Hello Butterflies,

After a week, I'm updating the chapter, show some love.

Read this chapter carefully because next chapter is going to blow your mind.

Happy reading.

Author’s POV

The briefing room was sealed shut.

Glass walls dimmed. Screens lit up.
In the center, a digital map of Mumbai glowed. Red markers blinked, looking like open wounds.

Ayushman stood at the head of the table, hands clasped behind his back.

“This isn’t just about Malik anymore,” he said gravely. “We’re dealing with two connected threats: Malik handling ground operations, and an unknown hacker who broke in without leaving any trace.”

Veer leaned forward, forearms on the table.
“They’re working together.”

“It’s likely,” Ayushman nodded. “Or they’re circling the same objective.”

Purvi pulled up files. “Malik was dormant for months. No chatter. No movement. And suddenly—this.”

Rudra scoffed. “He’s baiting us.”

“Exactly,” Ayushman said. “And we won’t bite blindly.”

He turned to Arnav.
“You’ll take cyber surveillance. Dark web forums. Encrypted channels.”

Arnav nodded. “Sir, I’ll take Shree with me. She’s brilliant at pattern decoding. We’ll—”

“No.”

The word landed hard.

Everyone turned toward Ayushman.

“No?” Arnav repeated, stunned.

Ayushman’s jaw tightened. His gaze flicked briefly toward the glass wall.
“Don’t take her.”

Veer’s head snapped up. “Why?”

Ayushman met his eyes evenly.
“Because she’s not medically fit—and she’s hiding it.”

The room went still.

“Just a few minutes ago,” Ayushman continued, “she almost went down in front of me. Pale. Dizzy. Shaking. Pretending she was fine like her life depended on that lie.”

Purvi frowned. “Sir… she didn’t say anything.”

“Exactly,” Ayushman replied. “And that’s what worries me.”

Something twisted sharply inside Veer’s chest.

“She’s young,” Rudra said. “Maybe she skipped breakfast.”

Ayushman shook his head.
“This wasn’t that. She is our teammate, but she is still a kid, because of her skills, she in the team .”

Veer stayed silent, but his mind replayed the image—

Shree is sitting quietly.
Eyes lowered.
She swallowed a pill when she thought no one was watching.

“Veer,” Ayushman said, “you’ll handle Malik’s physical trail. Low-profile.”

Veer straightened. “Backup?”

“None,” Ayushman replied. “We can’t risk leaks.”

Then, colder—
“And Shree stays here. Light duty. Observation.”

Veer didn’t like that.

Not one bit.

Shree is sitting at her desk, looking unconvinced by the orders she just got from Ayushman.

He as told her to stay on a desk job for today, she didn’t say anything as she knew she couldn’t deny he’s order and ask a question, as ayushman as already suspected her in the pantry.

Laptop screen is glowing in front of her, file is open on it,  she is pretending to analyze logs while Ayushman’s  words echoed in her head.

“Not medically fit.”

So now people were noticing.

She hated that.

She didn’t want sympathy that sounded like a countdown.
Didn’t want to be concerned that treated like a ticking clock, like she was made of fragile glass which will break anytime.

Especially not from Mr. Khadoos.

She glanced at him through the glass wall.

Veer stood there—rigid, intense, carrying the weight of the world like it personally offended him.

Why does he look like he’s always preparing for war?

She shook her head and focused back on the screen.

That’s when it blinked.

Unknown network ping.
Local.

My fingers froze.

That wasn’t routed through their system.

That was… external.

Her phone vibrated with a screen blink from an unknown number.

Something felt wrong.

She stood slowly and moved toward the corridor.

“Shree?” Purvi’s voice came from behind. She asked, “Where are you going?”

“Washroom,” Shree said lightly. Lie number two today. She said to herself, and she took the corner of the corridor and said, “Hello,” but the call was disconnected without anyone’s voice, just disconnected. And then A message flashed on the screen.

YOU LOOK TOO CLOSE. STEP OUT AND SEE HOW DEEP IT GOES. Her stomach dropped, fear crawled over her, but she didn’t show it on her face; she knew something bad was going to happen.

She noticed a little girl outside through the window, chasing a butterfly dangerously close to the road. Instinct overriding caution, Shree rushed out, heart pounding, and caught the girl's wrist just as she stumbled off the curb. “Baby, don’t play on the road. It’s not safe for you,” she said gently, kneeling to meet the child’s eyes.

A man hurried over, calling out, “Isha!”—the girl’s father, face drawn with panic. He scooped his daughter up, scolding, “How many times have I told you not to run on the road?”

The little girl mumbled, “Sorry, Papa.”

The man shot Shree a grateful look. “Thank you, really.”

Shree forced a small smile. “You’re welcome. Be careful, okay?”

They walked away, crossing the street. Shree exhaled, her nerves still taut, turning back toward the HQ entrance.

Suddenly, a shadow loomed behind her. A rough hand clamped over her mouth, pressing a pungent cloth tight. Panic exploded in her chest. She thrashed, but another set of arms pinned her. The world spun, the chemical sting of chloroform flooding her senses. Her vision tunnelled, darkness creeping in.

Tires screeched. A black van skidded to a stop. Shree barely registered being dragged toward it—her heels scraping the pavement—before she crumpled, limp, into oblivion.

Across the street, Veer had just stepped out of his car, phone in hand. He froze at the chaos—saw Shree’s body, limp, being shoved into the van. Instinct kicked in. Veer sprinted, tackling one of the kidnappers. They grappled fiercely, fists flying, but the driver revved the van, and the accomplice shoved Veer off. He hit the ground hard, taking the chance of it, one of the kidnappers injected something in his neck and veer loose his consciousness, and they put both of them in a van.

Darkness swallowed them both.

Miles away from CBI HQ, a van tore through narrow streets, vanishing into the city’s shadows.

Inside, Shree and Veer lay bound and unconscious—pawns in Malik's game.

Shree’s senses returned slowly: cold concrete beneath her cheek, the reek of oil and rust, the sting of rope burning her wrists. She blinked up at a flickering yellow bulb, disoriented, then spotted Veer nearby—his jaw bruised, hands tied tight, still out cold.

She flexed her fingers, testing the ropes. They bit into her skin, but she forced herself to stay calm. Shree scanned the room for anything sharp. Inch by inch, she scraped her wrists against a broken crate, biting her lip to keep from crying out.

Laughter echoed from outside the warehouse door—Malik’s men, careless and overconfident.

The rope finally gave. Shree’s hands came free, raw and trembling, but she wasted no time crawling to Veer. Her fingers fumbled with the knots, urgency rising as his eyes fluttered open.

“Shree?” he croaked.

“Stay still,” she whispered fiercely, working on his binds. “We have to move, now.”

A slow, mocking clap rang out.

A tall man stepped from the shadows, his smirk gleaming. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Before Shree could react, he lunged, grabbing her arm and striking her hard. She reeled, but Veer growled and surged upright, fury in his eyes.

“Don’t touch her!” Veer shouted, voice echoing.

The man yanked Shree’s hair, but she twisted, slamming her knee into his leg. He collapsed with a howl. She seized the moment—elbows, fists, precision—knocking him away.

A pistol skittered across the floor. Shree snatched it up, standing between the attacker and Veer.

“Move back,” she warned coldly. “Or I shoot.”

He sneered. “You won’t. You’re just a kid.”

She flicked the safety off. “Your mistake is thinking I’m afraid.”

He hesitated. Shree fired—a warning shot that clipped his ear, blood blooming instantly. He screamed, cowering.

“I was raised to survive men like you,” she said quietly.

Veer, now freed, tackled another kidnapper rushing in. They fought, ruthless and desperate.

Sirens wailed outside. The CBI team stormed in, weapons drawn. Malik’s men surrendered, hands in the air.

But Veer’s focus was on Shree. She swayed on her feet, blood draining from her face. He caught her as she collapsed, heart hammering with fear.

“Rudra! Get the car!”

The chaos blurred—sirens, flashing lights, frantic shouts—as they sped to the hospital. Shree faded in and out, her pulse erratic.

Veer kept patting her cheeks. Meanwhile, they reached the hospital. Veer scooped her up and ran through the corridor. A nurse arrived with a stretcher, and Veer gently placed Shree on it. The doctor immediately took her into the emergency room. Purvi, Arnav, Rudra, and Veer waited anxiously outside. One thought kept repeating in Veer’s mind: when he checked her pulse, it was skipping—her heartbeat was not steady and regular like other people’s.

After some time, the doctor came out and said, “She is stable for now. But can you tell me if she has any medical history? Because it doesn’t seem normal.” Veer replied, “No, she hasn’t told me anything.” He turned to Purvi and asked if she knew anything, but she shook her head. The doctor said, “Okay,” and left. As she walked away, they saw Director Ayushman speaking with her. From the look on their faces, it seemed something serious was going on. Veer approached them and asked what had happened. Ayushman said, “Nothing, I was just asking the doctor about her condition.” But looking at Ayushman, Veer understood he was hiding something. For the world, Ayushman was Veer’s senior, but what others didn’t know—besides the team—was that Ayushman and Veer were very close friends. They can read each other’s faces very well.

Ayushman changed the topic and asked Veer how all this happened, and Veer told him everything, and Ayushman said "They wanted to kidnap only Shree, but u came in between, and their plan must have flopped, so they also kidnapped you."

And Veer says "yes ".