AFFAIRS OF THE HEART

51| Crumbles..

Abuja, Nigeria.

A picture of little Janaan in a graduation gown, grinning brightly, was held by a crying Hajiya Khadijah.

"I'm sorry, Janaan. I'm sorry for letting my anger cloud my senses... I'm sorry for despising you for no reason. I'm sorry for being the reason you were chased away that lonely, rainy night with nowhere to go. We wronged you, Janaan. We failed you despite knowing you were an *Amaana*—a trust left for us to protect. I know you're probably dead by now; may your soul rest in peace. I pray you forgive us for our wrongdoings. I promise, we will do everything it takes to find your sister safe and sound, *In Sha Allah*." She finished, wiping a stream of tears from her cheeks.

She was about to pick up another picture when she heard Jalal's voice screaming from downstairs. She dropped the picture and rushed down.

"She just called! Jalilah just called!" he said, grinning like a madman, making everyone else break into smiles of excitement.

"Alhamdulilah! What did she say? Where is she? Who kidnapped her? Oh my Allah!" Banina cried with joy.

"She called with an international number, but sadly, she didn't get to tell me where she was or who kidnapped her before the line went dead," Jalal recalled, screeching out Jalilah's words, "Come and take me away from here, Ya Jalal!" He choked. "Oh Allah!"

"An international number? Mr. Ahmad's suspicion was right! One of the kidnappers involved in Jalilah's disappearance is not in Nigeria... and neither is she," Alhaji Abdurrahman said.

"But who could it be? We have many relatives and friends who live abroad! Where do we even start with our suspicions?" Hajiya Khadijah said.

Jalal remained silent, thinking about the many possibilities. An idea struck him, and he quickly dialed the private investigator's number.

"We need you now. It's urgent, Mr. Ahmad," he said before hanging up. In less than twenty minutes, Mr. Ahmad and his colleagues arrived.

"Can you track the country this number belongs to?" Mr. Ahmad handed the phone to one of his colleagues, who nodded.

He did a quick search on his system, and the country and city of the number's origin appeared.

"The call came from Coventry, United Kingdom," he said, as their minds began to race, calculating whom they knew there.

"We were there two years ago for our holiday, remember, Daddy?" Nabeel and Banina chorused.

"Yes, but it wasn't Coventry—we visited Birmingham."

"We have a few relatives and friends in Portsmouth, London, and Birmingham, but we don't have any in Coventry," Hajiya Khadijah said.

"Take a deep breath and think carefully, Hajiya. Are you absolutely sure there's no one in Coventry?" the private investigator asked, studying her face.

"I don't think—" She paused as Maheera suddenly cut in, "Yes, we do!"

All eyes turned to her. "Who?" they asked, curious.

"Ya Jalal's ex-wife."

The sound of something shattering onto the floor made them all gasp, and a beast-like voice roared, "How dare you?!"