Price of Passion

Chapter 9: Blood Is Thicker Than Water

The road was slippery after a light rain in the morning, but the reporters made their presence clear at the entrance of the Palace of Justice after the news about the Mayor's death had spread throughout Istanbul and beyond. Sinem cleared her throat and made her way into the building without attracting the attention of the press. She had to deal with more important things than getting a hundred questions thrown at her and each demanding a proper answer. She had gotten an urgent call from Oguz early that morning, but she was unsure if it was for that one particular reason. She paced across the huge lobby and made it to Oguz's office. The prosecutor was already working - he was observing something on his computer screen intently. Sinem felt something stirred in her, but she wasn't sure what it was. Anxiety? Fear? Guilt? She had no idea...

"Günaydın, Savcı Bey."

"Ah, Sinem Hanım," Oguz said the moment he saw her standing at his doorway. "Günaydın. Take a seat, buyrun."

"Sağol," she said. "You wanted to talk about something."

Oguz bit his lip as he turned the monitor screen towards Sinem. It was a CCTV video. Sinem's jaw tighten as she saw herself talking to Cüneyt at the isolated stairwell of the hotel yesterday. Oguz leaned forward. She could see the disappointment and confusion in the prosecutor's eyes. His question was crystal clear: Why did you do it?

"You do know this man is a highly wanted criminal, değil mı?" Oguz said, a heavy seriousness in his deep voice.

"Evet."

"Harbouring a criminal is a serious offence," he continued. "You should know this better than anyone else."

"Evet, biliyorum," Sinem stated flatly. "Ama, I did not harbour Cüneyt, Savcı Bey."

"Why did you contact him, then?"

"Isn't this the outcome everybody wanted?" Sinem said. "We had enough of Muzaffer's antics. It's time for a new Mayor, don't you think?"

"So you hired Cüneyt to kill Muzaffer Efendi," Oguz said. "Or is someone else behind all of this?"

"I assume you've seen the recordings, Savcı Bey," Sinem said. "Aren't you the least bit curious who I truly am?"

Oguz frowned as he found himself at a loss for words. "Who are you?"

Sinem was just about to speak when Yiğit came into the room. He wore a complex expression on his face. She couldn't tell if he was furious or relieved to see her.

"I have a deal for you, Sinem Hanım," Yiğit said. "You might want to hear about it as well, Oguz Bey."

"So you are not charging her, then?" Oguz said, raising an eyebrow.

Yiğit smiled as he shook his head lightly. "Hayır," he said. "It'll be a waste if we arrest her."

"What do you have in mind?"

"This will only work if you agree to it, Sinem Hanım," Yiğit said. "There's a risk, ama, it's worth a try."

"What are you trying to do, Sayyin Savcı?" Sinem said.

"I'm not arresting you because I think you can be very helpful to our case," he said. "And not because I think that you're not guilty. It doesn't really matter if you are truly Şahin Çigale's daughter Melisa, ama I hope you'll prove yourself innocent this time around."

"Aren't you afraid that I might take revenge on your brother for my father's death?"

Yiğit fished out a recorder pen from his coat and pressed play. Sinem frowned as she hears her own conversation with Mehmet in the car on the night before.