"How was your day?" mom asked me without bothering to lift her head from beauty magazine she was reading.

"Alhamdulillah" I replied. I am the only hijabi in the house. None of my step sisters nor mother wears hijab. And they don't approve me wearing it either. But I never cared about their opinion when it comes to my religious aspect of life.

"And by that I assume you are going to that hell again?"

"Mom, understand that the people there are just like you and me. They are there because may be they are less fortunate than me and you. No need to be so bitter and sarcastic about it"

"I don't need your lecturing Sarah. You will bring disgrace to this family. And that is what I fear most. Your step father is nothing but kind. And you are just like your father. Ungrateful and selfish" here we go again.

"If I am selfish, I would sit at home and entertain high profile clients who pay me well. I will not go to work for a place which pay me less than what I use to earn in a single day for a month. If I am selfish I will not accept the offer from the prison authority to help the inmates. If being selfless is what is called ungrateful, then be so mom. I am tired, and going upstairs" I want to escape.

"Sarah, sit. I need to speak to you. I called Hammad's mother today with regards to a gala dinner. She wanted to have the engagement as soon as possible. And me and your step dad think it is a good idea that we have it may be in 3 months time in which we will be able to invite all our friends and make grand party"

"Why are you asking me about this? I am not getting married to Hammad. Ask from the one you are intending to give in marriage" I said with humor.

"Sarah, stop joking. I am serious"

"Mother, for Allah's sake, listen and listen carefully. I am not getting married or engaged to Hammad even if he is the last mad standing on earth. I have told you this many times, and I hope this will be the last of this discussion. I can leave this house anytime. You know I don't need yours or step dad's support to live my life. Don't push me" and I turned to walk away.

"After all what we have done, is this how you treat us?" she asked me.

"Mom, you clothed and shelter me. Thank you. I lived a comfortable life, Jezakallah Khayr. But nothing you have done or could do will persuade me to marry someone I don't want to. Now convey this message to all parties pushing this agenda on me" and I didn't wait for her to answer. I took the stairs two at a time and reach my room like in seconds.

I had a quick shower as I took some files from the prison office which I need to go through. I need things planed before I go tomorrow. Generally mom's nagging would really trouble me, but I know she or my step father will not cross me. It is not that they don't want to, but due to my independence they cant.

Steve. Why is he fighting me? Well, one way to find out.

I took his crime record to go through. Killed 3, and wounded one. One of the deceased is the employers son. The wounded is another son. Two others who apparently he has killed are friends of the older son. Powerful people.

He joined his employers family as an orphan when his mother passed away. Before the crime, no police records. Excellent academic records. He is from an ivy league university. And at the time of the crime he was working as an assistant director in the same family owned business.

The picture of the murder are gruesome. If I hadn't spoken to him, I would have judged him harshly. After a long description of victims details, the report said the accuse accepted his crime and surrendered to the police. Okay, everything add up perfectly. So he has murdered these people. Then what is he hiding?

Before I google the victim profile and Steve's life before the killing, I need to see why he was identified as schizophrenic and by whom. Doctor Neil Adam is the psychiatrist. Not a known doctor for sure. The conditions in which Steve was diagnosed is kind of tricky. Steve had confessed for auditory hallucinations. He has also claimed for visual hallucinations as well. But the details are missing.

Reason for the crime is stated as general dispute aggravated by psychological conditions. And the report goes on and on. Nothing doubtful. Did I make a mistake? But Steve's eyes were crystal clear missing the dark circles and sunk eyes people with psychological disorders have. Not all but almost everyone I know has it. So it is safe to say even though theory says not all will have it, almost all has it.

So what am I missing. I need the victims names. The family Steve was living with are partial royalty. The name goes as "De Bourbon" which is a prominent French aristocratic family, well known for its wealth. They are worth in billions of dollars. It is customary for families such as these to have orphans or bastard children under their protection. I need to further dig in to that.

The head of the current family is Philip de Bourbon and when I searched his name, I saw her. Laila Greens. Oh my God. What the hell is she doing with a man who is old enough to be her father? And I clicked the article, and to my amazement they are married. I quickly did the date check. Couple of months after Steve was charged with murder, Philip decided to marry Laila.

I know Laila from high school. I was in the same class as she was for 10 years. And I know what kind of malicious and vicious woman she is. How did she get to marry someone who is way out of her league and age? Laila was a mean thing. She took pleasure in bullying others with her equally mean group of friends. I need to find out more about this.

I checked Laila's facebook and there we go. Virtual stalking isn't my thing but you get exactly what you want when you do it. I have 4 mutual friends and one of them is a patient of mine. I remember her because they took the appointment via mom. Stella William is her name. The other 3 are collage friends unlikely to have any contacts with Laila except school contacts.

I quickly searched for patience records I maintain. There is go. I quickly dialed the number.

"Hello, can I speak to Stella?" I asked.

"Is this doctor Sarah?" Stella asked quite happily. I remember she was suffering with OCD. And some of the techniques I used helped her tremendously.

"Yes, it is Sarah. How are you Stella?"

"I am good doctor and you?"

"I am fine, Alhamdulillah. I need a to know something from you Stella. But please keep this between us. I don't want any unwanted issues" I told her.

"Okay doctor. What is it do you want to know?"

"How do you know Laila Greens now known as Laila de Bouborn?" I asked her.

"We have the same charity organization we are affiliated to. Why do you ask doctor?"

"Are you close to her?"

"No, we are not close but social acquaintance"

"How long have you known her? I am asking these questions believing you will keep it between us. Laila is a school mate and I have a patient in her household. So, I am trying add up few things that don't make sense" I told her without revealing too much information.

"Oh, that's alright doctor. I know Laila for the last 4 years I believe. She was dating a guy at that time who introduced her to all the right places and right people. She dumped him and married his employer who is old enough to be her father. There was some murder involved as well. But everyone were shocked that the guy, if I remember his name right, it is Steve is capable of such things. He used to be a very nice guy. Well, Laila isn't the nicest person after all" still things aren't adding up.

"Would you do me a favor and see if you can get some information on Steve who is my patient at the prison? I need to know everything that can be found. I have a feelings things aren't not what they are suppose to be. So, I want to be sure. Would you be able to do that?"

"I have a meeting at the charity next week where I will be meeting people right now I don't have their contact number. I can sure check on and get back to you. Is that alright?" she asked me.

"Yes. At the meantime, if you find anything interesting or remember anything, please feel free to call me anytime" and we spoke a little more about her health and other stuff before I hung up.

If Laila is involved, then there must be something more to the story.