Three years ago...
The grand hall was packed with powerful businessmen, top investors, and influential faces.
A hush fell over the crowd as the spotlight turned toward the entrance.
Devansh thakur..
The name itself commanded silence.
A man known across countries for his unstoppable business empire, masked perfectly behind layers of clean success.
But what most didn’t see was the darkness behind that name... underground empires, illegal dealings, and a network that ran deeper than the government’s own.
Tonight, none of that mattered. Tonight, he was being celebrated.
The award for Best Global Entrepreneur of the Year was announced, and Devansh stepped forward in a perfectly tailored black suit, his expression unreadable, but the fire in his eyes still alive.
Applause thundered. Cameras flashed. But nothing moved him.
Until she did.
After receiving the award, he walked to the mic, eyes scanning the crowd with usual disinterest. He smirked slightly.
"Any questions?" he asked, cool and calm.
A beat passed. Then a voice cut through the room like lightning.
“I have one.”
All heads turned.
There she stood.
Rhea Sharma.... a blazer slightly too big for her shoulders, and eyes that didn’t flinch.
She wasn't the most glamorous woman in the room, but there was something about her, confidence, fearlessness, honesty. It stunned him.
She stepped forward and asked clearly, “Mr. Devansh, how do you respond to the rumors that your wealth is tied to illegal businesses? People claim they’ve found proof against you. Is it true?”
The room fell into silence.
Some gasped.
Devansh blinked, not in anger... but in surprise. Not just because of the question, but because of her. No one had ever dared to ask him something like that publicly.
Not this way...
Not with such fire in their voice.
He stared at her, really stared.
He had seen hundreds of beautiful women, thousands maybe. But never one like her.
She didn’t just speak...
She challenged...
She didn’t look away...
She dared....
And for the first time in years, Devansh Rathore didn’t know what to say.
Then, he smiled, slow, dangerous, and calm.
“The world talks,” he said into the mic, eyes never leaving hers.
“But proof is what matters. And so far, all they’ve had are rumors. Lies don’t scare me.”
The hall broke into scattered applause. But he wasn’t listening.
He had found her.
After that day, he couldn't forget her. Her voice, her fire, her eyes.
And he didn't want to.
With the help of his people, he found out where she worked. Some mid level company that no one cared much about, but he did. He started investing in it, buying shares.
