ZINDAGI

Chapter 9: The Cost of Vengeance

Chapter 9: The Cost of Vengeance

The attack on the warehouse had been a wake-up call for Saad and Aditya. They knew that Sunny’s next move wouldn’t be a warning—it would be an attempt to end them for good. With their allies on edge and Sunny’s empire starting to fight back, they understood they were now in a game of survival as much as revenge.

The next morning, Vikram called them with troubling news. “Sunny’s cousin, Raghav, is flying in from Mumbai tonight. He’s one of the most ruthless members of the family. Sunny probably called him in to put an end to this… and to you.”

Raghav Malhotra was infamous for his brutal methods. He handled the Malhotra family's operations in Mumbai and was known to keep rivals under control with fear and violence. Saad and Aditya knew that if Raghav was coming, their time was running out.

“We need to accelerate our plan,” Aditya said, his face set in grim determination. “Raghav won’t hesitate. He’ll go after everyone close to us.”

Saad nodded. “We can’t allow that. Let’s strike first.”

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**Two Nights Later**

Saad and Aditya gathered a few trusted allies in their safe house—a former factory that had been abandoned and overlooked for years. These allies included people they had helped free from Sunny’s schemes, as well as those Vikram had introduced them to. The room was filled with silent, determined faces, each bearing a different story of pain and loss caused by the Malhotras.

Aditya spoke up, his voice steady but intense. “We know Raghav’s here, and he’ll stop at nothing to get to us. But we have something he doesn’t—proof. We’ve got enough evidence to keep him and Sunny’s whole network on the defensive. We expose it all, and they’ll have nowhere to hide.”

One of their allies, a former journalist named Meera, raised her hand. “What’s the plan?”

Aditya pulled out a map of Sunny’s operations across the city. “Raghav’s strategy is intimidation. He controls the goons and the extortion rings, but we’re going to disrupt those, cutting off their resources and revealing their methods. Then we expose his political links and his dependency on Sunny’s funding.”

Saad added, “We’ll make sure the public knows everything. Every dirty deal, every bought-off official. It’s time to show the world who the Malhotras really are.”

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**Later That Night**

Their first target was one of Raghav’s main cash flows—a warehouse where Sunny and Raghav’s men stored funds from their extortion schemes. It was heavily guarded, but with Vikram’s help, they had managed to obtain the security schedule and blueprints of the building.

Aditya and Saad crept through the shadows surrounding the warehouse, accompanied by two of their allies. They were tense but focused, aware that the risk was immense. The plan was simple: break into the office, steal the ledgers, and set off explosives to burn the place down.

Aditya, skilled at keeping his nerves in check, silently signaled to his team. They slipped in, bypassing the guards and making their way to the office. Saad rifled through the drawers, retrieving the ledgers and copying them with a camera as backup. With each click, their case against Sunny grew stronger.

Suddenly, a guard entered, catching a glimpse of them. Before he could raise an alarm, Aditya lunged forward, knocking him out with swift, calculated force. But the noise had drawn attention—footsteps echoed from the corridor.

“We’re out of time,” Saad muttered. He pressed the detonation trigger for the explosives they had placed earlier, and within seconds, flames roared through the building. They escaped into the night as the warehouse exploded, lighting up the sky with a warning to the Malhotras.