Rain slashed against the windows of the abandoned Ottoman mansion. Aroohi Malik pressed her dagger deeper into Ahil Khanzada's throat. His blood—the same blood that had ordered her father's execution—smudged her fingertips, sticky and warm.
"One move," she whispered, her voice raw with years of hatred, "and I'll send you to hell where you belong."
But Ahil didn't flinch. His breath was steady against her skin, his lips curling into a smirk.
"If you wanted me dead, Malika... you wouldn't be trembling."
His fingers suddenly wrapped around her wrist, forcing the blade away. In one swift motion, he pinned her against the wall, his body caging hers. Rain lashed against the stained-glass windows, painting them both in fractured colors.
"You broke into my home," he murmured, his breath hot on her ear. "Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now?"
Aroohi's chest heaved. "You murdered my father. That's reason enough."
Ahil's grip tightened. "I didn't kill Shameer Malik."
(Flashback – 3 Hours Earlier)
Aroohi had slipped past his guards, her heart pounding as she picked the lock to his private study. She needed proof—anything to confirm that Ahil had orchestrated her father's death.
But what she found made her blood run cold:
A locked journal with her childhood sketch tucked inside.
A dried rose—identical to the ones her father used to give her.
A single line inked in blood on the last page: "Protect her at all costs."
Whose blood? Whose words?
Her hand shook as she flipped through the journal, landing on a page dated the night of her father's death:
"Ibrahim's betrayal is complete. Shameer Malik is dead. And now... she will hate me forever."
Ibrahim? That name clawed at her memory. He was her father's most trusted advisor—the man who had vanished the night her father died.
"Ibrahim..." The name tore from Aroohi's lips like a curse.
Ahil's eyes darkened. "Finally remembering?" He gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze in the Khanzada mansion. "Your father's most loyal snake... the one who really signed his death warrant."
(Flashback)
Young Aroohi hid behind a curtain as Ibrahim whispered to a masked man: "Khanzadas ko blame karo. Shameer Malik ke khoon ka ilzaam un par lagaao."
Ahil—just a boy then—burst in, too late, finding Shameer Malik's body... and Aroohi's tear-streaked face.
(Present)
Ahil's thumb brushed her scar—the one Ibrahim's ring had left when he gripped her that night. "I swore to your father that I would protect you... even if it meant you hate me."
(Hadia & Zain – Istanbul Hospital Rooftop)
Hadia's fists pounded against Zain's chest. "Liar! Your family destroyed mine!"
Zain caught her wrists, his voice breaking. "My father saved yours. The real traitor was—"
A gunshot echoed. Glass shattered.
Zain shoved Hadia down, covering her body with his as bullets rained from Ibrahim's men.
"Run," he ordered. But Hadia froze, staring at the Khanzada crest tattoo on his wrist—identical to her father's...