Chapter 24 Ashes Of SR Empires
Samar freezes for a moment, clearly stunned. His hands hesitate mid-air, unsure. Then, slowly almost instinctively he places one hand on my back and begins to stroke it gently, trying to calm me.
His voice softens, worry seeping into it. “What happened, Ishani?”
Through my sobs, my voice trembles as I speak. “I’m feeling so anxious so uneasy like something terrible is about to happen.”
My fear is raw, uncontrollable. For a fraction of a second, it feels like his heart stops beating. But then something changes. A strange expression crosses his face. A faint, sly smile calculated, knowing.
Still rubbing my back, he whispers calmly, reassuringly, “No nothing bad will happen. I’m here with you.”
I keep clinging to his chest, my tears soaking into his shirt. His touch remains gentle, steady but that guarded smile never leaves his face. It feels as if he’s hiding something something heavy behind his calm.
Inside my heart, I don’t want to move. This moment feels fragile. Important. I just want to stay close to him for a little longer to feel safe in his arms. The uneasiness hasn’t vanished, but being near him gives me a strange, temporary comfort.
Slowly, Samar pulls away. He looks into my eyes and says, his voice controlled, steady, “Ishani you should go now. Karan is waiting. I’m fine.”
I search his eyes desperately. Is he really fine? Is everything actually okay?
I nod silently. My lips part slightly, as if I want to say something but no words come. Turning away slowly, I walk toward the door. Every step feels heavy, as if my heart is whispering don’t go.
I step out of the cabin. My face is quiet, but my eyes still burn with unshed tears.
Karan notices instantly. He walks toward me, concern evident. “Is everything alright, Sister-in-law?”
I force a faint smile and nod. He senses I don’t want to talk, so he says nothing more. Together, we step out of the building. The car is parked at a short distance. We walk toward it in silence, our footsteps echoing softly.
Halfway there, I stop. I turn back and look at SR Empire. The massive glass building towers before me, grand and silent. Today, it feels different. Not just an office. A place hiding secrets. Something dark. Something unsettling.
My heart aches to go back to see Samar one last time. But something pulls me away quietly, firmly. So I turn around and keep walking. We barely move a few steps further.
BOOMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!
The explosion shatters everything. The ground trembles beneath my feet. A violent shockwave tears through the air, dust and debris flying everywhere.
I freeze. My heart stops. I turn back. And horror crashes into me. SR Empire is engulfed in flames. Thick black smoke rises into the sky. Glass rains down like shards of death. Fire roars from every floor. The proud tower is now a burning skeleton.
“My God Samar!” I scream, my voice tearing apart the chaos.
My legs give out. The world spins and everything goes dark.
“Karan” My lips whisper before I collapse.
“Ishani!!” Karan catches me just in time, his hands shaking as he gently lays me down.
I hear distant voices. Sirens. Chaos. Karan stands, rage and panic blazing in his eyes, and runs toward the building.
Suddenly, bodyguards appear, blocking him. “Let me go! Samar is inside! Let me go!!” His screams ring in the air.
“It’s not safe, sir! The building could collapse!” they shouts More explosions erupt. Glass crashes down. Heat scorches the air.
The nightmare grows. I lie there, unconscious. My body limp, my face pale. My dupatta flutters in the hot wind, reflecting the fire dancing across the broken building.
Sirens scream closer. Police. CID. Fire brigades. Ambulances. A CID officer steps forward sharply. “Secure the perimeter. Find survivors. Get the blue prints now!”
Firefighters spray water, but the top floors are already destroyed. Karan grabs an officer desperately. “My brother Samar he’s inside! Please do something!”
The officer’s face turns grim. “We’re trying. But the explosion was massive. We don’t know if anyone made it out.”
Those words stab deep. Smoke thickens. Karan coughs violently, struggling to breathe. “I need to get her to safety.” he mutters.
He tries to lift me, but his strength fails. His knees buckle. “Ishani stay with me.”
His voice fades. He collapses beside me, unconscious, Now, both of us lie there still, helpless covered in ash. The fire roars. Sirens wail. SR Empire burns behind us.
Paramedics rush in. “We’ve got two unconscious! Stretchers now!”
A senior CID officer commands, “Evacuate them immediately! And continue search and rescue. Find SR at any cost!”
The area turns into a scene of tragedy and urgency. SR Empire once a symbol of power and success now stands in ruins, smoldering, broken, and bleeding smoke into the sky.
Crowds gather. Reporters arrive. Cameras flash relentlessly. The world begins to watch, question, and speculate. But amid all the noise, one question hangs heavy in the air. What really happened at SR Empire?
While, in the heart of the city, SR Empire burns flames rising like an inferno, sirens screaming as police, CID, and fire brigades fight desperately to contain the chaos far away, on a quiet hillside overlooking the city, a completely different scene unfolds.
At the edge of the hill, a man stands silently, He watches the devastation from afar. There is no fear on his face. Only a cold, calculating smile.
In his hands, he holds a pair of binoculars, through which he observes everything every explosion, every collapse, every body falling from the burning tower. That man is Vihaan.
The wind tousles his long hair, but his eyes remain calm, chillingly composed a man watching a plan execute exactly as designed. Slowly, Vihaan lowers the binoculars. A satisfied smile curves his lips as he murmurs, “Finally the day has come.”
Beside him stands Rakha, loyal and alert, binoculars still raised. He grins smugly and says, “See? I did exactly what you told me.”
Vihaan’s eyes stay fixed on the ruins below, smoke coiling upward like a funeral pyre. His voice is filled with dark satisfaction as he replies, “SR his SR Empire his pride all turned to ashes.”
Rakha hesitates, then asks cautiously, “But what if Samar survives?”
Vihaan chuckles dangerous. “If he survives… I’ll finish him myself. But after today, his world will never be the same.”
Vihaan raises the binoculars again. His gaze shifts. His smile deepens. He sees Ishani and Karan being carried away on stretchers motionless, unconscious, lifeless against the chaos around them. A dangerous glint flashes in his eyes.
“And Ishani?” he whispers.
He says her name slowly, possessively. “Before leaving, Samar did one thing right. Now that woman will come to me on her own.”
His smile turns ruthless. “His precious Ishani will soon be mine. Forever.”