Inaya's POV

"Mob, huh? It's possible, some are switching their secret bases to quieter towns. It's easier to get away with things here because no one suspects it." Cat shrugs her shoulders.

"You too?" I question her in disbelief.

"Mehar thinks the same?" She asks, raising a brow.

I nod.

"Don't worry. You'll be fine. As long as you were far away enough for him to not see you properly." Cat jokingly tries to scare me.

"You're right. I should worry about more important things." I say.

"Like what?" She asks.

"Like how I'm still better at this job than you." I burst into laughter.

• • •

"Good afternoon, I have an appointment with Ms. Habib from the foster care department." I see a man asking for me.

"That would be me!" I say. I was passing by the reception desk when they were asking for me. "Please, follow me."

He's also accompanied by another older male, both look as if they're in their late 30s, maybe 40s.

I have them take a seat in front of me. "Are you looking to apply?"

Suddenly, their demeanour changes to some sort of intimidating vibe.

"Ms. Habib, our boss would like to speak to you." The taller man says.

"Sir?" I look at them in confusion.

"You've witnessed something last night." The shorter one states.

"Last night? I--oh." I'm physically shaking. My hands are shaking uncontrollably.

How did they find me within hours? They couldn't even see me. I couldn't even see them. This is absolutely insane.

"If you do not comply with our boss' wishes, there will be severe consequences." The taller one explains.

"I'm s-sorry. I'm... confused?" My words stutter uncontrollably.

"You'll have to meet with our boss." The shorter one says sternly.

"I'm sorry... I really didn't see anything. I swear." I try to explain to them.

The two men look at each other and nod. They stand up from their seats, making me jump off my seat as well.

"That's something you'll have to take up with him." The taller one says.

"I can't."

Of course, I can't! I'm not daft enough to think I'll get out of this alive if I meet the man but will I get out alive without meeting him?

"That's too bad. Things will not go well for you, then." The shorter one almost snickers.

He's enjoying this.

I grip onto the pen in my hand with so much force that I thought I would end up with a cut on my palm.

I had nothing to say. I didn't want to meet this boss of theirs because only Allah knows what he would do to me.

I watch as the men leave without saying anything else either. They stood their ground, not going against their orders and I stood silent because of sheer terror.

• • •

"Yes, obviously I can drop you off at home. I thought you'd never ask." Caterina grins.

"Thank you."

The whole drive back, Caterina went on about one of the rude foster parents she had to deal with but I couldn't listen. My mind was somewhere else, all I could hear was the loud thudding of my heart.

"Are you okay?" She asks once we reach my house.

I snap out of my trance. "Yep... I think so... I can't stop thinking about how witnessing such violence could—"

Caterina puts a hand on my shoulder, "You're overthinking! Don't worry! What are the odds they actually know what you look like if you were so far away?"

That's what I can't understand. How did they find me?

I thank her for dropping me off and wave as she drives off.

I suddenly notice a blacked out SUV parked on the driveway of the house.

"If you do not comply with our boss' wishes, there will be severe consequences."

His words float around in my mind.

I take slow steps towards the house and as I pass by the car, I couldn't see a single thing through the windows of it. It was more blacked out than most cars. It was as if someone put an opaque black paper on the windows to conceal anything and everything.

I open the house door and the fear sits on me like a pillow over my mouth and nose. Enough air gets by it, allowing my body to keep functioning, but it's crippling all the same.

"Assalamualikum..." I call out.

"Walaikum Assalam, Inaya. We're in the living room." My aunt calls out to me, something in her voice is off.

Once I get to the living room, my fears become reality. I begin to feel nauseous.

The two men.

They're here,

in the living room of the house I live in.

"Are you sure it was her?" Mehar's voice is trembling.

"We're positive. We have security footage to prove it." The shorter man nods.

What? What are they saying?

My uncle looks at me with disgust, Haraz doesn't even look my way as Mehar has tears streaming down her face. My aunt's expression is full of sad disappointment.

"What's going on ask?" I ask quietly.

"These police men will explain." My uncle's voice is full of outrage.

Police men? That's when I notice they're in cop uniforms. Even if I scream on top of my lungs, saying they're fakes, who will believe me?

"Ms. Habib, you are being taken into custody for suspicion of involuntary Manslaughter." The taller one states.

Dread creeps over me like an icy chill, numbing my brain. In this frozen, state my mind offers me only one thought: the home I worked so hard to please has been shattered in the matter of seconds.

And again, of course something like this would only happen to me.

My breath gets stuck in my throat as I fall to the ground. "No, no, no. I-I didn't kill a-anyone. You can't l-lie like t-this. P-Please, I didn't m-mean to s-see anything—I c-couldn't even see w-what was h-happening..."

"Take her away. We want no part of this. We are in no way related to her, officers. We picked her off the streets, she's not even legally ours." My uncle's words spit out like daggers at my heart.

The two men nod in sync.

"We'll take her off your hands, then." One of them says.

They gesture at me to walk towards the door and I'm in a state of feeling so numb that I didn't argue.

I looked back at my only family I have left and pleaded, "Please, please believe me."

"Abbu, what if she's not lying..." Haraz says, suddenly. "Maybe we should view the footage before we let them take her."

"Exactly! Inaya wouldn't hurt a goddamn fly!" Mehar yells.

"Be quiet, you two! There's video evidence of it all, if authorities are saying there's evidence, then there's evidence. We cannot associate ourselves with her any longer." My uncle says as he walk away in the opposite direction, without saying goodbye.

"I know you didn't do anything, Inaya. I know you didn't!" Mehar sobs.

Haraz nods from behind her.

Tears spill down my own face but I couldn't bring myself to cry loudly. It has become a habit of mine to not cause people around me anymore discomfort. I don't want Inaya worrying about me so I keep everything bottled up.

"Thank you." Is all I managed before the two horrible men scurried me out of the house.

Something in my heart felt slightly lighter, knowing that there are people in that house who believe in me.

Maybe this is for the better. All I was, was a burden to that family. My uncle never wanted me there in the first place. He wanted me gone for so long, he took this chance on purpose. This method of getting rid of me was handed to him on a silver platter, why wouldn't he use it?

I don't throw a tantrum, I don't fight, I don't beg any further. I'm just a burden that's finally being removed from under his roof. I was a reminder of his dead brother and sister-in-law; now I'm no more.

There is silence in my soul; I feel empty. I feel the chill in my blood, coldness bringing the thoughts in my brain to stand still momentarily.

Part of it is a pain, yet one I can endure, one I can sleep through night after night because I've been through worst.

Maybe these people will do me a favour... maybe they'll take my life and make me disappear from a world that I keep disappointing.

Right before they even open the car door, everything starts to go in blurry, slow motion. My eyes start rolling back to the back of my head.

The last thing I hear is one of the men yelling, "Shit, she's passing out!"

- - -

A/N: and now she's off on her horrific journey 😰

Next Update: Saturday, September 14, 2019