Chapter 15

The soft glow of the desk lamp illuminated the private study of Veeresh Raj. The file on Poornima Rai lay neatly closed to one side, but Veeresh’s sharp eyes were fixed on his encrypted laptop. A new mail had just landed in his secure inbox, its subject line flashing red.

INTELLIGENCE REPORT – HUMAN TRAFFICKING NETWORK

Veeresh opened it instantly, his fingers steady though his pulse quickened. Inside were lists—names, locations, coded transactions. His jaw hardened as he read further.

And then he saw them.

Raghav Raj. Rishabh Raj.

His elder brothers.

The names bled off the screen, striking him like a blow. Veeresh had suspected something for months—whispers of dealings beyond legal trade, strange movements of cargo ships tied to Raj Enterprises. But now, staring at their names on an official intelligence report, the truth was unavoidable.

His blood ran cold.

For a moment, the calculating professor-spy, the master strategist, the businessman with steel in his veins—was still. The weight of family loyalty clashed with duty, with justice.

He closed the laptop slowly, his fingers tightening against the wood of the desk.

But in the silence of the night, his mind betrayed him—wandering away from crime, corruption, and dangerous missions. Wandering to the sight of Poornima Rai at the party.

Her trembling lips as she defied her father.

Her tears she tried to hide.

Her back straight as she walked away, fragile but unbent.

Her pain lingered in his mind, more than the evidence he had just uncovered. It unnerved him. Why should her tears matter when the world is burning under crime? And yet, they did.

Veeresh leaned back in his chair, eyes closing for a brief second. In his life, people were numbers, alliances, files—never feelings. But Poornima… she wasn’t a number. She wasn’t a deal. She was truth.

And now, he realized with a dangerous clarity—his battle was no longer just against the criminal networks outside. It was inside his own bloodline.

And maybe, just maybe, the woman who rejected deals might be the only one who could understand him.