone like you talk down to me like this," he take out the gun and pointed it at her.

Both of us rose to our feet.

"No..." I covered her automatically.

"You are right, I am a murderer and I don't really care if I shoot both of you, I can cover it up too, you will know it by now,"

"Ask me anything you want-" I started.

"Take the girl away," Sebastian ordered, his voice cutting across me.

I fisted my hands tightly; I know I can't do anything now, not when there's too many of them, not when Sebastian is pointing his gun at her.

Sebastian's PA and his bodyguards came forward.

"Philip!" I fisted my hands tightly as I saw him with them, "you bloody bastard-"

"I should thank your Grandpa for keeping him all these years, He was a great help to me," Sebastian mocked and I turned away from him.

Control Neev... not now... Riya is near... I can't lose it now...

He started to untangled Riya from me.

"No... Leave me... Neev-" Riya tried to move back.

"Wait," I said as they were dragging her out and they stopped.

My heart was beating painfully now, Riya looked terrified and it's affecting me too much.

If something happens to her, I can't keep on living; I know I can't do without her now.

"Let's... let's make a deal," I turned to Sebastian. "I am ready to give up everything, I will give up every single thing without a fight, you can take it all, but don't touch her... Don't touch anyone around me," I said, "you know me, I keep my words, I am ready to forget all of these, just promise me this one thing," I said.

Sebastian walked to me, fire blazed in his eyes, for some reason, he looked furious at my offer to give up everything.

He pulled me by my collar.

"Don't act so noble, you bastard, it's the thing I hate most about you people!" his fist collided with my middle and I didn't stop him.

"No!" Riya cried, "I... I will come with you, please leave him," she was trying to move towards me, but Philip blocked her again.

Sebastian grabbed me again and pushed me to the wall.

"You and your father, who do you think you are? Ready to give people a second chance? Who do you think you are to give people chances?" he walked near, looking dangerous.

Sebastian's fist collided with my ribs again and I bend over.

"No!"  Riya's cry rang again; she was still trying to move towards me. "Don't hurt him... Please don't-"

"Hear me out, Nivin Rosh James Aldrick, I am going to take over the company, I am going to get your shares too, and I don't need your generosity to do so!" he whispered, coming close and staring at me like a crazy person.

I got a glimpse of his weakness then. I looked into his eyes.

"I thought you were doing all of these for the company, but no, you are much lower than that, you are an insecure pathetic human being who is trying to prove something, you have the worst case of inferiority complex and you take other people's good intentions in a bad way, I pity you, Sebastian," I stopped and took deep breaths.

I knew that I got him as his eyes turned dark.

His fist collided with my jaw bone cutting my lips, it started to bleed, but I didn't resist, I don't want to provoke him.

Riya was still crying, struggling to get out of their hands.

"Sir, we have the board meeting, you can't hurt his face today," Sebastian's PA reminded him.

"Yes... I won't touch your face today," he pulled me up again, "And you know what, when you were mentioning all of those people who were killed, you left one," he said, looking into my eyes.

"Your father, Nivin, it was not a suicide, I poisoned him, he was trying to be noble, like you, but I made him drink it," he said, "And he offered me the same thing you told me now, He offered me everything he had to spare you and Julia-"

I blocked his fist this time, my eyes turned dark, "what did you say?" I growled.

"That's right, he died because of you, and he was ready to die to protect his wife and son, such a pathetic noble ma-"

I twisted his hands and got hold of the gun in seconds. I pushed him to the wall, and then slammed Sebastian to the desk, pointing the gun to his forehead.

His men tensed but didn't move.

"I am going to kill you, bastard," I whispered.

"Come to your senses Nivin! Drop your gun," Sebastian's PA takes a step forward.

"Move back, Nivin!" Philip left Riya and turned to me.

"Don't come near or I will shoot him now," I warned as I turned to Sebastian, still pointing the gun at him.

I looked into his eyes, I am ready to kill this bastard, it will be all over if this one person is dead.

That's right; everyone can live in peace if he is dead... He deserves to die...

I touched the barrel to his forehead, determined.

"Neev..."

I stilled, her weak voice penetrated through my cold heart.

"You are not a killer...you...you are better than him," Riya took small steps towards me.

She must've read me well, she knew I am not threatening about killing him, but actually meant it.

"Stay back Riya,"

"Don... don't do it, I... I want to stay beside you... I love you, Neev, I can't... I can't afford to lose you too, you are... you are the only person for me in this... world... I need you...please..." she trembled.

My heart shook.

Riya loves me!

"Let her go," I ordered, now easing my grip on his shirt and holding him from behind, "let Riya get out of here,"

Sebastian's men looked tensed, not knowing what to do.

Sebastian did something that infuriated me then, he laughed.

"Tell him the situation well," he turned to his PA.

"Your Grandpa is still hospitalised and I can easily take his oxygen mask away from him, Alice is driving, unaware of the fact that she's being followed, Daniel is near the pool where my people are helping to clean it now," he said, then turned around to me, "And your most trusted Uncle Dev has an important lunch date, I can easily slip something in his food, just like James..."Sebastian leaned closer and whispered, My hands loosened automatically.

"Then your friends, Nivin, they are still at the place of interview, With Rohan and Naina," he laughed aloud at my shocked expression, "but I think they forgot to close the gas cylinder there,"

"You bastard," I whispered as I slowly let go of him.

He pushed me back to his bodyguards and they get hold of me.

"So, I will tell you what to d-" Sebastian stopped as my phone started to ring.

One of the bodyguards take it out of my pocket and turned it around.

Sachin!

"You will attend the call and tell them you are going to be late, make an excuse, I don't care whatever it is, But just remember that your wife is staying with us until the board meeting is over," Sebastian said.

I took a deep breath as they attended the call and pressed the speaker mode.

"Sachin?" I said, trying to speak normally.

"Where the hell are you Nivin!? Everyone is ready here; the interview is going to start now!"

"I had some problem with the statement; I will be there soo-"

"What problem? We need that!"

"I know, it's resolved now, I will see you then, I am on my way," I said quickly.

"Neev?"

"Yea..."

"You sound different, Are you nervous about this?" he asked.

I closed my eyes tightly for a moment.

Of all the people, it has to be Sachin who has called me; He could detect it if my mood is even a bit different.

"Yea... I guess I am," I said slowly.

"Take it easy man; we all are in this together,"

"Yea, see you then-"

"Neev," he called me again, "It's the first time,"

"What?"

"First time that you are admitting that you are nervous, you really must be nervous then,"

"Bye Sachin,"

"Ha! That's more like you!" he laughed and I disconnected the call.

Sebastian looked at me.

"Now that we are clear about everything, let's make this short," Sebastian said.

"Nivin Rosh Aldrick, you will retreat from the company, you will support me and vote against Aldricks," he said.

"The board members will find it suspicious when the results come," I whispered, still trying hard to maintain my calm.

"That's for me to worry, don't get too concerned, and don't worry, it won't be too much suspicious since you had challenged Joseph Aldrick to destroy the family business," he said, "Besides, I intend to change all the pathetic and worthless rules once I get the power," he said and turned to his men.

"Take care of Riya now-"

"How do I know that Riya is safe?" I asked again, still trying to figure out a way to get out of this situation.

"You just have to trust me; I will keep my part of the deal,"

"I don't trust you,"

"Too bad because there's no other way then,"

"Okay, I will support you in the shareholder's meeting," I said. "But I wouldn't hand over my shares until you return her back, safe, without any scratch on her," I said again

"Deal," Sebastian turned around from the door and looked at his men."Take her away,"

"Wait," I said and turned to her, she looked scared, I really wanted to take her away and keep her safe.

"Riya," I walked to her, trying my maximum to keep the worry out of my face, trying to sound confident.

"Just wait there, I am coming to get you," I told her and wrapped her inside my hands. "Do you understand? Trust me, I will come and get you," I said again, firmly.

She nodded her head and I felt the wetness on my shirt.

"Don't cry," I touched her face and wiped her cheeks with my thumb, "I love you..."

"I... I love you too, I... I am sorry I couldn't tell you before, I loved you all these time, even before your press conference," she said softly, trying to control her tears.

I nodded, not trusting myself to talk; I closed my eyes and kissed her on the forehead.

"Just wait for me," I whispered and Riya nodded through her tears.

I turned to Philip.

"If you hurt her, I am going to kill you, you know me well," I said deadly and Philip looked hesitant to make eye contact, He knows that I don't make empty threats.

"He won't do anything to her without my order, Nivin, you just need to obey me well," Sebastian said smugly, now confident that he can control me.

They dragged Riya out of there; I could only watch them taking her out of there helplessly.

Sebastian turned to me.

"Now, we will discuss what you are going to do today," he sits back and leaned to the chair as his PA handed over a paper to me.

I went over his demands and looked at them.

"This is outrageous! You want to stop Naina's interview? Do you think my team will be silent if I do this?"

"That's why I am sending one of my men with you, Tell your friends he's from SS-News and hand over the interview clip to him, make sure it's the original copy," Sebastian said.

Anger consumed me as I watched him. I want to throw him out of my apartment, but I tried to control it.

I know what he's trying to do.

He wants to send a spy so that he can control me!

"I don't think my team will hand over the interview that easily, they are people who know me well, they will know if I act out of character," I said again.

"It's your call Nivin, just remind yourself that Riya is with me and everything will be easier," Sebastian smiled.

I closed my eyes to calm myself. I feel like a caged animal now, I know I am trapped; I have no way but to obey him.

"And this about the labour union, I can't deny it, it was the only way to get their support and they really need it," I said firmly.

Sebastian wants me to withdraw all of my offers and benefits to them!

I still can't forget all of those troubles we went through to get their support, Sachin, Riya and I visited each and every one of them in their houses.

"I will offer them my own terms and conditions, all you need to do is reject their demands,"

"You want to turn them against me!" I looked at the cunning bastard in front of me.

Bloody rascal!

I never understood it before when they talked about protecting the company, now I know what Uncle Dev meant, Uncle Dev, Riya's Dad and my Dad was trying to protect the company from monsters like him!

"Okay... I will do everything, but I need reassurance from your side too, I can't simply follow all of your commands without anything in return,"

"Whatever you say, you can't see Riya until the meeting's over-"

"I know, but I want you to back down from all others, don't touch anyone, tell your people to retreat from my family and friends," I said.

Sebastian stared at me for a moment.

"You do realise that you are not in a position to order me, right?" he asked me.

"I can't just blindly follow your orders, I need surety too, both of us are businessmen and I hope you would deal with things in a more appropriate way," I said firmly. "Or there's no way I could trust your words," I added.

I am trying my maximum to convince him in my own way, I hope he will keep far away from my family and friends.

"Very well..." Sebastian looked at me, "I will let them go, but Riya is still with me and I hope you won't forget that,"

"I want to make sure that everyone is okay,"

"You can do whatever you want as long as you don't ruin my plan, or you will never ever see Riy-"

"Don't touch her." I cut across him. "I will get you whatever you want, But you must return her without any scratch," I said deadly, "If you touch her, I don't care even if you became the chairman of the company, I will destroy you," I said fiercely.

"We have a deal then," Sebastian said. "And if you mess up the meeting today, you are never going to see her again," he said. "No matter how twisted you think to get out of this situation, the end is in my hands, if I even suspect anything funny, I will kill her in the most painful way possible," he said before walking out.

And I sat there, not knowing what to do, everything looked dark and hopeless, nothing was in our favour.

The most difficult thing is to double cross my own team, it would be difficult not to seem suspicious, they are people I have known all my life.

And I know, I have no choice now.

I feel helpless, there's no way we could stop Sebastian now, whatever I try, in the end, Riya is with him.

I can't trust him... what if he hurt Riya-

No... Don't go there... She will be alright... I will do whatever he wants me to do for her...

"It's time to move," Karan, Sebastian's spy looked at his watch and said, "Here's your phone." he was busy with my phone all these time.

"And remember, I installed a spyware in your phone, All your activities are being watched, I have duplicated your phone, so don't ever think about double crossing him and contacting your team,"

I really want to strangle this guy, I want to punch the daylights out of him, but I know... I can't do that now.

My phone beeped and my heart raced as I saw the new message from Vikram, the underworld fighter for whom I won the last race.

I opened the message and Karan moved to read it.

I suppressed the urge to slam him to the floor and read my message.

"I have kept my part of the deal, we are even now, I don't owe you anymore."

My heart started to go out of control again.

Mamma!

Riya's Mamma is safe!?

He kept his promise! He found her!

And some of the weight lifted up from me.

Despite the situation I am in, I am glad that she's safe, it was worth it to win that race for him, they are dangerous to deal with, but they would put their life on a debt like this.

I wanted to ask him a million questions, but I restrained myself, If Sebastian is watching all my activities, I better misguide him.

"We will talk about the race next time personally; I will tell you the time and place later."

I want them to think that it's about racing; I don't want them to know about Riya's Mamma.

I know Mamma is in safe hands now, Vikram and his people are dangerous, But I know that they will protect Mamma with their life until I get her back.

My mood elevated a bit.

Okay Neev, You can't give up, Now that you have good news to tell her when you meet Riya again, All you have to do is make sure that Riya is safe.

"We don't have time-"

"Let's go," I said, determined now.

I will protect you Riya; just hang on a little more...

Sachin.

I looked at the time.

Neev is running late, he's supposed to get the witness statement.

Well... he will be here by the time we finish the interview.

I watched as Naina and Amy take the respective positions in front of the camera.

It was the first time I am watching Amy this nervous, she was a really badass reporter first, not at all worried in front of the camera, but that incident has affected her.

"Wait," she said before taking a deep breath.

She has pulled her hair back and was wearing a suit, looking professional.

"You look best in this Amy; do your best," I said genuinely.

I wanted to ease the tension off her since I was the one who practically forced her to hold a microphone again.

She smiled nervously.

"Okay, let's start," Jason said, "Three...two...one..."

Riya.

"How... how did you know about the locker?" I asked him, shocked.

Philip brought me directly to the bank where my locker was there!

So this is why they took me away! They want to know what my Dad left for me!

Nobody was aware of it! How come Sebastian knew about it!? It was supposed to be my birthday gift!

That's why Sebastian turned up at our place, He desperately wants to know what's in it, he must have been searching for it for a long time then!

Philip turned to me.

"Remember everything we told you, you are going to open the locker, get the data and come back here, you will hand over everything, you know Nivin's life is on you." he threatened me. "If you try to be over smart, it will be the end of-"

"No! Don't touch him, I will bring it to you," I said, my heart twisted in pain.

"Good, now are you ready?"

I wiped my eyes and nodded.

I am sorry Dad, I have to hand over all your hard work to save him, I can't protect what you gave your life for... I am so sorry...

They opened the door for me and I stepped out of the car.

"Remember, if we ever suspect anything funny, Nivin is going to suffer."

I walked to the bank with a heavy heart.

They were already expecting me, so I went through all the security measures without delay.

Soon they directed me into the heavily secured area, and before I knew it, I was standing in front of the locker.

My hands trembled as I reached for it; I turned the key, gave the password and opened it slowly.

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