CHAPTER 1: She Doesn’t Ask. She Takes
The courtroom was already full.Whispers. Papers shuffling. Anticipation thick enough to choke on.
Everyone was waiting.
And then—
The doors opened.
Not loudly. Not dramatically.Just enough.A single sound of heels hitting the marble floor.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Every head turned.
Black robes flowed behind her like a warning no one dared to ignore. Her hair fell perfectly in place, her expression unreadable, almost… detached.
Advocate Sharvika Singhania had arrived.
No introduction needed.No announcement required.Her presence alone silenced the room.
“Ms. Singhania,” the judge acknowledged.
She gave a slight nod. No smile. No unnecessary politeness.Respect wasn’t something she asked for.
It was something she took.
The man on the opposite side shifted uncomfortably.
A powerful man.
Influential.
Untouchable… or at least, that’s what he believed until today. His lawyer leaned in, whispering something urgently.
Sharvika didn’t look at them.
She didn’t need to.She already knew how this would end.She placed her file on the table.
Neatly. Precisely. Controlled.
“Your Honor,” her voice cut through the silence—calm, steady, lethal.
“I’d like to begin.”
What followed wasn’t an argument. It was a demolition.
Piece by piece, she tore through every defense, every lie, every carefully constructed illusion the opposition had built.
No raised voice. No dramatics. Just facts.
Sharp. Precise. Unforgiving.
“Objection—” the opposing counsel tried.
“On what grounds?” she interrupted smoothly, already flipping a page.
He faltered. Because there were none. The victim’s statement. Medical reports. Witness inconsistencies. She laid everything out like a blueprint of guilt no one could escape.
The courtroom didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Didn’t dare interrupt.
Then she paused.
Just for a second.
Looked directly at the man seated across.
For the first time.
And there it was—
That look. Not anger. Not rage. Something far more dangerous.
Certainty.
“You said,” she began softly, “that she was lying.”
The man swallowed.
“You said,” she continued, taking a step forward, “that she had no proof.”
Another step.
The sound of her heels echoed again.
Click.
Click.
“And yet,” she placed a photograph on the table, sliding it forward, “here you are.”
Silence dropped like a verdict. The man’s face drained of color. His lawyer froze.
The judge leaned forward.
And Sharvika?
She didn’t even blink.
“Justice,” she said, her voice low but carrying through every corner of the room,
“is not a privilege for the powerful.”
A pause.
A breath.
“It is a right.”
The gavel came down. Hard. Final.
Outside the courtroom, the noise returned instantly.
Media. Cameras. Questions thrown from every direction.
“Ma’am! One statement—”
“Do you think this sets a precedent—”
“Was this personal—”
She walked past all of it.Unaffected. Unbothered. Untouched.
“Coffee?” a familiar voice called out.
She stopped. Turned.
Navirika leaned against the pillar, sunglasses on, expression unreadable—but her smirk gave her away. Beside her, Laveshika scrolled through her phone like the world wasn’t burning somewhere because of her.
“Five minutes,” Sharvika said.
“Make it two,” Laveshika replied lazily. “I have somewhere to be.”
Navirika tilted her head slightly, studying Sharvika.
“You’re quieter than usual.”
“I won,” Sharvika said simply.
“That’s not new.”
A pause. Something unspoken. Sharvika looked away first.
“Where are we going?”
Navirika smiled. Slow. Knowing.
“Somewhere soft,” she said.
Across the city—
Flour dusted the air. Warm light filled a small, cozy bakery tucked between two busy streets. A boy stood behind the counter, carefully placing freshly baked cookies onto a tray.
Heart-shaped. Slightly uneven. But perfect anyway. He frowned slightly, adjusting one.
Then smiled. Satisfied.
The bell above the door hadn’t rung yet.
But it would.
Soon.
And when it did—
Everything would change.
✨ END OF CHAPTER 1
