Chapter 13

Dozens of olive-drab jeeps screeched to a halt outside the Ghazi Villa, their tires chewing into the manicured gravel. The heavy thud of boots followed instantly as soldiers in desert fatigues charged the residence, weapons drawn. Khalid Ghazi stumbled out of his bedroom in silk pajamas, his eyes wide and blinking against the glare of tactical flashlights. He held up his trembling hands as the soldiers swarmed the foyer. "What's happened, sir?" Khalid stammered, his voice cracking as he looked at the lead soldier. "There must be some mistake!" The soldiers didn't answer. They moved with mechanical efficiency, grabbing the old man by his arms and dragging him toward the door. Throughout the villa, the sounds of doors being kicked in and frantic shouting echoed. One by one, the groggy members of the Nasser family were hauled out of their beds. Rami Ghazi and Salma were dragged from their home next, Salma's nightgown tearing as she struggled against the iron grip of a soldier. They were shoved into the back of the waiting jeeps, which sped away into the night toward the city center. When the blindfolds were finally ripped off, the family found themselves tied up on the cold concrete floor of the Al-Waha Hotel basement. The air was damp and smelled of stagnant water. Layla Ghazi sat in the center, her formal business attire wrinkled and stained, her breath coming in shallow hitches. Beside her, Yousef and Nader Ghazi were shivering, their faces pale with terror. Zayd Sharif sat on a lone chair in the center of the room, his military uniform crisp, his eyes like flint. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Do you know why I brought you here?" Zayd asked, his voice a low, freezing rumble. Layla looked up, her eyes darting around the dark corners of the basement. "I don't know... I wasn't near the painting when it fell. I didn't touch it." Khalid Ghazi shifted on his knees, his forehead pressing against the concrete. "Please, Commander! We haven't offended your family. My grandson Omar is friends with Faisal Sharif. We are allies! Please let us go." Zayd's boot lashed out, catching Khalid's shoulder and silencing him. "Allies? Your granddaughter destroyed a painting worth 1.8 billion dollars. The 'Azhar Al-Qamar Ala Al-Jabal' is gone because of her." The room went deathly silent. "Liquidate your assets for the money," Zayd continued, his gaze drifting over the huddled family. "Either I get my 1.8 billion, or your entire family dies here tonight." The reaction was instantaneous. The terror that had gripped the Nassers turned into a venomous fury directed at the woman in their midst. "You've ruined us!" Salma shrieked, her face contorted. "I knew you were a curse from the day you were born!" "Eighteen hundred million?" Yousef Ghazi gasped, his voice thin. "That's more than the entire family is worth! Layla, you bitch, you've killed us all!" Layla remained speechless, her lips trembling. The weight of their insults hit her harder than the soldiers' grips. She looked at her grandfather, hoping for a shred of defense, but she found only a mask of pure rage. Zayd gestured to a soldier. "Release the old man." Khalid was hauled to his feet. He swayed, staring at Zayd. "I've looked into your books, Khalid," Zayd said, standing up. "The Nassers are worth 1.3 billion in total. Even if you sell every chair and every brick, you're still short. You're bankrupt. Just like my family." Khalid turned toward Layla. His hand moved in a blur, the crack of his palm against her cheek echoing through the basement. He didn't stop at one. He slapped her repeatedly, his face turning a dark purple. "Useless girl!" Khalid roared. "I gave you the chairwoman position and you doom the family? You've destroyed everything I built over decades!" Layla collapsed to her side, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. "It wasn't me, grandfather! I didn't touch the painting! I was framed!" "How dare you argue!" Khalid screamed, raising his hand again. "Zayd Sharif is a deputy commander! He wouldn't falsely accuse you! You've brought this upon us with your arrogance!" The old man turned back to Zayd, dropping to his knees and pressing his face to the dusty floor. "Please, have mercy on my family. Take her, take the company, just let us live!" Zayd looked down at him with utter contempt. "Did you give my family mercy when Sami Haddad bankrupted us because of Layla Ghazi's call? You celebrated our fall. You took our contracts." Layla's head snapped up, her eyes wide as the pieces clicked into place. The sudden cancellation of the Sharif contracts, the painting falling the moment she entered the room—it was all a calculated strike. "You set me up?!" she whispered, the shock cutting through her physical pain. Zayd smiled, a cold, predatory expression. "Yes. I'm getting the 1.8 billion from you through the liquidation of your pathetic family assets, and wiping you out after that will be easy. You took everything from the Sharifs. Now, I take everything from you." Khalid Ghazi let out a broken wail, collapsing into a heap of despair. "It's over... the Ghazis are doomed. All of it, gone." "Toss him out," Zayd ordered. Two soldiers grabbed Khalid by his pajama collar and dragged him toward the stairs. He sobbed like a child, his fingernails scratching against the concrete until he disappeared from view. The remaining Nassers watched in horror, their eyes turning back to Layla with murderous intent. "Kill her!" Salma screamed, looking at Zayd. "She's the one who did it! Kill her and let us go! We don't want her!" "She's not a Ghazi anymore!" Nader shouted. "Take her life for the painting! Why should we suffer for her?" Layla felt something inside her snap. The family she had worked for, the mother she had tried to please, the grandfather she had sought approval from—they were throwing her to the wolves to save their own skins. Her will to live, already fragile after years of humiliation, shattered completely. Her vision blurred, and her head slumped forward as she lost consciousness. "Wake her up," Zayd commanded. A soldier stepped forward and dumped a bucket of ice-cold water over Layla. She gasped, coughing as the water filled her lungs, her eyes snapping open to find Zayd standing directly over her. He held a jagged military dagger, the steel glinting under the dim basement lights. He crouched down, the tip of the blade tracing a line in the air inches from her face. "Let's talk about something else. Ten years ago, the Farsis' villa burned. A boy was supposed to die in that fire. Who was the person you saved from the Farsis' villa?" Layla trembled, the cold water making her teeth chatter. "I... I don't know what you're talking about... Please..." Zayd didn't hesitate. He flicked his wrist, and the edge of the dagger sliced through the skin of Layla's left cheek. Layla screamed, a raw, piercing sound that vibrated against the stone walls. Blood began to bloom across her face, dripping onto her white collar. In the background, some of the Nassers turned away, while two of her cousins slumped over, passing out from the sight of the wound. "Who did you save?" Zayd demanded, his voice turning aggressive, his face inches from hers. "Did he come find you? What is your relationship with Sami Haddad? Why is he protecting you?" "I don't know!" Layla sobbed, her body wracked with tremors. "I don't know anything about Sami Haddad! I just made a call... please, stop!" Zayd's eyes flashed with fury. He slashed again, a horizontal stroke that crossed the first wound on her cheek. "Who did you save?! Did he come for you?!" Layla looked at him through a veil of tears and blood, her mind reeling. The pain was secondary to the confusion. "I don't know who I saved!" she cried out, her voice desperate and truthful. "His face was burnt... he was covered in soot... and then he was washed away in the chaos! He's never come for me! I don't even know if he's alive!" Zayd stood up, towering over her as she wept on the floor. He wiped the blood from his blade with a silk handkerchief, his expression unreadable. He looked at the broken woman, then toward the stairs leading up to the hotel's grand ballroom. ════════════════════════════════════════