"Uncle Rob somehow knew what was going on. He was not surprised. It's as if he predicted that this was going to occur. After a few hours, people knocked on uncle Rob's front door. He became very worried and told me to hide in the attic."

"After they had left, I asked uncle Rob what was going on. Why was he hiding me away from the people? But he didn't answer my repeated questions. I stayed with him for a few days. He would leave the house and lock me in with food, water and necessities...but would never tell me what was going on!". The far away look in his eyes intensifies and the ache in my heart presses harder with every word.

"I would be alone and cry for all of you but uncle Rob was always there to hold my hand." , he pauses, "After a while, I got used to it and stopped asking the questions to him...I was waiting for the right time."

"Then...The right time came. It had been over a year since I had been hiding at uncle Rob's, away from the people."

"It was my 14th birthday but it was of no joy to me. The day reminded me about all of you. It was a quiet day and Uncle Rob had baked a cake to cheer me up.", he laughs and shakes his head. "It was a delicious cake...besides the fact that the cake had failed to rise due to the fact that Uncle Rob had added way too much baking powder to the cake, which caused it to fall flat.", he chuckles again causing me to laugh at the imagine.

"After we had dinner and finished half of the cake on the table, uncle Rob apologised for not presenting me with a birthday gift. I wanted to tell him that the cake and dinner itself was enough to be my gift for my birthday...but then I realised that I could finally get what I wanted. Answers."

"I told Uncle Rob that it's okay and that he could still give me my birthday gift by telling me the truth about what happened to Dad."

I laugh. "You smart knucklehead" I knock on his head jokingly and he rubs the area on his head. "Well go on! What did ol' Uncle Rob say?"

He clears his throat. "Well he was hesitant at first, but finally gave in to my pleading eyes. After all, I did have a right to know why I was being hidden away from the world. And so...he told me the story."

"You know...Uncle Rob and dad were best of friends since they were kids. When dad first saw mom and liked her, Uncle Rob had convinced her to marry dad, an Indian man. He even convinced mom's entire family to allow for the inter racial marriage."

"Dad was working at Cola Buddy. He was one of their most loyal employees. The CEO of the company at the time, Mr Denver Cooper, had entrusted dad with the responsibility of taking charge of the launch of a new soft drink into the market. Dad was the head of the entire project."

I shut my eyes. I know what happened after that. It was all over the news. The memories flash before my eyes...but still...I want to hear it from him because I still don't know the entire truth. Mom would never answer my questions and actually, I would be too scared to trouble her with these questions.

"Then the drink was launched and sold into the market, but people started getting ill after drinking the new soft drink. After an investigation excecuted by Inspector Jeremy Thomas, it was found that the drink was poisoned. In fact, the entire plant had been tampered with and poisoned."

I shake my head at the memories.
"Dad told Uncle Rob that he thought one of Cola Buddy's rival companies had poisoned the plant to defame the company." , he continues.

"The next day, when dad arrived at work, Mr Cooper was very stressed and worried. He needed to answer questions to the media. So...he turned to dad."

James shakes his head in anger and forms a tight fist to control it. "That dog forced it all on dad! Mr Cooper told dad that dad should confess that it was all his doing in front of the media. In return, Mr Cooper would give dad a hundred thousand pounds."

Oh my god! I was not aware of this.
"And did dad agree?", I whisper.

"He had no choice but to."
"Dad was imprisoned for 3 months and then released after winning the court case due to the help and assistance of Mr Cooper. However, the media and the people still held dad as a criminal in their eyes."

I remember those three months without dad. I would constantly ask Mom about Dad's whereabouts and she would simply say that he was abroad on an important business deal. I would doubt her as I would ask myself, how could a business deal last this long?

He reads my mind again. "Yeah! Mom and her story about Dad's business deal abroad." , I smile.

"Okay, so first Denver Cooper used dad and forced him to confess to a crime that dad did NOT commit, and then he freed dad from prison. So how did it get to the part where they killed dad?" , I press on. My curious mind becomes more and more awake. Finally there is someone who can answer my questions.

"Well...when Dad was released, he returned to work, but he always doubted Mr Cooper, especially after he forced the crime on Dad. Dad had realised that Denver Cooper was not as innocent as he seemed. There was more to this. A huge conspiracy was being brewed."

"That was when Dad turned to Uncle Rob for help. Together with Uncle Rob, Dad began to investigate the company, rival companies and Mr Cooper. They had also involved Inspector Jeremy Thomas in the investigation."

"One day, finally he got hold of a very important piece of evidence."

"What evidence?"

"A chip!"

The memories of the day dad was killed return to the surface.

"I'm asking you for the last time...Khan...Where is the chip??", the man asks dad. Dad looks at me as tears spill from his eyes. He gulps and turns to the man. "How many times do I have to tell you...I DONT KNOW!!!"

"What kind of evidence did the chip contain?", I ask.

"Inspector Jeremy Thomas had tapped Cooper's private phone when he was not around. With this, they overheard a conversation between Cooper and his P.A in which they came to know that Cooper had poisoned the drink himself and had involved Dad in this mess only to gain publicity. Only to get the attention of the media. Not only this, but they overheard other conversations and found out about Cooper's involvement with the mafias and other criminal activities. "

"They recorded the conversations and downloaded it on the chip but somehow Cooper found out and sent his men home looking for the chip. They didn't find it and they killed dad in the end. No one knows where dad kept the chip."

"Thank god they thought that we also died that day. Otherwise, they would come after our lives too, in search for the chip."

"I stayed with Uncle Rob since then and lived in the shadows."

We remain quiet in our thoughtful silences. Then, a thought pops up in my head, "So how did you find me? How did you know where I was? How did you know that I was alive?"

He takes my hand that sits in my lap and smiles at me. "I met Aunt Ruby at the grocery store. I wanted to run away but I just couldn't. I had to go up to her. I mean, what danger could I face by meeting my own Aunt? It had been 7 years anyways."

"That's when she gave me the utmost shock of my life. The priceless gift of all. The news that you and Mom are alive. I told her not to inform you about me. I had to make sure that you two were safe before I revealed my identity."

"I saw you the first time at campus. You were the most beautiful girl in the college grounds that day but you had this slight touch of sadness on your face. That was when I decided to follow you around to see why you were sad. Then, I came to know that you live your life just like I did mine. Always afraid."

"When I came to know that you won a ticket here on this cruise, I couldn't help myself but follow you here too. I thought to get to know you better before I told you the truth. I also wanted to be here to protect you."

Aww my sweet brother. He had always been protective over me. I am so glad that he is here. I no longer feel afraid. For the first time in seven years, the burning fear inside me seems to die out.

I turn to his safe blue eyes. "We are in this together Jameel."

Now I know that I can share the other secrets with him. He can help me. He can help me find out who is trying to kill me.