Chapter 6

The room, which felt very cold, was still empty. Inside the room, there was a large table with several chairs lined up right in the middle. Unlike a normal room, this room was actually built in the basement of a large house located in Istanbul, Turkey.

To reach this room, one must enter through a special lift with an access card that only certain people have. The camouflage is extraordinary, because without this access card, the lift will only function like a normal lift that takes people to the top floor.

Going up to the top floor, there is a magnificent house with a strong Mediterranean style. A spacious yard and a fairly high gate clearly separate the house from the outside area.

Upon closer inspection, there are many guard posts at several important points, manned by burly men in black suits and jackets. In addition, there are numerous surveillance cameras that continuously record every event 24 hours a day.

The convoy of navy-coloured Rolls Royce Wraith cars, with an engine capacity of up to 6,592 cc, drove at a moderate speed, flanked by two other cars that served as escorts for the people riding in the luxury cars.

A Mercedes Benz Jeep and a luxury SUV of the latest model were at the front and rear to ensure that the people they were escorting would arrive at their destination safely and securely.

The towering golden gate automatically opened when the Jeep appeared and was about two metres away, allowing the other two cars to enter the courtyard, which was already filled with several people dressed in black standing in front of the main door.

As soon as the car stopped, a young man in neat attire stepped out. His black suit, grey shirt, and glasses perched on his handsome face made his appearance even more impressive.

"Welcome back, young sir!" The men there exclaimed in unison.

The man smoothed his suit and took a deep breath. His eyes, hidden behind his glasses, moved around and carefully examined the surroundings of the house.

"Is everything back to normal?" Asked the man, who turned out to be Arash, to Demian, who was still standing in his position.

"Yes. You can carry out your activities here without worry. All the police have completely withdrawn from this area. Some of our people are also already inside, clearing up any suspicions about our organisation." Replied Demian.

Arash nodded briefly and patted Demian on the shoulder, who then followed Arash into the house.

Without wasting any time, Demian, who already knew what Arash wanted to do, directed Arash to immediately enter the lift with several other people inside. He then took out an ATM-like card, which was an access card, and tapped it on a small screen near the lift door.

"We're going to the ground floor." Said Demian.

Sure enough, the lift moved differently. It did not go to the top floor but headed for the ground floor.

"Even if the house is destroyed and everything is ruined, this room must not be touched!"

"I understand. I have also updated our security system, so you don't need to worry." Replied Demian again.

They arrived at the room. The lift doors opened to reveal a corridor as soon as they arrived. Not too far away, they could see a glass door leading to a special room that was usually used as a secret meeting place for the organisation.

Several surveillance cameras with high-level security systems were deliberately placed there and moved according to motion sensors around the room.

Arash—the young man—immediately sat in the seat at the far end, which was the special seat for the leader of the mafia organisation he owned. Demian sat to his right, and several other mafia leaders were also there.

“Have you found what I asked for?” Arash asked directly.

One of the mafia leaders under Arash then took the remote control there and turned on a large monitor to display the results of their investigation.

"We have tried to find the whereabouts of a girl named Shahnaz, including finding out if she is indeed the politician's biological niece."

On the screen, a scanned photo of a piece of paper with the government hospital logo stamped at the top appeared. Upon zooming in on the image, it was clear that it was the DNA test results of a girl named Shahnaz, whose whereabouts they were searching for.

"She is indeed Ekram Adolf's biological niece. The test results came out yesterday, coinciding with the second parliamentary meeting in the third quarter of this year. At that meeting, it was also announced that the legal heir to all of Ekram's assets and inheritance would ultimately fall to that girl." Explained the mafia leader named Feto.

"If such an important announcement was made in the courtroom yesterday, that means the girl must have been there too, right? Then why couldn't you just arrest her and finish the job I asked you to do? Or at least, you could have taken that opportunity to retrieve the documents we've been looking for all this time!" Exclaimed Arash.

"We had prepared that plan, but ...." Imar's words trailed off.

The man didn't even dare to look back at Arash, who looked quite disappointed with the slow performance of his men.

"When we arrived at the court location and conducted a search, the girl was not there at all, sir. Only her lawyer was there to represent her that day. We even had several members stationed in front of Ekram's private residences scattered throughout Turkey, but she didn't show up at any of them." Replied Feto in front of Arash.

Arash finally looked at his friend, Demian, who had been silent and following their conversation without comment.

"I have ordered everyone to monitor all the houses and residences belonging to Ekram. Not only in the city of Istanbul, but I have also sent them to Izmir and other cities. However, there was not the slightest sign of the girl's presence there. From the end of the first trial until the second trial yesterday, there has been no sign of her at all."

Whack!

The handsome man with a firm jaw spontaneously felt angry, slammed the table while standing up and stared at everyone there. Including Demian himself, who now chose to look away and bow his head slightly.

They were friends, but when it came to organisational matters, Arash did not care about Demian and the failure he had brought about.

"If you knew from the start that there was no sign of the girl at Ekram's house, then why were you still there keeping watch." Arash shouted angrily. "She must have left before you arrived at those houses!"

"But she's still here!" Demian interjected.

"What did you say?" Arash asked again.

"We can decide to send people there, because the girl hasn't left the country at all. She's still in Turkey, even now."

"She could have used a different identity to leave and escape from the country. With all the wealth she has now, it wouldn't be difficult for her to do that." Said Arash.

"We've thought of that too, Young Master." Feto now dared to interrupt and give his explanation again in front of Arash. "We've thought of that. We even made various sketches of different faces, based on Shahnaz's face that appeared in public some time ago during the first parliamentary hearing. However, we still couldn't find her, and even all the spies are convinced that she has not left the country at all."

"Moreover, with her position as an enemy of all officials in this country, it would be difficult for her to leave Turkey easily. Those who have interests in the girl or Ekram will not let Shahnaz go so easily."

Everyone fell silent. The atmosphere became tense after seeing Arash's eyes blaze with anger.

***

---Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey---

---Koc University Library, 8 p.m. local time---

Large shelves filled with various books tower over a building located not far from the Koc University administration building and the university's Law Division building. The building filled with tall shelves is none other than the library that has been the pride of every Koc University student for years.

It has become one of the favourite places for students to spend their study time and free time.

The diverse collection of books, which ranges from lecture materials to philosophy books, often attracts visitors from outside the campus to become regular members, so they can have ample opportunity to explore the book collection and borrow books freely.

"You've been taking things out of your bag since earlier, Zaya. What's going on?" A woman who had arrived a few minutes ago and was ready to take over Zaya's shift in guarding the library for the next few hours asked, questioning the girl's strange behaviour.

Zaya—the girl wearing a veil—frowned and looked at her colleague with tired eyes.

"I've been looking for it all day." Said Zaya. "But it's gone, I don't know where!

Her colleague then replied to Zaya. "What are you looking for?"

"My student card, Elis!" Zaya looked quite frustrated.

It was only natural for Zaya to be upset about the loss of her student card, if it had indeed disappeared. With that card, those doing internships at the library could sign in daily and freely enter and exit several rooms that were only for students of that university.

Zaya could have a new card made, but it would take time and involve filling out several documents, which was tiring with all the rules involved.

"Look for it properly first, maybe you forgot to put the card somewhere else. Or maybe you left it somewhere?” Said Elis

“I definitely never took the card out of my bag. It’s true … I rarely put it in my wallet, but I never took it out of my bag, unless I threw my bag around carelessly and—”

Zaya’s words stopped as she suddenly remembered what she had done the other day.

Astaghfirullah! How could she have forgotten that? Perhaps the headache she had felt yesterday after getting caught in the drizzle and beating up the thugs had made Zaya forget that she had thrown her school bag in any direction before becoming a hero.

"Do you remember where you left your card?" Asked Elis. "If so, go and get it right away. As for today's attendance ... I'll write it down manually first and report it to the head of the library later." Elis continued.

The woman then touched Zaya's arm, which was covered by a dark abaya. For a moment, Elis saw the young girl standing silently in her place.

"I'm leaving now. Please get me a new card application form too, just in case!" Exclaimed Zaya, who left immediately without giving any further explanation.

The girl ran fast and stopped to catch her breath when she realised that she was still on campus and couldn't be seen running like a madwoman in clothes like this. From inside her veil, the young girl's lips moved, uttering the words of istighfar continuously as she tried to convince herself that her student card would be found that night.

***

---Slum Area, Istanbul City---

Arash's footsteps were not as wide as usual. He seemed to be paying close attention to every step he took, carefully and cautiously. He glanced around the location from time to time

"You've been here for several hours." "Said Demian.

"Yes. And I haven't found anything that would make the police stop suspecting us." Replied Arash.

"I told you before that we work professionally. So you won't find any evidence left behind like you've been worrying about. In fact ... if you keep wandering around this location, it could raise new suspicions about our organisation, Arash!"

"I really want to believe all that. But the fact is ... our organisation was immediately suspected by the police on the second day after Ekram's death. You saw it yourself, didn't you?" Replied Arash, equally angry.

Demian finally fell silent and just watched what Arash was doing. Until, when their focus was now there, a movement that prompted Arash's guards to raise their weapons startled Arash, Demian, and one other person.

"Stop!?" Arash shouted when he realised who was coming up behind him.