The dinner felt like a performance.
Everyone smiled too much.
Laughed too easily.
Watched too closely.
Riyan sat beside me, his posture relaxed, his expression unreadable. To anyone watching, he looked like the same cold heir who had always ruled the table.
Only I knew his fingers were tapping lightly against his thigh.
A code.
One tap. Pause. Two taps.
Be ready.
His mother raised her glass.
"To family," she said smoothly. "To unity."
I forced myself to lift mine.
"To family," I echoed.
Her eyes lingered on me just a second too long.
She was waiting for me to slip.
I didn't.
Halfway through dinner, Riyan's phone vibrated once.
He didn't check it.
Neither did I.
But my new phone buzzed silently in my lap.
Unknown contact.
My heart skipped.
I tilted the screen slightly, hidden by the tablecloth.
Unknown:
Blue hour. Old lighthouse. Third turn.
My breath caught.
Arjun.
I felt it in my bones.
I typed back carefully, slowly.
Me:
Are you safe?
Three dots appeared.
Then—
Unknown:
Not for long.
If they notice you leave tonight, they'll move me.
My pulse roared in my ears.
I glanced at Riyan.
He was already watching me.
Just one look at my face and he knew.
He leaned closer, his voice low, casual—meant for the table.
"Excuse us," he said to his mother. "Aarvi isn't feeling well."
His mother's smile tightened.
"So soon?" she asked. "Dessert hasn't even been served."
Riyan met her gaze.
"I don't care."
Silence rippled around the table.
Then she nodded slowly.
"Of course," she said. "Rest well, dear."
Her eyes never left me.
---
The moment our car left the gates, Riyan locked the doors and turned to me.
"Show me."
I handed him the phone.
He read the message once.
Then twice.
"Blue hour," he murmured. "That's just after sunset."
"Old lighthouse?" I asked. "Do you know where that is?"
He nodded slowly.
"There's one," he said, voice tight, "about forty minutes from here. Abandoned. Off the grid."
My stomach twisted.
"And the third turn?"
He looked at the road ahead.
"A service road," he said. "Easy to miss. Easy to hide something."
Or someone.
Riyan picked up his phone and made a call.
"Change of plans," he said quietly. "No convoy. No guards. Just one car."
He ended the call and looked at me.
"They'll track my official vehicles," he said. "Not this one."
My hands shook.
"If this is a trap—"
"It is," he interrupted calmly. "But it's also an opportunity."
The sky darkened as we drove.
By the time we reached the outskirts of the city, the sun was dipping low—painting the horizon deep blue.
Blue hour.
Riyan slowed the car at the third turn.
A narrow, broken road stretched ahead.
No lights.
No houses.
No signal.
Only the distant outline of a lighthouse against the darkening sky.
My breath caught.
We parked far from the structure.
Riyan turned to me, his face serious.
"Whatever happens," he said quietly, "you stay behind me."
"I won't leave you," I replied.
His jaw tightened—but he nodded.
We walked toward the lighthouse.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
The wind howled softly, carrying the smell of salt and rust.
When we reached the base of the lighthouse, Riyan froze.
"There," he whispered.
A light blinked once.
Then twice.
Not from the top.
From behind the structure.
My heart slammed violently.
We rounded the corner slowly.
And then—
I saw him.
A man stood in the shadows, hood pulled low, his posture tense, injured.
He looked thinner.
Older.
But when he lifted his head—
I knew.
Even before Riyan did.
"Arjun," I whispered.
Riyan staggered forward, breath leaving his body like he'd been punched.
"Bhai…" he breathed.
Arjun took one shaky step toward us.
"Riyan," he said softly.
The same voice.
The same one from the attic.
From the messages.
Alive.
Real.
But before either of them could reach each other—
A sharp click echoed through the night.
Metal.
Behind us.
Riyan spun around instantly, pulling me back.
Red dots appeared on the ground.
Laser sights.
Voices barked orders from the dark.
"DOWN!" someone shouted.
Arjun's eyes widened in panic.
"They followed you," he gasped. "I told you not to—"
Riyan pushed me behind him, fury blazing in his eyes.
"Get behind the lighthouse," he ordered Arjun. "Now!"
Gunshots shattered the night.
And the reunion they had waited years for—
turned into a fight for survival.