The Caribbean humidity was replaced by the dry, searing heat of a Hyderabad June. While the Indian team—mostly a second-string squad led by Suresh Raina—flew off to Harare for a tri-series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, Siddanth Deva remained in the Deccan.
He was officially "rested." In reality, he was shifting empires.
The chaos of the IPL and the World T20 had faded. For the first time in six months, Deva woke up in his own bed in the Mehdipatnam colony. But even as he lay there, listening to the familiar sounds of his mother, Sesikala, chopping vegetables in the kitchen and his father, Vikram, arguing with the cable guy about a sports package, Deva knew this life was on borrowed time.
He had a secret. A sprawling, multi-acre secret waiting on the outskirts of the city.
---
Later that morning, Deva drove his car towards the airport road. The city noise fell away as he turned onto a private access road near Shamshabad. The air was cleaner here, smelling of red earth and neem trees.
He pulled up to a massive, matte-black iron gate flanked by 12-foot high stone compound walls. A security guard—hired by Arjun—snapped to attention and opened the gates. Deva drove through.
---
The main residence stood at the center of the property, a masterpiece of modern brutalist architecture softened by natural elements. It wasn't a gaudy palace like the ones in Banjara Hills; it was designed to be a sanctuary.
The structure was a mix of exposed grey concrete, warm teak wood, and floor-to-ceiling glass. It spanned 8,000 square feet across two levels, shaped like a 'U' around a central courtyard featuring a massive, ancient Banyan tree that had been preserved during construction.
The roof cantilevered out sharply, providing deep shade to the verandas, keeping the house cool even in the peak of summer without constant air conditioning.
Stepping through the massive double doors made of Indian teakwood, one entered the "Great Room." The ceiling soared to fifteen feet, creating an airy, temple-like atmosphere.
The floor was Italian marble, cool to the touch. To the left was the kitchen—Siddanth's gift to his mother. It was an industrial-grade chef's kitchen disguised as a home hearth, featuring a massive island, a walk-in pantry, and specialized ventilation systems to handle the heavy tadkas of Hyderabadi cooking. It flowed seamlessly into a dining area that could seat twenty people, anticipating the family gatherings and team dinners Deva planned to host.
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A floating staircase, made of steel and glass, led to the private quarters on the first floor. The eastern wing was dedicated entirely to his parents. It was a suite that rivaled any 5-star hotel, complete with a private balcony overlooking the farm, a prayer room (Puja Ghar) with intricate stone carving, and a bathroom with safety rails and anti-skid flooring.
The western wing was Deva's domain. His bedroom was minimalist, dominated by a king-sized bed facing a glass wall that offered a view of the greenery surrounding. It was soundproofed to recording studio standards, ensuring absolute silence for a man who lived his life in deafening stadiums.
---
Tucked away near Deva's bedroom was "The War Room." It was a high-tech office featuring a wall of monitors. The room also housed a state-of-the-art gaming rig and a library of books ranging from sun-tzu to C++ programming manuals.
---
Stepping out of the back of the house, the manicured lawn transitioned into a professional-grade sporting facility. This was "The Box." It was a fully enclosed, floodlit multi-sport turf. The pitch in the center was a marvel of engineering—a hybrid synthetic surface.
It was surrounded by high netting, allowing Deva to practice power-hitting without chasing the ball. The ground was marked for both box cricket and 5-a-side football. It had a dugout, a water cooler station, and high-fidelity speakers mounted on the poles. It was designed for intense practice sessions with bowling machines, but also for those late-night, high-stakes football matches with Arjun and the boys.
Beyond the Box lay the soul of the property. The state government had allotted him land as a reward for the World Cup win, and Deva had utilized it perfectly. Deva built his house in 1-acre and the remaining land was a 4-acre organic farm.
Rows of Alphonso and Kesar mango trees were already planted, promising a golden harvest in a few years. There were vegetable patches for tomatoes, chillies, and leafy greens, irrigated by a drip system powered by solar panels on the main house's roof.
Deva wanted his food to be farm-to-table, literally. He walked through the rows of young saplings, smelling the wet earth. This was for his father—a way to keep Vikram Deva connected to the soil he loved, even while living in luxury.
To the right of the main house was a detached single-story structure: The Wellness Wing. It housed a world-class gymnasium equipped with everything a modern athlete needed—squat racks, Olympic platforms, and pneumatic resistance machines.
Next to the gym was a recovery center featuring a cold plunge pool (set to a bone-chilling 8°C), a sauna, and a physiotherapy room. There was also a small, temperature-controlled lap pool that stretched 25 meters, designed not for lounging but for recovery swims. This wing ensured that Deva never needed to leave his home to maintain his peak physical condition.
Finally, the entire perimeter was a testament to privacy. The 12-foot walls were lined with dense bamboo thickets on the inside to dampen sound and block any prying lenses. The security system was military-grade, designed by the same contractors who secured the Cyber Towers. Camera and security ensured that the Deva family would never again be disturbed by a fan sitting on their verandah. It was impenetrable. It was safe. It was ready.
Deva stood on the balcony of the master suite, overlooking the farm and the cricket turf.
"It's done," he whispered to himself.
The architect, Mr. Rao, walked up behind him. "Sir? The interior designer wants to confirm the fabric for the home theater."
"Tell them blue," Deva said, still looking at the pitch. "Dark blue velvet. Like the India cap."
---
Two days later, Deva was back at the Nexus office in HITEC City. The vibe had shifted from a startup to a powerhouse.
Candy Crush was currently in soft launch in Southeast Asia. The metrics were insane. Retention rates were over 40%. The "Freemium" model was printing money.
Deva sat in the conference room with Arjun and the core team.
"Candy Crush is a hit," Arjun said, pointing to the graph. "We are ready for a global rollout next month. The cash flow is already positive."
"Good," Deva nodded. "Funnel 60% of the profits into the Battlegrounds (PUBG) server infrastructure. We need that Alpha to be lag-free."
"We are on it," Karthik, the lead engineer, replied. "But Deva... we have bandwidth for one more project. The mobile team is sitting idle while the art team finishes the PUBG assets."
Deva leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes.
The year was 2010.
Smartphones were exploding. The iPhone 4 was about to launch. Android was catching up.
What was missing?
"Communication," Deva said, opening his eyes.
"People are still using SMS. It costs money. It has a character limit. BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) is popular, but it's exclusive to BlackBerry."
He walked to the whiteboard.
"We build a messenger. Cross-platform. iOS, Android, Symbian, BlackBerry. It uses your data plan, not your SMS balance."
"Like WhatsApp?" Arjun asked. "They just launched. They are growing fast."
"Yes," Deva said. "But we make it better. We focus on media. Photo sharing is too slow on WhatsApp right now. We build a compression algorithm that sends high-quality photos instantly even on 2G networks."
He drew a camera icon.
"And we add filters. People love making their bad photos look artistic. Sepia. Black and white. High contrast."
"So... a messenger with photo filters?" Ananya asked.
"No," Deva corrected himself, his mind racing.
"We split it.
App 1: 'Flash Messenger'. A pure, lightning-fast messenger. Zero bloat. Focus on group chats and speed.
App 2: 'Vibe'. A photo-sharing feed. You take a photo, apply a cool vintage filter, and post it. Your friends 'like' it."
"Photo sharing..." Ananya mused. "Like Flickr? But on mobile?"
"Exactly. But simpler. Square photos. One click upload."
(Deva was effectively pitching Instagram before Kevin Systrom launched it in October 2010).
"Start with Vibe," Deva commanded. "The camera hardware on phones is getting better. People are vain. They want to look good. Give them a tool to look like professional photographers."
"Got it," Karthik typed furiously. "Project Vibe. Photo filters. Social feed."
Deva smiled. He was playing 4D chess with the tech industry. By the time 2012 rolled around, Nexus Interactive wouldn't just be a gaming company; it would be a social media giant.
---
Between site visits and strategy meetings, Deva had to pay the bills.
Location: Annapurna Studios, Hyderabad.
Client: Head & Shoulders.
Deva sat in a makeup chair, a bib around his neck. A makeup artist was dabbing powder on his nose.
"Sir, look fresh. You just won a match."
The director called action.
Deva walked onto the set—a locker room.
He looked into the camera. He fluffed his hair.
"Dandruff? Not on my pitch. I stay clean. Stay cool."
He winked.
"Cut! Perfect!"
As he walked off set, his phone buzzed.
It was Virat Kohli.
"Oye, Deva. How are you? We are bored in Zimbabwe. Raina is making us sing karaoke."
Deva laughed, typing back.
"Enjoy the vacation. Also, get ready. Asia Cup is next. Sri Lanka. We have a trophy to win."
---
A week before the Asia Cup camp, the house was 98% ready. The interiors were done. The smell of paint lingered, but it was habitable.
Deva decided to test "The Box."
He invited Arjun, Sameer, Feroz, and a few of the Nexus employees for a "site inspection."
They arrived at dusk.
When the floodlights of the sports turf flickered on, illuminating the perfect green synthetic grass, the boys gasped.
"This..." Feroz whispered, dropping his helmet. "This is heaven."
"Let's play," Deva said, tossing a tennis ball.
They played 5-a-side box cricket.
It was intense. Deva didn't hold back. He bowled bouncers that skidded off the synthetic turf. Arjun batted like he was playing in the World Cup final.
They laughed. They swore. They sweated.
After the game, they sat on the dugout benches, drinking, looking at the massive house in the background.
"Does your dad know yet?" Sameer asked, wiping sweat.
"No," Deva said, looking at the darkened windows of the master suite. "I'm waiting for the right moment. Maybe after the Asia Cup."
"He's going to freak out," Arjun grinned.
"He will," Deva agreed. "But then he'll see the farm. And mom will see the Puja room. And he'll understand."
Deva lay back on the bench, looking at the stars above Shamshabad.
He had wealth. He had power. He had talent.
But sitting here, with his childhood friends in a house he built for his family...
This was the only metric of success that mattered.
He closed his eyes.
Rest time was over.
The Asia Cup in Sri Lanka awaited.
And the Devil was ready to hunt again.