Page 24 of Wicked Trap

“Stop calling him a hero, Ma,” he said carelessly. “Ashok Vardhaman was a damn coward who killed himself. He left you and us because he couldn’t bear the harsh reality. I don’t know why you keep hanging on to his memories. You should forget him and—”

A slap cracked on his cheek.

Aryan was stunned for a moment and then clenched his jaw. It was the first time his mother ever struck him. She wasn’t the kind to ever slap her children.

He looked at his mother’s hurt and angry face.

“Never call your father that word again,” she said in a shaking tone.

He fell quiet. He knew his mother loved her late husband. And she would continue to love him until her dying days. Facts and reality didn’t matter to her.

“You are wrong,” she said in anguish. “Your father isn’t a coward. He didn’t choose to leave us by killing himself. He was snatched from us.”

Aryan nearly expected his mother to follow that up by saying her husband was snatched from them by the act of God. But her next words shook his whole world.

“Your father was murdered. And the people responsible were the ones he trusted.”

***

Present...

Rage and pain filled him at the memory of discovering the truth. Right from that moment on that fateful morning on his mother’s birthday, his life changed drastically.

From partying, dating beautiful women and winning over business deals, his only burning desire was to hunt down the people responsible for his father’s murder. He would do anything to bring out the complete truth.

He didn’t resent his current circumstances either. Eating a quiet dinner in a cramped apartment in a different country and continent altogether was barely noticeable to him.

And it wasn’t the first time he lived in small, cramped spaces. He, his mother and two brothers had lived in places much smaller than the current apartment. It was the only size places they could afford. At that time, food and survival were much more important than the size of the place to sleep.

Dark anger filled him again, recalling those days. For his mother and his brothers.

It filled him with more determination to finish what he and his brothers started—to set right a devastating wrong.

He was in step two of the plan. He had purchased the entire rundown apartment complex for the very reason. He now lived right across from his beautiful, fiery pawn.

CHAPTER 6

“How dare they!”

It was the day of her planned protest. At Tanvi’s heated declaration, her friends looked at her with concern and sympathy. Rashmi had just picked her up from the protest site.

“What happened?” Kavita asked.

“The Prism Corporation has been blocking every attempt at organizing a protest!”

She had organized a protest near the school behind the Prism Corporation. It was the weekend, and it wouldn’t interrupt normal school operations. But before anyone could assemble and begin the protest, the cops came in and blocked the street leading to the place. She still had not given up and tried to continue organizing a protest in the nearby streets of the Prism building. But each time, her attempts were once again blocked, and protesters were forced to clear out.

“I’m so pissed they think they can come to our country and destroy our environment without any thought.”

“How do you know it is an international company?” Rashmi asked.

“I did some research on Prism Corporation. Until a few months ago, Prism Corporation was actually an old mid-size real estate company. It was recently acquired by some international real estate corporation who is looking to establish real estate presence here.” The last part of the information was given to her accidentally by her father.

Kavita nodded. “Maybe it was a hostile takeover.”

Tanvi frowned. Although she didn’t have a corporate job, she knew what a hostile takeover was. “I don’t know whether the Prism Corporation takeover was hostile or not, but the ruthless corporation cannot get away with this.”

She had searched the web to see who headed the parent corporation. But there wasn’t enough information on who took over Prism. There was a generic company name that was registered recently, most likely some shell company. Ridiculous.

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