Unlawfully yours - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

The room was silent, save for the soft ticking of the clock on the wall. Aarav paced back and forth, the intensity of the situation weighing heavily on his shoulders. The message Ishani had received earlier wasn’t just a warning—it was a challenge. Whoever was behind these attacks had underestimated him, and that mistake was about to cost them everything.
Ishani sat across the room, her laptop open, running the last traces of the server they had tried to track. The dim glow from her screen illuminated her face as she typed furiously. Despite her usual confidence, she seemed unnerved. Aarav noticed the slight tremble in her hands as she clicked away at the keyboard. He knew she was just as shaken by what was happening—more than she'd like to admit. But she wasn’t one to back down. Neither was he.
The large glass windows of Aarav’s study overlooked the cityscape of Mumbai, but right now, the view did nothing to calm his nerves. The familiar hum of the city felt distant, as though the outside world had no idea of the storm that was brewing within his own walls.
“Aarav,” Ishani’s voice broke through the silence, “I’ve traced the source of the message, but the server is almost untraceable. Whoever is behind this has made sure there’s no direct link back to them.”
Aarav glanced over at her. Her eyes were focused, her brows furrowed in concentration, but there was a shadow of worry lurking beneath that calm exterior. It wasn’t easy for her to admit when something was beyond her skill, and for a brief moment, he saw her vulnerability. The woman who could solve any crime, who could read minds through the smallest of details, was now confronted with something bigger than her.
But not Aarav.
He couldn’t afford to let this defeat them. He couldn’t let it defeat her either.
“Anything you can’t do?” Aarav said, his tone lighter than he actually felt, trying to lift the weight of the moment.
Ishani shot him a small, but grateful smile. “I’ve always prided myself on solving the unsolvable, but this time... I might need a little help.”
He nodded, his mind already moving to the next steps. It was clear now that this wasn’t just a random attack. Whoever was behind this knew exactly who to target. And that person didn’t just want to kill—they wanted to destroy everything Aarav had built.
“I know someone who can help,” Aarav said, his voice low, almost like he was talking to himself.
Ishani frowned, looking up from her laptop. “Who?” she asked, genuinely curious but cautious.
He paused, thinking for a moment. “An old friend,” he said, as if it was nothing more than that. “Someone I’ve known for a long time. When everything else fails, he’s the one who makes the impossible possible.”
Ishani wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or worried. Aarav’s usual confidence was reassuring, but this was the first time she had seen him rely on someone else so openly. It made her realize just how serious the situation was. If even Aarav Malhotra couldn’t handle this alone, then they were truly in deeper waters than she had imagined.
“You’re not telling me the whole story,” Ishani said, her voice soft, but direct. “Who is this person? And why haven’t you called them in before?”
Aarav hesitated. His gaze shifted toward the window again, the city lights flickering like distant stars. “Because this isn’t a game. And the people who play at this level... well, they don’t take kindly to interference. Even from someone like me.”
Ishani tilted her head, trying to make sense of his words. “What do you mean by ‘someone like me’?”
Before he could respond, his phone buzzed, snapping him back to reality. The familiar ringtone told him who it was before he even looked. He pulled it from his pocket and answered with a single word: “Yes?”
A voice, cold and detached, came through the line. “Aarav, I’ve been following your case. You’re moving fast, but not fast enough. If you want answers, you’re going to have to do more than just show up in court. You’ll need to go deeper.”
Ishani looked at him as he held the phone to his ear. There was something about the conversation that made her uneasy. It wasn’t just the tone of the voice—it was the way Aarav’s expression hardened, his jaw tightening. This wasn’t just a friend he was talking to; this was someone important.
“Who is this?” Ishani asked, her voice almost inaudible.
Aarav cut his gaze toward her. His eyes softened just slightly before he spoke into the phone again. “I’ll do what I need to. I’m not here to play games.”
The conversation continued for another minute, but the words were drowned out by the rush of Aarav’s thoughts. This was the moment. Whoever was behind the attack wasn’t just targeting him—they were targeting everything he cared about.
After a few more seconds, Aarav hung up, his mind already calculating the next move. He didn’t need to explain it to Ishani. He knew she understood. This war was far from over.
“Ishani,” he said, his voice low but commanding. “We’ll need to meet with someone. Someone who knows how to track these kinds of people. If you’re ready to move on this, there’s no turning back.”
Ishani didn’t hesitate. She had come this far with him, and there was no turning back now. She nodded firmly. “Let’s do it.”
Aarav took a breath, his eyes meeting hers for a moment longer than usual. There was something unspoken between them, a quiet understanding that they were no longer just two people caught in a case. They were in this together now, for better or worse.
As they left the room, heading toward the front door, Aarav couldn’t help but feel a sense of urgency. Every second counted now. The mastermind behind this was still out there, and he was playing a dangerous game. But what the mastermind didn’t know was that Aarav Malhotra didn’t just play the game—he owned it.