Episode 4 – The Deadline
1052 Words
The Sharma mansion no longer felt like a home.
Every room carried an invisible weight.
The wedding decorations had finally been taken down, leaving behind bare walls and an unsettling silence. Even the servants moved quietly, afraid to disturb the tense atmosphere.
Kiara stood outside her father's study, holding a tray of untouched breakfast.
He hadn't come out since dawn.
After knocking twice, she slowly pushed the door open.
Mr. Sharma was seated at his desk, surrounded by files, legal documents, and financial reports. His eyes were bloodshot from a sleepless night.
"You should eat something," Kiara said softly.
He smiled faintly.
"I will."
She placed the tray on the table and noticed several documents stamped in red.
FINAL NOTICE
Another file read:
Asset Recovery Proceedings
Her heart sank.
"Dad... how serious is this?"
He quickly closed the files.
"It's something I should have solved long ago."
"Is this because of Riyan?"
Mr. Sharma remained silent.
His silence answered her question.
Just then, the doorbell rang.
Aarav had arrived.
He carried a folder under his arm and looked more determined than ever.
"I've been speaking to lawyers since morning," he said after everyone gathered in the living room.
"There may still be a way to protect your company."
Hope flickered across Mrs. Sharma's face.
"Really?"
"It's difficult," Aarav admitted.
"But not impossible."
For the first time in days, the family allowed themselves to breathe.
Meanwhile...
High above the city, inside the glass tower of Oberoi Global, Riyan stood before a digital map displaying several companies connected to the Sharma Group.
Kabir entered quietly.
"The legal notices have been delivered."
Riyan nodded.
"No unnecessary pressure."
Kabir looked surprised.
"You want them to have time?"
"I want them to make a choice."
He closed the file in front of him.
"People reveal who they truly are when they believe they still have options."
Kabir studied him carefully.
"You already know what they'll choose, don't you?"
Riyan's expression remained unreadable.
"I'm waiting to see if they surprise me."
Back at the Sharma mansion, Kiara couldn't ignore the growing feeling that everyone was fighting battles she didn't understand.
Later that afternoon, she slipped into the old storage room she had intended to search the previous day.
Dust covered forgotten trunks and shelves lined with faded photo albums.
As she searched through an old wooden chest, a leather-bound diary fell onto the floor.
Its cover was worn with age.
Inside the first page, a handwritten note caught her attention.
"To my dear friend, Rajesh Sharma. May our families always remain together."
There was no signature.
Only a date.
Twenty-three years ago.
Kiara frowned.
Friend?
If her father had once been close to someone connected to this mystery...
Why had he never spoken about it?
Before she could turn another page, footsteps echoed outside the storage room.
Someone was coming.
She quickly hid the diary beneath her shawl and held her breath.
The doorknob slowly began to turn...
The doorknob turned slowly.
Kiara's pulse quickened.
She quickly slid the leather diary beneath her shawl and stepped away from the wooden chest, pretending to examine a dusty picture frame.
The door opened.
It was her mother.
"There you are," Mrs. Sharma said softly. "I've been looking everywhere."
Kiara forced a smile.
"I was just... clearing out some old things."
Her mother's eyes wandered around the room before resting on the half-open chest.
"You shouldn't be in here."
"Why?"
"It's full of old memories."
"Maybe that's exactly what I need."
For a brief moment, Mrs. Sharma's expression changed.
Not anger.
Fear.
She gently held Kiara's shoulders.
"Some memories only bring pain."
Before Kiara could reply, her mother closed the chest and led her out of the room.
That evening, the Sharma family's lawyer arrived unexpectedly.
His face alone was enough to make everyone nervous.
He placed a thick file on the table.
"I've gone through every possible option."
The room fell silent.
"And?"
Mr. Sharma asked quietly.
The lawyer lowered his head.
"There are almost none."
Mrs. Sharma covered her mouth in shock.
"The banks have frozen several accounts."
"Two investors have withdrawn."
"And..." he hesitated.
"The company's biggest contract has been cancelled."
The words hit the room like a storm.
Kiara looked at her father.
For the first time in her life...
He looked defeated.
Aarav clenched his fists.
"There has to be another way."
"I'm arranging meetings with investors tomorrow."
"I won't let this family lose everything."
Mr. Sharma gave him a grateful smile.
"Thank you."
Across the city, Riyan stood alone in his office.
The skyline glittered beyond the glass walls.
Kabir entered carrying another file.
"The reports are complete."
"The Sharma Group has begun looking for emergency funding."
Riyan nodded calmly.
"I expected that."
Kabir frowned.
"Should we stop them?"
Riyan closed the file without reading it.
"No."
"Every door they knock on..."
"...has already been closed."
Kabir looked at him in surprise.
"You planned this weeks ago."
Riyan didn't answer.
Instead, he picked up an old silver bracelet lying inside a drawer.
His fingers tightened around it.
For the first time, his calm expression cracked.
Just for a second.
Pain.
Regret.
Then it disappeared.
He quietly closed the drawer.
"Tomorrow..."
"They'll receive my final proposal."
Back at the Sharma mansion, Kiara locked her bedroom door.
She took out the leather diary she had hidden earlier.
Her hands trembled as she opened it again.
Most of the pages were faded.
Some had been torn out completely.
But one loose photograph slipped onto the floor.
Kiara picked it up.
It showed two families standing together beneath a large banyan tree.
Everyone was smiling.
Children were laughing.
Her father looked much younger.
Beside him stood another family.
A little boy smiled brightly while holding the hand of a little girl wearing a tiny silver bracelet.
Kiara stared at the photograph.
The little girl's bracelet...
Looked exactly like the one she still wore.
Before she could understand what it meant, someone knocked loudly on her bedroom door.
"Kiara!"
It was her father.
His voice was filled with panic.
"Open the door."
She hurriedly hid the photograph inside the diary.
As she unlocked the door, Mr. Sharma stood there, breathing heavily.
His eyes immediately fell on the diary in her hands.
His face turned white.
"Where..."
"...did you find that?"
- Writer
