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The Art of Deception
Part 1: The Vanishing
Koustav always had it easy. As the son of billionaire businessman Aditya Sen, he never had to worry about money, power, or protection. But that luxury turned into a curse when the most dangerous mafia in London—the Varela Syndicate—decided to use him as leverage against his father.
It happened on a cold winter night. Koustav had just left a high-end club in central London when his security detail was ambushed. Within minutes, he was gone, leaving behind only bloodstains and shattered glass.
The kidnappers left a chilling message:
> "Your empire cost us everything. Now, it's your turn to lose everything. Pay or bury your son."
Koustav's father did what any rich and powerful man would—he called SIS, Britain's top intelligence agency. But even they couldn't crack the Syndicate's operations. The Varelas were ghosts. No trail. No weaknesses. No mistakes.
The agency declared it a lost cause.
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The Team Assembles
Ramim leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the desk. His mind was already forming plans.
"SIS can't do it, but we can," he said with a smirk.
Riddhayan, his best friend, adjusted his glasses.
"Statistically speaking, we have a 2% chance of survival."
"Which means there's still a chance," Anik said, ever the optimist.
Saptoparno, meanwhile, was busy trying to balance a pen on his nose.
"And if we die, at least it'll be a cool story."
Ramim rolled his eyes.
"We're not dying, idiots. We're playing a game. A game of minds. If we outthink them, we win."
The room fell silent.
"Alright," Riddhayan said, cracking his knuckles. "Where do we start?"
Ramim's eyes gleamed.
"We start by making them think we are the real threat."
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The First Move
The Varela Syndicate operated from the shadows, but they had one weakness—money laundering.
Ramim spent the next three days digging through Koustav's father's business rivals, government leaks, and offshore accounts. By the time he was done, he had a name:
Luca Moretti—the Varelas' financial mastermind.
Riddhayan built a fake investment scam, sending out an encrypted message under the alias of a Swiss banker, offering Luca a too-good-to-be-true deal.
Luca took the bait.
The next day, €20 million disappeared from the Syndicate's offshore accounts—straight into their hands.
It was a declaration of war.
And war was exactly what Ramim wanted.
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(TO BE CONTINUED…)
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