Haresh had found out how superficial trust was.
He had set up his firm with his bare hands, spilled blood, perspired, and invested every morsel of will in it so that it might thrive. He had placed himself among men he trusted - partners, colleagues, business acquaintances - people who were tantamount to members of his own family to him.
And there he was, in his nearly empty office, looking out into a future that had just exploded in his face.
The betrayal had happened so rapidly and brutally.
His business accounts had been depleted. A massive contract, one which would have provided him with his next large assignment, somehow got away from his grasp. Penalties that he did not even know he was incurring suddenly were appearing out of the blue. And it would be stolen from him before the blink of all that he had worked towards.
Someone had done this to him. Someone he cared for.
Haresh promised to himself that he would get through to the man who had stabbed him in the back by hook or crook.
The Shock of Destruction
Last week was when it had started, with the telephone call from the bank.
"Mr Haresh, we must discuss your outstanding balance."
"Outstanding balance?" he had repeated, forehead furrowed. "There is some mistake. My accounts are all in order."
A sheepish pause.
"Sorry, sir, no such thing. Your business account is in the red. There's been a string of big withdrawals over the last month, and - "
Haresh was not hearing anymore. His head was shut down. Withdrawals? Out of the question. He signed off personally on all big deals. Money didn't leave his company without his awareness.
He had gone to the bank, his resolve to learn what had happened. Facts were stubborn. Somewhere, someone had carefully liquidated his funds, moving cash out of an account and into a maze of them, tracing cover with fine brushstrokes.
And things had not even been so bad.
Early that day, he'd taken a call from one of his most substantial customers.
"I'm sorry, Haresh, but we're pulling out of the deal," they had said. "We've been advised that your company isn't financially stable enough to handle the project."
Advised.
Someone had deliberately poisoned his reputation, spread whispers that made him look like a man on the brink of ruin.
Haresh knew then that this wasn't an accident. This was an attack.
Someone wanted him destroyed.
The Hunt for the Traitor
The treachery burned his chest like a hot ember. He could lose money - any businessman lost money from time to time. But not that. Not that was bad luck or a dip in the market. That was intentional, calculated.
And the worst of all, it had been one of his own.
Haresh was not an angel himself. He very well knew the corporate jungle is full of snakes. But he always believed that he was smarter than them to get them off his back.
It seemed he had made a mistake.
The question is - who?
He wasted the next days poring over documents, tracking each transaction, each bad transaction. He sought a name, a lead, something that would bring him to the hand that stabbed him in the back.
Soon after that.
There had been a cluster of transactions he had noticed - money invested into some secret overseas account. The authority was in the name of someone whom he knew he could trust.
Ravi.
Haresh scowled at the name, fists tight with anger.
Ravi had been his from the beginning. His crime partner. The man he'd shared everything with.
It did not make sense.
Unless.
Haresh tightened his fists. If Ravi was working against him, then he did not work alone. There was someone behind him. Someone with power.
He needed to find out who they were.
And to do that, he had to play clever.
A Game of Danger
It would be silly to go and battle it out with Ravi immediately. If someone was working behind the scenes, then they would simply disappear once they had realized that Haresh had something against them.
No, he had to lay a trap.
He phoned Ravi that evening.
"We have to meet," he breathed. "I have a plan to set things straight."
There was a pause. Then Ravi said, "Alright. Where do we meet?"
"Noon. My flat. You and me alone."
The trap was closing.
As had been predicted, one evening, Haresh caught Ravi sneaking out of his office. Before long, he was on the phone. Haresh could not eavesdrop, but he did not need to.
Ravi was being given instructions.
The actual turncoat was in secret disguise.
Haresh would meet up with them in good time.
Revealing the Mastermind
Haresh panted away the rest of the night in his drawing room. Red glow lit an unseen voice recorder on the coffee table.
Ravi arrived on schedule. He arrived with the same easy smile, but there was the momentary jolt of fear in his eye.
"So what's the story?" Ravi began.
Haresh settled back. "But let's talk about something else first."
Ravi glared. "What are you talking about?"
Haresh folded his arms. "I am speaking of the money, Ravi. The overseas bank account. The arrears figure. The diverted contract."
Vacantness glared back at Haresh from Ravi's face. Then, understanding came.
"You know," he whispered.
"I know," said Haresh. "But what I would like to know is who is footing the bill for you."
Ravi sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair. "It is not what you think."
"Is it, is it? Because this is like you betraying me."
Ravi swallowed. "I had no choice, Haresh. He gave me no choice."
"Who?"
Ravi hesitated. Then, almost in a whisper, he uttered a name.
Haresh's blood ran cold.
It was someone he had never thought of. Someone who had lived through and through his life for so, so much longer than Ravi. Someone he had looked up to as a sort of mentor once.
Mr Kapoor.
A young businessman whom he had idolised. A man Haresh had looked up to as a young man, who had advised him when he had been in some kind of trouble.
And now, he was attempting to ruin him.
The Last Move
Haresh did not lose his temper. He leaned forward instead. "You are going to assist me in bringing him down."
Ravi's eyes widened. "What? Are you out of your mind? He is a big fish, Haresh. He has people in his pocket all over the place."
"I don't care," Haresh snarled. "He wants me eliminated? So be it, then. But I am not going down without a fight."
Ravi fidgeted uncomfortably, his expression as guilty-as-sin-excepted-looking as a human could manage. "He'll suspect me of it if I double-cross him."
Haresh's tone was glacial. "You betrayed once before, Ravi. Do you now have a choice - pay the price and try to make up for it, or go along with him to destruction?"
There was a choking silence before Ravi surrendered.
And thus, the tables were turned.
Justice Served
Grateful to Ravi, Haresh collected proof - emails, money transfers, an d audio-recorded telephone calls. Everything that implicated Kapoor in the act of betrayal.
And then he moved.
The next day, news bubbled with news of a giant corporate fraud scam.
Mr Kapoor's empire was overnight brought crashing down. Action was initiated. Investigations were initiated. His name, which was synonymous with success, was now shamed.
And what about Ravi?
He had attempted to mend the flaw. However, my lost faith did not come back overnight. Haresh sent him away, but there was work between them.
And what about Haresh?
He stood up. Bruised perhaps. But by no means broken.
He had learned a hard lesson - trust was a two-edged sword.
And next time, he would see that it remained in his hand and not at his back.
