she smiled before killing chapter 15
1030 Words
**Next Day**
"Hi... where's Iqrash?" Dua asked as she walked into the office.
"In the interrogation room," Irtaza replied without looking up from the file in his hands.
Dua sighed. "I feel bad."
Irtaza raised an eyebrow. "For Iqrash?"
"No, dumb."
He looked at her.
"I feel bad for the criminal. If Iqrash is interrogating him, that poor man is finished."
Just then, deafening screams echoed through the corridor, followed by painful cries that made everyone outside go silent.
Dua's eyes widened.
"Is... is he going to kill him or what?"
Irtaza calmly turned a page of his file.
"Dear Dua... it's not Iqrash who's interrogating the criminal."
"...Then who?"
"It's Manal."
"What?!" Dua almost shouted.
"Don't be dramatic."
"But Iqrash never lets anyone interfere in his interrogations! How is she interrogating someone with him?"
"You're forgetting something," Irtaza said. "They both caught him."
Dua opened her mouth to argue again.
Before she could speak, Irtaza closed the file.
"Enough talking. Iqrash assigned us a task. We need to verify something."
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the exit.
"But they're alone!"
Irtaza smirked.
"No... they have each other."
---
Inside the interrogation room...
Blood stained the concrete floor.
The criminal was tied to a steel chair, bruised beyond recognition.
"I'll kill you if you don't tell us who you work for!" Iqrash growled.
Hours had passed.
Neither Iqrash nor Manal had gotten a single useful answer.
The man only laughed through the blood dripping from his lips.
Iqrash glanced sideways.
Manal's white shirt was splattered with blood. Her fists were bruised from countless punches.
"Take a break," he said quietly.
She ignored him.
Without saying a word, she walked toward the prisoner until only inches separated them.
"I have a question."
The criminal looked up.
"Why are you so loyal to him?"
Silence.
Manal crouched in front of him.
"What if I spread the news that we've already caught you... and that you've confessed everything?"
She leaned closer.
"Do you really think your boss would spare you?"
The criminal suddenly smiled.
A cold...
Creepy...
Terrifying smile.
"You don't understand," he whispered.
"My boss knows my loyalty."
"That's exactly why he sent me."
"I'm here to die for him."
The wider he smiled...
The tighter Iqrash's fists became.
At that moment, Iqrash's phone vibrated.
It was Irtaza.
After listening for a few seconds, Iqrash slowly walked toward the prisoner.
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
Manal instinctively stepped aside.
He dragged a chair across the floor and sat directly in front of the criminal.
"You came here ready to die..."
"...didn't you, Malik Arsalan?"
The criminal froze.
His breathing stopped.
His confident smile disappeared instantly.
"H-How..." His voice trembled. "How do you know my name?"
Iqrash rested his elbows on his knees.
"I know you're loyal."
"I know you don't fear death."
He paused.
"But I wonder..."
"...would you still be fearless if I dragged your family into this?"
The color drained from Arsalan's face.
Manal's eyes narrowed.
She hated involving innocent people.
She knew Iqrash had no intention of hurting them...
He was simply breaking the man's strongest shield.
"I thought men working for your gang had no weaknesses," Iqrash continued.
"No family."
"No love."
"No attachments."
"I was wrong."
Then he smiled.
"I heard your daughter is adorable."
"You don't want her growing up without ever knowing why her father disappeared... do you?"
"I won't even touch her."
"But what if..."
"...your own gang finds out you have a family?"
Arsalan's body shook violently.
"No..."
"No... please..."
"You can't..."
"They'll kill them!"
"My wife..."
"My daughter..."
"They'll murder all of them!"
For the first time...
He cried.
Real fear had finally replaced loyalty.
Iqrash didn't waste another second.
"Who do you work for?"
"I'll tell you!"
"I'll tell you everything!"
"I swear... I don't know who he is!"
Iqrash's eyes turned cold.
"Don't test my patience."
"I-I'm telling the truth!"
"He always wears a mask."
"I've never seen his face."
"He only meets me whenever there's work."
"I work for him because... years ago..."
"...he saved my life."
Manal let out a disgusted scoff.
"He saved you once..."
"So you spent the rest of your life murdering innocent people for him?"
"Pathetic."
She folded her arms.
"Do you remember anything else about him?"
Arsalan closed his eyes, trying to remember.
"There is..."
"A mark."
Iqrash frowned.
"A mark?"
"Yes."
"On his lower back."
Manal instantly straightened.
"What kind of mark?"
"It looks like..."
"...someone stabbed him years ago."
"Exactly where?" she asked, her voice unusually urgent.
"The left side..."
"...lower back."
The moment those words left his mouth...
Manal rushed toward the door.
She didn't explain.
She simply left.
Iqrash watched her disappear.
His instincts screamed that she knew exactly who they were talking about.
He quickly wrapped up the interrogation and walked out.
---
Outside...
Manal stormed through the hallway.
She accidentally shoved Dua aside.
"Manal! Are you out of your mind?"
No response.
She didn't even look back.
Seconds later, the roar of her motorcycle echoed through the headquarters before disappearing into the distance.
A few moments later, Iqrash came outside.
"Have any of you seen Manal?"
Dua folded her arms.
"You and Manal never tell us what's going on."
"So how are we supposed to know where she went?"
Ali walked over.
"What's happening?"
Iqrash handed him the file.
"Continue analyzing the data."
"I'll be back."
Without waiting for another question, he left.
For nearly an hour...
He searched everywhere.
No trace of her.
---
Meanwhile...
Manal made a phone call.
Twenty minutes later...
She stopped in front of a luxurious apartment.
The door opened.
A tall man stood there in a perfectly tailored black suit.
Handsome.
Calm.
Completely unaware of why she was there.
The moment she stepped inside,
"Take off your shirt."
He blinked.
"...Excuse me?"
"Hurry."
A teasing smile appeared on his lips.
"Don't you think it's a little inappropriate to ask a man to undress when you're alone with him?"
"Shut the hell up."
Before he could react...
Manal grabbed his shoulder with surprising force.
She spun him around...
Her eyes fixed on the left side of his lower back.
- Writer
