The door clicked shut behind Anvi and Krish.
Silence filled the study again.
Ved remained standing near the desk, while Kashvi walked slowly toward the window.
For a few seconds neither of them spoke.
The rain outside had started again.
Soft. Steady.
Finally Ved broke the silence.
"You're not surprised they found out."
Kashvi kept her eyes on the garden.
"No."
"You expected it?"
"I planned for it."
Ved frowned slightly.
"You planned for everything to collapse?"
She turned to face him.
"Ved… everything already collapsed five years ago."
The calmness in her voice made him pause.
"You tried to kill me," he said quietly.
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
No excuses.
No denial.
Ved studied her carefully.
"Why?"
For the first time, Kashvi hesitated.
Then she walked back toward the desk.
"Because I thought you were going to destroy everything."
Ved's brow tightened.
"My investigation into the company?"
"Yes."
"You thought I was exposing corruption."
"You were."
Ved didn't deny it.
But his voice softened slightly.
"I was trying to protect the company… not destroy it."
Kashvi looked down at the file on the desk.
"You never explained that."
"You never asked."
The room went quiet again.
Five years of misunderstandings sat between them.
Ved finally spoke again.
"And Kriday?"
The name changed something in Kashvi's expression.
"He deserves the truth someday," Ved said.
Her gaze snapped toward him.
"No."
"You can't hide it forever."
"I can try."
Ved shook his head slightly.
"He already looks like me."
Kashvi's voice turned colder.
"He's my son."
Ved stepped closer.
"He's our son."
The words settled heavily between them.
For a moment Kashvi said nothing.
Then quietly—
"He doesn't need you complicating his life."
Ved looked toward the chessboard still sitting in the garden.
"He's already part of the game."
Kashvi followed his gaze.
"Someone targeted him yesterday," Ved continued.
"I know."
"They were sending a message."
Kashvi's eyes hardened.
"Yes."
Ved picked up the last page of the file again.
The name of the mastermind.
The man who had ordered the second shooter.
"He won't stop," Ved said quietly.
Kashvi nodded once.
"I know."
"And if we expose him…"
"The whole story comes out," she finished.
Ved looked at her carefully.
"Which means Kriday learns the truth."
Kashvi didn't answer.
The rain outside grew heavier.
Then Ved said something softer.
"You don't have to fight this alone anymore."
For the first time since he walked into the room—
Kashvi looked genuinely tired.
"You're five years late for that," she said quietly.
Ved didn't argue.
He just looked at her.
And for a brief moment—
The anger.
The betrayal.
The years apart.
All felt smaller than the truth still waiting outside that room.
Because somewhere in London—
The man who had tried to kill them both was still watching.
Waiting.
For the next move.