Chapter 26 · Untitled Chapter

Abu Fahad had not yet crossed the heavy cedar threshold of the outer vestibule when Mansour spoke again, his voice flat and level, carrying no louder than the scrape of brass against wood.

"Wait."

In the silence of the majlis, the word carried the weight of an iron bolt sliding home. The notary halted instantly, his shoulders hunching beneath the embroidered trim of his cloak. He turned back, the rolled document pressed tight against his ribs.

Mansour did not rise from the low cushioned bench, nor did he look up from the dark console beside him. With deliberate ease, he drew a slender leather folio forward and slid his thumb across the biometric sensor of the estate’s private administrative terminal.

The faint blue glow caught the crisp line of his starched collar and the carved amber ring resting on his left hand. Two quiet strokes followed—the clean, rhythmic keystrokes of a man entering an authorization code committed to memory years ago.

"You believed sunset was a term of negotiation," Mansour said softly. His fingers lifted from the surface. "It was merely the deadline for your pride. The ministry’s portal does not require the sun to set to process a severance."