~ The King In The Darkness ~
The heavy oak doors swung open. Silence thickened as men in black suits bowed deeply. Every head lowered at once, as if the very air demanded obedience.
guards
*trembling* “B-Boss… the politician who ran the child trafficking ring has been… taken care of. Just as you ordered.”
Reyan Malhotra, twenty-eight, stepped into the room. His sharp jaw caught the light, his cold eyes unreadable. Each stride felt like a storm closing in.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
*flat, commanding* “And the children?”
guards
*swallowing hard* “They were… freed, Boss.”
Reyan’s gaze cut through him like steel.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
*dangerous calm* “Freed isn’t enough. I said—safe hands. If I hear one is left behind… you won’t live long enough to apologize.”
guards
*bowing quickly, terrified* “Y-Yes, Boss! They’re being transferred to shelters under Kabir’s men. I’ll double-check myself.”
Reyan gave a short nod, the room releasing its held breath. The Mafia King was feared for his ruthlessness—but his rules were what made him terrifying. He killed, yes, but never without reason.
Hours later, Reyan sat in his private study. City lights glittered against the glass wall behind him. A glass of whiskey swirled in his hand, untouched.
The door opened quietly. Kabir, his most trusted man, stepped inside.
Kabir (Ml trusted man)
*cautious* “Sir… the media is calling you the devil again. They say you own the police, the politicians… the city itself.”
Reyan smirked faintly, a cold edge in his voice.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
“Good. Fear keeps the rats underground.”
Kabir (Ml trusted man)
*shifted uncomfortably, then dared to ask* “But… don’t you ever want them to know the truth? That you’re not the monster they think you are?”
Reyan’s gaze hardened, eyes like black ice.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
*quiet, firm* “The truth doesn’t matter. If they see me as a monster, let them. At least my monsters scare away the real demons.”
Kabir lowered his head. There was no arguing with the King of Darkness.
When the mansion had fallen silent, Reyan walked alone through a biometric lock, entering a chamber no one else dared step into. The air was laced with incense, faint roses, and silence thick with memories.
Photographs lined the walls—his mother, his father, his younger sister, all frozen in happier times. Their belongings sat untouched, as though waiting for their return. At the center stood three glass cases, each holding ashes.
Reyan closed the door, shoulders dropping as the mask slipped away.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
*softly, setting a rose before a photograph* “Hello, Maa. The city calls me a devil again. You’d laugh at that, wouldn’t you?”
He touched the glass case gently, his cold eyes softening.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
“Baba, I destroyed another corrupt dog today. I think… you’d have been proud.”
He turned to a sketchbook, pages yellowed with time. His voice cracked faintly.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
“Anika… you would’ve been twenty-two this year. You wanted to see Paris, remember? I’ll take you there. I promise.”
Silence pressed against him. He gave a short, bitter laugh, one that didn’t reach his eyes.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
*whispering* “Strange, isn’t it? The whole world fears me… yet the only people I want to protect are shadows now.”
In that room, the Mafia King wasn’t a king. He was a son. A brother. A boy who had lost everything. The man the world never saw.
Reyan stood, his fingers lingering on the sketchbook one last time. His voice was softer now, almost a prayer.
Reyan Malhotra (ML)
“I’ll keep fighting. Even if the world hates me. Even if I’m alone.”
Outside, the city roared with life. Somewhere within it, a woman—Aarvi, known to the underworld as Raven—was building her own sanctuary of survivors. Both shadows. Both saviors. Both broken in silence.
~Neither knew the other existed. But fate was already moving its pieces.~
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