VEIL OF VENGEANCE

CHAPTER-08

---

**Chapter 8: Whispers in the Dark**

The morning after the warehouse encounter, Yashika awoke with a sense of foreboding. The memory of the hooded man’s warning played on repeat in her mind, and despite Adrith’s reassurances, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched.

She arrived at the Sherawat Group’s headquarters with a heightened sense of awareness. Every passing glance from an employee, every whispered conversation, seemed to be loaded with hidden meaning. Paranoia clung to her like a second skin.

Adrith had summoned her to his office early that morning, a clear indication that something was brewing. As Yashika entered his office, she found him staring out of the large floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the door. The cityscape sprawled out beneath them, a chaotic blend of power and corruption that mirrored their situation.

“Adrith,” Yashika said softly, closing the door behind her.

He turned to face her, his expression unreadable. “Yashika, there’s something we need to discuss. Our enemies are closer than we thought.”

Yashika’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

Adrith gestured to the chair in front of his desk, indicating for her to sit. Once she was settled, he pulled out a folder and placed it on the desk between them.

“Last night, after you left the warehouse, I did some digging. I’ve been keeping an eye on certain individuals within the company—people I suspected might be involved with Vikram and his operations. What I found confirms our worst fears.”

He opened the folder, revealing a series of documents and photographs. Yashika leaned forward, her eyes scanning the contents.

“These are surveillance photos,” Adrith explained, pointing to the images of several men meeting in a dimly lit room. “All of these men are high-ranking officials within the Sherawat Group. They’ve been working with Vikram for years, siphoning money from the company and using it to fund his illegal activities.”

Yashika felt a surge of anger. “How could they get away with this for so long?”

Adrith’s jaw tightened. “They’ve been careful, covering their tracks and eliminating anyone who got too close to the truth. Your father was one of those people. He found out about their scheme and was planning to go to the authorities. That’s why they had him killed.”

Yashika’s breath caught in her throat. The confirmation of her father’s murder hit her like a physical blow. She had suspected it all along, but hearing it out loud made it feel real—painfully, heartbreakingly real.

“Who are these men?” she asked, her voice trembling with barely contained rage.

Adrith began listing names, each one familiar to Yashika from her brief time working at the company. “Rohit Gupta, the Chief Financial Officer. Rajiv Malhotra, Head of Operations. Karan Mehta, Senior Vice President. And there’s one more person I’ve been watching closely—Vikram’s right-hand man, Arjun.”

Yashika clenched her fists. “We need to expose them. We need to bring them all down.”

Adrith nodded. “That’s the plan. But we can’t do it hastily. If we make a move now, they’ll know we’re onto them, and they’ll disappear before we can gather enough evidence.”

“So what do we do?” Yashika asked, frustration lacing her words.

“We need to be patient,” Adrith said, his tone calm but firm. “We continue gathering evidence, watching their every move. Once we have enough to ensure they can’t escape, we’ll strike.”