"You're the one that filed for a retrial, right?"

Attorney Zarah nodded. "Yes I did. But, I couldn't meet the deadline I was given because I met with an accident that resulted to me being in a coma for months" She explained further before they question her about it. She knows that she has to provide evidence for her words. So, she pulled out her medical records from her briefcase and headed towards the man, handing it over to him. "These are my medical records for the past months"

The man turned around to handed them over to the judge who collected it. They all watched in silence as the judge flickered through the pages. After a while, he looked up and nodded, "Go ahead then. Present your evidence which would prove your client innocent"

Zarah's shoulder slumped in relief as she smiles. "I'll start my providing evidence to prove the innocence of my victim, then I would explain who the real murderer is..." She started, "My Lord, allow me to present my first witness, Mrs. Hafsa Gidado"

Everyone turned around as the doors were opened again, and in walked a figure. This time around, even Rahma turned around. She still hasn't recovered from the shock of seeing Zarah and that of Zarah calling her matar soja. There' sonly one person in the world who calls her with that name.

Rahma. The real one.

And if Zarah called her that then...

Rahma shook her head. So many thoughts were running in it regarding the scenario. She didn't want to think of the possibility and the answers. So much was happening at the time already.

However, when she thought she had faced enough jaw dropping revelations that day, she realized that a lot more are coming the minute her eyes fell on the woman. She swallowed hard, eyes following the woman as she was led to the witness stand. All the while, the woman kept her gaze on Zarah and no one else. She didn't spare Rahma a glance, not even for a second.

Rahma couldn't keep her eyes off her though. Amidst of everything that had happened so far, she had forgotten of the woman's existence. She had forgotten that she seemed to be a vital part of her story. But she had a reason for forgetting her, she was sure the woman would never tell her anything.

Yet, there the woman was—about to testify for her innocence.

The woman was made to swear to tell the truth before heading to the witness stand.

"Miss, introduce yourself before the judge please" Zarah said, turning around to look at the woman who's sitting on the chair provided in the witness stand.

The woman nodded, leaning her head down slightly. "My name is Mrs. Hafsa Gidado" Maria's friend, and the very first enemy Rahma made back in Nigeria said into the small microphone provided on the desk. "And I was friends with the late Mrs. Maria Attahir"

"Since when have you two been friends?" Zarah asked.

"We grew up together back in Morocco" The woman replied, "Even after she left to America, we still kept in touch. Our friendship grew when we met in Nigeria again"

Zarah nodded, intertwining her fingers, "And what do you know about this case? Did she ever tell you anything regarding it?"

The woman hesitated for a while. She suddenly sighed, nodding in the process. "I didn't know anything at the beginning until the night Bilal Malik died"

"Did she call you or..." Zarah trailed of, head tilted to the side slightly, "...were you there?"

This time, the woman spoke without hesitation. "I wasn't there" She shook her head, "Maria called up amidst of the night, and told me that she would move to Nigeria soon. Even then, she didn't tell me her reason. All she did was informed me that she will move the minute she has her documents cleared"

"Which documents are you talking about?" Zarah reached out for her briefcase, pulling out a couple of documents. She then held it up so that the woman, and the judge along with the others facing her could see, "Is this it?"

The woman nodded furiously, "Yes. The documents regarding her marriage with Late Bilal Malik were fabricated. Other documents of hers were destroyed"

"And who did that? Who tampered with the official documents?"

The woman gulped, licking her chapped lips. Despite feeling scared at the moment, she kept her calm façade and told the truth and nothing else. "Bilal Malik's ex-wife, Lena Malik"

Zarah nodded slowly. She already knew the answers to her questions as she had discussed about it with the woman the first time she met her already. She just needed to ask because they are in court. "You said you two grew up together in Morocco, right?"

Hafsa nodded.

"That must be why there's no school record of hers anywhere no matter how hard I try to look around for it" Zarah stated. It wasn't a question as she was only trying to point out facts. "Everything you said so far isn't enough to prove my client's innocence. So, what else do you know about the night Bilal Malik died?"

"When Maria called that night..." She trailed off, flickering her eyes closed, "I remember her clearly stating something about protecting the truth no matter what the cause would be. I didn't know of the incident back then so I had no idea what she was talking about. It was only after we met in Nigeria did she tell me the truth"

"And what is that truth?"

"That she had to frame a girl to cover up the secrets" For the first time, her eyes landed on Rahma. "She didn't say it outright but it was clear that she's afraid of the girl behind bars. No..." She shook her head, "...she wasn't afraid of the girl. She was afraid of what would happen if the truth comes out. She never told me who did it. That was all she said"

Zarah nodded, a small satisfied smile plastered on her face. "Thank you Mrs. Gidado" Those were the only words she said, but the look the two shared indicated that there's more than they're letting on. Thankfully, no one noticed it.

The woman was escorted out. Zarah took that as her cue to continue, "The fact that Mrs. Gidado wasn't there makes her testimony not strong enough to prove my client's innocence. This is why I'd like to call in my second witness, the person who was there in the house and in the scene Bilal Malik was murdered" Handing the documents she brought out earlier over, she clasped her lands. "Allow me to call in my second witness"

Just like earlier, the doors opened and in walked the second person. Once Rahma's gaze fell on the person, she decided to not look at the door again should there be another witness. She had faced enough surprises that day already. It's beginning to become too much for her to handle.

Her shoulders slumped as she looked away. Her parted lips allowed the escape of the short breath she let out. She slumped in her chair, fixating her eyes on the witness stand though no one's in there already. She was both mentally and physically exhausted from everything going on as she's still fazed by Zarah's first words to her that day.

Then Mrs. Gidado came and now her? She wasn't sure if she could mentally handle everything going on.

She watched in silence as the woman was made to swear by holding the Qur'an.

"Introduce yourself please" Zarah said, the minute the woman sat on the chair provided for the witness.

The woman didn't lean down to talk directly towards the microphone. She remained in her spot, and with shoulder's squared, she spoke. "My name is Lena Malik and I was Bilal Malik's wife"

Rahma resisted the urge to scoff. Albeit she's thankful that the woman was there to help her, it still didn't change the fact that she ignored her when she pleaded. She couldn't forget the hours she spent in front of that woman's door just so she would help her. She didn't know what Zarah told her, or how she got her to confess, but she's thankful.

"Mrs. Malik, when my client was adopted by your husband, you weren't living with him anymore. Can you tell us why?"

Lena blinked, looking down for a brief second before she looked up again. "I couldn't live there anymore because...I made my son think I died"

Rahma heard a couple of gasps from the people behind her, yet she wasn't fazed by it. She knew that already, so there was no point in pretending otherwise.

"Why would you do that?" Zarah rose a brow.

Lena blinked, intertwining her fingers as she placed her hands on her thigh. "That was the only way I could think of to save both me and my son"

"Save you two? From who?"

"My husband"

"Your husband?"

Lena nodded.

"And why do you need protection from your husband?"

Lena gulped, darting her tongue out to wet her chapped lips. She then blew a shaky breath, "My husband isn't who everyone think he is..." She started, chuckling bitterly "...I wasn't safe with him, neither was my son. All I've tolerated him for years before Noah came into our lives. I wanted to be a good mother to my son, that's all I ever wanted. I know I could've left him and taken care of both Noah and Maria but I couldn't. And neither could I leave them since I was the one who brought Maria there. The only option I had was to leave Noah alone, with Maria. Then, he wouldn't suffer the pain of my failed relationship with his father"

"So basically what you're saying is...Bilal was abusive towards you?"

Lena nodded in a blink of an eye.

Rahma's brows furrowed deep. She wanted to stand up and object. She wanted to defend her foster father. Her widened eyes moved to Zarah, wanting to see if she believed such a preposterous claiming. How could she let Lena tarnish her foster father's name like that? She couldn't possibility believe that, right?

Zarah's gaze didn't meet Rahma's as she had her eyes fixated on Lena.

Rahma didn't want to think of other possibilities but for the first time since she met Zarah, she wanted to think twice about her decision. For the first time in her life, she didn't believe what Zarah is agreeing to.

Did they form the story up to prove her innocence? She didn't want them to lie to get her out. She wanted justice the right way.

As if noting the disbelief plastered on Rahma's face, Lena spoke up, "Whatever I'm saying right now is the absolute truth and nothing but the truth" She kept her gaze on Rahma, eyes not battling an eyelid. She didn't want to tell her the truth before, because it meant that she has to tell her all about her foster father.

And if there was one thing she's sure of, it's that Rahma won't believe that her foster father isn't who she always thought he is. She wouldn't have believed her back then no matter what so what's the point? That's one of the reasons she decided against telling her the truth. However, after Zarah met her and talked to her, she knew it was about time she came out and faced the consequence of everything.

"Why didn't you take Noah along with you? Instead of making him think you're dead. Why did you make him think you died when you've been alive all these while?" Zarah's question snapped both Lena and Rahma from the stare-off they were both having.

Lena snapped her gaze to meet that of Zarah. "That was the only way I could think of to save Noah. Like I said earlier, I can't cater for both he and Maria. Everything that I own, I share with my husband. If I leave him along with them, I do not have any means of supporting them. I saved Maria before, I couldn't put her into more pain than I should've"

"Did your husband know that you're still alive?"

"Yes, he did and he had no problem with it as long as I stayed away from him"

"Was your he abusive towards just you or did he harm Noah too?"

Lena quickly shook her head, "He never laid his hands on Noah. He loved him despite everything. But he didn't hide his attitude infront of him either. My son was just a child back then; it was hard for him to see in me that position. He grew up scared of the man, and that fear turned to despise slowly"

"Does that have anything to do with why I couldn't find any documents regarding Noah's education"

Lena nodded, "Noah was homeschooled so he never had any official documents regarding that"

Zarah nodded slowly, "And why were you in that house that fateful night? And what happened?"

Lena moved her gaze away from Zarah, staring at nothing in particular. She swallowed, brows drawn in as she clenched her fist slightly. "That night..." Her voice came out shaky, "...I went to the house to see Noah as Maria and I agreed upon. I wasn't planning on staying for long. But, I did and ended up running into him" She closed her eyes. For the first time in ten years she felt herself relive the memories of the night she had tried so hard to forget.

She remembered sneaking into Noah's room when he was asleep and simply watching her child with tear brimmed eyes. She remembered running into her ex-husband as she was leaving the room and how furious he was at her.

"He was angry" She continued, "Furious to say the least" She flicked her eyes open after inhaling deeply. "He didn't shout at me back then because he was afraid of waking up Noah and his new adoptive daughter but he did threaten me. And when it got to the extent of him trying to hurt me, Maria stepped in for me" She sucked in a deep breath through her teeth.

"Stop that" Maria said through gritted teeth, blocking his view away from Lena. She pushed Lena behind her, not wanting him to even get a glimpse of her or get within arms-length.

"Or what?" Bilal rose a brow.

"Or I'll be forced to take matters into my own hands. You should know what I'm capable of" Maria said, eyes narrowed at the man. She didn't need to explain further. He should know considering the last time he tried to hurt Lena before the two separated, she almost stabbed him out of anger.

She didn't though. She only ended up injuring him on his shoulder since she didn't want to do something further than that. She had been silent throughout his relationship with Lena but she couldn't stand it anymore. Not when he's threatening the life of the one woman who saved her. Not when his stupid actions are hurting Noah. Had it been it was someone else, she wouldn't have minded. But not Lena and Noah.

She hated everything about him. And that included the girl he adopted.

"Is that a threat?" Bilal scoffed, eyes squinted slightly. His voice came out low.

"No..." Maria's voice came out even lower, and the cold edge it had was enough to send chills down a person's spine. "It's a promise" Her fingers tapped the knife she held in her other hand, behind her back, which he couldn't see.

But Lena saw it, and she knew Maria wasn't joking around.

"So Maria killed him because he threatened you? Or did he try to attack you again" Zarah spoke, her voice being the only thing heard in the eerily silent courtroom. Everyone, including the judge were sitting at the edge of their seat. They wanted to hear what happened afterwards. It wasn't every day that you hear such kind of cases.

Lena could feel her heartbeat accelerate at the thought of what happened next. That was the moment she had been dreading since the incident happened. She could feel the tears well up in her eyes at the thought of what would happen next. She blinked the tears back, not wanting them to choke her up. "He tried to hit me..." Her voice trailed off. Simply stating it made her relive the memory of that horrid night again.

"No!" She yelled, snatching the knife out of Maria's hands just as the woman tried to stab Bilal with it.

She threw it away, not caring about the position where it landed.

Maria was relentless though, she pushed him away before he could try to hurt Lena away by blocking her from him.

Zarah blinked, head tilted to the side slightly. "So, what you're saying is that you stopped Maria from stabbing him? Didn't she try to take the knife again?"

Lena gulped thickly, suddenly feeling her throat become parch as cold sweats form on her forehead. She blew out a shaky breath. "No..."

"Who killed him then if it wasn't her? Was it you?" Zarah knew the truth already, yet she needed to ask to clarify everything in front of everyone in court.

Lena's eyes darted around, her fists clenched tightly. "No—"

"I did" A voice cut her off before she could continue, just as the doors opened and another figure walked in.

Rahma couldn't stop herself this time around. Ina swift, she turned around in her chair, standing up in the process at the familiar voice.

The figure didn't stare at anyone in the place but the judge, ignoring everyone else. "I did it. I killed him"

Rahma felt her legs give up at the words. "No..." She muttered with eyes widen as she stared at him.

Noah.

~*~

A hand being placed on Rahma's slumped shoulders had her turning around slightly. Her gaze fell on Zarah who offered her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry too much matar soja. Don't you trust me? When have I ever let you down?"

Rahma wanted to offer her a smile, but she couldn't find it in her to do so. She simply nodded curtly and sighed again, burying her face between her palms.

"All rise!"

They all stood up, as the judge walked back into the courtroom. They all waited till he sat down before they did so.

Rahma uneasily sat down, tapping her foot on the floor repeatedly as she bit her nails. A habit she had newly developed when nervous.

The judge opened the file with him, before leaning forwards to speak using the microphone situated on his table. "After reviewing all the evidences presented and the testimonies given by witnesses regarding the retrial case of the murder of 53-year-old Bilal Malik. This Court of Appeals, NYC, on the 27th October, 2017, finds 23-year-old, Rabia Bilal Malik innocent of all charges and will be immediately be released as a free woman again" Ha banged his gavel on the desk.

Rahma released a small sob as she clasped her hands together. "Alhamdullilah" She muttered, burying her face between her palms as she grins and let the tears of joy cascade down her face.

Zarah grinned, tapping Rahma's shoulder as she released a loud sigh of relief. "Alhamdullilah Masha Allah" She said. Her eyes moved back to the judge, knowing there's more.

"And regarding the real murderer of Bilal Malik. His son, Noah Bilal Malik..."

~*~

Honestly ba, it disgusts me to write those kind abusive scenes but the plot is what it is, I can't do anything sha.

Noah did it! Who saw that one coming. What do you think he deserves?

Two chapters to round up. Better prepare.

Love, Jannah.