Chapter 3

Advik’s POV

The virtual call with the Korean delegation ended with formal smiles and muted microphones.

The deal was done. The partnership secured. Exactly the way I had intended.

Suraj disconnected the screen and looked at me. “The internal board discussion is scheduled now, sir.”

I nodded once and stood up.

Meetings never made me nervous. I didn’t prepare for them. I didn’t rehearse answers or anticipate objections. People adjusted to me, not the other way around.

That’s how it had always worked.

The boardroom was already occupied when I entered.

Raghav Malhotra sat at the head of the table, glasses resting low on his nose, fingers interlocked. Senior-most board director. Thirty years of corporate experience. A man who believed time automatically translated into authority.

The others followed my movement with their eyes as I took my seat.

“The Seoul partnership was rushed,” Raghav said immediately. No greeting. No courtesy. “We should have waited for legal clearance before proceeding.”

“I gave the clearance,” I replied calmly.

Silence spread across the table.

Raghav adjusted his glasses. “That’s precisely the concern, Advik. You’re making decisions too quickly. This is not a personal firm. It’s a public empire. Every move affects shareholders.”

I leaned back slightly. “Empires don’t survive by waiting for permission.”

He frowned. “This isn’t about ego. It’s about risk management.”

I looked at him properly then.

“You think I don’t understand risk?”

My voice was quiet. Controlled. The kind of tone that usually ended discussions.

But Raghav didn’t stop.

“With all due respect,” he said, “you’re new to this role. You may be an exceptional doctor, but corporate leadership works differently. You can’t run this company like an operation theatre.”

The word doctor hung in the air.

Something inside me shifted.

Slowly, I leaned forward. “You’re fired.”

The room froze.

Raghav laughed once, uncertain. “Excuse me?”

“Effective immediately. Your position as board director is terminated.”

No one moved. No one spoke.

“This isn’t how procedure works,” he said sharply. “You cannot dismiss me without board consensus.”

I stood up.

“This is exactly how it works now.”

I turned to Suraj. “Send HR the documents. Security will escort Mr. Malhotra out.”

Raghav stood up so fast his chair scraped loudly against the floor. “You’re making a massive mistake, Advik. You don’t even know what forces you’re playing with.”

I stepped closer to him.

“You’re right,” I said quietly. “You don’t.”

Security entered. Two men. Silent. Professional.

Raghav looked around the room, searching for support. No one met his eyes.

That’s the truth about power.

Everyone respects you — until the moment you fall.

They escorted him out.

The door closed.

I turned back to the table. “Next agenda point.”

No one spoke.

The meeting ended in less than three minutes.

As the directors filed out, I noticed her standing near the far end of the room.

Aadhya.

She hadn’t said a word. Hadn’t moved. But her expression wasn’t what I expected.

I dismissed the room with a gesture. Everyone left.

Except her.

“Sir,” she said, her voice calm but restrained. “May I speak?”

“This isn’t your department,” I replied.

“That’s why I’m speaking as a person. Not an employee.”

I looked at her fully then.

“Raghav Sir served this company for three decades,” she continued. “He questioned your decision. He didn’t betray you.”

I felt irritation rise slowly.

“You think you understand corporate loyalty better than I do?”

“No,” she said. “I think you confuse authority with fear.”

The words landed sharper than I expected.

“I don’t pay you to analyse me,” I said.

She didn’t flinch. “You pay me to support your decisions. Not to pretend they’re always right.”

I stood up abruptly.

“Do you realise who you’re talking to?”

“Yes,” she replied. “And that’s exactly why I’m talking.”

My jaw tightened.

“You’re crossing a line, Aadhya.”

“No, sir,” she said softly. “I’m showing you where it is.”

The air felt heavier.

“You fired him to prove dominance,” she continued. “Not because it was necessary.”

Something snapped inside me.

“You think I owe him mercy?”

“I think you owe yourself honesty,” she replied. “You didn’t fire him because he was wrong. You fired him because he challenged you.”

Silence followed. Not the comfortable kind. The dangerous kind.

Every instinct in me screamed to shut her down. To remind her how replaceable she was. How easily I could erase her from this building, this career, this world.

And yet— I didn’t. Instead, I felt something unfamiliar.

She wasn’t afraid of me. That was the problem.

“You’re here to execute my decisions,” I said slowly, “not question them.”

She met my gaze without blinking. “Then you don’t need an assistant. You need a shadow.”

The words cut deeper than they should have. I felt heat rise in my chest. Not just anger. Something else.

“You should be careful,” I said. “People who challenge me don’t last long.”

Her lips curved slightly. Not a smile. More like understanding.

“Then you should be careful too, sir,” she replied. “Because I don’t know how to stay quiet when something feels wrong.”

She turned and walked out. Just like that. No apology or fear

I stood there, staring at the closed door.

I had removed men who controlled industries.

Broken people who threatened governments.

Ended careers with a sentence.

And yet a woman with honest eyes and quiet strength had just looked at me like I was the one being tested.

For the first time in years, I realised something unsettling.

I didn’t want to silence Aadhya Suryavanshi.

I wanted to see how far she would push me.

And that made her far more dangerous than any enemy I had ever faced.