The boardroom was cloaked in tension so thick it could've strangled air itself. A dozen well-tailored men and women sat in fearful silence while the rhythmic tapping of Ved Mishra's finger against polished mahogany echoed like a metronome of doom. Behind him, the enormous screen displayed a flurry of lines, numbers, and code, shifting in a digital dance too fast for the untrained eye to decipher. But Ved wasn't just anyone.

 He was the storm they all feared, wrapped in a suit that whispered power and a gaze sharp enough to slice glass."So you're telling me," he began, each word laced in frost, 

"that three of our branches crashed... all at once... and none of you caught it in time?"A tech head—a boy who looked as if he still flinched at his mother's scolding—nodded. His hands trembled like paper in the wind.

"Yes, sir. Initially, we thought it was a virus, but we traced it back. It wasn't internal. There were masked IPs. Someone got in.

"Ved's stare didn't blink. "Who?"Another man stepped forward, older, with graying temples and a folder in hand like it might save his life.

"We broke through the final layer last night, sir. The signal was rerouted through multiple international nodes, but we traced it to one source."He paused. Ved's gaze hardened.

"Say it.""Kashyap Industries."The name slammed into the room like a thunderclap. 

Chairs creaked. Someone gasped. A thousand unspoken fears awakened like ghosts.Ved said nothing. He didn't need to. The storm had arrived. And it wore his name.

________________________________________

Three days later, the skies over Dehradun were painted in strokes of grey and sorrow, the kind of melancholy that made hearts ache and flowers bow. Ved Mishra stood at the gate of the Kashyap Estate, the famed jewel of the north, a place whispered about in business circles and tabloid dreams. Now it belonged to him.

The air was thick with rain and memory. The archway overhead was carved with symbols older than his father's fortune, roses blooming in eternal stone. Once, this place hosted kings and actors, whispers and war. Now, it bore the weight of a single name: Mishra.Adhvay stood beside him, his smirk all blade and bravado.

"Poetic justice, Bhai."Ved didn't speak. Not because he disagreed, but because victory had no taste when revenge was still sour on his tongue.

________________________________________

At the K-Mansion, the world tilted. Far away in the Kashyap Mansion, fury roared louder than the wind.Gatha Kashyap stormed down the gold-veined marble hallway, in her heels and incandescent with rage, her crimson saree trailing like fire behind her. Her eyes blazed with the kind of fury only betrayal could birth. She wasn't just angry; she was scorched, hollowed out by heartbreak she didn't understand. She didn't remember why her chest ached when she saw the estate in the headlines. 

She only knew that it did."ARHAAN!" her voice echoed like thunder.From above, a shadow descended the staircase. Arhaan Kashyap. Danger wrapped in charm. A man who looked like a fallen angel and moved like a predator.

"You sold our legacy, "Our family's pride. The soul of our family." Gatha spat. 

"You let them take our soul."Arhaan raised a brow.

 "I gave up a tomb. You were digging graves with your pride. I simply stopped the burial.

"A cry broke the tension, Little Aayu, her daughter, sobbing in the corner.Arhaan crossed the floor in a blink, scooping her into his arms. "bring some Belgian chocolates, hmm? The ones from Switzerland, aayu ko pasand Hain....( aayu baby likes it)?"He kissed her forehead, then turned his wrathful gaze back to his sister.

"Enough," he said. "You're scaring her. If this is how you want to throw tantrums, pick a better time—not in front of the kids at least. Not in front of the children. If you're going to break, do it with dignity."

"You think this is a tantrum?" she spat, voice trembling. She hissed. 

"They've taken everything!"He didn't flinch.

"I saved what little dignity we had left. They were going to take it. So I gave it as Control, not surrender."She shook her head, lost in disbelief. this empire—gone, this pride—scorched. And her enemy wore a suit tailored to revenge.

"We are leaving for Delhi," Arhaan said. "Dad has called us back. Prepare yourself."

________________________________________

A week passed. Rain became routine.Ved stood alone in the newly claimed estate, now rechristened with his initials burned into the gates. The walls smelled of sandalwood and whispers. Secrets bled through the floorboards.He touched the banister, feeling the history throb beneath his fingers.

"Does it feel like a win yet?" Adhvay asked from behind him.Ved's lips curled.

 "It feels like unfinished business."

________________________________________

Two Days Later – The Mall  New Delhi's newest mall was a vision plucked from luxury's dream. Waterfalls cascaded down glass panels. The scent of vanilla and leather floated through the air. Inside, Ved and Adhvay walked like kings beneath a crystal sky.

"I still don't get why we're here," Adhvay said, annoyed. 

"You planning to buy this mall too?""No. Just needed air.

 "And that's when he heard it, Laughter, Not just any laughter Two children darted past them, bubbles trailing behind them like fairy dust. A girl, with a smile brighter than the chandeliers above, stumbled, Ved caught her. Instinct. Reflex. Destiny.

"Careful, bacha," he said.She looked up. Stars in her eyes. 

"Thank you, uncle! "And just like that, time fractured. Ved's breath caught. Uncle. like he was thinking he've maintained himself only not to look like uncle, and this small kids are saying uncle, which made adhvay to place Smile on his face. But the thing caught his attention was,She had her eyes to That voice, Before he could ask more, a boy rushed over.

 "Ooven! ....... She recalled the name.While he replied.........Mumma's calling!"Ooven, The name struck him like lightning.

 "Ooven," the girl said.

 "He saved me!" Ved blinked for a while watching at them both. Ooven? Adhvay, was watching closely while having a talk with them, whereas ved went still. 

A moment later Adhvay's eyes darted up toward the food court where a woman stood—long hair cascading down her back, a red saree fluttering at her side as she scanned the area, panic painted on her face, and only the words spat out of his mouth was His breath stopped. 

"Bhai..." he whispered.

 "I think... I just saw Bhabhi."Ved froze.

 "Don't start with that again."She looked like—bhabhiii......Bhabhi?" Adhvay whispered under his breath.

"What did you say?" Ved turned sharply only to found no one there. 

Stop taking pranks adhvay.....still you aren't over it Ved narrowed his eyes. He didn't believe him. 

"I think, I saw someone familiar" Adhvay shrugged off in disbelief, eyes glued to the woman, thinking he saw someone but Something was off.

 The kids ran off before Ved could stop them. He followed their path—only to find the space empty. No children around.......Gone, Vanished, Like a ghost that refused to be held, But a familiar scent lingered in the air—lavender and petrichor. A scent he hadn't smelled in seven years. Sometimes, shadows of the past don't knock. They slip in quietly, disguised in laughter and names that sound like lost dreams.