Kidnapped by the Arab

Caroline arrived in search of her sister, feeling very unwell. She had traveled for several hours, exhausted and deeply saddened. She didn’t know how she would break the news to her; she could barely bear it herself. She wondered if she would have the strength to say it, knowing it would hurt her sister deeply, or perhaps even more than herself. Aisha was not aware of Caroline’s arrival, so it was Amira who received her at the airport. Amira greeted her warmly.

“As-Salaam Alaikum.”

“Wa Alaikum As-Salaam.”Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

“It’s good to see you here again. Aisha will be delighted.”

“I don’t think so,” Caroline said, lowering her head and crying again.

“What’s happening?” Amira asked, concerned.

“The news I have to tell her will bring sadness and great anger.”

“I swear I didn’t know until now. I don’t know what to do; I need to see her immediately.”

As people stared at them strangely because of Caroline’s loud sobbing, Amira urged her to quickly get into the waiting car. Ahmed was also unaware of his sister-in-law’s arrival. They headed to the palace, but Amira couldn’t get Caroline to tell her what was really going on.

Aisha was in her bedroom, while Ahmed was as usual in his office, trying to resolve the many problems he faced. There were so many issues to deal with that Aisha wished he would give it all up and return to New York with her, but she knew he wouldn’t.

Amira knocked on Aisha’s door, and when she opened it, she was surprised to see Caroline standing with her.

“Peque!” Aisha said, happy to see her sister, but then she noticed Caroline’s tears.

“Hello, sister,” Caroline replied, looking down.

“What’s wrong, Peque? Come in, don’t stay out there,” Aisha invited them.

“I’ll leave. I’ll come back later, sister. I assume you need to talk,” Amira said and quickly turned to leave.

“You’re scaring me,” Aisha said, seeing that Caroline couldn’t stop crying.

“Listen to what I’m about to tell you, but please try to stay calm,” Caroline requested.

“Okay, what’s happening?”

“I found out that our mother is working in a sleazy bar. After she squandered the inheritance Dad left us, she was left with nothing. I went to find her; she is still my mother, and I didn’t want her to stay in that horrible place. When I arrived, I asked for her, and they said she was in her dressing room. As I approached, I was about to knock, but I overheard her talking on the phone,” Caroline paused.

“Take your time, Peque, and breathe.”

“Her door was slightly open, so I could hear her conversation clearly. She sounded very agitated. I decided to wait until she finished the call, and then I realized she was talking to Carlo.”

“And?” Aisha asked, intrigued.

“She was demanding a large sum of money from him in exchange for her silence. If he didn’t give her the money, she threatened to find you and tell you that he gave her the poison to kill Dad.” Caroline started crying even more.

“What are you saying?” Aisha asked, refusing to accept what she had heard.

“I’m telling you that our mother and Carlo murdered Dad.”

Aisha felt the room spinning, and darkness enveloped her. Caroline caught her just before she hit her head on the corner of a small table. She laid her on the bed and rushed out to seek help. Ahmed was on his way there and was surprised to find Caroline in that state.

“Caroline?”

“Brother-in-law, hurry, my sister has fainted.”

Ahmed rushed into the room, trying to revive Aisha, but he couldn’t. He called the family clinic’s doctor, located just a few meters from the palace, who arrived quickly. After administering some medication, Aisha regained consciousness.

“It was a drop in blood sugar. Has she experienced a very strong emotional impact?” the doctor asked.

“I gave her some very upsetting news,” Caroline said between sobs.

“That must be the cause. I’ll take some blood samples for analysis to rule out anything more serious.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Ahmed said, extremely worried.

“What happened?” Aisha asked, still disoriented.

“Caroline overheard her mother talking to Carlo on the phone. Her mother demanded a large sum of money from him in exchange for her silence about something related to Dad’s death,” Ahmed explained.

“What? I didn’t want to hurt you, sister, but I had to tell you,” Caroline said, holding Aisha’s hand.

At that moment, Aisha remembered what had happened, and she began to cry inconsolably. The doctor tried to administer a sedative, but she refused.

“A sedative would be more appropriate. I’ll leave some just in case,” the doctor said before leaving.

Ahmed walked him to the door, leaving Caroline alone with Aisha.

“What happened?” Aisha asked, still with tears streaming down her face.

“Caroline overheard her mother talking on the phone with Carlo. Her mother demanded a large sum of money from him in exchange for her silence about him giving her the poison to kill Dad. Our poor father was murdered,” Ahmed explained, tears in his eyes.

“And did you know?” Aisha asked, surprised by his reaction.

“I’m sorry, that day on the plane, I was about to tell you, but I didn’t want to make you suffer even more. Carlo told me on his bachelor party, I don’t know why he felt the need to confess something like that, maybe he needed to unload his conscience a bit.”

“How could you hide something like that from me? Please, just go, I don’t want to see you.”

“Love, I…”

“Shut up and leave. I don’t believe you kept it from me to spare my feelings. You kept it hidden because you knew that if I found out, I wouldn’t have run away with you. I would have gone back and married Carlo, and I would have made them pay dearly for my father’s death. That’s exactly what I’m going to do now,” she said, completely beside herself.

“You need to calm down.”

“No way, I’ll return to New York as soon as possible.”

Ahmed picked up the phone and called the doctor again. Aisha tried to get up, but he wouldn’t let her. The doctor came in and gave her a tranquilizer. She resisted, but Ahmed held her steady. Once she fell asleep, he stormed out of the room, reaching Caroline and Amira.

“You shouldn’t have told her,” he said angrily.

“She had to know the truth.”

“You should have consulted me. Now she wants to go back to the United States to avenge her father’s death.”

“You can’t deny her that right,” she yelled back at him. Ahmed gave her a fierce look and left. Who did Caroline think she was to speak to him like that?

In Italy, Carlo Román was seriously considering getting rid of Sonia. She had become a huge thorn in his side, daring to call and threaten him. He no longer had to put up with her demands as he did when she helped him.

His men informed him that Caroline had left the country. Dubai? It intrigued him that she visited the country twice in such a short time. He hadn’t been invited to the Sheikh’s wedding, and he found it strange that Ahmed had terminated the partnership between their companies after the scandal at his wedding. He thought that such behavior might be unacceptable to someone from a different culture.

Perhaps he would visit the Sheikh to discuss resuming their business collaboration, and also to investigate what Caroline was doing in that country. He was curious about the Sheikh’s wife, as there were many rumors about her. Her great beauty made her a forbidden treasure, and it was said that photographing her was strictly prohibited, with severe punishment for anyone who disobeyed. In photos where she appeared with foreign leaders, she always wore a hijab. The customs of that people seemed rather strange to him.

He knew her name was Aisha and that she was an Arab woman. He had met her during his visit to the desert tribes, and he was intrigued by the fact that Ahmed had fallen in love just like his father. That story was well-known worldwide, especially since the face of the Sheikha had not been revealed despite the passing years.

“Aisha, an interesting name,” he thought. He asked his secretary to get in touch with Ahmed; he would visit him in a couple of days, hoping to arrive before Caroline returned so he could investigate what his little sister-in-law was doing in that country.

Ahmed’s assistant informed him about the call from Carlo’s secretary, putting him in an even worse mood.

“What else is missing? What the hell does that man want here? I’m sure this has to do with Caroline’s visit.”