Kashvi didn't move.
The fog in the London morning made the street look distant, unreal. But the man standing across the gate was very real.
Tall.
Still.
Watching her the same way he had watched Kriday.
For a moment neither of them moved.
Then the man slowly stepped closer to the iron gate.
Not rushing.
Not threatening.
Just walking with calm, measured steps.
Kashvi's phone vibrated again in her hand.
"Relax."
Another message appeared.
"If I wanted chaos, I would have walked inside."
Her jaw tightened.
The guards at the front of the property hadn't noticed him yet. He had chosen a blind angle again.
Deliberate.
Calculated.
The man stopped just outside the gate.
The distance between them was now barely twenty feet.
Close enough for her to see his face clearly through the bars.
Time seemed to pause.
Five years of memories collided in Kashvi's mind at once.
The wedding fire.
The gunshot.
The blood.
The body falling.
Her breath remained steady.
But her eyes had already confirmed what her mind refused to accept.
The same eyes.
The same calm expression.
The same man she had watched die.
Ved.
He didn't look angry.
He didn't look broken either.
If anything, he looked… patient.
Like someone who had been waiting a long time for this exact moment.
"London suits you," he said quietly.
His voice carried across the gate.
Kashvi's expression remained completely controlled.
"You should be dead," she replied.
Ved tilted his head slightly.
"That seems to be a popular opinion."
Her fingers curled slowly against the iron bars of the gate.
"How?"
Ved gave a small smile.
"Straight to strategy. No 'hello'?"
"You lost that privilege five years ago."
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The silence between them wasn't emotional.
It was analytical.
Two players studying the board.
Finally Kashvi said quietly,
"You came near my son."
Ved's expression changed slightly.
Not fear.
Not apology.
Something softer.
"He's smart," Ved said. "Better at chess than you were at ten."
Her voice turned colder.
"You will stay away from him."
Ved looked past her toward the garden where the chessboard still sat on the table.
"He deserves to know the truth someday."
"Not from you."
Another pause.
Then Ved looked back at her.
"And who will tell him?" he asked calmly. "You?"
The words hit harder than any accusation.
Kashvi didn't answer.
Instead she said,
"You're making a mistake coming here."
Ved shrugged lightly.
"You already tried killing me once. I'm curious what the second attempt will look like."
The air turned razor thin.
Behind Kashvi, the security guard finally noticed movement at the gate.
"Ma'am?" he called cautiously.
Ved glanced at the approaching guard.
Then back at Kashvi.
"This conversation is getting crowded," he said.
He stepped back slowly.
Before leaving, he said one final sentence.
"Anvi was right about one thing."
Kashvi's eyes sharpened.
"What?"
Ved's faint smile returned.
"The game is just beginning."
Then he turned and walked away into the foggy London street.
By the time the guard reached the gate—
The sidewalk was empty again.
But Kashvi was still standing there.
Completely still.
Because the man she had buried five years ago…
Had just walked away from her front gate