Aayat's POV

The door burst open.

I looked up, ready to tear into whoever dared interrupt me

And then I saw her.

My mother.

The woman who vanished after burning down her own daughter's  company four years ago.

No apology. No explanation. Just smoke, ashes, and silence.

I stood slowly, the air thick with tension.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

She stepped in, that same cold smirk on her face,

The one she wore the day she ruined me.

"Still dramatic, I see," she said, eyes scanning my office. "Nice place. I almost forgot how determined you were to rebuild... after I tore it all down."

My jaw tightened. "You have a lot of nerve walking in here."

"Oh please," she laughed softly. "I just came to see how far you'd crawl back up. Looks like you've done alright... for someone who had to start from ashes."

My fists clenched.

"You burned years of my work. You betrayed your own blood. And now you want to gloat?"

She tilted her head. "Why not? It's fun watching you struggle to stay on top, pretending to be strong. But I know the cracks. I made them."

I took a step forward, calm but deadly.

"You didn't break me, you just taught me never to trust anyone, especially you."

She smiled, turning toward the door. "Oh, darling, I never came to break you. Just to remind you... I always could."

And just like that, she walked out.

Same as she did four years ago.

Only this time, I didn't feel broken. I felt fire.

"Watch closely," I muttered, eyes locked on the door she disappeared through.

"I'm about to rise higher than you ever dreamed, and you'll choke on the smoke."

The door clicked shut behind her.

Her perfume still lingered in the air, sharp, expensive, suffocating, like the poison she always left behind.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the empty space where she stood, breathing slowly, forcing the rage back down. Not now. Not again.

I exhaled slowly and reached for the intercom.

"Shivalika. Update on the land. Now."

The door creaked open a moment later. Shivalika entered, nervous energy radiating off her.

She didn't meet my eyes right away.

"Talk," I ordered.

She took a breath. "I've contacted every official we were dealing with—municipal, state, even legal advisors."

"And?"

"They all say the same thing," she said, hesitating. "That the land was acquired through illegitimate means."

I froze.

"What are you saying?"

"They're calling it an illegal purchase, ma'am. According to them, your seller didn't legally own the land. Which means... you technically never did either."

I stared at her, unblinking. "You think I buy land without verifying it a hundred times over?"

"No, ma'am. I believe you did everything by the book. But the 'book'... might've been rewritten."

I leaned back slowly, my eyes locked on hers.

"So let me guess, they want it back now?"

Shivalika nodded. "Yes. And if you don't vacate it, legal action is likely."

I let out a humorless laugh.

"A burned company. A mocking mother. And now stolen land I paid for with my blood."

I stood, the weight of the moment pressing against me, but I didn't bend.

"Find the paper trail. Whoever's rewriting the rules, find them, expose them, and bury them with it."

She nodded, already moving toward the door.

The hours passed, but my anger didn't.

I sat behind my desk, tapping my fingers against the wood, waiting, burning.

Something wasn't adding up. No system collapses this cleanly unless someone wants it to.

The door opened. Shivalika walked in, looking more tense than usual.

I straightened. "Tell me you have something."

She didn't speak immediately. Her silence told me everything.

"Well?" I pressed.

"I've checked everywhere, ma'am," she began carefully. "Legal offices, municipal departments, land records, even the private registrar's office. Nothing. It's all either missing, locked under 'confidential' tags, or simply... gone."

I narrowed my eyes. "Gone? As in erased?"

"Yes," she said, swallowing hard. "And the few officers who do speak? They claim the land was never legally available for private sale in the first place. They're saying you were either misled, or worse, complicit."

The air thickened.

"They're accusing me of buying government land illegally?"

She nodded, hesitant. "Off the record, yes. They're careful with their words, but the implication is there. And ma'am, this has gone beyond any local fixer's reach."

I stood, voice low and dangerous.

"I did everything by the book. Contracts, clearance, taxes. Now suddenly, I'm a criminal?"

"That's why..." she paused, "we have only one real option left."

I tilted my head. "Go on."

"This is political. Whoever's doing this has enough power to shut down records across every system. Only the CM can override those blocks, reopen the files, and order an independent inquiry."

"And if he refuses?"

"Then the narrative becomes this: Aayat Kapoor, businesswoman turned land thief. Headlines write themselves."

I felt a quiet fire building inside me. Not panic.

Purpose.

"Get the meeting," I said firmly. "And make sure he understands,

I'm not going there to ask.

I'm going to remind him who he's dealing with."

Shivalika nodded and left.

My phone buzzed, Shivalika's message confirming the meeting time with the Chief Minister.

Tomorrow, 10 AM.

I stepped into the grand office, the weight of the city's power pressing down on me.

The man behind the desk looked up, eyes sharp and assessing.

"I'm Aayat Kapoor," I said, my voice steady and clear.

"The CEO of Noble Estate group of hotels."

He stood and extended a hand.

"Mihir Raghuvanshi," he replied smoothly.

"Chief Minister of this state. I've heard a lot about you."

I shook his hand firmly.

"Not all good, I assume."

He smiled slightly.

"Truth rarely is. But I'm here to hear your side."

I nodded, stepping forward with determination.

"I'm here to make sure what's mine isn't stolen by corruption and politics."

Mihir gestured to a chair.

"Then let's talk, Ms. Kapoor."

The conversation unfolded like chess.

Every word, a calculated move.

I laid it out clearly, how the land was acquired legally, how records vanished, how officials contradicted themselves.

He listened, thoughtful but quiet.

Finally, he leaned back.

"Helping you will make enemies."

I smiled.

"Then I hope they're powerful enough to matter. Because if not, I'll make examples out of them."

His eyes locked on mine. Calculating.

"You're serious."

"Deadly."

He tapped a button.

"I'll assign trusted officers to investigate. Quietly. If there's truth in your claims, it'll be uncovered."

I stood.

"Good. Because if I don't get my land back..."

I took a slow step forward, meeting his gaze without flinching.

"Then I'll make sure you lose more than just votes, Raghuvanshi. You'll lose the one thing politicians fear most, control."

He said nothing, but I saw his jaw tighten.

I turned and walked out.

I stepped out into the corridor, heels echoing with purpose

But the moment I turned the corner, my phone buzzed.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: "You've made the wrong move, Ms. Kapoor. Now watch what happens next."

My grip on the phone tightened.

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