Location: City D – Supreme Bench Courtroom, Private Residences, and Political Corridors, Time: Day Four Post-Scandal
Flashback: 1994 | City D Parliament House Annex
A younger Ravina Chaudhary sat quietly in the Ministerial Gallery, dressed in a crisp white churidar, beside her father—Omprakash Chaudhary, then a rising MLA from North City D, known for his backroom deals and populist posturing.
"The Bansals need political protection," he whispered that day. " This marriage gives both."
He looked at his daughter. "You'll marry Anupam Bansal. You'll protect his name. And when the time comes… you'll rule it."
Ravina didn't blink. She just nodded. That was the day she learned: Legacy isn't given. It's installed.
Present Day | City D Supreme Bench | 10:00 AM
The marble-floored courtroom was packed. On the left bench: Ira, flanked by a young, sharp legal team and a court-approved independent auditor.
On the right: legal representatives of the Chaudhary Golf Estates, Bansal Educational Trust, and an observer sent from the Chaudhary Political Secretariat—a subtle signal that this wasn't just corporate anymore. It was political.
Justice Renu Sabharwal entered. "We are here to hear reopening petitions into 2002's suppressed Bansal Trust files. Misss. Ira, you may proceed."
Ira stood, calm and crisp in a navy blue pantsuit.
"Your Honor, the land allocated to the Bansal Educational Trust in 1996 for public schools was illegally diverted in 2003 to a shell company—DevShree Holdings—co-owned by Ravina Bansal's brother, R.K. Chaudhary. That land now hosts a luxury golf estate. I submit forensic trails, archived minutes from board meetings, and this—"
She held up a fragile paper—her mother's handwritten journal page.
"This was the final record from Neelima Kapoor, my mother, before she was institutionalized under questionable circumstances."
Gasps echoed.
The judge raised a brow. "Are you implying misuse of psychiatric certification?"
Ira nodded. "By those who stood to lose if she testified."
Ravina's Political Leverage | 11:30 AM | Chaudhary Residence
Omprakash Chaudhary, now retired but still worshipped in his region, paced his study with a veteran's caution.
"You were supposed to keep her out of court," he barked.
Ravina sat on the leather sofa, still regal in her beige silk saree.
"She was supposed to crumble under scandal." "She's Neelima's daughter," Omprakash snapped. "The media is watching. If she exposes that land deal, it's not just you. It's me. That land helped fund my campaign back then. Do you understand?"
Ravina's eyes narrowed. "She's building momentum with public sympathy. We need a kill switch."
Omprakash nodded slowly.
"There's one way."
"What?"
He looked her dead in the eye.
"We break her by blood. Publicly. Emotionally. Use the psychiatric records. Use her birth file."
Ravina stilled. "You mean the one with—"
"Yes," Omprakash interrupted.
2:30 PM | Bansal Group HQ – Ira's Office
Kritika burst in with trembling hands.
"Ira… you need to see this."
On her screen, a leaked report blazed across Nation Daily:
EXCLUSIVE: "Is Ira Bansal Even a Bansal?"
A leaked birth document raises questions on paternity. Was Neelima Kapoor's daughter fathered by a man outside the Bansal family? Why was she institutionalized shortly after Ira's birth?
Ira stared at the screen, then at Kritika.
"No photos. No DNA. Just gossip."
"Yes, but it's planted. Timed. Dirty."
Ira stood, face pale but composed. "Then we go deeper."
She unlocked a drawer and pulled out a sealed envelope marked: "To Ira – In the Event of My Silence."
Her mother's final letter.
5:00 PM | Chaudhary Golf Estates | Secret Meeting
Ravina met Mahesh and Shalini in a VIP suite overlooking the stolen land.
"She knows," Ravina said.
"She'll go public," Mahesh added. "Even bring foreign media. Your father's name will surface."
Ravina's voice was steel. "Then we preempt her. We frame it as a tragic story. A child of disputed parentage. A mother who cracked under shame. We spin her as unstable, not dangerous."
Shalini frowned. "You're gambling with dynastic fire."
Ravina's gaze was cold.
"No one inherits the Bansal name without bleeding for it."
7:00 PM | National Broadcast | Ira's Emergency Statement
Ira appeared live on three channels simultaneously.
"I was raised in silence. But I refuse to let my mother's name be used as a weapon against me."
She opened the letter.
"Neelima Kapoor was never unstable. She was silenced. And this—" She held up a notarized document "—is a DNA result she ordered before she died. It proves that I am Anupam Bansal's biological daughter."
"The real question isn't who fathered me— It's who profited from a system that tried to erase my mother's truth."
9:30 PM | Chaudhary Estate
Omprakash turned off the TV. "She's cornering you. Not with rage. With truth."
Ravina exhaled, a tremor in her lips for the first time.
"Then we burn the last bridge."
Hidden Records Room – Parliament Archives | Night
An aide retrieved a confidential file marked: "Operation – 2002 Suppression Order. Sealed by Minister Chaudhary."
Inside were police reports, psychiatric doctor's handwritten doubts about the institutionalization order, and an unprocessed complaint by Neelima…
Against Ravina Chaudhary. And beneath that—stamped in faded ink: "Evidence Withheld. For Political Harmony."
Location: Supreme Court, Parliament Archives, and Bansal HQ, Time: Three Week After the Scandal Broke
Voiceover (Ira, reading from Neelima's final letter): "My silence was not my consent. My confinement was not my madness. My erasure was not your inheritance.
If you are reading this, Ira… they have tried to bury the truth. Dig. Burn their lies with your light."
Location: Supreme Bench Courtroom – 9:00 AM
The courtroom buzzed with press, corporate lawyers, and political observers. News banners flashed: "BANSAL DYNASTY ON TRIAL: Daughter vs Dynasty"
Justice Renu Sabharwal entered. Ira stood, calm, deliberate.
IRA: "Your Honor, I submit sealed documents—Operation—retrieved last night from the Parliament Archives, formerly classified under national interest, now declassified under Right to Information petitions."
She placed it on the bench.
IRA: "These are police reports, doctors' affidavits, and a personal complaint by Neelima Kapoor. The woman you were told was unstable. The woman institutionalized against her will, because she uncovered a land fraud that financed not just a golf estate—but an entire political campaign. Omprakash Chaudhary's campaign."
Gasps rippled through the chamber.
Justice Sabharwal: "Is this true, Ms. Bansal? You're alleging your mother was institutionalized to cover up a land scam involving political influence?"
IRA: "No, Your Honor. I'm proving it."
She held up a notarized envelope.
IRA: "And I further submit a DNA report, notarized by Neelima herself, confirming I am the biological child of Anupam Bansal. There is no question of disputed parentage. Only of disputed truth.
Location: Chaudhary Golf Estates – Private Study – 11:30 AM
Ravina stared at her television as national channels replayed Ira's courtroom declaration. Her hands trembled, not from fear—but from realization.
She had lost.
RAVINA (softly): "She didn't come to win the boardroom. She came to cleanse the bloodlines."
Mahesh stepped in, grim-faced.
MAHESH: "It's not just media. Enforcement Directorate has reopened the DevShree Holdings file. Shell company trails. 2003. Your name's in the minutes."
Ravina: "And my father's?"
Mahesh: "Front and center."
She walked out into her garden.
Ravina: "Tell the lawyer not to fight it. Just delay. As long as you can."
Location: Parliament House | Emergency Ethics Hearing – 3:00 PM
Aging Omprakash Chaudhary, escorted into the ethics committee, faced questions he thought had died two decades ago.
MP Panelist: "Operation-.2002, Minister. Psychiatric suppression. Stolen school lands. Your daughter at the center."
Omparkash (tired): "She was too honest. That was her crime. And Ira… Ira is her retribution."
Location: Bansal Group Headquarters – Press Room – 6:00 PM
Ira faced the media. No drama. No anger. Only determination.
IRA: "My family name was never mine to steal. I earned my chair. And I cleaned it."
IRA: "My mother never lived to see the truth restored. But she was never mad. Never corrupt. Never defeated."
IRA: "Ravina Chaudhary Bansal has officially resigned from all board duties, and the Bansal Educational Trust land has been returned to public use. A girls' school will rise on that golf course. The foundation stone will bear my mother's name."
Zurich Headquarters – Glorious International Boardroom
After TK's Revival Gala, the glass conference room overlooked Lake Zurich like a fortress above a quiet kingdom. Inside, the mood was anything but peaceful.
At the head of the table sat Adaam Koenig, CEO of Glorious International Jewellers — 52, steely-eyed, with a voice like cold titanium.
A digital screen looped muted clips from the TK Gala:
— Gayatri Devi in emeralds.
— Riyansh's speech.
— CNBC headlines reading:
"TK Jewellers: The Renaissance India Didn't Expect."
Koenig folded his hands.
Koenig: "We underestimated them."
Silence.
Across the table sat Clara van Hout (Global Strategy), Jean-Luc Moreau (CFO), and Dev Bahl (Head of South Asia Expansion).
Clara (coldly): "They didn't just relaunch. They repositioned themselves as cultural capital. That's harder to beat than market share."
Jean-Luc: "We've acquired 17 legacy houses since 2012. None survived past the second generation. TK... did something different."
Koenig nodded toward David.
Koenig: "David. You said they were fractured."
David (hesitant): "They were. Until Riyansh stepped in. The leadership core now includes Rishika Upadhyay, and now Vivaan Madhvan's quietly handling their digital-cultural arm. It's not just a company now. It's a consortium of legacy."
Koenig's tone sharpened.
Koenig: "So we fracture it again.
Clara tapped a key.
A slide flickered on the screen. At the top, in stark Helvetica: PROJECT ECLIPSE – Target: TK Jewellers
Clara: "We suggest three tactical fronts. Not acquisition. Obstruction."
1. Legal Disruption
• Challenge their newly filed design patents in UAE and Singapore courts.
• Push claims of derivative designs.
• Slow their international expansion legally.
2. Artisan Buyout Program
• Begin quiet recruitment of their regional karigars.
• Offer double pay, guaranteed health plans, relocation to Milan or Antwerp.
• Remove TK's roots from the soil.
3. Heritage Undermining via Press Leaks
• Plant op-eds questioning the authenticity of their 'legacy' stones.
• Seed rumors of lost family disputes.
• Use heritage against them.
Clara (flatly): "They're playing soul. We play system."
Koenig's eyes never left the screen.
Koenig: "What about collaboration as cover?"
Jean-Luc: "We can offer a 'Global Craftsmanship Fellowship' — 10 million euros in funding. Public gesture of unity. Behind it, data mining and artisan poaching."
David (quietly): "That might be too obvious. TK's inner circle grew up inside the industry. They're not stupid."
Koenig stood.
Koenig: "No one said they were. That's why this is a war. And in war, elegance dies first."
He walked to the window. The lake below glittered like cut diamonds.
Koenig (final): "Initiate Project Eclipse. Let's find their weakest link."
Headline, three days later in Financial Asia: "Whispers Around TK Jewellers' Artisan Exodus – Is Legacy Losing Hands?"
Anonymous Tweet by @GoldStandardLeaks: "Can legacy be patented? Or just repackaged?"
Emergency Strategy Meeting – TK Jewellers Internal War Room, Location: 33rd Floor, Madhvan Group HQ, City D
Time: 10:08 PM – Night of Glarious Jewellers' Global Announcement
The boardroom was soundproof. Shielded from the buzz of global media frenzy brewing just outside. An emergency summon had gone out across the top tier of the Madhvan and Upadhyay families—those who had both equity and legacy at stake.
At the head of the table sat Riyansh Madhvan, hands clasped, brows furrowed, eyes unreadable as the holographic projection streamed headlines from Bloomberg Europe, CNBC Asia, and Forbes International:
"Glarious Jewellers Eyes country i: Strategic Expansion in Asia-Pacific Following TK's Meteoric Rise". "Tech + Luxury: Glarious' AI-Crafted Gem Series Aims to Redefine the Future".
The buzz wasn't just media noise. It was war drums.