📖 Chapter 20 – Test of Loyalty
The following day dawned bright and heavy with heat, the railway station already crowded with the impatient tide of commuters. Raj's stall gleamed in the morning sun, the bold sign Raj's Fusion Eats catching the eye of every passerby. The aroma of sizzling patties and buttered pav spread across the platform, drawing people in like bees to honey. To anyone else, it was just another busy day. But to Raj, today was a battlefield.
He had not confronted Rohit outright about Shankar's offer. Instead, he had chosen silence, allowing the youth to dig deeper into his own heart. But Raj had lived enough to know that silence alone would not break a man's mask. If he wanted the truth, he had to force it out. And so, he prepared a test.
"Today," Raj announced as the team gathered around the stall, "I won't be here all the time. I'll be moving between the college and the station. That means all of you will have to handle things without me." His eyes swept the group, pausing briefly on Rohit. "Each of you will be trusted with more responsibility."
Arjun nodded eagerly, Meena gave her calm assent, and Imran puffed up with pride at the chance. Rohit smirked, arms crossed, as if to say, Finally, he recognizes my worth.
Raj left the stall after lunch, though not too far. He lingered in the shadows of the station, watching as the line grew. Without his presence, the team's dynamics shifted. Meena kept order at the money box, Arjun worked with steady speed, Imran darted around with nervous energy. Rohit took center stage, shouting loudly to attract customers, his chest swelling with the power of command. For a while, things went smoothly.
Then came the test.
A commuter, well-dressed and impatient, ordered in bulk—ten pavs for his colleagues, paid with crisp notes. Meena was busy counting another customer's change, and Arjun was too occupied with serving to notice. Rohit accepted the money, slipped it into his pocket instead of the cash box, and handed over the food with a grin. His eyes flickered around, but no one seemed to have seen.
Except someone had.
Imran froze mid-step, the tray in his hands trembling as he saw the notes vanish into Rohit's pocket. His first instinct was fear—fear of speaking up, fear of being shouted down. But then he remembered Raj's words, the pride in his voice when he had told him, You did the right thing. Courage flickered in the boy's chest like a spark.
"Rohit bhaiya," Imran said, his voice cracking but loud enough to carry, "you didn't put the money in the box."
For a heartbeat, the world seemed to stop. Arjun looked up sharply, Meena's hands stilled over the coins, and the customers nearby shifted curiously. Rohit's face darkened, anger flashing in his eyes. "Mind your own business, kid," he snapped, his hand closing over the money as though to crush it.
And then Raj stepped forward from the crowd. His voice was calm, but it carried like steel. "No, Rohit. This is everyone's business."
Rohit spun around, his bravado faltering as he saw Raj standing there, arms crossed, gaze unyielding. The silence around the stall grew heavy, the customers sensing tension in the air.
"Tell me, Rohit," Raj said, his tone quiet but sharp as a blade, "was that money yours, or the stall's?"
Rohit's jaw tightened. For a moment, pride and greed warred on his face, and it seemed he might try to brazen it out. But Raj's eyes held him fast, and the system's faint glow whispered behind Raj's vision:
[Critical Loyalty Check in Progress.]
The notes slipped from Rohit's hand at last, falling into the cash box with a dull thud. He muttered, "It was a mistake. I wasn't thinking."
Raj held his gaze for a long, heavy moment before speaking. "This stall isn't built on mistakes. It's built on trust. If you break that, you break everything." His words were not loud, but they struck harder than any shout.
Rohit said nothing, his shoulders stiff with resentment, but Raj had seen enough. The test was complete. The rotten branch had not broken completely—but it had bent, and Raj knew one storm was all it would take to snap it for good.
As the evening rush resumed, Raj worked silently, his mind already racing. Shankar had planted poison in his team, and though Rohit had faltered today, tomorrow he might not. Raj's empire was still fragile, still vulnerable. And if he wanted it to rise, he would have to root out the poison before it spread.
In the distance, Shankar watched with narrowed eyes, disappointment flickering across his face. "So, the boy hesitated," he muttered. "No matter. Even hesitation can break a chain. I'll strike again—and harder."
Raj wiped the sweat from his brow, staring at the glowing panel that shimmered above the stall. The words gleamed like fire:
[Warning: Betrayal Risk High – Action Required.]