Chapter 48
“I did as you ordered. The palace has been locked down until further notice. No one is allowed to leave until we catch the culprit. We’re also reviewing the security footage, Your Highness,” my head of security reports.
“That’s not enough. Close the borders. No one enters or leaves Rheadur.”
I’m in a room adjacent to my wife’s hospital suite, with my father and Amin.
It’s been less than five minutes since I left Adeela asleep beside her mother. I needed to act, even though every instinct in me screams to go back to her.
The conversation is interrupted by Amin’s phone ringing. He steps aside to answer, then returns a minute later.
“We’ve located the woman who served your wife the tea. She admitted preparing it herself. I’m going to interrogate her.”
“No. I want the police present, and I’ll be there too. If she requests counsel, appoint a public defender. Everything will proceed according to the law, but she and her accomplices will know, every step of the way, that mercy is not an option.”
I listen as the woman, Sajida, sobs while confessing, but there’s no room in my heart for pity.
“Mercy, my sheikh. I didn’t know what I was doing. My husband’s unemployed . . .” She looks at me for the first time.
“Stop. Nothing you say will change your fate.”
I could kill her and the one who ordered it with my bare hands.
I glance at my father, who’s sitting motionless.
His expression is unreadable, but I know he’s shaken too, because he understands the days ahead will test our family like never before.
No matter how much I love him, or how I’d normally do anything to spare him grief, nothing will stop me from avenging my wife and our unborn child.
“Take her to the next room. Guard her. She’s not to be left alone for a single second. Bring the mastermind before me tomorrow morning. Until then, both of them are under house arrest. Don’t let them out of sight for an instant.”
Amin’s eyes widen, darting between me and my father. I know why. I’ve just ordered my stepmother’s arrest.
Finally, he nods and leaves.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
“If you mean my heart, yes. I’m not unwell.”
“Good.” There’s no diplomatic way to say what must be said, so I choose honesty. “There will be no forgiveness. Eiza will be tried as the criminal she is.”
Sajida confessed that she knew the tea she brewed and served my wife was abortive, but she claimed she only did it because her husband was jobless, she needed the money, and the former sheikh’s first wife, Eiza, blackmailed her.
She didn’t take long to spill everything. What she said merely filled in the details. My security chief had already retrieved footage that proved her guilt.
Once the technicians knew what to look for, they found several clips of her and Eiza whispering together in the palace corridors.
It was providential that Amin had reinstated full surveillance after the attempt on my mother-in-law’s life.
I pressed the maid about the scorpion, but I’m convinced she had nothing to do with that. Which doesn’t mean Eiza wasn’t behind it.
“I expected nothing less,” my father finally says. He stands and walks to the balcony. “Your people are with you,” he says, pointing to the crowd outside the palace.
Amin told me they’ve gathered for a vigil at the hospital, calling themselves soldiers sworn to defend my heir to the death.
Tears sting my eyes. I’m moved by the love and solidarity of my people.
The whole city is awake. The news spread like wildfire. They’re praying for my wife and child, demanding justice for whoever tried to harm them.
“I just wish I understood the reason behind all this.”
“Anger at me for taking her son’s place as sheikh?” I say, only because he’s my father and deserves respect. Truthfully, whatever the motive, I don’t give a damn.
The law will be applied to the letter.
In Rheadur, only murder, not attempted murder, is punishable by death.
But there’s one exception: any attack against a member of the Royal Family. In that case, the death penalty is automatic, whether the attempt succeeds or not. Even the act of planning it guarantees execution.
“I don’t know if she did it because you replaced Naim. She always knew that day would come.”
“Then why?”
“Who can know what lies in another’s heart?”
“She has no heart, Father. If she did, she wouldn’t have targeted two innocents.”
“Perhaps you’re right. I think the only person Eiza ever loved was her son, Naim.”
I know their marriage was arranged. Even after years together, anyone could see there was no intimacy between them, unlike what I remember between my parents.
The other wives used to complain that my mother got the best of everything: her wing of the palace, her clothes, her jewelry.
I don’t believe that. My father is a generous man; he would never mistreat or disrespect his wives. But love can’t be faked, and I believe he truly loved my mother.
“You don’t have to be there when we interrogate her tomorrow. I know it won’t be easy.”
“No, I want to. I need to look into the eyes of the woman who tried to kill my grandchild.”
Later that night
I’m exhausted.
After Sajida’s interrogation and the talk with my father, I addressed the people, assuring them justice would be done. Only then could I return to my wife.
I sent Daisy and Jazmina back to the palace to rest. Their rooms were searched, then placed under guard. Until every culprit is caught, I won’t take any more chances.
The doctor hasn’t discharged my wife yet; he wants to wait for tomorrow’s test results to determine whether she’ll need further treatment to cleanse her body of that damned herb.
I decided to stay here too. I couldn’t sleep away from her anyway.
I feel like a lion guarding his mate and cub, so territorial I worry I might suffocate her.
When I arrived, the hospital bed had been replaced with a double one, far more comfortable. I have no doubt that was Amin’s idea. He knows me too well and knew I’d never let my wife out of my sight.
I just showered and changed into a clean tunic. I usually sleep naked, but I’d rather not give the nurses a heart attack if they walk in to check on her.
We’re lying together, and little by little, some of the tension leaves my body.
Adeela hasn’t cried again, and to my surprise, she wanted to know the details of the interrogation.
She didn’t seem shocked when I told her it all traced back to Eiza, and I just asked her why.
“My mother was suspicious of her intentions. Ever since she found out I’m having a boy, your stepmother’s been trying to get close to me, saying her daughter is also expecting a son and that we should share the experience together.
But I’m not na?ve. I spent years around the palace, and she never even acknowledged my existence before. ”
“You’re telling me my half-sister Nalini’s baby is a boy?”
“Yes, that’s what Eiza told me. Why?”
My blood runs cold. “Because by law, if our child didn’t survive, my nephew would become my heir.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. We could have more children.”
“Not if I were dead.”