đź’” The Contract Groom
Rain poured across the city without mercy.
The shattered house stood surrounded now.
Black vehicles.
Armed men.
Red laser sights cutting through the darkness like silent warnings.
Inside the broken living room, tension thickened instantly.
Sasmita kept the gun aimed toward the window, her breathing calm but sharp.
"Who are these people?" she whispered again.
This time—
Dr. Prem answered.
Quietly.
"Tiger's inner circle."
Her eyes snapped toward him immediately.
Because the way he said it—
wasn't assumption.
It sounded like memory.
Outside, Nandu stood beneath the umbrella without moving.
Rainwater slid from the edges steadily while armed men secured every entrance around the house.
No panic.
No chaos.
This operation had been planned.
Nandu finally stepped forward slowly.
"Sir," he called calmly, "the attackers are retreating."
As if proving him right—
the sniper fire had completely stopped.
The assassins had vanished.
Which meant one terrifying thing.
The people hunting Aryan…
didn't want conflict with Tiger directly.
Sasmita noticed it too.
"They left because of him?"
Dr. Prem's eyes remained fixed on Nandu.
"Yes."
The answer chilled her more than the gunshots did.
Because it confirmed Tiger's influence was far larger than she imagined.
Nandu entered through the broken doorway calmly, stepping across shattered glass without hesitation.
Two armed men followed behind him silently.
Professional.
Disciplined.
Deadly.
Sasmita immediately aimed the gun toward them.
"Stop there."
The guards reacted instantly, hands moving toward hidden weapons.
But Nandu raised one hand slightly.
They stopped immediately.
Then he looked at Sasmita calmly.
"If we wanted violence," he said softly, "this house would already be burning."
Cold.
Direct.
Sasmita didn't lower the gun.
"That can still happen."
For a brief second—
Nandu smiled faintly.
"Now I understand why he stayed here longer than expected."
Her eyes narrowed sharply.
Dr. Prem stepped forward immediately.
"Enough."
Nandu's expression became serious again.
He looked toward Dr. Prem carefully.
Or perhaps—
toward Aryan.
"Tiger sent me personally," Nandu said quietly.
"Which means the situation is beyond dangerous now."
"Then tell me the truth," Dr. Prem replied coldly.
Silence filled the room briefly.
Nandu glanced toward the underground entrance.
Then back at him.
"…Not here."
Before anyone could respond—
a sharp electronic beep echoed from one of the dead assassin's bodies.
All instincts triggered instantly.
Bomb.
"MOVE!" Dr. Prem shouted.
Nandu reacted immediately.
His men grabbed cover while Dr. Prem pulled Sasmita down behind the broken wall.
Three seconds.
Two.
One—
The corpse exploded violently.
The blast shook the entire house.
Smoke and debris erupted across the hallway while shattered wood scattered everywhere.
One of Nandu's men slammed into the wall hard from the impact.
Another groaned in pain nearby.
The attackers had rigged their own dead operative.
Professional cleanup protocol.
Smoke filled the room heavily again.
Sasmita coughed lightly, ears ringing.
But through the haze—
she saw something unexpected.
Dr. Prem.
Or rather—
the way everyone reacted around him.
Even Nandu.
The armed men instinctively waited for his command now.
Not Nandu's.
His.
As if somewhere deep inside—
they were already recognizing him as someone important.
Dangerously important.
Dr. Prem stood slowly through the smoke, eyes colder than before.
"No more lies."
The sentence came calm.
Controlled.
But the authority inside it changed the atmosphere instantly.
Even Nandu went silent for a second.
Then finally—
he nodded once.
"Fine."
Rain thundered outside as Nandu stepped closer.
"Project Aryan was never just an experiment."
Sasmita listened carefully now.
Every word mattered.
"It was a succession plan."
Dr. Prem's expression darkened.
"What does that mean?"
Nandu inhaled slowly.
"Tiger Gang's old leaders believed the future of power wouldn't belong to the strongest."
A pause.
"It would belong to the smartest."
Lightning flashed violently outside.
"So they funded research to create someone capable of controlling everything."
Business.
Politics.
War.
Technology.
Information.
A perfect strategist.
Sasmita slowly realized the terrifying scale of it.
"They wanted to create a king," she whispered.
"No," Nandu replied quietly.
"A weapon."
Silence followed.
Dr. Prem's fists tightened slowly.
"And me?"
Nandu looked directly into his eyes now.
"You exceeded every expectation."
Another memory struck instantly.
Rows of screens.
Adults arguing while a child solved impossible patterns on a digital board.
Then someone whispering—
"He learns too fast."
Dr. Prem closed his eyes briefly.
"So Ravan raised me to use me?"
Nandu's expression changed slightly.
"No."
The answer came immediately.
Without hesitation.
"Ravan betrayed Tiger Gang for you."
Everything stopped again.
Sasmita looked stunned.
"What?"
Nandu nodded slowly.
"The night of the fire…"
A pause.
"…Ravan helped your mother escape with Aryan."
More memories crashed violently inside Dr. Prem's mind now.
Gunfire.
Flames.
Someone carrying him through smoke.
Ravan.
Not as a king.
Not as a monster.
As a protector.
"He erased your identity," Nandu continued, "because the organization wanted Aryan back."
"Organization?" Sasmita asked sharply.
Nandu's face became darker instantly.
"The people above Tiger Gang."
The same people behind the symbol burned into the assassin's neck.
The same people controlling Project Aryan.
"They're called…"
Nandu paused briefly.
"…The Circle."
Even saying the name seemed dangerous.
And suddenly—
the entire war became much bigger than any of them imagined.
Because Tiger Gang itself…
was only surviving beneath something far more powerful.
Then Nandu looked toward Dr. Prem seriously.
"They know your memories returned."
A pause.
"And from tonight onward…"
His voice lowered.
"…every second you stay alive becomes a threat to them."
The storm outside roared louder.
Because Aryan was no longer hidden.
And once the Circle discovered their perfect weapon remembered who he truly was—
they would never stop hunting him again.