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“The security measures were supposed to be foolproof. You assured me of that, Krish. So, how did a stranger bypass them and have the audacity to deliver such a crucial message to me?” I shout, tossing aside the gift box I received from Raghav moments ago.
Krish shifts his gaze from the discarded gift box to me and tries to explain, “Ayaan, he had an invitation card, and he wasn’t carrying any weapons or anything that would have raised suspicion. None of us had ever seen him before, so we had no reason to believe he was our target or connected to uncle’s accident.”
“F*ck!” I let out a frustrated exclamation. “Do you have any idea how bad this could have turned out? My entire family was here, Krish. Dad, Meher, the Walias—everyone was right here at Shergill Mansion. If Raghav had any evil intentions, he could have targeted any one of them in any way he pleased. He was dangerously close to all of us. How do you expect me to remain calm?”
“I understand your concern,” Krish murmurs, empathising with me. “That’s precisely why I insisted that we limit the guest list for your wedding reception to only those closely associated with both families.”
He had indeed suggested this, but convincing both my dad and Pratap Walia was a laborious task. They reluctantly agreed to a wedding with close friends and relatives, but were adamant about having a grand reception.
Krish places a reassuring hand on my shoulder and speaks in a calm voice, “No one is to blame for what happened. My security team could have been more vigilant at the entrance, but how could we? We only received Raghav’s sketch recently, which means he was never on our radar before. We didn’t even know he existed until he showed up here. Otherwise, we would have never allowed someone as dangerous as Raghav to even approach the peripheral area of the house. So, there is no point in blaming each other. Let’s put this aside and focus on what we need to do next.”
“He attempted to harm Dad once,” I retort, trying to curb my frustration. “A man who dared to show up in front of his enemy after attempting to harm him once cannot be underestimated,” I add firmly. “Find him. I need every little detail about what he did from the moment he entered the premises until he left. Whom he met, whom he talked to... I need everything.”
“On it already,” Krish assures me. “Trust me, none of us will rest until we find this man. But you can’t stay here for long. It’s your wedding night, Ayaan. Meher will be waiting for you.”
He’s right. Despite the chaos, I haven’t had a chance to check on my wife. I know she’s in our room, safe and sound, but I should be with her. I don’t want her to worry or come looking for me. I can’t involve her in this mess. I want to shield Dad and her from any further troubles.
Krish retrieves the discarded gift box and hands it back to me with determination in his voice.
“You need to talk to uncle about this,” he insists.
I clench my jaw, disliking the idea.
“The contents of this box are no longer just secrets that we can overlook, Ayaan,” Krish insists. “And it coming from a member of that Bat gang is worrisome. They have already attempted to abduct you in Austria, and now Raghav’s sketch from the boy confirms they are responsible for your Dad’s accident. They’ve targeted both you and uncle, which means the Shergills are in their crosshairs. We need to involve your Dad, and soon.”
He is right. I don’t want to withhold anything from Dad, but the contents of this box are too sensitive to be shared with him, especially when Dad is still hiding a lot of things from me, like his covert meeting with someone at Antop Hill when Meher and I were trying our wedding outfits at Simran’s boutique.
“I will talk to Dad soon,” I reply, swallowing my unease.
Krish isn’t satisfied with my response because he knows how complicated things are at present.
“What’s your progress in the quest for Raghav?” I inquire, attempting to change the subject.
“Every member of my team is actively hunting for this man. We’ll have his complete background information in a matter of hours.”
I gaze at the large monitors in the CCTV room, where every moment of the wedding reception is recorded. The team has successfully recovered footage from nearly every camera except for one that’s experiencing technical issues. As of now, we’ve managed to retrieve almost every action of Raghav, from his entrance to departure. His face is prominently zoomed in for closer examination. He was aware that we would review these recordings once he left. The smug expression on his face mocks me, highlighting my helplessness in not being able to foresee such a situation.
“Raghav,” I mutter through clenched teeth. Whoever he may be and whatever he seeks from us won’t remain a secret for long. I will track him down, and when I do, he will pay dearly for hurting my family.
One of Krish’s operatives pointed to the expansive monitor and said, “Sir, this car was parked at a distance from Shergill Mansion. We believe it’s the vehicle Raghav arrived in.”
“Zoom in,” I order, and as he complies, we get our first lead: the car’s license plate. “Run that number and find the registered owner of this vehicle.”
“On it, Sir.”
He immediately begins typing on his laptop, initiating the search. I spend nearly half an hour pacing the room, feeling increasingly unsettled. Finally, the details of the owner appear on the screen.
“Glitz Diamonds Company,” he reads aloud. “The car is registered under this company’s name.”
“This diamond company is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa,” Krish continues, gathering more information. With a few clicks, Raghav’s face appears on the company’s About Us page.
Now, the question arises—how is the CEO of a diamond company in South Africa linked to the Bat emblem gang? What could be his motive behind Dad’s accident? Or is this company merely a front to conceal their darker, illicit activities?
“You have to see this,” Sujoy, another member of Krish’s team, calls out, beckoning us to approach his desk. He projects his laptop screen onto the large wall monitor in front of us. “I searched for Raghav’s image in an international database of suspected criminals, and here’s what I found.”
He displays five blurred images of Raghav in five different countries over the past three years.
“All these images depict Raghav, but they come with different identities. For instance, this one was taken in Canada at a shipping company that faced legal action for illegally exporting banned chemicals. That’s Raghav shaking hands with the company’s Managing Director. However, his identity in the database is listed as Harjit Singh. Similarly, this was taken in Edinburgh, the same face, but the name reads Eric Grant. Then there’s this one in Afghanistan, and the ID shows he’s Abbas Khan. I’ve heard the saying that everyone has seven doppelgangers, but I always thought it was a myth until I stumbled upon this.
