Price of Passion

Chapter 3: The Verdict

Located among the many skyscrapers of Levent, the internationally renowned Dogan law firm has a surprisingly modest office. Sitting at by the window, Attorney Sinem Avci felt her stomach rumble as she moved the huge stack of files into the cardboard box under her desk. Realising she hasn't eaten anything the whole day, she glanced at the clock on the wall in front of her. She groaned as she saw it was almost 5 pm. I wonder how is he doing, she thought. Scrolling through her call log, she stopped at a contact named MY. She was about to press dial when a knock came on her door. The errand guy placed a steaming box of takeaway on the coffee table, holding a piece of paper in his hands. She took one glance at the takeaway on the table and rolled her eyes. Not again...

"Bu ne ya?" she asked tiredly. "If Gokhan Efendi is trying to bribe me into going on a date with him..."

"It's not from Gokhan Bey," he said flatly before handing her the folded piece of paper. "The note's for you."

Sinem raised her eyebrows. She took the note and read the single line of words written neatly in blue ink. Don't thank me. Instantly, she knew. Dismissing the guy, she dialled the contact named MY and waited. After a few seconds, the line went through.

"Aşk olsun, Mehmet Efendi," she mused. "Will you stop spoiling me already? I'm a grown-ass woman, Allah Allah!"

"I have the rights to spoil anyone I want," said Mehmet with a laugh. "You're a lawyer, you should know."

Sinem laughed. Mehmet never failed to amuse her, although she knew she meant more than a close friend to him.

"You should take care of Tahsin first before anyone else," she said, her voice tender. "But I'm glad that you thought of me even in this difficult time. Sağol."

"Affiyet olsun."

The line fell silent for a moment before she spoke.

"Tahsin nasıl?" she asked softly. "O iyi mi?"

"O iyi," Mehmet's voice came through, sounding relieved. "I talked to his surgeon, Dr Aslı Çinar Aslan. You might have heard of her."

Of course, she thought. The one and only Dr Aslı Çinar Aslan, almost everybody in Istanbul will have heard of her.

"Çok şükür," she said. "He's very lucky. Allah had bestowed His blessings upon you again."

"Inşallah," he said. "Inşallah."

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Selim felt a clench in his chest when the intern gave him a nervous look as he walked past a tall, blonde haired man at the counter. The man had a grim look on his face while signing the documents - his eyes were red and puffy, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face. 

"Tekrar başınız sağolsun," she said before collecting the documents. "Çok özur dilerim."

"Eh...Doktor Hanım," he said, choking on his words. "When I can know about the results?"

"Usually it takes around one week," she said. "We'll inform you once it is ready."

"Teşekkür ederim," he nodded. "Sağol."

After the man left, Selim paced over to the counter. The intern let out a sigh of relief as she filed the documents.

"Vallah, Hocam," she said quietly. "I swear I was going to pass out from my nerves."

"Did he request for a post-mortem?"

"Evet Hocam," she said. "I heard from a friend he once requested a post-mortem a few years ago for his father who passed away for 30 years."