Reyansh

Today, was finally the day I would return home.

1 fucking month was way too long to stay from my family.

My flight was going to depart in 4 hours, I was so damn impatient. I could literally envision, wrapping Kyra up in a big bear hug, confessing my feelings and also telling her the truth. It was high time.

But, for some odd reason, I was extremely anxious. I had this weird sense of foreboding, that something was terribly wrong. My "spidey sense" was tingling. The only reason strong enough to worry me, was my family's safety and wellbeing. I needed to check in once, before I got on to the flight, otherwise I would worry myself into a panic attack during the long duration of the flight.

I finally decided to give in and called Kyra, surprisingly there was no answer, I then called Krish and even he didn't pick the call. I called the security teams and didn't receive a response from them, either. Now, I was very worried, my premonition was seeming truer and truer by the second.

I quickly called Dhruv and asked him to go to my house and check once, meanwhile I attempted to track Kyra and Krish, remotely. Their phones were switched off. I tried to track the security team 1's phone and it was untraceable, there was some serious blockers and I couldn't track them. I put that aside and tried to track security team 2. Their phones were on and the location was my building's parking lot.

Dhruv called me up and I answered at once, with dread filling my nerves. He said, "Sir, the house is empty apart from the Kitten's and I have dropped at the neighbours house. I then went to the basement and your car is parked in the parking lot and security team 2 has been shot dead. Also, there were signs of a struggle in the backseat and that's there I found Kyra ma'am's phone, on the floor of the car. How do you want me to proceed?"

I couldn't process the news. My Wife and Brother were missing, most likely kidnapped. I told Dhruv, that I'll call him back.

My phone clattered to the ground and I didn't know what to do. I spent 2 minutes trying to regulate my thoughts and come up with half a coherent thought. The usual me, would have been a man of action by now, already having thought of a solution and been on his way, to enforce it.

But now, I was shaken and my mind felt empty.

I then decided to call for help, use external support. I called Ryan and he picked up on the 3rd ring. I said, "Ryan, I need your help. Kyra and Krish have been kidnapped and I am unable to trace them, and nor have I gotten any correspondence, regarding a ransom. I need you to get any possible information on them, no matter the cost or the means. Do whatever you have too. I want both of them back, safe and sound."

There was silence on the other end and then I heard a booming, uproarious laughter. Ryan was laughing....?

I screamed in anger, "What the hell is wrong with you? I order-

Ryan cut me off and said, "Enough. I've fucking listened to you for a decade now. No more. You are not in a position to order me around anymore. I can't believe I fucking idealised you at one point. You have fallen so far, allegedly you were renowned to possess a great and genius mind, but you didn't even realise that I'm the one who kidnapped your wife and brother, 15 hours ago."

I was in disbelief, the very person I had saved from certain death. The one I gave food, shelter, money and taught him everything I know, was the one who was betraying me. He used all my knowledge and connections against me. It all made sense now, as to why I couldn't track them. He used my own impenetrable security and digital protection system, against me. Even I didn't have a way to break it or hack it.

Also, such an elaborate scheme/operation would require pre-planning and money, lots of it. He had knowledge of and access to my enemies. No wonder he left Russia, 3 days back without much complaint. The only thing I didn't understand was why? Why did he do this?...... I decided to forego this thought process for now, there were more pressing matters.

I knew this much, that he was sadistic, dangerous and extremely clever. I had to tread lightly or-else, I would risk my family even more than I already have.

I said, in what I hoped was a calm and confident tone, "What do you want?"

He said in a derogatory tone, "Oh, is the call still connected? With the prolonged silence, I thought you may have had a heart attack and died. What makes you think, I want anything from you?"

I said haughtily, "You wouldn't still be talking to me right now, if you didn't want anything from me. Also, don't forget I know you, you always want something. Don't forget I made you who you are. You wouldn't be anything or anyone, without my charity and training. I decided to pick you up from the streets and I gave you a better life. I taught you everything you know, you're nothing but my sidekick."

This angered Ryan, but naturally.

He said explosively, "Shut up. You think you made me who I am? No I'll tell who the real mastermind is, I got word that The Billionaire Singhania's are looking to finance a coup against you, and that the Mexican cartel you decimated a few months back was looking for payback and they had ample manpower. So, I decided to make them join forces and I headed this mission to destroy you and take everything you hold dear."

My strategy worked. But in anger, Ryan had cut the call.

(For my Indian reader's you would know the proverb - "Ghee agar sidhi ungli se nahi nikaltha, toh ungli tedhi kardeni chaihiye". This basically means that, "If you are unable do a task in the straightforward way, you need to find a creative/twisted way to do it".)

I knew, Ryan would not give me a straight answer, he'd rather enjoy the taunting, exchanging of barbs and insults. If I needed to know who I'm up against, then I needed to provoke him into bursting out the information, he was extremely egotistical and loved proving his superiority over others.

But, now I was worried. It was a foolproof plan, the financier was Abhay's father - Mr Singhania and he had unlimited finances and a vendetta against me for providing his son with blackmail against him, which Abhay had used and aired in public, this had severely affected the social and financial standing of the family. The manpower was supplied by the Mexican cartel and they had nothing to lose, after I all I had wiped their entire business operation and network.

The final piece of the puzzle was Ryan, the mastermind. He headed this mission and he knew how to beat me, he knew my tactics, my business, my contacts trusted him because he represented me, and he was more than capable of surpassing and setting up counter measures for any of my moves. Plus, he had the upper hand, he had my lifeline - my family, and the element of surprise and preparation.

Ryan called me back and I answered immediately, he said, "Good job. You managed to provoke me and made me reveal my partner's. But this information is not going to be of any use, you know why? Because, the Mexican cartel has nothing left to lose, you took everything from them, and as far as Mr Singhania is concerned, you turned his son against him and gave him ammunition, which he used."

Everything he said was true. At my continued silence he continued.

"So, you are out of moves, you are boxed in with no breathing room. That's exactly where I wanted you to be, at my mercy. Don't you dare call any of the business contacts, I will get to know about it and your family will suffer the consequences. You also can't use Abhay or any family of the Singhania's, as they are off grid, hidden away. Don't attempt to track me, your family, or anyone else for that matter, you will not be able to. I want you to sit and stew, wrecked with worry and stress, about what your family must be going through. I will contact you, when I want. Everything will function on my terms and timeline. Any last words?"

I attempted to speak, but my mouth was dry, I couldn't breathe or say a word. I cleared my throat and tried again. I said, in a low pleading voice, "Please, don't hurt my family. They haven't wronged you in any way. Please."

With that the line was cut, Ryan cut the call.

.........

Krish

My head was pounding, terribly might I add. The memories of the past night flooded me.

That's when I pried my eyes open and saw my bhabhi in front of me, she was unconscious by the looks of it and had a giant bruise on her cheek. It looked like a handprint. Her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were tied to the chair, her dress was also a little askew and slightly torn, her hair was a mess and there were streams of tears on her face.

I was scared, I didn't know if these were signs of an attack or wether she was harmed in any......manner.

I jerked and tried to free myself, but I was also tied to my chair. There was an additional rope tied around my chest. I just wanted to check on my bhabhi, I would not be able to live with myself if she was assaulted, especially on my watch. I needed to know that she was alright.

I called out to her, hoping she would awake, I said, "Bhabhi, bhabhi. Please wake up. Bhabhi."

She didn't stir, but she was breathing at least.

Just then, I heard footsteps and in came....Ryan - my brother's associate. He had a cruel smile on his face and I immediately knew that this was a set-up, a betrayal.

For a moment I almost pitied Ryan, for when my Bhaiya would get to know about this, no force on earth would be able to save Ryan. I knew any moment my Bhaiya would burst in and save us. I just needed to stall till then, and not let their attention be directed towards my bhabhi, I needed them to be angry and focus on only me.

I said, "Weren't you my bhaiya's underling? What are you doing here?"

Ryan said, "Underling? You are as conceited and arrogant as your brother. But at least he has the intelligence and power to carry it off. What have you accomplished? You're nothing but his pet."

I said, "You can't provoke me or hurt my feelings with your despicable words or actions. Infact you should be concerned with what'll happen to you, when my Bhaiya finds you and mind you he will."

Ryan came forward and punched me in the face three times and once in the stomach. I struck a nerve. But the impact made me grunt and I felt the pain radiating from my already bruised head. For a second, my vision was swimming in darkness.

He wiped his palm on his pants and said, "Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. What the hell. I'll give you one chance to join me, choose wisely."

I said, "Nothing will make me choose you, ever. I'd rather die than betray my brother."

Ryan said, "Let's see if you feel differently after you hear this letter that your Bhaiya wrote, and it's not about betraying him. But rather helping him. Don't you want to be of some use to him. He struggled all his life to get even and take revenge against the Oberoi's. He hustled and struggled to reach Kyra and now Kyra is in front of you, so do as you please."

Before I could question him on what the hell, he was saying. He read out a letter apparently addressed to me, by my brother. I listened carefully even though, I decided not to believe a single word. Until he reached the line where he said "Your Boo", that was our secret code.

There was no way this letter was fake, I was obsessed with my brother's blue eyes as a toddler and for a whole year referred to him as "Boo", I couldn't pronounce the word blue. Over the years, it became our secret code word. This proved the letter's authenticity. The last paragraph made me very emotional.

My eyes were pooling with tears, our family history was very traumatic and my brother's life was full of strife and the people responsible were The Oberoi's. I couldn't believe it. So this was the reason why he married her, to take revenge and complete the circle.

Ryan said tauntingly, "Your brother sounds very tired, don't you want to help him. You can take this burden off of his shoulders by dealing with Kyra yourself. What do you say, want to avenge your family by making Kyra suffer? If I free you, you can fulfill your brother's wishes and I'll let you go. Are you man enough to do this?

What I really wanted to say was, "Shut the fuck up, none of this was my bhabhi's fault. My Bhaiya loves her. Nor he or I, will ever let anyone harm her or cause her pain, let alone us doing it to her."

But what I said out loud was, "As much as I'd love to, I know my Bhaiya would want to deal with this horrid woman and her depraved family, himself."

Ryan said, "Whatever", with that he walked away.

I thought that maybe if I got free, I could fight my way out or try to find an escape. But I saw the 2 security guys with guns standing near the door and the gun in Ryan's hand. I knew none of them would hesitate to use it. So, I decided the best course of action was to sit as patiently as possible and wait for Bhaiya to come. He was the hero, not me. I'm sure he would have a plan and was on his way to rescue us.

I believed in him, with all of my heart.

.....

Ryan's POV

As I was exiting the room, I saw Kyra's breathing change and her eyes flutter. She was awake and had definitely heard what Krish had said, I was truly happy now. My plan of making them, especially Reyansh suffer was reaching fruition. Kyra's expression depicted sorrow and pain. Their house was divided now. Poor Reyansh, in his last moments he would witness the pain of his family.