The physical damage to the port was minimal. The loss of life, on the other hand, was extensive. Eight of his men were dead. Aditya was in the middle of damage control with Mehras when the second bombshell of the day dropped.

  They’d hit his home as well. Five more men were dead, and his mother and Mrinal injured with his wife gone. The security systems had been sabotaged, just like they had at the port. All he could say for certain was that there was no blood to insinuate she’d been hurt, and they hadn’t been able to track her but his mother was a witness to what happened. She was taken unconscious and stuffed inside a car.

Karthik Mehra's car.

Just as his men had said, her trail stopped abruptly just feet from the door. Aditya glared up at the worthless security camera above the back lot, annoyed that it had so easily been rendered useless by whatever hack the attackers had deployed on the closed-circuit system. Unfortunately, the attack had all the hallmarks of an inside job. It was concerning, to say the least.

He was furious. His wife, she was in danger.

His phone buzzed with a familiar name popping up. Mehra!

"Nice house you got there. And a beautiful woman." The bastard chuckled through the line and Aditya clenched his jaw tight.

"I swear to god if you even lay a finger on her–" but before he could finish, another dark chuckle was heard.

"Too bad Aditya. Right now my fingers are on her slender legs. Advani gave birth to a fucking seductress."

"GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF HER!" Aditya raged through the line, his phone screen cracking at the harsh way he held.

"My, my, did you hear that little one?" Karthik said through the phone, and Aditya heard the muffled sounds of his wife through the line. "She's an innocent little thing. She even begged me to let her go. Tsk tsk."

"Put out the price. What do you want?" Aditya said, impatient, not liking the idea of his wife spending anymore time in the presence of a man like Karthik Mehra.

"Your bastard of a brother's head delivered on a silver platter in exchange for your whore."

Aditya shivered, not in fear, but out of intense anger that shook off his body. He bit down his own tongue, drawing blood. Arjun's life for Shradha's dignity. Two of the  most important people in his life and he was asked to make a choice.

"Listen here you filth, I'm coming there and I'm getting my wife back. And if I see a single drop of tear on her eyes, you won't make it to see tomorrow's sunrise." With that he threw the phone onto the floor, not caring if he hung up or not.

"Arjun!" He screamed, running his hands through his freshly trimmed hair. God he was afraid if he would be able to show this to his wife!

He scanned the room for the face he was looking for. His men stood in linez waiting for his orders. "Where the fuck is Arjun?!"

"What happened?" The familiar voice of his brother was heard from the doorway. Aditya slammed him to the wall, grabbing him by his shirt. "What the fuck did you do to cross Mehra?"

For a second, Arjun's eyes went dark, grief spreading over them until they turned void again. "I was the one who blew off his leg."

"Why?" Aditya hated his brother's impulsive way. This was the reason of an unwanted war.

"He killed someone I loved." Aditya's grip loosened, as he took step back, out of shock. He never knew his brother had a woman in his life, let alone that she was dead. He had questions, many questions which he'll seek answer later. Right now his woman's life was in danger.

  Upon his arrival to the old warehouse, that was where Aditya confirmed where that bastard hid his wife, Aditya was greeted by the unexpected sight of the flashing lights of an ambulance parked out front. There were three other vehicles in the lot, only one of which he recognized. He was out of the SUV in a flash, urgent strides taking him directly to the front of the structure where Ashish stood with his arms folded casually over his chest.

He had put his trust in Ashish to do the job and by the look of how relaxed he was, Aditya knew he succeeded.

"Where is she?” Aditya’s gaze swiveled towards the open doors of the ambulance where two EMTs waited nervously at the rear gate. Finding it empty, he looked back towards the building. The keypad was shot to hell, the door slightly ajar. Ashish had obviously already been inside. Without waiting for a reply, he grabbed the handle, ready to jerk the door open and see for himself what had become of his wife.

"Easy there brother. I took care of it. She is safe but that fucker escaped before we could get to him." Ashish held his shoulders, trying to calm a furious Aditya.

"Why the ambulance then?"

"I called it just in case. She is unharmed. See for yourself." With that Ashish opened the door letting Aditya see a glimpse of the dusty old warehouse. Inside his wife sat on a chair, with a blanket wrapped around her, which Aditya assumed Ashish gave to her.

She immediately stood up at the sight of him, as she shook in fear. "It's alright Shradha. I promised I would always protect you."

Her lower lip trembled as she gave a little nod, taking a few steps closer to him.

Once his hands went out to her, arms open and his expression imploring–her expression twisted with relief at his offering, but confusion and guilt were hot on its tail and she began to cry. Like a child, she reached for him, her body unfurling in a clumsy rush of motion as she fell against his chest.

  Delicate fingers knotted in the fabric of his shirt as she sobbed, crying harder still when his arms closed around her, and he drew the girl up from the floor in the cradle of his arms. She buried her head against him, hiding behind a tangled veil of hair as Aditya carried her from the building to his car.

"Ashish, by tomorrow morning, I want the news of Karthik Mehra's death." He instructed before closing in the door of the car gently after sliding her inside.

"Is that understood?" He roared at his brother who just seemed to give a nod back. Aditya knew that he was risking a war here. He knew how powerful the Mehras were but right now, all that it mattered was his family's protection.

He had dared to invade his house, and take his wife away. No man that dared to do that shall be alive.

Karthik Mehra would serve as an example of what happens if anyone crossed with the Kapoors.

And he was ready for the war.

This chapter is a beginning and glimpse to the future.
Drop in guesses what will happen?