Page 116 of The Redemption
The second the terrified priest declares the marriage complete, Raghav rises impatiently, as if he is done waiting. He grabs my wrist firmly and pulls me upright beside him. Then he turns towards the exit. Not once does he look back at Parag, who lies unconscious on the grass after losing too much blood. Not once does he acknowledge Samarjeet, who stands there with a murderous look in his bloodshot eyes.
Raghav simply starts walking away with me beside him as if the entire underworld behind him no longer matters. Because he already got what he came here for.
Me.
CHAPTER 23
TRISHA
An Hour Ago (Vardhaan Mansion, Cape Town)
Flashback
After searching everywhere inside the mansion, I began looking for Siya’s mother outside the gates. Nearly fifteen minutes later, one of my men called me in panic. He informed me that Samarjeet had already taken Siya downstairs towards the wedding mandap a few minutes earlier.
Damn it.
I immediately turned back towards the massive gates and hurried along the long stone pathway running beside the estate walls, trying to figure out how I could get inside and reach Siya before the ceremony began. But as I neared the entrance, my steps froze. Just outside the estate gates, nearly twenty black SUVs were pulling up one after another.
For a moment, I simply stared. Who the hell were they? If they were wedding guests, why were they parking outside the gates instead of driving straight in? Suddenly, the vehicle door opened, and armed ruthless-looking men dressed entirely in black began to step out almost immediately. They openly carried rifles like they were least concerned about who saw them.
“What the hell…” I muttered under my breath as more men emerged from the convoy. These men didn’t look like they were arriving at a wedding venue; they looked like they were entering a war zone.
The security team stationed at the main gates reacted immediately. Guns were drawn, and men started shouting orders. More guards rushed towards the entrance, clearly about to shut the gates from the inside. Even I was about to call my men inside to secure Siya until I could reach her… when the door of the centre SUV opened.
And there he was.
Raghav.
What the f*ck was he doing in Cape Town?
He stepped out of the vehicle almost in slow motion, as if he had all the time in the world. A cigarette burned between his fingers while his AirPods rested in his ears. The sight alone made my stomach tighten. Raghav only listened to that slow instrumental music when he was under extreme stress to calm the chaos inside his head. It was his way of silencing the storm before destruction followed.
But the calm on his face right now wasn’t the usual kind. It was the kind of calm that carried a warning, one that told you someone was about to get hurt very, very badly. My throat turned dry as I stared at the line of armed men surrounding him. Were all these men his?How the hell could he have assembled an army like this?
Raghav looked different today. Terrifyingly familiar to the one I saw two and a half years ago. Tonight, for some odd reason, he carried that same aura of the Dark Prince… the mafia heir who once burned down entire syndicates overnight if they weren’t on his side.
Suddenly, my phone vibrated inside my pocket. It was Ayaan.
I quickly stepped back and hid myself behind one of the enormous rain trees lining the outer boundary wall of Vardhaan Mansion, the thick trunk shielding me from the guards and the men stepping out of those SUVs. From there, I answered the call without taking my eyes off Raghav.
“Trisha, where are you?” Ayaan’s voice sounded tense as soon as the line connected. “Raghav has left for Cape Town. I’ve been trying to reach him continuously, but—”
“He’s here,” I cut him off before he could finish.
A pause followed. “What?”
“He’s already here, Ayaan. At Vardhaan Mansion,” I whispered shakily while staring at Raghav again.
I switched the call to video, adjusted the camera, and zoomed in on the entrance. Ayaan wasn’t alone. Krish was standing beside him. Meher too. Just as I slightly shifted the camera, I noticed Kailash Uncle standing right behind them. At first, all four of them stared at the screen in confusion. Then realisation hit, and their confusion slowly turned into shock.
Outside the mansion gates, bullets had already started flying from both sides. Vardhaan security forces rushed towards the entrance while Raghav’s men immediately opened fire back.
But in the middle of all that chaos, Raghav remained terrifyingly calm. Bullets tore through the air around him, yet none came anywhere close to him. His men moved sharply around him in a deadly formation, providing cover while continuing the attack.
Then, without a shred of urgency, Raghav pulled the AirPods from his ears. He opened the SUV door beside him and tossed them carelessly into the backseat. Next, he pulled out a sleek matte-black semi-automatic gun fitted with an extended magazine.
My pulse roared as he held the gun in one hand while shutting the SUV door with the other. The movement was so casual that it sent a chill down my spine. I knew everyone from the family watching this had the same reaction on seeing Raghav with a gun. This wasn’t normal. It was catastrophic. Because we all knew Raghav had stopped touching guns after the night he had shot his own father.
