House of Glass | Complete ✔

Chapter 13

Location: Master bedroom, Gilani Residence

Time: 11:58 am, 12 days after the murder

Their room was lit diffusely by the flame in the fireplace, but even in the low light, he could see her crisp form lying beside him on the bed. The air surrounding them smelled of sweet freesia mixed with a hint of a synthetic fragrance. Her favorite perfume. Naushad found his way towards her and ran his fingers from the back of her neck all the way down to the crevice in her hips, across her bare back. He knew she was smiling, far from being asleep.

When the table clock on the bedside table gave out a beep sound, he moved towards her as she turned, moving straight locks of her from her face behind her ears.

"Happy anniversary baby."

Her lips curved up further, lines appearing around both her eyes.

"Happy anniversary."

Almost everything had changed in their lives in the past 10 years. The only thing that didn't was their love. Faiza leaned in and placed her head by his shoulders. Without speaking, without moving, they reminisced their marriage. The first time they met, their friendship, unusual wedding. Everything flashed one by one in front of their eyes.

Faiza slithered in, getting closer to him, letting him wrap his arm around her and fondle.

"We've come so far." She whispered.

"We did."

"Do you ever wonder, what our life would have been like otherwise? If everything went by normally, if we never had to make the decisions we did?"

"I do. But then I'm reminded of the fact that how lucky we are to have been able to start afresh. Yes, we left a lot behind, but I don't have any regrets. Do you?"

She shook her head.

"I'm happy where I am. And I don't want to give it up for anything."

"You won't have to. Trust me. Everything is under control."

"I hope so Naushad, I hope so."

___________________________

Location: Szentendre, 23 km north of Budapest

Time: 9:30 am, 13 days after the murder

That morning was unusually grim and windy outside Budapest. It wasn't a very pleasant weather for travels but Abigail had set out with a concrete resolute to find the next lead to the investigation. Despite officially being off the case, she could never let go of something that she had set her heart on. And she had more than just her heart set on solving this case. A lot was riding at stake, and even the slightest mistake could put her career in jeopardy, she had to make her next move very carefully.

The little clues they had gotten along the way had led her here today, in a small town near Budapest named Szentendre. According to the records she pulled from the Gilanis, this was the native town of Irene.

It didn't take her much long to find the street mentioned in the address, but after that it was all a game of guesswork because the none of the houses on that old cobbled street were numbered. She began her search by knocking at the door of a fairly large house. A young man opened the door.