Aditya could imagine an old fogy sitting in a grand looking armchair with an antique design, in some palace like home, laughing evilly thinking how he trapped his grandson to work for him.

"Why does he have to do all this? can't he just simply come to me and say a sorry, that would be more acceptable than this mutual benefit relationship?" Aditya asked as he looked at his elder sister.

"If it was that simple, you might have grown under his arm instead of not knowing who your maternal grandfather was," Saira replied. Even she did not know the full details but she had heard from her father that it something to do about Aditya's father been humiliated by Aunt Nirmala's father for his humble origins which angered Aunt Nirmala.

Later, though Aditya's maternal grandfather repented for his harsh words, he couldn't bring himself to take the first step and apologise. Aunt Nirmala did not take a step back to compromise and this knot remained untied ever since. If that old person did not repent, he would not have helped Aunt Nirmala in dealing with Maahi's father.

So, one could understand why Narendra Ahuja went in such a roundabout way to get Aditya to owe him so that Aditya would be obliged to help him. Also, the fact remained that Aditya was currently in danger because of this blood relationship and Narendra Ahuja could not have anything happen to him after what happened with his son dying and his daughter missing.

"What did he have to say about mother and father?" Aditya asked seriously. If Saira's answer did not satisfy him, he would definitely not oblige even if that person was his grandfather. Aditya did not fear been targeted by assassins as long as they were not from 'that' organization. He was confident in his abilities. As for the favours, he had multiple ways to repay each of them without having to oblige him. And, it was just a matter of time before Aditya earned as much as his grandfather.

So, if Aditya did not have a small soft corner in his heart that these people were his blood relations, he would not be foolish enough to add this extra burden. One had to know that Aditya had designed a detailed plan for his future operations and this new task might force him to modify them, even delay them. So, if he had to convince himself of taking this step, it depends on what that old fogy had done for his parents after they went missing.

Saira looked at Aditya for a while and took a deep breath as she pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and passed it to Aditya, "This was what your grandfather asked me to bring to you. He said that even he is powerless against 'those' people and this was the only thing that he could manage."

Aditya took that piece of paper to discover that there was an unknown mobile number written on it. Aditya's fingers trembled slightly as his heart shook, he looked at his elder sister, "Is this..."

Saira nodded as she said, "This is a chance to talk to your parents once. This was what your grandfather could get and he gave this chance to you instead of using it himself. Believe me when I said that it is not a simple feat to get this."

Aditya gripped the paper tightly as his heart became chaotic. This was the most precious gift that he had ever received. His mother and father's images flashed in his mind before he slept everyday. From the past few days, Aditya had started sleeping normally instead of sleeping in Tya's world as he wanted to experience the dream world where his parents were with him. Every time he saw them in the dream world, he would question himself about what went wrong in the real world that the timeline has diverted.

Though it was just a dream for Aditya, there were many mornings when he would wake up and hope that was real. Then again, he would urge himself to see the bright side, he had met Tya, got these abilities which gives him hope to rescue his parents, met Hamsa, Taarini and others. Though he told himself these, the constant fear and concern that he felt about his parent's well being outshadowed everything sometimes.

So, now that he was given a chance to talk to his parents, Aditya could not wait to call the number. But his elder sister poured cold water on his impulsive actions by saying that the number would become active a day later. Aditya calmed down, saved the number in his phone. Even though he had confidence in his abilities, he checked every number in the sequence like a normal person, repeatedly, so that no mistake was done. He also had Tya produce a copy in the quantum realm. He then securely folded that paper and put in his pocket.

Saira looked at Aditya's actions and sighed but did not interrupt him. Aditya took some time to calm down as he smiled at his elder sister who was looking at him with care, "So, what does my grandfather want me to do?"

"He wants to publicly announce you as an 'heir apparent' to the 'Ahuja Group'. He wants to take you into his household and have you trained accordingly," Saira said as she watched Aditya's indifferent expression. She found it puzzling that a teen could be so indifferent to the promise of such a luxurious life. she did not know that it was not that Aditya was a saint who was enlightened but the fact was simply that he did not need his grandfather's property to live such a life.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Aditya smiled bitterly as he said, "He wants me 'trained'? Looks like he has quite unrealistic expectations from me."

"Well, you can't expect to continue this life when he announces you to the world, right?" Saira said. It would be over the top if someone found out that the young master of the 'Ahuja Group' was working in a garage as a mechanic, living such a simple life.

Aditya also nodded as some things would not be able to remain the same. He pondered for a bit as he said, "I am okay with his condition. But I have some of mine."

Saira nodded as she knew that Aditya might have reservations. She was happy as long as her little brother was safe as she knew that she wouldn't be able to be there for him every time he is in danger.

"I want this public announcement to be postponed by five months till I get into university." this was the most important condition for Aditya as five months was all he needed to get the engine rolling. After that, he would be able to incorporate the role of a young master into his plans smoothly. This would even speed up his previous plans which was good.

Saira frowned a little when she heard this condition. But after pondering a bit, she nodded and said, "although your grandfather might fret a little, it should not be a problem. I can say that you want to live this free life for a while. Also, you could join a university in Mumbai as all the financial operations of the 'Ahuja Group' are headquartered in Mumbai, which would make things convenient for both of you."

"Mumbai," Aditya muttered a little but nodded as his plan wouldn't be affected much by changing his base to the financial capital of India.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, I want full protection for each and every friend of mine and for their families also," Aditya did not want any of his friends been pulled into danger because of him. He had been already having some people doing this protection job since he smashed Reyansh's face. He had seen many movies and read many novels to imagine how a typical villain like Reyansh would think and behave.

He had felt that his notions were wrong as Reyansh did not make a move on him or his close ones in the past month. Only now, did he know that it was his grandfather who intervened. Now that his grandfather was eager to favour him, he might as well use the old man's money and influence to get the best protection for his best buddies.

"Anything else," Saira grinned when she heard this condition. This was so like Aditya to think this way.

"Nothing, just make sure that Taarini's project is supported fully and I mean financially, also in terms of infrastructure support etc," Aditya said as he looked at his elder sister.

"Oh, did you know that it is your elder sister Maahi who is the main financier to Taarini's project?" Saira asked Aditya.

Aditya was a little shocked when he heard this as he did not know about it, even Taarini did not speak anything about it. He always had mixed feelings whenever he thought about elder sister Maahi. He wanted them to be like how he and Saira interacted but he knew that this elder sister Maahi had something else planned and he was too frightened to meet her.

He had always adopted the idea of avoiding her until she found her beloved. That was what he had decided two years back and his idea remained unchanged even now. He felt that time will eventually change Maahi's thoughts.

"Did you also know that Maahi has changed her office headquarters from Mumbai to Bangalore two months ago?" Saira asked as she observed Aditya's expression. She had always believed that Maahi would be a better elder sister to Aditya than her. She remembered how Maahi would always talk about Aditya and care for him in all aspects, unlike her who was more into her profession leaving her very less time for the family just like her father.

So, her surprise could be imagined when she returned from her training and found out that these people had stopped interacting with each other. No one talked about what happened and this thing remained a puzzle for her ever since. Saira sighed as she saw Aditya's passive expression and said, "It would be good if everything was the same as in the past, Aditya. It would be nice if we, 'the three siblings', got together."

Aditya smiled bitterly as he thought, 'three siblings? More like a couple and a sister/sister-in-law'. He shook his head as he turned towards the unconscious person and asked, "What about him?"

Saira knew that Aditya did not want to talk about this matter as always. She also looked at the unconscious person and said, "He is an 'Apogee' class assassin for 'Khzel' organization, he is wanted by the Mossad for the assassination of an Israeli diplomat in Jordan. Any assassin who is 'Apogee' class and above are usually privy to some crucial information about their organization. So, if Mossad could get him to open his mouth, then 'Khzel' organization is finished for. As the country who had helped make this possible, it would be a diplomatic gain for us."

Aditya's eyes twinkled as he asked, "what if, you were to directly give the information of that 'Khzel' organization without having to give this person, would it be better?"

Saira thought for a while before nodding, "Yes, but it won't make much of a difference except for portraying me as more competent, thus gaining me more weight in the unit which I work." She smiled as she looked at Aditya and said, "Why? Do you have a method to force open his mouth? I warn you, these people are not your average person and have a very high tolerance for pain & torture. Even for advanced organizations, it would usually take months before breaking these people's resolve and heart bit by bit before extracting the required information."

Aditya looked at the well-built person with glittering eyes as he had quite a few theories on torture developed in collaboration with Tya, which he had been wanting to test but couldn't because of lack of test subjects. Now that there was a live lab rat delivered to his doorstep, his hands began to itch.

"Can I have a chance, it won't take too long, just 30 minutes and I guarantee that this fellow would be the same, almost," Aditya looked at his elder sister with a pleading expression.

Saira's eyes opened wide as she asked as if confirming that her ears were working, "you mean, you want to torture him."

"yes" came a clear answer.

Saira was once again reminded that her younger brother had changed a lot. Her eyes also sparkled with interest as she said, "Go on, I want to see what you plan to do."