Arc 1: The Wealth Momentum (2016)Part II: The Digital Savior
Chapter 16 — Tell Family That You Changed the Job
In a country where money demands explanations, lies are not sins.
They are survival skills.
The Weight of Unspoken Questions
Vikram Choudhary knew this day would come.
It had been hovering over him ever since he moved into the Worli penthouse, ever since his bank balance began behaving like it had swallowed a miracle, ever since his parents started looking at him the way mathematicians look at unsolved equations.
Not angry.
Not suspicious.
Just… unsettled.
Money, when silent, was more terrifying than poverty.
That evening, the villa in Dadar felt smaller than ever. The ceiling fan hummed softly, rotating at the same speed it had for twenty years—unaware that the life beneath it had shifted tectonically.
Vikram sat at the dining table.
Across from him—
His father, Balvendar Choudhary, retired mathematics teacher, spine straight as a ruler, eyes sharp with lifelong skepticism.
Beside him—
His mother, Savita Choudhary, folding the edge of her saree repeatedly, pretending not to watch her son too closely.
Goolu and Eizi were unusually quiet.
The family had sensed it.
A storm didn't need thunder to announce itself.
The Lie That Needed to Be Perfect
Vikram had rehearsed this.
Not words.
But logic.
Because his father didn't listen to emotions.
He listened to reason.
And reason demanded consistency.
The truth was impossible.
So the lie had to be stronger than truth.
"I changed my job," Vikram said casually, breaking the silence.
Four heads lifted at once.
Savita blinked.
Goolu froze mid-scroll.
Eizi stopped chewing.
Balvendar adjusted his glasses.
"Changed?" he repeated. "From where to where?"
Vikram leaned back.
"Consulting."
The Power of One Familiar Word
That single word—consulting—worked like a master key in middle-class households.
It meant:
• Professional
• Educated
• Flexible income
• Respectable ambiguity
Not a businessman.
Not a gambler.
Not a fraud.
Just… educated and busy.
"What kind of consulting?" his father asked.
Engineering question.
Vikram answered without pause.
"Mechanical systems optimization. Industrial efficiency. Small manufacturing units."
Savita frowned slightly.
"Factory work?"
"No," Vikram said gently. "Advisory. Mostly analysis."
Balvendar's eyes narrowed.
"Since when does India pay consultants like this?"
That was the real question.
The Bank Balance Elephant in the Room
Savita finally spoke.
"Beta," she said softly, "you moved to Worli. You buy things like it's nothing. You don't ask before spending."
Her voice trembled.
"We are not saying it's wrong," she added quickly. "We just want to understand."
Goolu nodded.
Eizi nodded harder.
Vikram inhaled slowly.
"Papa," he said, turning to his father, "how much did you earn in tuition during exam season?"
Balvendar blinked.
"…That depends."
"More than your salary," Vikram said.
Silence.
"But it was still legal," Vikram continued. "Still respectable. Still knowledge-based."
Balvendar stared.
"Consulting works the same way," Vikram said. "You're paid for thinking, not hours."
The math teacher leaned back.
That… made sense.
Engineering Credibility
Vikram stood up and walked to his room.
He returned with a file.
Inside—
• Degree certificate
• Company registration papers
• Visiting card: V-Tech Industries Pvt. Ltd.
He placed them on the table.
"I registered a company," he said calmly. "Clients don't trust individuals. They trust entities."
Balvendar picked up the papers.
He read slowly.
Painfully slowly.
His fingers traced the MCA stamp.
"This is… legitimate," he murmured.
Savita clasped her hands.
"You didn't tell us."
"I wanted to be sure first," Vikram replied. "I didn't want to raise hopes."
That wasn't a lie.
It was a delay of truth.
The Mother's Fear
Savita finally asked the question no one else could.
"You're not doing anything dangerous, are you?"
Vikram looked at her.
"No," he said firmly. "I promise."
She searched his face the way mothers do—looking for fractures in confidence.
She found none.
"Then why do you look tired?" she asked.
Vikram smiled faintly.
"Because responsibility is heavier than laziness."
That made her laugh.
Just a little.
Sisters Intervene
Goolu crossed her arms.
"So you're rich now?"
Vikram snorted.
"No."
Eizi grinned.
"Comfortably confusing," she said.
"That," Vikram admitted, "is accurate."
The tension cracked.
Laughter seeped into the room like sunlight through curtains.
The Father's Final Test
Balvendar wasn't done.
"Income tax?" he asked.
Vikram nodded instantly.
"Filed. CA handles it."
"GST?"
"Registered."
"Clients?"
"Mostly factories outside Mumbai."
Balvendar leaned back.
The interrogation was over.
Finally, he said—
"You always lacked ambition."
Vikram stiffened.
"But," his father continued, "you never lacked intelligence."
That was praise.
From Balvendar Choudhary—
That was gold.
The System Watches Silently
The blue holographic panel hovered unseen.
SOCIAL STABILITY EVENT DETECTED
CATEGORY:
Family Trust Reinforcement
REWARD:
Passive Stress Reduction
Vikram didn't see it.
But he felt it.
The knot in his chest loosened.
The Consultant Lie Becomes Reality
Later that night, Savita knocked on his door.
She carried a steel tumbler of haldi milk.
"Your father worries," she said softly. "But he's proud."
Vikram accepted the glass.
"Ma… if I fail—"
"You won't," she said instantly. "You were never careless. Just quiet."
She hesitated.
"You won't forget us, right?"
That hurt more than any accusation.
"I moved houses," Vikram said gently. "Not hearts."
Savita smiled.
The Mental Accounting of Lies
Alone again, Vikram sat by the window.
Worli glowed like a different country.
He counted his lies.
Changed job.
Consultant.
Clients.
Each lie wasn't random.
It was structured.
Minimal.
Stable.
An engineer's lie.
Why the Lie Was Necessary
Truth would have destroyed them.
A system that paid money for blinking?
That wasn't enlightenment.
That was madness.
And madness frightened people more than poverty.
So Vikram protected them.
By lying.
The Middle-Class Dream Preserved
The next morning—
His father read the newspaper calmly.
His mother hummed while cooking.
His sisters argued about clothes.
Normalcy returned.
That—
Was success.
The Consultant's First Performance
When relatives asked—
"What does Vikram do now?"
Savita answered proudly.
"He's a consultant."
No explanation.
No details.
Just status.
Vikram watched from the corner.
The lie had graduated.
It was now family-approved.
The System's Commentary
The panel appeared that night.
STATUS UPDATE:
Cover Story Accepted by Primary Social Unit
BONUS:
Reduced External Interference Probability
NOTE:
Stability enables expansion.
Vikram smiled.
The Irony of Change
He hadn't changed jobs.
He had changed realities.
But society didn't understand reality shifts.
It understood job titles.
So Vikram gave it one.
A Quiet Promise
Before sleeping, he messaged his CA.
"Need to look legitimate at all times."
The reply came quickly.
"That's the first rule of wealth."
Vikram closed his eyes.
End of Chapter 16
The consultant lie wasn't cowardice.
It was architecture.
And Vikram Choudhary—
Formerly lazy, permanently underestimated—
Had just completed the strongest structure of all:
A story his family could believe in.