Page 24 of The Redemption
Haider doesn’t question the order; he simply nods once. For him, delaying a weapons exchange involving the Reddys is just another task to be handled.
“Are we not passing this information to Ayaan yet?” he asks.
I’d thought about it. My brother Ayaan… very few know him as one of the Directors of GLEN, the Global Law Enforcement Network, which hunts down and dismantles criminal empires across continents. Governments trust him. Intelligence agencieswork alongside him. Entire mafia syndicates have fallen because of the operations he leads. And only a handful of them know the truth about howIfit into that world.
Years ago, after we both pulled the trigger and ended the life of our father, Tej Khurana, Ayaan made a choice that changed everything for me. Instead of allowing the world to remember me as the Dark Prince who once commanded half the underground networks across Asia and Africa, he erased that history.
He buried my records. Wiped away every trace that connected me to the criminal empire I once controlled. In its place, he gave me a clean slate. To disappear and rebuild a life under a new name—Raghav Kundra.
There were no conditions attached to it. He never demanded loyalty in return, nor did he force me to turn me into his informant. But there are certain debts that men like me repay without needing to be asked. Whenever GLEN required insight into the darker corners of the world, particularly when their investigations stalled because the truth behind a mafia operation was buried too deep, Ayaan came to me.
And I never refused him. I fed him information that no intelligence network could obtain on its own. Contacts, routes, internal disputes within syndicates, hidden alliances that never appeared in official files. The kind of knowledge that only someone who once ruled that world could possess.
Without my help, GLEN would still have succeeded eventually. They always do. It would have just taken them years to untangle the webs I could cut through in mere days.
And that’s exactly why Haider’s question matters. Because something as serious as military-grade weapons being smuggled near our country’s border is not information that should remain hidden. If GLEN learns about it in time, Ayaan’s team can shutdown the deal before those weapons disappear into another continent.
Under normal circumstances, I would have already sent him the update. But this time… there’s a complication.
Siya.
If Ayaan begins tracking Parag Reddy due of the arms exchange, it won’t take long for him to find out why Parag is coming here next. And once GLEN starts pulling at those threads, Siya Vardhaan will inevitably appear at the centre of their investigation.
A mafia princess connected to both the Vardhaan syndicate and the Reddy empire.
And the moment Ayaan knows that she’s here, he will come for her. That is precisely what I cannot allow. I can feel Haider’s eyes on me, waiting for an answer I haven’t given yet. Finally, I turn away from the window and meet his gaze.
“Ayaan and GLEN will stay out of this,” I tell him.
I can see the slight crease forming between Haider’s brows. He understands the implication immediately. Holding back intelligence of this scale from Ayaan is not a small decision. If the situation spirals out of control, the consequences could reach far beyond this valley. Haider has been with me long enough to recognise when I’m venturing into dangerous territory. More importantly, he knows me well enough to understandwhy.
Because of Siya.
I can see the realisation settle in his eyes, but he says nothing.
“I will inform Ayaan when the time is right,” I continue. “Just not now.”
He studies me, and then nods. The conversation ends there, but the unease does not. Parag Reddy is closing a weapons deal that should never be allowed to succeed. A mafia princess is walking through my estate with motives unknown to me. Andthe one man who could put an end to all of this, my brother, must remain in the dark for the time being.
I have played dangerous games all my life. But this one is beginning to feel personal.
Just then, the phone in Haider’s hand vibrates. He glances at the screen, and something in his expression shifts before he looks up at me.
“She’s out again.”
The last thread of my patience stretches thin.
“Alone,” he adds. “Her guards have no idea. She slipped past them.”
My teeth grind together. What exactly is that woman trying to prove?
I step away from the window immediately. “Where is she?”
“Near the forest barricades.”
F*ck!
Beyond the barricades that protect the estate, the land becomes wild terrain. Dense forest spreads into the hills where predators roam freely once night falls. Leopards. Wolves. Sometimes, even black bears when the season turns.
