aab e hayat ( English version)

chapter no 43 : the end

"A second sniper rifle, exactly like the one before, was aimed at the same colored target through the glass panes of a window from one of the rooms on the upper floor of the banquet hall. 

This was the fourth floor, and the room was one of the storerooms on that floor, filled with cleaning supplies and similar items stored in trolleys. 

The people who arranged for the professional assassin to target the guest had also chosen this man and the exact location where he was now, a forty-year-old with his finger on the trigger and eyes fixed on the target through the rifle's scope.

 He had locked the room from the inside. Earlier that morning, during the cleaning of the rooms on that floor, he had pushed a trolley into the room and stayed there instead of leaving after placing the trolley inside.

 Other trolley pushers had entered and left during that time, greeting him as they passed, but none had suspected him. At the appointed time, he locked the storeroom from the inside, knowing that the floor would soon be temporarily sealed off while the conference was ongoing.

 A hole for the sniper rifle in the window glass had been prepared in advance, temporarily covered with tape. Before removing the tape, he used another scope to check the time by observing the window of the flat across the street, near the building.

 There was still time, and from his vantage point, the view of the professional killer's window was perfect. Even if he missed the first shot, the assassin would still be in range, even while trying to run away from the window... It was as if they had laid it all out for him.

He was confident that after staking out the window, the assassin must have scanned every floor of the hotel through his rifle scope, searching for any suspicious activity or people, but even if he couldn't spot the man through the window, he would have at least noticed the barrel of his rifle.

 That was why he hadn't approached the window until the last minute. He didn't need hours for an effective shot at the assassin; he was at a very close range. In the final moments, he finally positioned his rifle at the hole in the glass. He planned to shoot the professional assassin right after the latter fired his shot.

 It wasn't just necessary to kill the guest, but also to eliminate all evidence of the conspiracy. The seconds were ticking by, the clock's hands racing. Two fingers applied increasing pressure on two triggers.

The elevator doors opened. Salar checked his watch. His two security guards stepped out of the elevator before him, followed by the rest of his entourage. Walking briskly down the corridor, he met the official who had come to greet him. 

He glanced at his watch again. As always, he was on time. In a few seconds, he would be inside the banquet hall, unaware of what was about to happen there.

Being unaware isn't always a blessing in life.

Salar was stunned as he watched the news on television. The last thing he expected at this stage of his life and career was this. The child adopted out of compassion, was now being paraded before the world as evidence of his sin, and the one making these claims was none other than the child's biological father, a man whose wife Salar had never even met.

 Affairs and illegitimate children were the least of them. This was a power struggle, a battle, and in war, anything is allowed..."

"He says it, and things happen. He turns the enemies' schemes back upon them. Many years ago, SIF began its first struggle against interest from Africa. This was the land where my father while working under an interest-based system, decided to fight against interest. 

This interest, which the Prophet ﷺ declared as forbidden in his last sermon, was not the only thing he decided to end; it was also the principle of equality that was decreed. Judging people based on their piety and righteousness rather than their color, lineage, or family name.