VENGEANCE

35

"Ammi?" Amal asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Yes, she was very fond of them. They treated her well, so I had no reason to intervene. But after a few months, our contact completely ceased."

Amal's frown deepened as she processed her brother's words. "What happened then?"

"Khizr found Kinza in Malik's warehouse, after she had been brutally assaulted and tortured."

***
"What are you doing here?" Khizr's glare bore into Raheem, who was trying to push past security to reach Kinza. A guard restrained him, but Raheem ceased his struggle when he heard Khizr's voice.

"I'm here to check on Kinza," Raheem said quietly. Khizr's response was a burst of mocking laughter, which even caused the guard to momentarily loosen his grip, puzzled by Khizr's reaction.

"Check on her? Who is she to you, anyway?" Khizr sneered, his words laced with venom. "Get out, and don't ever show me your face again." His anger was palpable, his expression twisted as if he were out for blood. He started to turn away when Raheem's voice rang out again.

"She's my fiancée, remember?" Raheem tried to remind him, his voice trembling with desperation. He knew their engagement still stood, but the marriage depended on Khizr's approval. Yet, Raheem's heart sank as Khizr's next words shattered that hope.

Khizr smirked as he turned back to face Raheem. "The man who arranged that engagement is dead, and with him, your engagement. I won't let my sister be thrown into the house of the man responsible for our parents' deaths-and for the assault on her."

"Not this again, Khizr. My father had nothing to do with it! He was out of the country!" Raheem protested.

Khizr stood firm, his shoulders tense, his fists clenched, jaw tight. "You can't do this, Khizr. Anything but this. You know how much I love Kinza-"

"Prove it then." Khizr's eyes narrowed as he issued his ultimatum. "When the commissioner asks you about Kinza, give your statement against Farooq Shah."

If Raheem believed, even for a moment, that his father was involved, he would have been the first to testify. But he knew Farooq was innocent. Khizr, however, seemed driven by a need to place blame, fixating on Farooq in the absence of the real culprit.

"Khizr, I won't give a false statement against anyone-"

"Then maybe," Khizr interrupted, his voice cold and cutting, "you should focus on protecting your sister from Farooq. You wouldn't want her to end up like mine, found in some warehouse in the same condition."

***
"That day he kidnapped you... By Allah, it was the worst day of my life. The whole forty-two days you were gone, his words kept echoing in my mind... I-I-" Raheem's voice cracked, and he broke down into uncontrollable sobs, his body shaking with the weight of all the fear and helplessness he had bottled up. He had spent those agonizing days and nights in torment, not knowing if his sister was safe, not knowing if she was even alive. The uncertainty had stolen every moment of sleep, every ounce of peace.

Amal felt her own heart shatter as she watched her brother, the one who had always been her pillar of strength, crumble before her eyes. She quickly pulled him into a tight embrace, rubbing his back gently in an attempt to soothe him.

"Bhai, please, stop. I'm here now, right? I'm fine... Nothing happened," she whispered, her voice trembling. But her words seemed to do little to calm him as his sobs only grew more intense, shaking his entire frame. It tore her apart to see him, the one who had always been so strong for her, so utterly broken.

"Khizr, that bastard... I-I shouldn't be saying this, but I was almost relieved you were with him. At least I knew I wouldn't find you in a warehouse..." Raheem's words were bitter, laced with a twisted sense of relief that he hated himself for feeling.