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Rana emerges from the car, his presence immediately capturing everyone’s attention. A prominent vermillion tilak stands out against his tanned, weathered forehead, partially covered by strands of his dark gelled hair that is tied back in a short ponytail. His stern face bears a scar cutting across the tilak, and a frown mars his brow, contributing to his intimidating persona.
His strong build is enhanced by a black khadi kurta that fits snugly over his blue jeans. Rana glances around keenly with piercing eyes. As he turns, the neckline of his kurta parts slightly, revealing a glimpse of a bullet wound scar on his chest.
Gold earrings glint from his ears as he examines the weaponry laid out before him. His confidence and self-assurance make it clear he is accustomed to being in charge. From the hard glint in his eyes to the tension in his muscular frame, he radiates an intimidating power and restrained violence — this is not a man to be toyed with. His men stand respectfully to his side, letting him conduct his perusal without interruption.
“Welcome, Rana,” I greet, advancing toward him.
Rana’s face remains expressionless as he looks at me. His gaze then shifts behind me to Raghav, who, to my displeasure, hasn’t stepped forward to welcome him. Has Kailash’s words affected him in some way? It’s unusual to see Raghav like this.
“Your son?” Rana inquires, and I promptly nod again. “My son, Raghav.”
Rana furrows his brows.
“My other son will join us shortly. He’s the one I mentioned, the one planning to expose my syndicate and this deal today,” I add.
Rana nods quietly while tightening his jaw. When I instructed Rana to send his men to secure the warehouse, I had to give him a hint about why it was important and provide him with some information about Ayaan’s plans.
“And who are they?” Rana questions, throwing a stern look at the Walias and Shergills.
“They are just spectators of today’s deal. Rest assured they won’t leave from here alive to share any information.” Please, come. I will guide you to your weapons.”
I guide him to another section of the warehouse where the weapons are stored. He briefly surveys the assortment, selects a few guns and inspects them personally. Raghav remains conspicuously aloof during this process. After the deal concludes, I will need to speak with him about this. He cannot afford to disrespect me in front of our clients. Luckily, Rana hasn’t mentioned Raghav’s cold attitude towards us, and I hope it stays that way until I explain to Raghav the consequences of offending me.
“Do you remember the promise you made upon the completion of this deal?” I remind Rana.
I am referring to his promise of using his political ties and influence to help me establish my syndicate in India, which will allow me to regain power here. Rana acknowledges my request and then turns his attention to overseeing the surveillance of the area. We return to his car, where his men await us.
“Let’s finalise this deal and have the weapons loaded onto your trucks outside,” I suggest, signalling one of my men to confirm the remaining credit from Rana to our accounts. He hurries over with a laptop to verify the financial transaction, but Rana remains motionless, neither making a move nor instructing his men to proceed.
“Shall we?” I inquire after a brief pause.
“I’m sorry, but only Rana can finalise this deal,” the man responds, causing a momentary confusion.
“But you’re Rana, right?” I assert.
“No, I’m not Rana. I am his henchman,” his reply catches us off guard. “I work for him and take orders as his second-in-command. I oversee smaller deals and directly engage with parties in his absence. However, for deals of larger scale and significance, such as today’s, Rana will himself bestow his presence upon all of you.”
As we speak, a sleek, jet-black SUV rumbles into the warehouse, and immediately, all the men guarding the henchman, who I had assumed was Rana, shift their attention and become alert for their boss’s arrival. I’m still processing the fact that Rana sent his henchman first when he could have met me directly. The car has tinted window shields and stops just a few feet before me. His men quickly assume their positions and one of them opens the door for Rana to step out. My gaze is fixed on the car door as he gets down from the vehicle. The first thing I notice are his polished brown shoes and crisp grey pants. The car door shields my view until he finally steps down and closes it, standing before me and revealing his identity. My heart leaps into my mouth as I finally see him.
“Aa...yy...aaaa…nnn?” I stammer in shock.
He removes his dark sunglasses, surveying the area and casts a deadly glare at me as he realises I’ve held his entire family hostage.
“That’s Rana... aka ‘Ayaan Shergill,’” his henchman proudly introduces.
Even the Shergills and Walias gaze at Ayaan in shock and disbelief. Ayaan is Rana!? How is that even possible!?
CHAPTER 23
AYAAN
The shock is evident on everyone’s faces as I reveal my fictitious identity—Rana—who has orchestrated Tej Khurana and his Bat Syndicate’s downfall. As Tej’s men see me emerging from the car, they instantly raise their weapons, but my men—whom Tej Khurana believed were Rana’s men—quickly outnumber them and have their own weapons trained on those goons instead.
Tej Khurana’s confusion is apparent. He probably wondered why I didn’t show up sooner as he had probably expected. While he thought he had me cornered, I was, in reality, waiting for the perfect moment to execute my final move, toppling the bishop and revealing the true power of the king that I am. But he made one big mistake. He involved my family in our fight and held them captive here. Meher, my father and everyone from the Walia family looked baffled as Tej Khurana introduced me as the man he was here to finalise a weapons deal with. Those questions will be answered in due time. For now, my men force Tej’s forces to lower their weapons, and they release my family from captivity. All his goons are arrested, taken into custody and led away from the warehouse. A few of my men stay behind to ensure our security.
I direct my piercing gaze on Tej and Raghav, who are standing next to each other, completely dumbfounded by this sudden and unexplainable shift in power. They glare back at me, seething with fury as I slowly dismantle their entire endgame.
“How canyoube Rana?” Raghav questions pointedly.
