The first time District Magistrate Arjun Kulkarni saw Rhea Mehta again, she was trying to destroy his career. He knew it before he even opened the article. Her name was printed at the top of the page in bold. By Rhea Mehta, Senior Correspondent Arjun stared at it for a long moment. Seven years. Seven years since he had last spoken to her. Seven years since a crowded coaching classroom in Delhi, when both of them had believed the future was something they would conquer together. He clicked the article open. Every paragraph dismantled his department with surgical precision. Illegal contracts. Misused funds. Evidence from internal documents. Rhea had done her homework. At the bottom of the page was a line that made his stomach tighten. This is the first report in a series. Arjun leaned back in his chair slowly. Because he knew something most of his colleagues didn't. Rhea Mehta never started a fight she couldn't finish. And once upon a time, she had been on his side.
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