Price of Passion

Chapter 6: What Is The Truth?

*Flashback*

"Do you both have time for a cup of tea? There are some things that you guys might need to know."

Sinem bit her lip as she plugged in the tiny USB drive into her laptop. She felt unsure if this was the right thing to do, but she had to.

"Ayhan gave me this," she said, pushing the laptop towards Aslı and Ferhat. "Doktor Selim was the one who changed the records."

"I'm going to fire him immediately," Ferhat growled as the CCTV recording played. Asli gave her husband a gentle pat on the arm.

"Ferhat, sakin ol," she said. "Has Selim gave a statement, Sinem Hanim?"

"Yok," said Sinem. "Ama, as far as I know, Yiğit and Oğuz Savci are working on this issue as well. It seems like there's something else behind Selim's motives."

"What do you say, Sinem Hanım?" Ferhat asked. "Did someone blackmail him?"

"I can't say for sure," said Sinem as she handed him a single-page document. "But it looks like you're right. This is Doktor Selim's bank statement. He transferred 10,000 Liras into this account on the same night he did the surgery."

Ferhat felt a pang of adrenaline rush through his veins the moment he saw the account number. I think I know who, he thought. Aslı felt his grip tighten on her hand.

"Ferhat?" she said, almost a whisper.  "N'oldu yo?"

"I know who he transferred the money to," he said, looking straight into his wife's green eyes. You're not going to like this, Asli. "It's Cüneyt."

*End of flashback*

Aslı draped her arm around her husband's torso as she cuddles up in his arms. Ferhat had the duvet drawn over them, running his hand through her soft auburn hair. After putting Mert to sleep, he desperately needed some quality time with his wife. Ferhat felt the rage rising in his chest as he recalled their conversation with Sinem earlier that day, but he managed to leave it aside when he felt Aslı's gentle touch on his chest.

"Canım," she said. "Don't think about the case for now."

"I wasn't thinking about it," he said softly, resting his chin against her forehead. "Don't bother yourself."

"Actually," she said. "I remembered something that I wanted to ask you for a long time."

"Söyle."

Asli bit her lip and gazed playfully into her husband's warm brown eyes. "Remember that story you made up?"

"Which story kızım? I made up lots of stories."

"Our Beirut story," she said with a smile. "The one we told my brother when we first got married."

"Hayırdır Doktor?" he said. "What about it?"

"I was thinking - even it was made-up, ama why did it felt so real?" she said. "Yani, you made it sound like it happened for real. Ben affet, ama you used to be so bad at telling stories."

Ferhat smiled. "I'm better at telling stories now, yani?"

"Biraz," she shrugged. "Mert still thinks I'm better."

"Şşş Doktor," he hissed. "Don't bother me. What about our Beirut story?"

"Tell me," she said. "How did you come up with such a brilliant story that managed to convince Abim?"

"You really want to know?" he asked. She nodded.

"Tamam," he said, reaching for the drawer. "Ama, let me show you something first."