Happy New Year to everyone 🐲🎊🎉🎇🥂
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“I, too, believe that Shehnaaz is a normal human being, and not some Frankenstein monster,” Reva said
humorously as she placed the bone china teacup in her hand on the coffee table. “What we’re really interested in is her background, her origins. General Rawat, General Shukla, I hope you haven’t forgotten what we found in the backpack she was carrying when we first found her. Those documents and
charts have proved to be extremely valuable.”
Sidharth did not reply.
General Rawat nodded. “We only achieved our breakthrough with the engine for the Gray Shadow supersonic fighter jet because of those documents.”
The Imperial fighter jets would still be running on sub-par engines, if it had not been for Shehnaaz and her backpack.
“Exactly. Our intel tells us that we beat the United States to the punch—they’re still trying to develop their version of our engine.” It was clear that Reva’s words were directed to Sidharth. “So Mr. Shukla, in light of all that, do you still want to be rid of Sana? Do you still think she’s a burden
to you?”
General Rawat sat up straight on the sofa. He was old, but his majestic, domineering aura had not decreased over the years. He patted Sidharth on the shoulder and said solemnly, “Sidharth, this task was assigned to you by the state and the military. I know it hasn’t been easy for you, having to play nanny and raise a little girl on your own, but Reva is right. We’re interested in her background, her origins, and not who she is, as a person. You cannot abandon your duty, not before we find out where she’s from. This is an order. Understood?”
Sidharth nodded. “I won’t abandon my duty, but I still think it isn’t right for us to pin all our military R&D hopes on her. We have to do it the hard way, make our own breakthroughs. Sana has given us a significant leg up with her documents, but we shouldn’t expect anything more from her. I’ll try to find her family, of course, but not
because I think it would benefit us. I want her to be reunited with her family—she may have lost her memories, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t miss her family.”
Reva laughed out loud. “Oh dear, has the ruthless General Shukla grown soft? I’ve said this before, but Shehnaaz is your mission, your target. She’s not your friend, and definitely not your family. Mr. Shukla, you’re too
emotionally invested in your target, and that can be dangerous. You shouldn’t do that.”
“Colonel Reddy, I don’t think it’s up to you to decide what I should or shouldn’t be doing,” Sidharth said
impassively. Reva’s words had not affected him in the slightest. “You’re out of line.”
Reva felt a surge of resentment, but she quickly realized that Sidharth was right: she had been out of line, and deserved the scathing rebuke. She hastily got to her feet and saluted him.
“General Shukla, please forgive me, I
spoke out of turn. I will accept whatever punishment you think is appropriate.”
General Rawat waved at Reva. “Sit down, sit down. We’re just having a casual conversation here. Sidharth, Reva isn’t being unreasonable. Don’t forget, you’re a major general, working for the India. Every action you take has serious consequences. Of course, I have absolute faith in you. I know you’re not the type to be reckless.”
Reva sat down uneasily. She watched Sidharth’s face carefully as she said in a subdued voice: “…Mr. Shukla, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. I only want what’s best for the military, and I understand your concern for Shehnaaz. Once she’s of age, she’ll get a boyfriend, get married, and have children. As long as she stays within the India, I don’t think there’ll be a problem.”
Sidharth ignored her. He stood up and saluted General Rawat. “General Rawat, is there anything else you would like to discuss?”
“No, we’re done. Get your men to set up the Army Dependents’ charity fund, and make sure they do a good job of it—it’ll be established in your name, after all.” General Rawat pushed the documents over to him. “We don’t actually need the money, to be frank. It’s just like with Neha Gill—I didn’t
send you to meet with her, just because she promised to donate her money. It was much more than that, you understand?”
The military had been after the blueprints in Neha’s possession; those specific blueprints were extremely
valuable, even more valuable than the jet engine blueprints in Shehnaaz’s backpack. Neha’s blueprints had been
the reason why the military had agreed to her conditions. But it was in the military’s best interests to keep Neha’s blueprints a secret, which was why they had made a show of sending Sidharth to the party for Neha’s donation money.
Sidharth was well aware of it: he would not have agreed to meet with Neha for a lesser reason. Still, the
rumors of his attending the party in exchange for a donation had been wildly distorted and exaggerated by a few of his enemies. The military had made no effort to set the record straight, which meant the scandalous gossip had dealt a blow to his reputation.
But Shehnaaz’s donation had effectively squashed all the rumors.
Sidharth thought of Shehnaaz, and how she seemed to be getting cheekier and bolder with every passing day.
The corners of his mouth quirked into a smile, and his expression softened. “General Rawat, this fund cannot be
established in my name.”
“Why?” Reva and General Rawat asked in unison.
“Mr. Shukla, don’t be too modest,” Reva said anxiously.
“Setting it up in your name means you’ll get credit for it!”
He would be able to put it on his list of achievements, and use it to his advantage when securing a promotion, or during an election.
Sidharth smiled. He picked up the documents and waved them. “That’s Shehnaaz’s name on the remittance
slip. She’s underage, she needs her legal guardian to sign for her if she wants to donate her money. Little Deepak signed for her when she transferred her money from the US, but I still have to sign for her for the donation to be official. What do you think that’ll look like to everyone else? My reputation is bad enough as it is, after what happened with Neha Gill.”
He was the legal guardian to a young girl, and the young girl had suddenly—for no discernable reason at all—donated all her money to a charity fund that would be set up in his name.
Those who did not know better would automatically assume he had swindled his young charge out of her entire fortune.
Neither Reva nor General Rawat had considered this. The two of them exchanged a look, before turning to Sidharth to say, “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll handle it,” Sidharth replied evasively as he slipped the documents into his briefcase. “I’m going back to
the C City military base. I’ll move into the headquarters for the 6th Military Region, here in the capital city, once they finish building it next year.”
…
After Sidharth had left, General Rawat solemnly returned to his desk. He asked Reva in a grave voice: “You’ve been with the 6th Military Region for a month now. What do you think?”
Reva immediately said, “The 6th Military Region is an unassailable fortress with Sidharth Shukla at the helm. I don’t think it would be a good idea to replace him with someone
else.”
“Oh? So you agree that Sidharth should be the commander of the 6th Military Region?”
“Yes, he’s the only one qualified for the position.” Reva paused. “Uncle Rawat, I know that you’re worried the Reddy family will be angry with Mr. Shukla over what happened with my
second uncle. I assure you that all of us in the Reddy family are extremely upset about my uncle’s act of treason—we’ve excommunicated him from the family, and also asked our relatives and friends around the world to help track him down. Once we find him, we’ll turn him over to the military,
ASAP. He’s no longer one of us.”
The Reddy family was a large and powerful family; they held sway over the upper echelons of the India.
The Reddys were everywhere. There was at least one Reddy in a leadership position in politics and in the military, to say Reddy nothing of private enterprise, mass media, and academia.
The Reddy family was simply too powerful, and collective punishment—the old tradition of punishing the entire family for one man’s mistake—was no longer appropriate in this day and age. In the end, Abhay Reddy’s defection had not affected the Reddy family in any significant way.
The only one who had been affected by his actions was his daughter, Megha Reddy.
Her father’s scandal meant that she was no longer qualified to be the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, the alternative presented to her—a transfer to a small, insignificant department where she would be quarantined to a meaningless, dead-end job—did not appeal to her either.
She had resigned from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was no longer engaged in public office.
General Rawat was relieved to hear what Reva had said.
He intended to pave the way for Sidharth to succeed him. In order to do that, he had to make sure that Sidharth remained in the Reddy family’s good graces.
Fortunately, there was too much evidence pertaining to Abhay’s defection for the Reddy family to even think about sweeping it under the rug. The Reddy family had had to excommunicate him, and volunteer their efforts to help arrest him instead.
Nevertheless, a few members of the Reddy family were displeased with Sidharth. They felt that he should
have talked to them in private beforehand, instead of immediately conducting a raid. He had not cared to
preserve the honor and dignity of the Reddy family, and they were insulted by his actions.
General Rawat could only hope that Reva would be able to persuade the Reddy family to reconcile with Sidharth.
Reva’s father was the current leader of the Reddy family.
Her family was the main branch of the Reddy family, and usually called the shots.
“Good. I hope you’ll find Abhay Reddy soon.” General Rawat was not afraid of the Reddy family. If the Reddy family turned out to be a threat to national security, the military would not hesitate to get rid of them.
…
That very night, Sidharth returned to the C City military base on a private jet. When he arrived, he found that Sandeep had already returned from the United States, and was now sitting in Sidharth’s living room snacking
on lychees.
As soon as he saw Sidharth come in, Sandeep immediately rose to greet him, a cheeky smile on his face.
“Welcome back, Boss. I heard Sana donated a large sum of money to the military, is that true?”
“Where did you hear it?” Sidharth tossed his gloves onto the table next to the front door. “Only four people in
the whole India know about this.”
“Hehe, I heard from Little Deepak. I received a call from him, soon as I got off the plane—he said something about needing your signature because you’re her legal guardian.”
Sandeep handed him an agate plate stacked with lychees.
“…Want some?”
“No thanks.” Sidharth pushed the plate away. “I have things to do. If there isn’t anything else to discuss, go home
and rest up. Aren’t you jet-lagged?”
Sidharth could not help marveling at Sandeep’s appetite. Sandeep had just disembarked from a long-distance flight from the United States, and the first thing he had done was hop over to Sidharth’s place to see what was in his fridge.
Sidharth eyed him. “You’ve gotten even fatter, haven’t you?”
“Hey now, that’s a low blow, you can’t just go around calling people fat.” Sandeep slapped his belly. “Eh, whatever, I’ve long since given up on myself. I’ll eat whatever I want.”
Sidharth was no longer paying any attention to him. He went to his study and summoned a few of his subordinates to help him establish the charity fund.
“The fund will be named the Naaz—Today’s Heart— Army Dependents’ Charity Fund. All donations will be
anonymous, and it will be managed directly by the military.”
Sidharth issued his instructions to his subordinates.
“You’ll have to work with the Legal Department on this, because with Today's Heart we will effectively be setting the ground rules for all future military charity funds. The rules are as follows: One, contributors to the charity fund have no say regarding how the charity fund is managed. Two, there will be honorary directors, but this position will only be granted to contributors who donate 90 million US dollars in a single donation. Three, contributors will receive a financial
statement every year in exchange for their donation, but that’s it—any other requests from the donors will not be
entertained. In fact, they will be illegal.”
Sidharth wagged a long, slender finger. “Got it? That’s our policy. We welcome all donations, but it will be up to us how we want to use the money. Those who don’t agree will have to take their money elsewhere.”
His conditions were extreme, and for good reason: the military was directly involved in the charity fund. If he did
not set his foot down now, the military would slowly but surely be compromised by external forces trying to buy their way in with money.
This was how Sidharth did things.
He was always the one to make the rules. He was not the type to blindly follow the rules that had been set by others.
Sidharth’s subordinates could barely contain their excitement when they saw the astronomical figure in the
bank account. “Understood! But sir, can you at least tell us who’s being so generous with their money? Is it that rich Barbados lady?”
They looked at Sidharth eagerly, looking for all the world like gossip-hungry paparazzi.
Sidharth glanced at them. His face was entirely deadpan. “No, it wasn’t her. But now that you mention it, inform Miss Gill to transfer the money she promised to the bank account for the Today's Heart Charity Fund, once it’s up and running. Tell her that someone else already donated 90
million US dollars anonymously, which means that her 50 million isn’t enough to make up the majority of the charity
fund. Also, she does not qualify to be an honorary director.”
“Yes, sir!” His subordinates had been eager for some juicy gossip, but immediately lost interest when they heard the money had not come from Neha Gill at all. They collected the documents and hurried to the Legal Department to make the necessary arrangements for the charity fund.
…
Once his subordinates had left, Sidharth walked out of his study to discover Sandeep was still there, sitting on his sofa.
Sandeep had evidently made himself at home: he had pulled out his laptop and placed it on the small coffee table,
and was now working on it as he continued stuffing his face with lychees.
Sidharth sat on the sofa opposite him, frowning. “Is there something else you want to discuss? Why are you still here?”
“I forgot to show you this.” Sandeep waved him over cheerfully. “Look, a behind-the-scenes recording, fresh from the oven. 100% raw footage—I guarantee it hasn’t been edited in any way!”
Sidharth rolled his eyes. He shook his head and got to his feet. “Knock yourself out, I’m not interested. I’m going to take a shower.” He turned away.
“Oh? Not interested? Huh, I thought you’d want to see what happened in the courtroom…” Sandeep grinned at Sidharth’s back. He wanted badly to take out his stopwatch and time how long it would take for Sidharth to turn back around.
He was disappointed—this time, Sidharth did not hesitate, not even for a second. Sidharth immediately
turned back around, seated himself beside Sandeep, and pulled the laptop closer towards him. “This is a recording of Sana’s trial?”
“Yup.” Sandeep gleefully hit the Play button, then moved aside to give Sidharth some space. He crossed his
arms and began to hum an old song: “I laughed happily… I laughed happily…”
The laptop speakers crackled to life. Sidharth’s attention was immediately drawn to the beautiful girl standing in the middle of the screen.
He did not know if it was just the camera angle, but Shehnaaz was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her lively, intelligent eyes shone from her exquisite face as she fearlessly provoked her enemies—while shamelessly leeching off the authority and influence of the tall, elegant man beside her.
Sandeep boldly leaned over to ask: “Look at them—a match made in heaven, eh?”
“Attractive couple?” Sidharth didn’t turn around.
“Who?”
“Of course I’m talking about them!” Sandeep giggled as he pointed to Kartik and Shehnaaz on the laptop
monitor, boldly continuing, “See, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, don’t they like look like a stunning pair?”
Sidharth shifted his gaze and looked at Sandeep disdainfully. “Stunning pair? What silly things are going on inside your head?”
“Isn’t it true though?!” Sandeep was giddy and mentally mocked Sidharth. You wanted to fake it, and now you can’t fake it anymore. You’re really upset, aren’t you?
“Of course not.” Sidharth promptly denied. He then pointed a finger at Kartik. “He is Sana’s professor. Don’t you know the laws in American schools? The teacher will be fired if he gets romantically involved with a student. If the student is a minor, the teacher goes to jail. I’ll gladly help Kartik along if he wants to destroy his reputation.”
Sandeep gaped at Sidharth—the man’s barefaced threats shocked him.
“You’re also the most well known doctor in the India, and even known as the ‘God of Medicine’ within the military. How can you be so ignorant?” Not forgetting to insult Sandeep, Sidharth hit him where it hurt and directly attacked his professional abilities.
Sandeep hated having his qualifications questioned more than anything. He was so angry he nearly cursed, but was tongue tied and speechless for a long time. After a while, he attempted to salvage his dignity.
“Why are you so mad? I was just making a joke. Moreover, Professor Sen is a law professional, so how would he allow anyone to give reason to blackmail him?”
Sidharth turned away to continue watching the video, and then took out a flash drive and copied the file to it.
“Stop with your flowery speech. Do you think you can fool me?”
“What I am fooling you about?” Sandeep was annoyed to realize that he was the furious one. When had Mr. Shukla gotten such a sharp tongue? Before, he would beat someone up for messing with him and had never resorted to bickering. Refusing to back down, Sandeep grumbled, “Yeah right! A gentleman desires a fair lady! You may not be interested, but you can’t forbid others from being interested! Don’t be so overbearing!”
“How am I forbidding anything? If that’s the case, how would Parth be milling around Sana?” Sidharth’s hand paused while he resumed his composure.
He copied all the remaining footage and permanently deleted them off Sandeep’s laptop.
“Parth?” Chen Lie paused. “Who’s that?”
Sidharth remained silent and took out the flash drive to leave the room.
“Oh! I remember now! He’s Sana’s Class Rep! So, Shukla knows his name!” Sandeep laugher. “He’s young and handsome; he makes a good pair with Sana too! She promised to be his girlfriend in six months, once she comes back.” Sandeep grinned and taunted Sidharth. “It sounds like Shehnaaz has to thank ‘Your Highness’ for letting her get a boyfriend, correct?”
The only reply Sandeep got was Sidharth walking away and slamming the door.
…
The Indian Military’s charity foundation for fallen soldiers, “Today’s Heart,” was quickly established. All legal procedures were prepared and a professional administrative team had been formed by the elite members of the 6th Military Region. Neha Gill was surprised when she got news of the 90 million dollar donation “Someone had already made a donation? An anonymous donor? Is this true?” Neha looked at the letter Deputy Director Gupta of the Indian Secret Service had
sent, her brows knit tightly together as she murmured, “This can’t be. The conditions were too harsh, how could anyone agree to them? Did someone really donate that money? Or was this a publicity stunt?” She had originally intended to take control of the charity fund, name it after Sidharth, and do things for him behind scenes. Because
she would have been the one paying, she would certainly have had the power. No one was foolish enough to spend money without a motive. Had the 90 million US dollars really been donated without reason, and anonymously too? This kind of tactic was common in the world of business—just like an antiques auction. People would bid against each other and the highest bid would win.
Neha couldn’t believe that someone would donate all that money to the military without an ulterior motive. Her own total assets were several billion US dollars, and much of that was in the form of real estate, stocks, and bonds. With her liquidity, it would take one month to put together 90
million US dollars. Neha contemplated it and called her American lawyer. “Jennifer, can you have someone find out the information about the new charity fund established by the Indian Military? Did someone really make the
donation?”
Jennifer was an intelligent and capable lawyer. As soon as she heard this, she exclaimed, “Impossible! This can’t be right! I’ll contact our branch in the India and see if they have any news.”
Setting down the phone, Neha leaned on the beige and dark gold brocade chaise longue and watched the rain fall gently outside the window. Large droplets hit the banana leaves outside the French windows, rinsing their vibrant green hue. Summer is about to end in C City? Neha mused. It is almost September, so the weather will turn colder soon.
Neha looked down at the letter, as though she would be able to make out any deception from the flimsy paper.
Soon after, Jennifer returned her call. “Yan, I can’t help you with this. The 6th Military Region controls the formation of this charity fund, and our people don’t have access to them.”
“The 6th Military Region?” Neha clutched her phone and abruptly said, “I understand. Thanks Jennifer.”
If she recalled correctly, the man she was interested in, Major General Shukla, was in charge of the 6th Military Region.
A small smile formed on her lips as she curled her slender fingers around an ivory toothpick to spear a sliver of golden cantaloupe, and brought it to her red lips. If that’s the game Major General Shukla wanted to play, then that’s exactly what she would do too.
“Prepare 10 million US dollars in cash and deposit it to the account number from Deputy Director Gupta.” Neha ate
the cantaloupe as she gave the order. There were always four or five senior secretaries at her side, since she had
countless decisions to make a day. Every moment involved millions of US dollars in business. “Also, tell Deputy Director Gupta we will transfer the remaining 40 million dollars in installments.” Neha stopped eating the cantaloupe after two pieces and rose to give the remaining slices to her
secretaries. “These are quite good. They were flown in yesterday from a specialty orchard. The quality is even
better than the local ones grown here.”
The secretaries sat and shared the fruit as Neha continued her requests. “Book some plane tickets, I’m going
back to Barbadoes. I’ve been here for too long. It’s time to return.”
…
Several days after Neha left, Deputy Director Gupta received the news that Neha had only donated 10 million US dollars despite promising 50 million. The remaining funds would be deposited in installments. Deputy
Director Gupta was immensely displeased. He had done as she had asked, and Indian soldiers had even been sacrificed for her. Now that things were settled, she actually had the gall to state such ridiculous conditions.
Deputy Director Gupta complained to Sidharth over the phone and he dryly replied, “Return the 10 million US dollars back to her. The blueprints will be considered as part of her fees, so that we won’t have anything to do with her again.”
He paused before warning Deputy Director Gupta, “Old Gupta, you are not to call the shots with anything to do with this woman again. Don’t contact her, understand?”
*
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I hope you enjoy reading it.
Love you all.
Sorry for not updating for so long but first I was sick 😷 and then my exams for graduation started and they are still going on so if I am not able to update sorry in advance 🙏.