Chapter 3 - The Shadow in the Market
I watched in absolute horror as my husband pocketed the thick stack of cash.
The man who was supposed to find my daughter had been on David's payroll all along.
I needed to get closer to hear what they were saying.
I pulled my scarf tightly over my head and crept toward the iron gates.
The bustling noise of the nearby market helped mask the sound of my footsteps.
I pressed my back against the stone wall, straining to catch their voices.
"The final buyer is arriving tomorrow night," Inspector Omar said in Arabic, a language I still understood perfectly.
"Is the girl ready for the transfer?" David asked, his tone completely void of emotion.
My heart shattered into a million pieces right there in the dusty street.
They were still treating my daughter like a piece of merchandise after all these years.
"She has been prepped, but she is becoming rebellious," Omar warned him.
Before I could hear David's response, a rough hand clamped down over my mouth.
I was violently yanked backward into a dark, narrow alleyway.
I kicked and thrashed, terrified that one of Omar's guards had caught me.
My attacker pinned me against the dirty brick wall with surprising strength.
"Stop fighting me, or they will kill us both," a fierce female voice whispered in English.
The hand slowly released my mouth, allowing me to gasp for air.
I turned around and found myself staring at a young Egyptian woman in her late twenties.
She was dressed in dark, tactical clothing, and her eyes were filled with desperate urgency.
"Who are you?" I demanded, my voice trembling with fear and adrenaline.
May you like
The young woman pulled down the collar of her shirt to reveal a jagged scar on her collarbone.
"My name is Amina, and I am the one who mailed you that postcard."
