đ The Contract Groom
Rain thundered across the battlefield.
Professor Veer Malhotra remained pinned brutally against the black vehicle while Aryan's gun pressed coldly against his forehead.
Every soldier froze.
Tiger Gang.
The Circle.
Everyone.
Because one trigger pullâ
could change the entire balance of power tonight.
Professor Veer stared directly into Aryan's eyes.
Not fearfully.
Proudly.
"As expectedâŠ" he whispered softly.
Aryan's grip tightened harder instantly.
"Thirty-two children died because of you."
Veer remained calm.
"And humanity progresses because of sacrifice."
That answer made Sasmita's blood boil.
"You psychopathâ"
Ravan raised one hand sharply toward everyone.
Silent warning.
Nobody interfere.
Because he knew something dangerous was happening inside Aryan right now.
The emotional suppression state.
The same condition Project Aryan activated during extreme stress.
Ravan remembered it clearly.
Years agoâ
a child Aryan once broke three trained guards unconscious after witnessing another experiment die.
Not out of rage.
Out of calculated response.
That was what terrified Ravan most.
Aryan didn't become emotional during violence.
He became calm.
And calm monsters were the worst kind.
Professor Veer noticed it too.
His breathing slowed with fascination.
"You can feel your mind sharpening, can't you?"
Aryan's eyes remained ice cold.
"Every heartbeat."
Lightning flashed violently.
"Every movement around you."
Veer smiled faintly.
"You're processing the battlefield faster than ordinary people."
The horrifying partâ
was that he was right.
Aryan could already predict movement patterns around him instinctively.
Who would attack.
Who would hesitate.
Where bullets might come from.
His brain felt terrifyingly clear.
And he hated it.
Because it proved the experiments worked.
Sasmita slowly stepped closer.
Carefully.
"AryanâŠ"
For the first time tonightâ
he looked toward her.
And the moment their eyes metâ
something shifted.
Not fully.
But enough.
The coldness inside him cracked slightly.
Professor Veer noticed immediately.
And his expression darkened for the first time.
"Attachment," he murmured disappointedly.
Ravan understood instantly too.
That was why emotional bonds mattered.
They interrupted the conditioning.
They made Aryan human again.
Suddenlyâ
one wounded Circle operative nearby grabbed a fallen rifle and aimed directly toward Sasmita.
Everything happened instantly.
Aryan reacted before thought itself.
Bang.
The operative dropped with a perfect headshot.
But Aryan had fired without even turning fully.
Pure instinctive prediction.
Even Nandu looked shaken now.
"That reaction timeâŠ" one Tiger soldier whispered.
Professor Veer smiled again proudly.
"Do you see now?"
Aryan slammed him harder against the vehicle.
"I'm not your creation."
"No," Veer whispered calmly.
"You're my proof."
The sentence exploded like poison.
Another memory surfaced violently.
Young Aryan trapped inside a simulation chamber while alarms screamed.
A scientist shoutingâ
"His emotional resistance is increasing!"
Then Veer replying coldlyâ
"Increase isolation."
Darkness.
Locked rooms.
Pain.
Aryan's breathing became heavier.
Sasmita saw it immediately.
"He's triggering your memories on purpose," she said sharply.
Veer chuckled softly.
"Pain unlocks suppressed cognition."
Ravan's expression darkened dangerously.
"That's enough, Veer."
"No," Veer replied calmly.
"He deserves to know what he truly became."
Thenâ
slowlyâ
Professor Veer looked directly into Aryan's eyes.
"At age elevenâŠ"
A pause.
"âŠyou predicted the deaths of four Circle leaders before they happened."
Silence.
Nandu froze instantly.
Even the Circle operatives looked disturbed.
"What?" Sasmita whispered.
Veer continued calmly.
"You identified betrayal patterns hidden inside communication networks."
"You predicted assassination attempts."
"You manipulated outcomes without realizing it."
Aryan stared silently.
Because somewhere deep insideâ
he remembered fragments.
Computer screens.
Names.
Warnings ignored.
Then deaths.
His chest tightened painfully.
"You used meâŠ"
Veer smiled faintly.
"We guided genius."
"No."
Aryan's voice turned deadly quiet.
"You weaponized a child."
For the first timeâ
Professor Veer stopped smiling completely.
Because that sentence carried clarity.
Not confusion.
Aryan was no longer fragmented.
He was beginning to understand himself fully.
And that made him far more dangerous than before.
Suddenlyâ
multiple headlights appeared down the road.
Fast.
Approaching quickly through the storm.
Everyone turned instantly.
More vehicles.
But these weren't Circle SUVs.
Luxury black sedans.
Heavy security formation.
Nandu's expression changed immediately.
"No wayâŠ"
The vehicles stopped sharply near the battlefield.
Doors opened.
Armed corporate security stepped out rapidly.
Professional.
Expensive.
Thenâ
a tall man emerged slowly from the center car.
Elegant black suit.
Cold sharp eyes.
Powerful presence.
The moment Aryan saw himâ
his entire body froze.
Because another hidden memory surfaced instantly.
A younger version of that man holding him as a child.
A warm voice saying softlyâ
"You'll always be my son."
Aryan's breathing stopped.
Sasmita looked toward him sharply.
"What happened?"
But Aryan could barely speak now.
Because standing in the rain before himâ
was Sriyansh Choudhary.
And for the first time in yearsâ
the man looked directly at Aryan not with confusionâŠ
but with recognition.
Then slowlyâ
Sriyansh spoke the words that shattered the night completely.
"âŠI finally found you."