𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒆

PART-51

"But what happened?" Dr. Tanvi's voice trembled as she struggled to keep pace with the two men flanking her, their shoes clattering against the sterile tiles in hurried rhythm.

"That's a long story, doctor-" Siddharth's chest heaved as he quickened his pace, rounding the corner. "Third room, right?"

"Yes!" she gasped, her palm dragging against the cool wall as they spun sharply down the corridor.

The distance to the third room vanished beneath Siddharth's three desperate strides. He raised his fist, slamming the door open with a deafening thud.

"Rudraksh!"

Inside, a glass hovered just inches from Rudraksh's mouth, its liquid ready to kiss his lips. His eyelids sagged low, lashes casting shadows, before flickering sluggishly toward the sudden chaos breaking in.

"You okay?!" Siddharth's voice came hoarse and frantic.

Rudraksh blinked slowly, his eyebrows knitting faintly. "What-"

The glass slipped from his grip and shattered across the floor as he was yanked with brutal force, his head slamming into the thin mattress. His feet struck the cold ground, and a hand clamped around his throat, choking the color out of his face.

"Stay away, Solanki!"

Rafiq's raspy voice echoed, bouncing off the barren white walls. The black revolver trembled in his raised hand, while his other hand constricted around the younger man's throat.

Rudraksh's Adam's apple strained against the criminal's grip, his breath stuttering into silence as his fingers clawed at Rafiq's arm. Green and violet veins surfaced grotesquely beneath his skin.

"Stay away! Or these walls will be painted with this pup's blood!" Rafiq's eyes, white stones flecked with jittering black specks, flickered restlessly, madness dancing in their depths.

"No!" Siddharth surged a step forward but froze mid-stride as the revolver's muzzle dug harder into Rudraksh's temple.

"Rafiq, let him go." His arm stretched out, forefinger jabbing sternly at the criminal. "Your enmity is with me. Leave him. He's done nothing to you."

His voice, steady on the surface, betrayed itself in the tightening of his throat. His heart pounded as his eyes locked on the boy's suffocating frame - a boy who had never been anything less than a younger brother to him.

"Leave him, Rafiq!"

"Never!" Rafiq's bark scraped painfully against his own throat. He jerked Rudraksh violently by the neck. "Back off!"

Siddharth's jaw flexed, muscles pulsing as fury and helplessness clashed in the silence.

Rudraksh's face was burning crimson, his lips quivering open in search of air that would not come. His hands clawed at Rafiq's wrist, nails scraping skin, fingers twitching weakly. His body sagged toward collapse, yet a stubborn flicker of life refused to surrender.

"BACK OFF!" Rafiq bellowed, spittle flying, inching backward with each threat and dragging Rudraksh's weakening frame across the polished floor tiles.

"Beta!"

"Rudraksh!"

Aanand and Tanvi stumbled into the doorway, breathless. Their eyes widened instantly, color draining from their faces as if their blood had abandoned them at once.

"What are you doing? Leave him!" Tanvi's shrill voice echoed sharp against the walls. "Who let you in?!"

Rafiq's chest heaved in a manic rhythm, each rise and fall fanning the flames of his triumph. His blackened lips stretched, teeth flashing in a predator's grin. With a sudden, violent shake, he rattled Rudraksh's neck like a rag doll, draining him further with every cruel jolt.