The War Room
The room smelled like markers.
Red markers. Black markers. The smell was sharp. It smelled like chemicals.
There were five people in the room.
Zaviyar. Esha. Daniyal. Two IT guys.
The IT guys looked nervous. They were typing on laptops. Clack. Clack. Clack. They did not look at Zaviyar. They were afraid of him.
Zaviyar stood at the front. He was holding a remote.
"Run it," he said.
The big screen on the wall turned on.
It showed a graph. A blue line. The line was going up.
"This is the Roy server," one IT guy said. He adjusted his glasses. "This is the traffic load for launch day. Ten million users. It is stable."
The blue line went up. It was smooth. It was perfect.
"Now," Zaviyar said. "Run the weapon."
The IT guy pressed a button.
On the screen, a red line appeared.
It hit the blue line.
It was like a car crash. The blue line spiked. Then it shook. Then it dropped. Straight down.
The screen flashed red. SYSTEM FAILURE.
The simulation showed the fallout.
Server response: 404.
User timeout.
Data corruption.
It was a massacre. A digital massacre.
Zaviyar smiled.
He watched the red line hit the bottom of the graph. He looked like he was watching a beautiful sunset.
"Total blackout," the IT guy said. "Thirty seconds after launch. They won't be able to reboot for twelve hours. By then, the stock will drop fifteen percent."
"Twenty percent," Zaviyar corrected. "Panic sells fast."
He turned to Esha.
"It works," he said. "Your code works."
Esha looked at the screen. She saw the red letters. FAILURE.
She felt sick. She felt the bile in her throat.
"Yes," she said. Her voice was flat. "It works."
Daniyal was sitting in the corner. He was spinning a coin on the table. Whirrr. Slap.
"It's nasty," Daniyal said. He looked at Esha. "It's really mean. Arjun spent years on that architecture."
"Arjun is a casualty," Zaviyar said. He didn't look at his brother. "Casualties happen in war."
"It's not war," Daniyal said. "It's business. We are deleting his homework."
Zaviyar slammed the remote on the table. Bang.
Everyone jumped. The IT guys stopped typing.
"It is war," Zaviyar said. His voice was low. Dangerous. "They stole our legacy. We are taking it back. If you are soft, get out."
Daniyal didn't move. He kept spinning the coin.
"I'm not soft," Daniyal said. "I'm just bored. Destroying things is easy. Building things is hard."
Zaviyar ignored him. He looked at Esha.
"Are we ready for the press?" he asked.
"The press?" Esha asked.
"When it crashes," Zaviyar said, "we need a statement. We need to say, 'Khan Global is stable. Our cloud is secure. Come to us.'"
He pointed at her.
"You will write the statement," he said. "You will twist the knife."
Esha nodded. "Okay."
"Good," Zaviyar said. "Meeting over."
The IT guys ran. They grabbed their laptops and left.
Zaviyar walked out. He had a meeting.
Esha stood up. She wanted to leave. She wanted to wash her hands.
"Wait," Daniyal said.
Esha stopped.
Daniyal stood up. He walked over to her. He was wearing a purple tie today. He looked like a peacock.
"You don't like this," he said.
"I love this," Esha lied. "I love winning."
"No," Daniyal said. He leaned against the table. "Zaviyar loves winning. You look like you are going to throw up."
Esha gripped her file.
"I ate bad sushi," she said.
Daniyal laughed.
"You are a terrible liar," he said. "For a strategist, you have a very honest face."
He stepped closer.
"Who are you?" he asked. "Really?"
Esha went cold.
"I am Anya Sharma," she said. "I am the one saving your stock price."
Daniyal tilted his head. He looked at her eyes.
"You remind me of someone," he said. "I can't place it. But I never forget a face."
He tapped his chin.
"It will come to me," he said. "Eventually."
He winked. Then he walked out.
Esha stood alone in the War Room.
The screen was still red. SYSTEM FAILURE.
Daniyal was the problem. Zaviyar was blind with hate. But Daniyal... Daniyal was watching.
She needed to be careful.
She needed to leave.
The Cafe
She didn't go back to her desk. She couldn't.
She went downstairs. She went to the cafe across the street. It was crowded. It smelled like burnt beans.
She sat in the back. She ordered tea.
She took out her phone. The brick.
Message from Papa.
Don't forget the date. 15th. Do not hesitate.
She put the phone away.
She took out the other phone. The Anya phone.
It was buzzing.
Unknown Number.
She looked at it.
It wasn't Arjun. It was a landline. A London number.
She answered.
"Hello?"
"Ms. Sharma?"
It was a woman's voice. Crisp. Professional.
"Yes."
"This is Sarah from The Daily Mail. We are running a story tomorrow."
Esha gripped the phone. "What story?"
"About you," the woman said. "And Mr. Khan. We have sources saying you are engaged."
Esha choked on her tea.
"What?"
"We have photos," the woman said. "From the gala. He gave you the heirloom necklace. The Khan necklace. That means engagement."
"No," Esha said. "It was a loan. It was for the event."
"Our sources say otherwise," the woman said. "They say he is obsessed. They say you are living at the Langham on company expenses."
"That is none of your business," Esha snapped.
"We are running the story," the woman said. "Unless you want to comment? Are you the future Mrs. Khan?"
Esha hung up.
She stared at the phone.
Engaged.
The media thought they were engaged. Because of the necklace. Because of the way he looked at her.
Arjun would see this.
If Arjun thought she was marrying Zaviyar, he would hate her. He would stop trying to save her. He would treat her like a Khan.
And her father... her father would go crazy. His daughter. Marrying the enemy.
She stood up.
She had to fix this.
She had to tell Zaviyar.
She ran out of the cafe. It was raining again.
She didn't care.
She ran across the street. Cars honked. Beep. Beep.
She ran into the lobby. She ran to the elevator.
She stormed into his office.
Zaviyar was on the phone. He looked up.
Esha didn't wait.
"They think we are engaged," she said. She was breathless. "The papers. They think the necklace was a proposal."
Zaviyar put the phone down. He didn't look surprised.
"I know," he said.
Esha stopped.
"You know?"
"I leaked it," Zaviyar said.
Esha stared at him. The room spun.
"What?"
"I leaked the rumor," Zaviyar said calmly. "To The Daily Mail. It's good press. It makes us look stable. A power couple. It makes the stock go up."
"But it's a lie!" Esha shouted. "I am not marrying you!"
Zaviyar stood up. He walked around the desk.
"It is a useful lie," he said. "And it drives Arjun crazy. He hates me. If he thinks I have you, he will be distracted. He will make mistakes."
He stood in front of her.
"Calm down, Anya," he said. "It's just a headline."
"It's my life!" Esha said. "My father will see it!"
"So?" Zaviyar asked. "Let him see it. Let everyone see it."
He reached out. He touched her hair.
"You wanted to ruin him," Zaviyar whispered. "This is how we do it. We take everything. Even his pride."
Esha looked at him.
He was crazy. He was using her. He was painting a target on her back.
And the worst part?
She let him.
She looked at his hand on her hair.
She didn't pull away.
She was trapping herself. The cage was closing.
And she was holding the key.