Chapter 14: The Shadow of Secrets
After Rina saw the mysterious photograph, her mother, Pari Khan, was consumed by a suffocating grief. She retreated to her room, trembling as she knelt before the ghosts of her past. "What if Rina finds out her father is still alive?" she whispered into the cold air. "What dark storm will be unleashed if she ever meets him?"
Pari Khan remembered the man not as the hero Rina imagined, but as a monster. He was a cruel man who had tormented her before vanishing for reasons still unknown. "I will take this secret to my grave," she vowed, tears streaming down her face. "I won't let my daughter—my precious jewel—be destroyed by his shadow. May God seek justice for what he did to me." Exhausted by her own sorrow, she eventually fell into a heavy, troubled sleep.
The Hunt for the Truth
As soon as Rina realized her mother was asleep, her heart began to race. Her hands shook as she crept into her mother's room, guided by a gut feeling that a dark secret was being kept from her. After a frantic search, she found it—hidden inside an old book.
Rina stared at the man in the photo. He had a large mole on his cheek and eyes so cold and piercing they looked predatory. "This can't be my father," she whispered, a chill running down her spine. "He looks like a heartless criminal." To find the truth, she tucked the photo into her bag, determined to investigate, and tried to get some rest for the busy day ahead.
A Mirror in the Office
The next morning, Rina went straight to the office. When Mr. Diyari arrived, he noticed the photograph in her hand immediately.
"Rina, who is this?" he asked, his voice tensed.
"I found it with my mother last night," Rina replied. "She was terrified when she saw me with it."
Diyari took the photo, his eyes narrowing as he studied the man's features. The large mole on the man's cheek was in the exact same spot as the small, delicate mole on Rina's cheek. It's him, Diyari thought, this must be her father. But seeing how fragile Rina was, he kept his suspicions to himself. "Don't worry, Rina," he said softly, "we will figure this out."
The Collapse
Suddenly, Diyari's phone rang. The news was devastating: his mother's condition had turned critical, and she had been rushed to the hospital. Rina and Diyari raced there, finding his mother in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The doctors offered little hope, telling them only prayers could help now.
Diyari, the man who had always been Rina's strength, finally broke. He collapsed into Rina's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. The weight of the world became too much, and he fainted from the sheer emotional shock. Rina screamed for the nurses, who rushed him to a private room.
When Rina's mother arrived at the hospital, she found Rina in a panic. "Where is the photo, Rina?" her mother asked urgently. "I don't know!" Rina cried, her focus entirely on Diyari. When Diyari finally regained consciousness two hours later, he began to scream in agony. "My mother! Rina, where is she? I can't live without her! She is my whole world!" Rina and her mother held him, trying to anchor him as he spiraled into despair.
The Prison of the Soul
On the other side of the hospital, Liva heard the news about Diyari's mother. For a split second, her heart ached with guilt, but it was quickly replaced by her own fear. She knew her time was up; soon, she would be moved from the hospital bed to a prison cell. She realized with a bitter sting that Diyari hated her, his mother was fighting for her life, and she was headed for four cold walls. She began to wonder if there was any way to escape the cage she had built for herself.
The End of Chapter 14
As the night drew to a close, a heavy silence settled over the hospital corridors. Diyari's mother remained in the ICU, her breaths short and shallow. Rina felt trapped between two fires: the mystery of the man in the photo and the tragic suffering of the man she loved. The darkness outside seemed to whisper a warning—that the morning would bring a dark omen for Diyari.
Written by: Dlin_myth