Chapter 16 · Untitled Chapter

The quiet of the private wing was broken not by a raised voice, but by the dull, resonant thud of heavy rings striking carved cedar. Three measured knocks, firm with the presumption of an elder accustomed to having every lock in his estate open before him.

"Noura," my uncle’s voice filtered through the thick wood, muffled yet sharp with suppressed fury. "Open this door. The Al-Subaie name does not hide behind turned keys while cars wait at the gate. Come out and answer what has been placed before the family."

I stood motionless near the arched stone window, the folds of my dark abaya falling straight against the polished marble floor. My pulse quickened, a fleeting tremor of old deference rising in my throat, but before I could take a single step forward, the sound of measured leather soles clicked across the outer hallway.

"Ammi Tariq," an unfamiliar, low voice spoke from the corridor outside, devoid of insolence yet completely unyielding. It was one of Bandar’s men, stationed beyond the threshold since the hour the majlis had emptied. "Step back from the entrance, ya ustadh.