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THE BEAM BALANCE
Kritika Naha
THRILLER
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Submitted to Contest #1 in response to the prompt: ' A long-standing rivalry takes an unexpected turn when circumstances force two opponents to work together.'

✨ BEAM BALANCE ✨

A story of love, rivalry, and destiny across generations.
🎭 PROLOGUE: THE PICTURE ON THE WALL

There was a framed picture in the grand gallery of Rohan and Shikhar’s house.

Rohan. Shikhar. Maya.
The past, frozen in time.

Every day, their children—Anaya and Ishaan—walked past it.
Every day, they asked, "Who is that woman?"

And every time, their fathers would say, "When you enter college, you’ll understand."

Today was that day.

A bright Sunday morning.
Coffee cups in hand.
College acceptance letters on the table.

Anaya was heading to Business School.
Ishaan was joining an Art Academy.

Their paths had been chosen.

And so, their fathers sat them down and began:

"It all started on a fateful evening, twenty years ago, in Mumbai…"
FLASHBACK: A NIGHT OF GLORY

Mumbai, 20 years ago. A grand stage.

On one side – Shikhar’s luxury car showcase.
On the other – Rohan’s live painting performance.

Cameras flashed.
Journalists swarmed.
Fans cheered for their autographs.

"The two brothers who rule Mumbai—one with his cars, one with his art!"

That night, amidst the glamour and flashing lights, two women stepped into their world.

One, draped in a black saree, power radiating from every step.
The other, silent, poised, lost in the world of colors and clay.

One would try to control them.
The other would save them.

And thus began the battle of fate.
MAYA: THE STORM IN DISGUISE

Maya.
An elite business consultant. Brilliant, ruthless, and dangerous.

She entered with a single goal: power.

She had set her eyes on Rohan.
Because to her, "Art is temporary. Business is forever."

She thought he’d admire her ambition.
She thought he’d fall for her charm.

But Rohan? He saw through her.

He respected power, but he lived for passion.
And Maya? She had no passion—only control.

When Rohan denied her, she turned her gaze toward his brother.

Shikhar.
The businessman. The one who would understand her language.

And soon, she wasn’t just in his business—she was in his head.
ANAYA: LOVE IN THE MIDST OF CHAOS


A sculptor. An artist. A woman who saw through the soul of things.

She didn’t enter Rohan’s life with power.
She entered with silence. Understanding. A shared love for creation.

One night, she stood before his painting, her fingers tracing the air.

"She’s not alone," she whispered about the figure in his artwork.
"The storm is with her. And somehow… that’s comforting."

That was the night Rohan knew.

She wasn’t just looking at his art.
She was looking at him.

And so, amidst the battle of money, ambition, and betrayal, love bloomed—quiet but unshakable.
THE FALL OF SHIKHAR

Maya, now Shikhar’s closest confidante, whispered in his ear:

"We can make this bigger, Shikhar. You can be unstoppable."

She convinced him to merge their businesses.
She convinced him to make her a 50% shareholder.

But every decision he made… benefited only Maya.

She manipulated deals.
She sabotaged his choices.
And soon, Shikhar’s business was collapsing, while Maya’s empire soared.

Rohan found out too late.

A single piece of paper in Maya’s office revealed the truth—
She had been investing in rival companies while draining Shikhar’s resources.

When confronted, Shikhar defended her.

Until Maya made her final move.

She demanded he make her CEO.
She demanded marriage.

That was the moment Shikhar woke up.
He saw the power-hungry monster he had let in.

He refused.

Maya snapped.
The betrayal turned to vengeance.

She filed a fraud lawsuit against Shikhar.
She turned investors against him.
She planned to destroy both brothers completely.

But Shikhar fought back.

With Rohan and Anaya by his side, he exposed her in court.

Maya lost everything.
She was arrested.

As her own brother Kabir watched, he whispered:

"You were so blinded by revenge that you destroyed yourself."
BEYOND THE FALL: MAYA’S REDEMPTION

Years passed.

Maya, once a queen, now ran a small business.
She had been punished, but she had learned.

One day, she looked at a dusty, forgotten photograph.

Of her ancestors.

And there it was—the truth she had ignored.

Her family and Shikhar’s family had been rivals for generations.
It was never about love or business.
It was about revenge passed down like inheritance.

Tears slipped down her face.

She had been a pawn in a war that no longer mattered.
PRESENT DAY: THE FINAL LESSON

Back in the present, Anaya and Ishaan sat, stunned.

The picture on the wall—
The story of their fathers—
The balance of power, love, ambition, and mistakes—

Everything made sense now.

And then, Rohan spoke.

"Ishaan, your art will not make you weak. It will make you powerful in ways business never can."

And Shikhar added:

"Anaya, business isn’t just about money. It’s about people. Your power is in how you use it."

Two brothers. Two lives. A balance that could have been destroyed, but instead, stood stronger than ever.

And now, their children carried that balance forward.

A businessman’s daughter, choosing business.
An artist’s son, choosing art.

The picture remained on the wall.
But now, it was no longer a mystery

A beam balance measures weight.

One side: Art. Emotion. Passion.
The other side: Business. Strategy. Logic.

Too much of either? It collapses.
But when in harmony? It thrives.

This wasn’t just Rohan and Shikhar’s story.
This was the story of every generation, every choice, every life balanced between heart and mind.
THE END… OR A NEW BEGINNING?




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