Chapter 8: A Deal with the Devil
598 Words
The night refused to end.
Noor lay in bed with the small velvet box clutched against her chest, as if it were her heart and soul trapped inside. The USB felt heavier than metal — it carried a truth that could destroy a man… or save her.
But what if the two things couldn’t happen together?
Suddenly, her phone buzzed.
Unknown Number. Again.
She hesitated.
Then answered.
There was silence.
Then a deep, calm voice spoke — male, accented.
“Ms. Noor. I hope you’re sitting. Because this is your only chance to escape him alive.”
She froze.
“Who is this?”
“Someone who knows what your husband truly is. We’ve been watching Zayan Shah for three years. Cairo was just the beginning.”
Noor’s throat tightened. “Why are you calling me?”
“Because you have what we need. The USB.”
Her pulse quickened.
They knew.
“What do you want?”
“That drive contains more than you know. International arms deals. Blackmail files. Names that would start wars if they got out. Bring it to us, and you’ll be safe. Protected. Free.”
“And Zayan?”
Silence.
“He will disappear. Quietly.”
Noor’s breath caught.
They weren’t offering justice. They were offering erasure.
“Why me? Why not take it from him?”
“Because he’d burn the world before handing it over. But you… he trusts you. Don’t waste that.”
The line went dead.
Noor sat frozen, her heart in her throat.
She looked toward the closed door of the bedroom where Zayan slept.
She thought about how he had saved her life.
How he had told her the truth.
How he had handed her the USB himself — with no chains, no lies.
But then she remembered the blood. The rage. The fear in Meher’s words.
Zayan wasn’t innocent. And people like him rarely changed.
She opened the velvet box again.
Staring at the USB was like staring into a gun barrel.
Then she did something she didn’t expect.
She stood, walked into Zayan’s study, and plugged it into the laptop.
The screen lit up instantly.
Dozens of folders.
Some labeled with dates.
Some with names.
Some with only red warning signs.
One folder caught her eye.
“Cairo//Classified.”
Her fingers hovered over the mouse, trembling.
Click.
She opened the folder… and gasped.
Videos.
Photos.
Audio files.
One video auto-played — grainy surveillance footage.
Zayan was there, in the frame.
In a dark room. With a man tied to a chair.
His face was bruised — his knuckles bleeding.
The man in the chair was screaming something.
Noor pressed the volume higher.
“I told you! Meher’s death wasn’t an accident! It was your brother! Not me!”
Zayan stepped back in the video, expression unreadable.
Then without a word… he raised the gun and fired.
Noor clapped her hand over her mouth.
She hit pause.
Her head spun.
Zayan hadn’t just killed a diplomat… he’d silenced the only man who might have known who really killed Meher.
Her knees gave way.
Everything she thought she knew… was falling apart.
And now?
Now someone out there wanted this proof.
If she gave it to them, she’d be free.
But if she didn’t… she’d be a prisoner in a mansion full of secrets.
Her phone buzzed again.
A message.
“Midnight. Abandoned pier near Port 9. Come alone. Bring the drive.”
Noor stared at it.
She had until midnight to decide.
Was she ready to betray Zayan?
Or had he already betrayed her first?
- Writer
