The Queen of the Game
1567 Words
HELLO LOVELIES!!! ✨🤍
Before we jump in… This chapter shifts the battlefield. The war inside the Rathore family officially begins here.
And not everyone will survive it.
(Also ignore tiny dialogue slips if you notice them editing will happen later.)
Phase – I
★★★
AARA
Inside Arjun’s Car Leaving the Docks
The burning warehouse disappeared behind us as the car sped onto the highway. No one spoke for the first few minutes. The city lights blurred past the windows.
My mind, however, wasn’t focused on the road.
It was stuck on three things.
My father.
The photograph.
And the fact that Arjun’s mother had just taken control of the Rathore headquarters.
I finally turned toward Arjun. “You said she escaped custody.”
His eyes stayed on the road.
“Yes.”
“How?”
Raghav answered from the back seat before Arjun could. “Because she planned the arrest.”
I twisted around to face him.
“You’re telling me the police thing was staged?”
“Not staged,” Raghav said casually.
“Manipulated.”
Arjun’s jaw tightened slightly.
“My mother has people everywhere.”
“Even the police?”
“Especially the police.”
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
“So what happens now?”
Arjun didn’t hesitate. “Now we take it back.”
“Take what back?”
“Our headquarters.”
The way he said it made it sound less like a building and more like a throne.
Raghav leaned forward slightly.
“You should also mention the other problem.”
Arjun shot him a look.
“What problem?” I asked.
Raghav’s lips curved faintly. “Mother doesn’t take control of something unless she plans to destroy it.”
Silence filled the car again.
I looked back at Arjun.
“What does that mean?”
He exhaled slowly. “It means she’s about to wipe out every rival family in the city.”
“And you’re one of them now?”
His answer came instantly.
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“So this is a mafia war.”
Raghav chuckled.
“Congratulations.”
★★★
RATHORE HEADQUARTERS
Midnight
The building stood at the center of the financial district. Thirty-five floors of glass and steel.
From the outside it looked like any other corporate tower. But inside… It was the nerve center of the Rathore empire, and tonigh it belonged to Meera Rathore. She stood at the top floor window, looking down at the city lights.
Her reflection in the glass looked calm.
Elegant.
Untouchable.
Behind her, several men stood in silence.
Waiting.
One of them finally spoke.
“Madam… the police convoy incident has been confirmed.”
Meera didn’t turn.
“Casualties?”
“Minor injuries.”
“And Arjun?”
“He escaped.”
A faint smile touched her lips. “Of course he did.”
Another man stepped forward. “What are your orders now?”
Meera finally turned around, her eyes were sharp and calculative.
“Activate phase two.”
The room went quiet. Everyone understood what that meant.
One of the men hesitated slightly.
“Madam… if we move now the entire underworld will react.”
“That’s the point.”
“But the council”
“The council answers to me now.”
Silence again then she walked slowly toward the long conference table. A digital map of the city lit up across the screen, and red markers appeared across several districts, warehouses, banks, private clubs, and rival territories.
“Tonight,” Meera said calmly, “we erase every family that ever challenged Rathore power.” Her finger tapped the first red marker.
“Starting with the Khannas.”
The men exchanged nervous looks, because the Khannas weren’t small. They were the second most powerful crime family in the city, destroying them would start a war but Meera didn’t care.
“And if Arjun interferes?” one man asked.
She looked up slowly.
“He will.”
“And then?”
Her smile returned.
“Then my son will finally understand what it means to be ruthless.”
★★★
AARA
Arjun’s Safehouse 1:30 AM
The building didn’t look like a safehouse, from the outside it looked like an abandoned factory but the moment we stepped inside… I understood why it existed.
Weapons lined the walls. Security monitors covered an entire control room. At least fifteen armed men stood ready.
And the moment Arjun walked in… Every single one of them straightened.
“Boss.”
Arjun nodded once.
“Report.”
One man stepped forward.
“Headquarters is locked down.”
“Security?”
“Your mother replaced half the guards.”
Arjun’s expression didn’t change.
“Anyone loyal left inside?”
“Maybe three.”
“Maybe?”
“They haven’t responded to messages.”
Raghav leaned against a table.
“Well… that’s encouraging.”
I crossed my arms.
“So what’s the plan?”
Arjun turned toward the large digital map on the wall, the same city grid Meera had been looking at but his version showed something different.
Movement of red vehicles spreading across different districts. My stomach tightened.
“What is that?”
Raghav answered.
“Mother’s war starting.”
The markers began blinking one by one.
Explosions.
Shootings.
Attacks happening all across the city.
Simultaneously.
I stared at the screen.
“She’s destroying everyone.”
Arjun’s voice was quiet.
“Yes.”
“And you’re just watching?”
His eyes shifted toward me.
“No.”
He tapped the map.
A new set of blue markers appeared.
His men.
His territory.
His loyal forces.
“We counterattack.”
One of the guards looked uneasy.
“Sir… if we fight now the city will collapse.”
“That already started.”
“But the council will blame you.”
Arjun’s gaze turned icy.
“The council can join the war if they want.”
Then he turned to Raghav. “You still have your contacts in the eastern district?”
Raghav smirked.
“Of course.”
“Call them.”
“And tell them what?”
Arjun’s voice dropped.
“Tell them their queen just declared war.”
The room buzzed with sudden activity. Phones dialing. Weapons being checked. Men moving quickly. Within minutes the safehouse turned into a command center, but while everyone else worked Arjun walked toward me.
“You should stay here.”
I frowned.
“I’m not hiding again.”
“It’s not hiding.”
“It sounds exactly like hiding.”
“Aara”
“You told me the truth tonight finally.”
“And?”
“And now I’m part of this whether you like it or not.”
His eyes studied my face for a moment.
“You’re stubborn.”
“I’ve been told.”
Raghav suddenly interrupted from behind us.
“Touching moment, but we have a bigger problem.”
Arjun turned.
“What.”
Raghav held up a tablet.
Security footage and hospital footage.
My breath caught.
The same hospital from the photograph earlier.
“What am I looking at?”
Raghav zoomed in.
A man leaving the hospital building.
My father but he wasn’t alone, a woman walked beside him, tall with dark hair wearing sunglasses even at night.
My heart stopped, because I recognized her.
“That's impossible…”
Arjun leaned closer.
“You know her?”
My voice barely worked.
“That’s…” Pause. “…my mother.”
Silence swallowed the room, Raghav raised an eyebrow.
“I thought she was dead.”
“So did I.”
Arjun’s jaw tightened.
“When was this footage taken?”
“Three nights ago.”
My head spun.
“My parents are alive?”
Raghav shrugged.
“Looks like it.”
“But why would they fake their deaths?”
Arjun answered quietly.
“To disappear.”
“From who?”
He looked at me.
“From my family.” The realization hit me slowly, cold and heavy.
“You mean… my parents were running from the Rathores?”
Before anyone could answer the safehouse alarm suddenly screamed.
Loud.
Piercing.
Everyone froze.
One of the guards rushed to the monitor.
“Boss… we’ve got incoming vehicles.”
Arjun moved instantly.
“How many?”
“Six.”
“Police?”
“No.”
The man zoomed in on the screen and it's a black armored SUVs surrounded the building. My stomach dropped.
Raghav whistled softly.
“Well…”
The first explosion hit the front gate, the gate metal twisted violently, and the building shook, then the gunfire started.
Arjun’s expression turned completely cold. “They found us.”
Raghav grinned. “Mother moves fast.”
Another explosion shook the walls and suddenly the safehouse lights flickered. Arjun grabbed his gun.
Then looked at me.
“Stay behind me.”
My heart pounded.
“Is it your mother?”
He didn’t answer immediately, instead he stared at the screen showing the attackers then he said something that made my blood run cold.
“No.”
He Paused. “That’s not my mother’s army.”
The front doors burst open, armed men flooded the building and the leader stepped inside slowly.
Tall. Grey hair, and a very familiar face.
My father.
Alive, holding a gun, His eyes were locked onto mine, and he said the last words I ever expected to hear.
“Aara… you should have stayed dead.”
- Writer
