Whisper in the Night

Chapter 30 :Secrets in the Dark, Fire in the Hallway.

 Author's POV:-

The room was drenched in a heavy, drawn-out quiet, disturbed only by the gentle rhythm of Kaira's breathing.

Rishav sat on the edge of the large bed, his frame rigid yet utterly still. Kaira lay beside him, deep in the necessary oblivion of sleep, her small hand locked around his. Her grip was desperate, a silent testament to the wreckage of the day—a fierce, visceral hold that suggested her life might splinter the moment she let go.

He watched her profile, the faint line of dried tears visible near her temple, and felt the familiar, dangerous tightening in his chest. This vulnerability, hers, was the only thing that had ever truly unsettled the Lord of Darkheaven.

Suddenly, the silent sanctity of the room was shattered. Rishav's phone vibrated against the wooden nightstand, the sound an unwelcome intrusion. He glanced down at the illuminated screen, then back at Kaira's sleeping face. With agonizing slowness, he began to extract his hand from her frantic grasp, careful not to disturb the fragile peace. He succeeded just as the phone began its second ring.

He rose swiftly, a shadow moving toward the door, and answered the call just before stepping into the hallway, pulling the door shut behind him with a soft click.

"Hello?" Rishav's voice was low, instantly transitioning into the gravelly authority he usually reserved for his subordinates.

"Advik is gone. He's missing," Karan's voice, rough and strained, came through the line.

"What?" Rishav jolted upright, his earlier languor evaporated. He leaned against the wall, eyes fixed on the closed door, ensuring no sound carried through.

"How?" he demanded, the Hindi word sharp and immediate.

"We don't know. Before vanishing, he called Rudransh—said he needed to discuss something critical, something he couldn't say over an open line," Karan sighed heavily, the sound of frustrated searching audible in the background.

"Who was he meeting?" Rishav asked, his tone now dangerously calm.

"We are finding that out now. Every contact he's made in the last forty-eight hours is being tracked," Karan replied.

Rishav didn't speak, merely hummed, acknowledging the grim reality that another leak had sprung in their carefully constructed world.

A long silence stretched between the two men, broken finally when Karan's voice returned, softer, carrying a deeper, almost familial concern.

"How is Kaira?"

"She's fine," Rishav replied simply, though the lie tasted like ash.

"She was crying, wasn't she?"

"Yes." Rishav closed his eyes, remembering the sight of her breaking down—the pure, hopeless sorrow he'd had to absorb.

Another pause. These two men one the formidable Lord of a vast underworld syndicate, the other his fiercely loyal Commander were for a brief moment just two friends sharing the burden of a secret life.

"She's confused," Rishav finally admitted, the words escaping as a ragged whisper. "She's broken. She doesn't even trust herself anymore. She looks at everyone, even me, and sees a potential lie."

"We have to keep the rest of it a secret," Karan stated, the pain evident in his voice.

"She already knows so much. What is left to hide?" Rishav countered, the cynicism heavy.

"What she knows is barely ten percent of the truth," Karan countered quickly, his tone hardening with professional urgency. "Don't forget, our primary objective is still incomplete. We will tell Kaira everything—everything—once that goal is complete. We owe her that much."