Chapter 51
“We’ll go in with you,” Irfan says once we’re inside the prison.
“No, I want to do this alone.”
“Brother, you are my Sheikh, and I respect you above all, but you are my blood too, and I won’t allow you to become a killer because of that son of a bitch.”
He well knows how my mind works. My rational side knows he’s right and I can’t let myself be carried away in the heat of the moment, but my human side—father and fiancé—craves blood right now.
I want to beat Adil for daring to plan to take my woman away from me. For scheming to make my pregnant bride so frightened that she had to flee the safety of my palace.
On the way over, I spoke with my brothers and told them everything: about Madeline’s mother’s phone call and the reason my future princess left the palace. So both of them know how I’m feeling right now.
“Irfan is right, Kamal. You can’t go in there as a man; you must go in there as the Sheikh of our people. We have laws in Sintarah, and as members of the Royal Family, we must be the first to respect them. Besides, Odin has something to tell you.”
“I already sent him a message, thanking him for giving us Adil’s location.”
“It’s not about that. Odin doesn’t do what he does in exchange for gratitude but for the sake of justice. Call him.”
“Do you know what it’s about?”
“I don’t, and I don’t think it will change anything, but I’d listen to him anyway.”
I make the call. “Odin? Kamal speaking.”
“I was waiting for your call.”
“Yes, my brother told me. Is it about Adil?”
“Yes, it is. I traced the origin of all this hatred. You had an enemy by your side your whole life.”
“I know that now.”
“What you might not know is that Adil is your brother.”
“What?”
“He wasn’t born in Sintarah; he was born in the neighboring Emirate, Rheadur.
Your father had an affair with his mother, but from what I found out, he didn’t know she’d gotten pregnant.
The woman died during childbirth, and the boy was left orphaned.
Someone must have tipped your father off, and he brought the boy to his country. ”
I fall silent, absorbing the information, and like an intricate puzzle, everything starts to make sense.
That’s why my father always protected him. Adil was adopted by a good family; he’s the son of one of my father’s former ministers. The former Sheikh Zayn also encouraged our friendship and told me that when I became the leader of our people, I should consider choosing Adil to be one of my advisors.
What my father had no idea of was that he was raising a psychopath right under our noses.
“You must be surprised.”
“I am, yes, but that changes nothing. Adil became an orphan and perhaps grew up frustrated that my father didn’t acknowledge him as a legitimate son, but he enjoyed all the privileges that only the very rich children in my country have access to.
All his actions were solely motivated by hatred.
He almost got my wife killed.” I take a deep breath because just saying that tears me apart inside. “He may have killed my child.”
“I thought Madeline was fine.”
“She is, but she just got pregnant, and the doctor will only be sure about the baby’s wellbeing after the third blood test to check hormone levels.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Let me know if I can help with anything.”
“Thank you.” I turn to face my brothers. “Adil is our father’s son.”
“Our brother?” Irfan asks.
“No. Our father’s son. He lost the right to call us brothers the moment he tried to kidnap my wife.”
I look at the man whom I might know better than Irfan and Zarif, and I conclude that it’s a good thing my brothers came with me because I honestly don’t know if I would control myself if we were alone.
“Why?” I ask simply.
We’re sitting in an interrogation room with a table between us and him.
His face is impassive as always. Anyone looking at him from the outside wouldn’t think he’s about to face the death penalty.
Yes, because that will be his fate. Just as in Rheadur, this is the punishment for anyone attempting to take the life of a member of the Royal Family, and although Madeline hasn’t married me yet, she carries the heir to the throne in her body.
“How much do you know?” Adil asks.
“I know that my father was your father as well. If you’re expecting that shit to move me, think again. You betrayed me not once but twice.”
He dismisses it with a wave of his hand, as if to say, ‘that’s nonsense’. “As for Hiba, I did you a favor. It didn’t take much effort to get her to spread her legs.”
“You bastard!” Zarif stands up, but Irfan holds him back. “She was a girl. Seventeen years old, and you seduced her. Not only the promised bride of your Sheikh but a teenage girl.”
Adil remains unaffected. “A girl who wanted to have sex. Kamal didn’t care about her. I was available.”
“You were responsible for her death, you scum!” my brother continues, outraged. “Not just hers but your child’s too.”
“What did you expect me to do? I told her to keep the pregnancy a secret. I couldn’t have married the Sheikh’s promised bride even if I had wanted to—and believe me, I didn’t, because she was pretty mediocre in bed—so I told her to hide the pregnancy and pretend it was Kamal’s . . . to try and rush the wedding.”
“But your plan backfired when I found out about the affair.”
He nods, confirming. “I am not responsible for her death. I didn’t order her to take her own life.”
“And what about Madeline?”
He smiles. “Ah, beautiful Madeline. Yes, I can say I’m guilty of that one.
It’s a very long story, so I’ll simplify everything: I wanted you to suffer.
I’m the eldest son. The title of Sheikh should have been rightfully mine, but because our father didn’t acknowledge me, I had to live in the shadows my whole life while you basked in all the glory.
If I could never be the Sheikh, then you would never be happy.
It seemed fair to me. I won’t deny that seeing you fall in love with the American added extra spice to it.
I spent sleepless nights imagining your despair when I took you away from her, never to see her or your child again, without bodies to bury. ”
At first, hatred spreads in my veins. I want to kill him with my bare hands. Snap his neck and hear it crack under my fingers. Cut his body open with a dagger from his chin to his groin.
It doesn’t matter that I received an excellent education. Inside me, there’s still the influence of my ancestors, those who never forgave an enemy.
But then I look at him and realize what he’s doing. This would be his final act of revenge: to see me step out of the role of the Sheikh and become an ordinary killer. To dishonor my oath to be a fair leader obedient to my own laws.
Suddenly, I feel peace spreading through me. I know what I’m going to do.
I stand up. “You will stand trial, Adil, and I will ensure you are sentenced to death.”
“A firing squad?” He scoffs. “That’s quite boring.”
I smile. “For a criminal, you know little about our penal laws. When the judge asks me to sentence you after the conviction, I will decree that you be beheaded.” I take pleasure in seeing surprise on his face.
“The penalty of beheading no longer exists,” he says.
“Yes it does. We haven’t issued it in a long time, but it’s still in effect. And I’m not done yet. I will also order that your body be crucified for three days. It will be displayed to my people so that everyone sees what happens to traitors.”
I don’t give him time to respond. I turn my back, sure that I’ve won.