ENJOY, NEXT CHAPTER COMING UP IN A FEW❤️

"Get me Jadwa," he said, and Ahmad nodded, heading upstairs immediately to call her.

Jadwa was lying on her bed, absorbed in her book, when Ahmad knocked on the open door to grab her attention.

"Ya Imran is here. He's asking for you," he said with a straight face, not giving her space to argue.

"Okay, I'll be down in a few minutes," she said simply before groaning inwardly. Left to her, they should not have involved him, as it would only cause her embarrassment and awkwardness.

"Wear proper clothes," Ahmad said, eyeing her before going back downstairs.

Jadwa got up immediately and went to the mirror. Noticing her hair was a mess, she quickly rushed to brush the flying strands into place, securing it in a quick, messy low bun. She opened her wardrobe and grabbed the plainest black abaya she could find, along with a veil.

She dressed quickly, applied some lip oil, and sprayed a very mild perfume. She looked at herself, satisfied, and took a few breaths to calm herself when Hannan barged in.

"Why must you put on makeup and perfume just to go downstairs and see Ya Imran?" she asked teasingly, hands on her hips, making Jadwa shift uncomfortably before glaring at her and heading downstairs.

In the living room, Imran was seated, surrounded by two laptops and some files. Jadwa recognized the pictures on the table even before she fully entered the room. Her heart dropped to her stomach, embarrassment and shame almost overwhelming her, but she masked it.

She greeted him with a Salam, and he responded. She greeted him formally, and he nodded in return.

"Ya Ahmad said you were calling me," she said.

"How are you?" he asked, and she simply answered, "Alhamdulillah."

"Come here," he said, tapping the space next to him.

Jadwa hesitated but sat down in the indicated spot, waiting for him to speak.

"Tell me everything from the beginning, Jadwa. I need you to be very honest with me about the people you met and the nature of your relationships with them since this started," he said, and Jadwa nodded awkwardly.

She didn't know how to start spilling and subconsciously began playing with her fingers, aware of his watchful eyes.

"I'm listening," he said gently, his voice coaxing her to open up.

"Do you want to write it down?" he offered when she remained silent. She shook her head vigorously.

Noticing her nervousness and the quiet, shaky breaths, he asked Ahmad, Ameerah, and Hannan to leave the room. They filed out silently, leaving Jadwa feeling even more exposed and vulnerable.

"Listen, there's no need to be nervous, okay? I've already gone through most of the details. I just need to know about your recent physical interactions," he said, his tone aiming to soothe her.

"Okay," she managed a small, shaky smile.

"Let's start with Abdulhakeem," he said, glancing at his meticulously organized notes.

Jadwa's heart dropped at the mention of Abdulhakeem. She took a deep breath. "I haven't met him since the blackmail started. I didn't tell him about it until he received the pictures himself. When we finally met, it led to our breakup," she confessed, her voice tinged with pain.

Imran nodded, uninterested in anything that has to do with her relationship, it never mattered to but he needed to cover all bases. "And Adam?" he him asked, pulling out his laptop.

"He's just my cousin," she replied, almost rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"I know. What about your friendship? It doesn't look very platonic," he pressed, his gaze intense and unyielding.

"On his side, yes," she answered, the frustration evident in her voice. This felt like an interrogation, and she hated every second of it.

"How often do you meet?" he asked, straightening up to look at her directly.

"He gave up on me a long time ago. We barely meet or text. The last time we met was at school by accident," she responded. Imran nodded thoughtfully.

"It can't even be him. I don't think so," she chuckled nervously. Imran only stared at her, his mind already forming theories.

"Right?"Imran chuckled at her naivety. He had already noticed a pattern. whenever Adam texted and Jadwa responded, the blackmailer's threats ceased. It was a repetitive and obvious pattern.

"Mhmm," she murmured as he transformed the space almost into a makeshift command center. His laptop, a relic from his intelligence days, whirred to life as he bypassed security protocols and established a secure, encrypted connection.

Her siblings returned but chose stayed upstairs to avoid disturbing him, leaving Jadwa knowing he might need her in some areas.. At first, it was like watching a crime thriller unfold before her eyes, but soon, the silence and tension made her eyelids heavy. Imran noticed and spoke gently.

"Jadwa, go and get some sleep," he said.

"No, it's okay, I'm fine," she insisted, struggling to stay awake.

"There's nothing you need to do here. I'll ask them to wake you if there's anything," he reassured her, but she declined again.

"I'm okay here," she insisted, feeling it was respectful to stay awake while he worked hard for her sake.

He let her be and focused on the documents and CCTV footage just handed to him by the inspector that just came in. "While I appreciate your efforts, a different approach is needed. Consider this a learning experience. However, I need your official cooperation on one aspect. Surround the location I'll share with you for a possible arrest tonight or early morning."

The police agreed eagerly. With the warrant secured, Imran used his connections to tap into the ISP's database, searching for suspicious activity from the spa's network when the incriminating photos were taken. His fingers danced across the keyboard, sifting through mountains of data.

Bingo. He found a spike in data transfer from a specific device at the spa during the security footage blackout. Further investigation revealed the device's MAC address, a unique identifier.

Imran cross-referenced the MAC address against a global database. A match! The device belonged to a burner phone, recently purchased and activated in Abuja. He now had a location a rough radius based on the estate the phone had pinged.

He leaned back on the couch, turning to see Jadwa asleep, her face resting peacefully on the cushion. It took everything in him not to stay and keep staring. He noticed her delicate features, the faint freckles on her nose, and the small pout on her lips. He finally scolded himself and tapped the couch to wake her.

"Jadwa," he called softly, making her eyes flutter open.

"Na'am," she answered lazily, their eyes meeting before she pouted more and sat up, feeling safe and thankful he was still there working hard for her sake.

"I'm leaving now. Go get some sleep. I'll be back in the morning," he said, and she got up.

He gathered his things, not wanting to tell her it was nearly over yet or reveal the perpetrator until he had him in custody.

"Let me walk you to the car," she offered, but he quickly denied it.

"Just tell Ahmad to meet me at the car. I'll be back tomorrow," he said.

"Alright," she said, confusion clear on her face.

"We've made a lot of progress. You should have a good sleep, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled, genuinely happy with the progress. "Will you be able to find the person?" she asked, eyes full of hope.

Already done that, my love, he wanted to say, but he simply nodded. "Almost. Do you want me to beat the person up?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Jadwa eagerly nodded and laughed, making him smile. "Please do."

He shook his head in disbelief and walked out to his car, where Ahmad and Ameerah joined him.

He addressed Ameerah, his voice firm but cautious. "I've made some serious progress, but this person is careful and experienced. We need to be too. For now, don't breathe a word about this to anyone. It will only slow us down from making an arrest."

Ameerah nodded solemnly. "Of course, Ya Moh. We'll keep this quiet."

"Good," he said, starting the engine as Ahmad got into the car.

"It's your cousin Adam behind all this," he announced.

Ahmad took a moment to process, head in his palms, chanting prayers to calm himself. "I can't believe this," he sighed heavily, full of frustration. He knew Imran would never give him wrong information, but Adam had always seemed different from the rest of their problematic paternal family. He is composed, gentlemanly, and they had built a small friendship.

"Believe it. The evidence is solid. Adam has been using his access to Jadwa to manipulate and control the situation," Imran stated, his voice steady.

Ahmad clenched his fists, anger bubbling under the surface. "What do we do now?"

Imran's eyes hardened. "The police will surround the estate. We'll catch him in the act, hopefully before he can do any more damage."

Ahmad nodded, a determined look in his eyes. "Okay"

As they drove in silence, the weight of the situation pressed down on them. The night seemed endless, filled with a tension that neither could shake off.

*****
Adam, in his dimly lit apartment, felt an overwhelming urge to delete everything, to scrub away the digital footprints of his plan. Yet, a reason held him back. Erasing things now wouldn't change the truth; it would only raise more suspicion. They had hacked all his devices completely, and he wondered what monster was behind it. He had to act fast, think strategically.

He had done something something terrible to Jadwa but it was out of love. He deeply loved her, and maybe if they went down together, a tiny glimpse of hope told him they might end up together.

He sank onto the plush bed, the expensive sheets suddenly suffocating him. His mind, usually sharp and calculating, was now clouded with fear. He envisioned Jadwa's face, the way it used to light up when they were kids, when their laughter echoed through their grandparents' garden.

Shame, a stranger for so long, reared its ugly head. He had built a life on a foundation of lies, a warped sense of love that had morphed into a suffocating obsession. He'd hurt Jadwa, the person he claimed to love most, shattering the bond they once shared.

Suddenly, his door broke open. Adam leaped to his feet, fear jolting through him. For the first time, he felt a terror so profound it shook him to his core. A good number of police officers stormed in, along with Ahmad and Muhammad. It was past four in the morning when they broke into the apartment.

The apartment was eerily quiet as they hastily searched for him. They broke down the locked door to find Adam sitting, staring blankly at the entrance. No emotions. Nothing. But Ahmad and Muhammad's attention wasn't on him; it was on the walls of the room.

Jadwa's pictures were everywhere, framed and printed all over the walls. There were poems and letters handwritten on every picture of her, from unedited photos of her in a robe to images from social media and snapshots of her and Adam as toddlers. When Muhammad Imran set his eyes on one of the letters, right next to Jadwa's naked legs cropped from spa photos, fury surged through him. He couldn't read past the first sentence. How dare he think such thoughts of her? Who gave him that right?

Before Muhammad could act, Ahmad was already on Adam, throwing multiple punches. The police struggled to pull him off.

When they finally managed, they handcuffed Adam, ready to take him away. But Imran dragged Inspector Tony aside, paid him, and asked for a few hours alone with Adam in the apartment.

Imran quickly made a call to his best friend, Ibrahim. Ibrahim picked up on the first ring. "Moh! What's up, man? It's not even time for Subi. Why the hell are you calling me?" He groaned, typical of his best friend, but Muhammad was in no mood for banter.

"I need you to meet me somewhere right now, Ibrahim."

"What's happening?" Ibrahim asked, suddenly serious.

"Some guy has been messing with my girl. I'll tell you the details, but I need you and your boys to deal with him for some time before I hand him over to the police," he said, anger evident in his voice.

"Jadwa?" Ibrahim asked in disbelief, making Imran more frustrated.

"Who else?" he said in a flat tone.

"I'm at the barracks. Send me the location. I'll be there as soon as possible," Ibrahim said, and Imran cut off the call to return to the chaos.

The police snapped pictures for evidence. Imran wished he could tear all the letters and poems off the walls, along with the pictures.

At that moment, he couldn't speak or act. If he did, he wouldn't be in control of his rage.

The police officers shared a tense glance, clearly uncomfortable with the raw fury in the room. Imran's rage was barely contained, his fists clenched at his sides. He was a man of principle, but the sight of those pictures, the defilement of Jadwa's innocence, was pushing him to the brink.

Ahmad, still seething, took a step back, his knuckles bloody from the beating he had given Adam. "He's sick, Imran. Twisted," he muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

Ahmad moved closer, his face contorted with rage. "You don't deserve to even think her name," he growled. "You tried to destroy everything pure, everything beautiful about her."

Ibrahim arrived, dressed in khaki trousers and a white shirt that strained against his muscular build. He shook hands with Ahmad and Muhammad.

When Ibrahim saw the wall, he audibly cursed. "What the actual fuck?!" He then looked at Imran. The police officers greeted and saluted him before he spoke.

"Why is he still conscious? You didn't do anything to him?" Ibrahim asked.

"Will you find him alive if I did?"