Chapter 2

Shahnaz should have guessed that Amir would do something like this after she had pressed him with questions the night before. But it was too late. The girl had no idea how to find her late uncle's aide.

"Miss, should we look for Amir?" the servant asked Shahnaz.

"No. But you should have been more observant and reported the incident to me last night." Shahnaz sounded quite angry as she walked past the maid with her head held high and long strides.

Meanwhile, the maid looked frightened and just bowed her head.

Shahnaz then went to the front door, where police officers were waiting for her to give them a preliminary investigation report. Sure enough, when the girl opened the door, she found several large, handsome, and very handsome men standing there wearing police vests. Pistols and several police attributes also seemed to confirm their true identities.

Anyone who saw them even for a moment would know that they were police officers. Shahnaz was curious as to why the person who called himself a detective looked so conspicuous. He was far from the image she had always seen in films.

"Are you, Mrs Ismi?" asked one of them, noticing Shahnaz's presence.

Shahnaz quickly shook her head. She stared straight into the detective's eyes, which were so sharp and intimidating to anyone now.

"Mrs. Ismi is still resting in her room. This afternoon ... at the funeral, you might be able to meet her," replied Shahnaz.

Somehow, Shahnaz felt reluctant to tell them who she was and what her relationship with Ismi and Ekram was. She also didn't feel like talking to the detectives, who seemed ready to give their report.

"In that case, we'll come back this afternoon. At the funeral home that was announced yesterday, right?’ asked the detective again.

"Hmm ... there's no change."

The detectives left, with one of them turning back and staring at Shahnaz for a few seconds. He seemed to be assessing Shahnaz's appearance, which resembled that of a host rather than an ordinary servant. However, he kept his thoughts to himself. Meanwhile, he allowed Shahnaz to return to the house.

“Are you captivated by that maid?” asked the police officer who was in the same car as the man earlier.

"I don't think ... she's a maid. You saw her, right? She looked much better and she even dared to look the Captain in the eye without the slightest hint of fear. She's definitely not a maid. Or maybe, she's Mrs Ismi's personal assistant?" asked the officer named Riko, his gaze still clearly fixed on the apartment building where Ekram lived.

"I'm actually even more curious about one thing ... do you know what it is?" asked the other officer. "Why is there no queue here?" he asked.

And Riko only realised the strangeness of it after his colleague mentioned it.

"It seems ... they are trying to wash their hands of it now, after finding out what we found in Ekram's office on the day of his death yesterday," replied Riko's colleague.

Riko held the document in his hand and opened it to check it again. He frowned and took a deep breath. From the beginning, he felt that there was something strange about this case. Ever since Riko set foot at the scene of the crime and saw Ekram's body in the rubbish bin.

"You haven't reported it to the Captain, have you?" asked Riko.

"As you said. But, won't it be a problem if we hide this from the Captain? I'm afraid he'll find out the truth from someone else and punish us mercilessly," replied Umer, Riko's colleague.

"That's exactly why. We have to investigate this and find out the truth first. Before the Captain, or anyone in the Ministry, finds out about this."

***

In the late afternoon, Ekram Adolf's funeral began, very simple. The location was not even a public cemetery as originally planned. Instead, it was in the backyard of Ekram's residence in Istanbul, Turkey.

The change occurred the night before when they realised that Ekram had no one left by his side. Except for his family and a few servants who had been loyal to him for the past few years. Not wanting to further tarnish Ekram's name by making it obvious that no one would attend his funeral, Shahnaz decided on the location of the funeral on her own, after successfully persuading Ismi.

“Did you prepare everything on your own?” asked Ismi, who still looked pale and weak. She gazed at Shahnaz with her weary eyes. “Where is Amir? You could have asked him to handle everything instead of doing it all alone.”

Shahnaz remained silent and smiled gently. "He's busy with other matters, Auntie. I also want to repay my uncle for everything he has done for me."

Just as Shahnaz had guessed, no one came. Even the police officers who said they would attend the funeral did not show up, even though they knew about the change in location a few hours ago.

"I won't go back to Izmir. I'll stay here and take care of Ekram." Ismi said softly.

She then rubbed Ekram's gravestone.

"I'll also visit Auntie often from now on. But for now, I can't live with Auntie." Shahnaz replied.

They had just turned around. Shahnaz was seen holding Ismi's arm tightly as she led her back into the house. Shahnaz was startled by a police officer standing in front of her, staring straight at Ismi.

He was not the captain. He was not the person who had spoken to her a while ago. He was someone else, who had been standing behind the detective a few hours ago.

Ismi looked confused. However, she remained calm as she walked back towards the two men. Shahnaz immediately guided them into the living room of Ekram's house. There, she saw that some of the furniture was still covered with white cloth, indicating that this was the first time Ekram's family had returned to the large residence for the politician's funeral.

"We received a report about Amir," said the police officer. He also extended his hand to shake Ismi and Shahnaz's hands in turn. "Let me introduce myself ... my name is Riko."

"What happened to Amir, Shahnaz?" asked Ismi, who still did not know what had actually happened.

"Amir ... suddenly left. I'm worried that this has something to do with Uncle's death. And I'm afraid that he also received similar threats or terror, causing him to disappear without a trace until now."

Ismi looked shocked even though she remained silent. She looked at the two policemen who had arrived and glanced at the documents they were carrying.

"Unfortunately ... I don't think that's the reason Amir left Mrs. Adolf and Mr. Adolf's residence at such a critical time." Riko handed the documents to Shahnaz and, with a look in his eyes, asked Shahnaz to accept them. "We found some important documents in Mr. Adolf's office. Some of them indicate that over the past ten years, Mr. Adolf has been involved in the illegal sale of weapons and drugs to Turkey."

Before Riko could finish speaking, Ismi, who heard the accusations against her husband, immediately screamed. She covered her ears with her hands and pulled her hair slightly.

"That's impossible ...!" she exclaimed.

"Calm down, Auntie. Don't shout. You have to stay calm so you can hear everything clearly." Shahnaz tried to calm Ismi down.

The girl then rubbed Ismi's back and pulled her aunt into Shahnaz's embrace, before giving Riko another nod to continue what he was saying.

"This is what caused many politicians to avoid paying their respects and showing their grief for the deceased. But apart from the documents that had been taken to the government office, we also found other documents." Riko then looked at the documents that Shahnaz had been holding since earlier.

"You mean these documents?" asked Shahnaz.

Riko nodded, and without saying much, Shahnaz began to open the document, which was placed in a brown envelope with Ekram Adolf's name stamped on the front and back. It was also apparent that the seal at the top had been slightly opened.

Slowly and carefully, Shahnaz opened and read the document.

The girl was shocked when she discovered what her uncle had been keeping all this time. As if to confirm, she looked back at Riko, who nodded and confirmed that the document was genuine. It also contained Ekram's handwriting.

"You helped us without the police's knowledge and came here personally." Shahnaz now stared intently at Riko and his colleague. "What reward do you want after delivering these documents to me?" asked Shahnaz.

"Mr. Adolf is our helper, Miss. During his first years as a politician in the city of Izmir, he helped many people from our community to obtain their rights, which had always been denied by the government. Therefore ... when we found documents about his illegal transactions, we didn't immediately believe it all. Until we found the documents and tried to hand them over to Mrs. Adolf. But seeing Mrs. Adolf's condition now," said Riko's other colleague, glancing at Ismi, who was still silent, hugging her arms tightly.

“You want us to investigate this, to clear my uncle’s name?”

“So you really are his niece?” Riko asked before giving his answer.

Shahnaz stared intently and nodded.

“We can help, but we can’t move freely. After everything that was found in Mr. Adolf's office, all institutions are currently under strict surveillance. That's why the document must be released immediately."

Shahnaz still didn't seem to fully trust the two police officers. She remained silent, clutching the document tightly. She herself wasn't even sure whether it was a genuine document or just a forgery intended to further destroy the Ekram family, who were already in a state of uncertainty.

The girl couldn't make a quick decision. She was in a crisis of confidence after Amir, her uncle's trusted aide, had also disappeared.

"Find Amir first. Then I will follow your wishes," replied Shahnaz.

"You are his niece. Why don't you want to help us clear your uncle's name, Miss? Why do you have to make such a demand?" asked Riko.

Shahnaz then took a few steps forward, her gaze fixed on the man. She pressed Riko until he took a few steps back.

"Who can trust in a situation like this?" asked Shahnaz. "I don't even know which side you're really on. What are your colours and what do you really want? So ... I hope you can first find out where Amir is, what he is doing or what happened to him. Only then ... will I follow your wishes and investigate the contents of this document." Shahnaz made a counteroffer to Riko.

***

Thunder rumbled and rain fell from the sky. The darkness of the night felt even more terrifying with the sound of thunder striking several times on the roof of the house.

"Is Auntie asleep?" Shahnaz asked the maid who had just come out of Ismi's room to bring warm milk to her aunt.

"Yes, Miss. But she hasn't eaten any of the food I prepared," replied the maid.

Shahnaz checked the tray brought by the maid and saw that its contents were indeed still intact, just as she had prepared them a few moments ago. She took another deep breath and frowned when she saw the maid's expression, which looked somewhat anxious and fearful when facing her.

"What's wrong?" Shahnaz asked the maid. "Don't hide anything else from me if you want to stay here safely." Apparently, Shahnaz needed to use a little threat to get the maid to open her mouth.

"This morning ... you asked me to turn off all the television and radio channels, right?" said the maid.

"And then?" asked Shahnaz again.

"I did as you asked, but it turns out ... Mrs Ismi was still able to watch the news channel on her mobile phone."

Shahnaz was shocked. She furrowed her brow and waited for the maid to continue. "Earlier, when I brought her food, I saw Mrs Ismi still watching the news about Mr Ekram. She was also receiving several messages on her mobile phone. I'm not sure what the messages were or what they said, but Mrs. Ismi looked very sad as she stared at her phone screen."

Shahnaz was about to go to her aunt's room, but the maid stopped her and said again, "But don't worry, Miss, it seems that Mrs. Ismi is fine now. Because when I brought her milk, Mrs. Ismi was fast asleep and didn't notice me entering her room."

The maid's statement made Shahnaz run even faster. She immediately opened her aunt's room and approached her bed.

Shahnaz hastily pulled back the blanket covering most of her aunt's body, until the maid following behind Shahnaz responded with a startled scream.

"Aaarrkkhh ...!"

Ismi was dead. She had stabbed herself in the stomach with a small dagger under the blanket and died with blood spreading across the bed.

***