Imperious

Chapter 23

But if you pardon and exonerate and forgive, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful (Quran 64:16)

Iqtidar ran his hand along the satin cushion of divan he was seated on. The rough texture of his palm were at odds with the material. The feeling was not luxurious as it used to be when he was a child, and his hands were fresh, and bare of the toil.

Farasat paced the living room in front of him, whilst Sarwat Begum's fingers ran through a tasbeeh. Her own self, placed on a plush stool to straighten out her aching back.

The three elders had not been put at ease by the court verdict. Khurram Jatoi would not let his son rot in a jail cell, and would do all he could to free him. It was just a matter of days before he began planning. And it was a matter of hours before they should too.

"Give Inaya back," Iqtidar said confidently, as if this subject was not sore for his brother, as if it did not rile him up every time he said that.

Farasat rolled his eyes, "She is a pawn against him. How many times do I have to remind you!" he affirmed, slamming his fist into his palm, "Try to think from my perspective."

And so Iqtidar did. Inaya was the heir to Khurram's fortune. Now that Karam would be unable to start his own family, half of the share would be in his daughter's name. The other half would be separated amongst Kadar's children. Having Inaya in their hands had recompensed them for the portion of wealth they had lost through marrying Sadia there and then consequentially losing her. Whatever had been Sadia's, was now also Inaya's. There was twice as much potential in the child now. And he was sure that Farasat's reasons for holding onto his granddaughter, were along these lines. After all, land and property was serious business. It had not been necessary to give Falak any during her wedding, but Sadia's matrimony was almost a financial settlement, putting behind past feuds and equalising the distribution of Jatoi wealth.

"This is why they prefer that sons are the successors of the family. Money is never safe in women's hands," said Iqtidar, "If I had a daughter, I would never give her a share of my wealth."

Farasat placed his hands behind his back and paused, "Putting all that aside, we need to figure out a permanent solution to Karam."

Sarwat Begum nodded, "Sadia has not received justice. The meagre piece she did get, will not last long. Khurram will have him out within months. This is just the silence before the storm, rather than after it."

Iqtidar glanced down at his watch and then at his brother. He had a plan in mind, but he was unsure of whether his brother would approve. Farasat went through phases where his coldness passed over and he thought emphatically when it came to his children. Sometimes unnecessarily to the extent that he was unable to make good decisions for them.

"The second Karam comes out from jail, I will have him killed."

Farasat stopped pacing abruptly.

Sarwat Begum dropped her tasbeeh, "Iqtidar?" she exclaimed, "Are you out of your mind?" This act would inevitably give steam to a feud that they had tried to prevent all along.

"Inaya has already lost a mother. She will lose a father too?"

Iqtidar shrugged at his brother's petty and meaningless statement, "What good was his presence anyway? Better not to have a father than to have one like him."

Sarwat Begum smirked, acknowledging the truth in her youngest son's words. After all, what major contribution had Karam made to Inaya's upbringing, aside from funding for her day-to-day costs. Yet even that money was either father or their ancestral wealth.