#FewWords
Some are joyous moments, others heart breaking. Such is life with its ups and downs. Don't let the lows get you too low and the highs too high. Maintain a balance somewhere in between.

Recap
"Just look at me and let me know... okay? It's your decision and I'll support you through out...I promise"

"I want to..."

"Great!!" He smiled at her

"Can you recognize them...any of them?" He asked her and went ahead to show her the pictures of the men and she got tensed at the thought of Nasir and everyone knowing exactly what happened to her. Nasir upon noticing her uncomfortable state, talked her out of it, talk about a guy that knows his way with words.

Chapter Forty Eight
Third Person's POV
"I can..." She muttered under her breath.

"Are you sure?" He asked just to make sure she doesn't get negativity inside her. Salma nodded at him, breathed in and out as she did.

"Hmm, okay" he brought his phone and showed her a picture, immediately she set her eyes on the screen, Salma became frightened and in no time started shaking even the room was as cool as ever. Nasir held her hands and kept quiet. In a sec, tears slowly trickled down her cheeks and she made no effort to shot her eyes.

"It's okay to cry..." He stroked her hands. Without saying anything, he knew the man in the picture was the monster.

After she slept, Nasir informed Jalal about the new update and a progress was gotten.

By 1am in the night, Mr Muhammad Shehu got a call from Mr Adam who told him he coincidentally came across one of the men at the airport.

"Yes, I had a closed meeting at Tulip Hotel and I saw his passport on a document... it was his passport but under a different name...a totally different Identity" he explained how he had to seek for the assistance of the attendant before he got a good look at the files

"These men are cunts!" Mr Muhammad Shehu gritted his teeth

"Yes sir and I think they are planning to leave the country because the hotel is close to the international airport.

"Yes, you are right... I'll get Jalal and the forces"

"Before that, I'll get a way to make sure they don't leave the hotel" Mr Adam suggested.

Jalal called the police after Mr Shehu talked to him, they got to the hotel in no time and met a scene which was created by Mr Adam.

"Freeze!" The police men shouted and in a flash, the bar in the hotel was almost empty. Sadiq, one of the monsters got a chance to escape but he met Jalal outside, tried as much as possible to act smart but Jalal caught him.

"You monster!" He hit Sadiq on his mouth.

"It's okay Mr Jalal" Sadiq was handed over to the police but his associates got a chance to escape.

"Oh wow! This is what you are good at?" Mr Muhammad Shehu clapped his hands

"You'll regret the day you created the mindset to abuse Salma"

He was taken in the van. Three days later and Sadiq still claimed innocence.

"I'm innocent!" He shouted at the top of his voice, his eyes blood red and his skin hugging him with no shirt on, the flesh of his flesh looked a raw chicken's flesh.

The police had to get Salma to the station to make sure he was one of the men that attacked her. On getting to the station, Salma stood her ground saying he was the one driving the car. One of the corrupt sergeants tried to confuse her using words but Jalal stopped him immediately he noticed where he was storming at.

The moment they were about to leave the station, a number of journalists turned up at the entrance trying as much as they could to get her talking but Salma was closely held by Nasir who accompanied her to the hospital.

"Madam Salma, how did it happen?"

"Are you sure you recognize the so called attackers?"

"What evidence do you have to back up your story?"

Questions were thrown in the air and each question made a strong impact on Salma's thoughts.

"Did you enjoy it? People say that if you can't fight it, enjoy it" a stern and strange voice laced with hatred stood out in the group of journalists. In a swift, Nasir already fished him out and was about to hit him even though he stood no chance as the man is built and has a chest that heaved even when he was calm. Jalal held into him and immediately ordered that the man be arrested for abuse with words.

After two days, Mr Adam and the second investigator got news on where the two men travelled to. Mr Muhammad Shehu with the number of connections he has got them arrested and a case was filed at the police station for rape. The government didn't allow Mr Muhammad Shehu to hire a lawyer.

"I wonder what sorta mentality they have" Nasir complained

"It's horrible... I pray she's offered a good lawyer" Jackson said

"Well, I heard my dad saying the lawyer doesn't have a meeting with his client for the first hearing and..."

"What...?" Nasir and Jackson stared at him in disbelief.

"Yes..."

"You need to tell your dad" Jackson advised

"Hmm..." Nasir stood up and excused himself. When his dad got Jalal to get through to the lawyer and the lawyer's assistant told them exactly what Hammad had said.

"Mr Bello doesn't have a conversation with his client... whatsoever... you'll see him on the day of the first hearing"

Jalal asked if an appointment could be set with the lawyer but the assistant told he had a tight schedule for the next three days and the hearing was on the fourth day.

Mr Muhammad made inquiries on what they could do but nothing tangible came out of it.

"Jalal, can you please meet Judge Hassan to see if there's anything we can do about it"

Jalal got ready and went Hammad's house to have a conversation with his dad, Hassan. Zayn smiled at Hammad when he saw him and they shook each other's hands as he lead them to his dad's office at home.

"Thank you Hammad...hope your mother is doing fine"

"Yes sir, she is... she's on a trip with Arian and Arianna"

"Ahhh... that's good" Jalal smiled tightly

"Hmm, that's the government's policy... the government believes a case such as this is a government case..." Hammad's dad explained to them after he calmly listened to them

"The government lawyers are mostly uninterested in either the case nor the lawyer so the possibility of the lawyer not showing up is high"

"What? What are we supposed to do if..."

"You have to hire a back up lawyer...the court will surely listen to you if the government lawyer doesn't show up.

They both appreciated him and left after he told them his wife was a girls advocate for years and also a lawyer but one that hasn't practised for Eleven to thirteen years but she'd be willing to step in if it meant for her to help Salma.

Jalal appreciated his advice but said they'd have to have a discussion with Zainab first. That was just an excuse not to say no to the offer but Jalal knew that Mr Muhammad won't accept the offer because he already talked to one of the best lawyers before got to know about the government lawyer.

The culprits on the other end were scolded by the woman bossing them around, the woman got them a lawyer and decided to get her money from the deal they sealed.

"Y'all seemed smart but I guess you are dumb asses, how could you go to the bar when it was pretty clear y'all were being hunted!" She clenched her fists and widened her eyes enough to clear out the fear in their eyes if it was possible.

"Madam...you got us into this mess and if you don't get us out of this...we have evidence against you and your partner... I'm sure you know what that means..." Sadiq who was the head of his gang lowered his head along with his voice and said.

"Wow! A man I picked from the streets is threatening me!" She almost screamed with her fingers digging deep into her purse which will have bled if it had a drop of life in it.

"Madam..."

"Shut up!" She calmly said, her voice laced with danger and authority. Her eyes like a camera, scanned their faces for a second before she stood up and walked out of the station. She bumped into Jackson and he muttered an excuse before walking past her.

"Madam, thank God you chose to cover your face, had it been you didn't..."

"You need not say anything about that...I know what I'm doing..." She interrupted her assistant. She walked straight to her car which was opened by a man whose skin was as smooth as a drum.

"Yes...get to Barrister George please" she instructed her assistant who was in the frontier seat and in fifteen minutes she got a lawyer for Sadiq and his boys.

On the day of the hearing, Salma got in with difficulty due to the number of journalists and national TVs waiting to interview her. At first, no one was really interested in her case until the public got to know Mr Muhammad Shehu was involved in her case.

Hammad and Nasir sat by Salma's right while Zayn, Zainab and Jalal sat by her left, Mr Muhammad Shehu couldn't make it to the first hearing due to an urgent business trip. Jackson travelled back to school due to exams but Nasir, Salma and Hammad were excused when Mr Muhammad made a call to the school management and explained what the matter was.

Just like Mr Hassan had predicted, the lawyer didn't show up and the judge asked if the case has already been won before it even started. He had some sorta sarcasm in his voice but no one ruled out what he said.

"If you have no..."

"We have a lawyer my Lord..." Zayn quickly said as that was the only chance they had if they didn't another lawyer uninterested lawyer.

"Okay... then" the case began with both introducing themselves and going ahead to explain each party's part of the story.

"Objection my Lord... Barrister George can't just go ahead and call my client's rapist as this is the just the beginning of the case" Barrister Samir who's an experienced lawyer in his forties said. Barrister Samir is one of the best lawyers too, majority know the number of cases he has lost can be counted. Barrister Samir sat down and listened as the Judge gave Barrister George a warning.

"Can Miss Salma Ahmad walk to the witness box?"

"Yes my Lord" Barrister George replied on request from Barrister Samir. Salma walked to the witness box hugging her head and her eyes looking at the floor thinking about what every human with ears will say about her after this case.

"Can you tell us exactly what happened to you that day?" Barrister Samir asked

"Yes... I just walked out of the hospital and..."

"No... right from when you left whoever's house you were living in because I want to let this court know that Salma Ahmad is an orphan and she lives with Mr Muhammad Shehu, the famous Shehu Corporation's CEO and founder. Salma, are you related to Mr Muhammad Shehu...in anyway... legally or biologically?" Barrister Samir asked her and that moment she raised her eyes, looked at her Zainab knowing exactly what the man was beating at.

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End of Chapter 48, thank you so much for your reads and don't forget to vote, comment and share.

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