Chapter 6
"Is everything okay, Nazalea? You seem unfocused today."
Louis' rebuke, of course, surprised him, who was doing a photo shoot for the cover of the latest magazine this month. "Ah, I'm sorry, Louis. I just—"
"We can rest for a while if you're tired. Maybe, after resting, you will be much better," said the handsome man, smiling at him.
"You're right. Maybe I really need a break. Once again, I'm sorry," she said, feeling bad for the owner of the modeling agency.
"Sit there and don't go anywhere. I'll be back in a minute," Louis told her.
Nazalea just nodded her head. She chose to lie down on the bench, trying to sleep for a while. However, her eyes remained open. Her mind wandered far away. Nazalea felt something had happened to her little sister but she didn't know what it was.
"Eat this ice cream," said Louis, holding out an ice cream, which was immediately greeted by a happy smile.
"Thank you Louis. This is what I need," she said, smiling happily.
Louis not only bought himself, but also all the staff involved in this photoshoot. Of course, that made them smile happily and thank their boss.
"Are you feeling better, Nazalea?" he asked her.
"Hmm, not bad. However, there is still one thought that really drains my brain," said Nazalea to her boss.
"Are you thinking about Zamira? Didn't you say she was in Qatar with her lecturer and college friends?" asked Louis again.
"Yes. One week ago, Zamira did allow me to go to Qatar as one of the requirements for her graduation. However, I felt something had happened to her. I don't know what it is, I don't know either," said Nazalaea in response to Louis' question.
"Have you contacted her?" asked Louis again.
"Already. However, her cell phone was not active. I'm just afraid whe-"
"Then, finish your shoot for today. After that, you and I will go to Qatar to find Zamira's whereabouts," said Louis, ordering her to finish the job before going to Qatar.
"Is what you say true? Will you accompany me there?" asked Nazalea convincingly and looked at Louis with disbelief.
"I do not lie. Quickly finish your work here. After that, we will prepare to go there on my private jet in" answered Louis.
"My God, you are the best boss I've ever had. Thank you, Louis. I don't know how, and in what way I will repay you," said Nazalea.
"Just give your best performance in today's shoot. For me that's more than enough," replied the man, smiling sincerely at him.
"You are the best. Alright, let's start," said Nazalea excitedly.
Nazalea really proved her words by showing her best for this photoshoot. After that, she rushed back to the apartment to prepare for her departure to Doha–Qatar to find Zamira with her college friends and lecturers.
She didn't know what was really going on there. But, one thing for sure, something had happened to her younger sister. Because Zamira did not usually contact her. The last time her younger sister contacted her was three days ago. However, after that, there was no news at all. Nazalea had tried to contact several friends who accompanied her sister in that country. However, how surprising it was when one of her campus friends said that they had left Qatar on the fifth day of the trip.
"Zamira did not come home with us on the grounds that she was waiting for her older sister to arrive. So, we all decided to return home early," said the supervising lecturer at the campus where her younger sister was studying.
Of course, that frightened Nazalea. Because she also could not contact Zamira's cell phone. Louis, who knew this, tried to calm herself down, even though it didn't help much. At least it made the girl much better.
"Where are you, Zamira? How come there is no word from you? Have you met him there?" Nazalea said in a monologue and thought of a male name she hated so much. "Moussa al Bintani …" she continued to say softly.
**
"We couldn't find Zamira anywhere, my lord."
The report by one of his men really made Moussa angry. He didn't understand why Zamira had mysteriously disappeared. In fact, he had mobilized all the people he trusted to find his daughter's whereabouts. However, all was in vain. Zamira was also not found.
His suspicions immediately fell on Zulaikha. He was sure his wife knew something about Zamira's disappearance. What's more, his behavior had been suspicious the past few days. To be exact, the day before, he found out that Zamira was missing.
"Take me to the palace right now! I want to kill that damn woman with my own hands!" Said Moussa in a high tone of anger.
Moussa immediately entered the car and immediately drove away from the rest house where he had been living. He has indeed not occupied the main house since his divorce from Kasia Galliano. In fact, he decided to stay there after the death of the woman he loved so much.
"Moussa ... you're home at last, son."
An old woman walked up to her as she had just entered the palace that had been abandoned for years as a way of protest at what they had all done to Kasia Galliano and her two daughters. "Where's Zulaikha, Mom?" he asked without looking at his mother.
"I'm here, my love. Thankfully, you're back. I and the children miss you so much," said a woman who appeared gracefully accompanied by several maids who stood obediently behind Zulaikha's body.
"What have you done to Zamira–my daughter, Zulaikha? Where have you hidden her? Answer!" Said Moussa in a high tone full of threats and surprised everyone who was there. Including Zulaikha and her daughter, who stared longingly at Moussa.
"Dad, what did you do to mom? Let her go. Mom is going to die!", shouted her daughter, trying to pull Moussa's hand from Zulaikha's neck.
"Let this snake woman die! Let there be no more people she can make miserable. Tell me, where did you hide my daughter!!" Moussa snapped, unable to control his anger.
"W-what are you saying, Moussa? I-I don't understand. Did Zamira come to see her?"
Moussa stared intently at Zulaikha's face, which was clearly hiding something behind her beautiful face. He understood, his wife knew something related to Zamira.
Moussa's grip gripped his wife's neck, which was starting to run out of breath. If it weren't for her mother's request, Zulaikha would probably have suffocated to death by then. But he didn't just let his wife go.
"If I can find evidence of involvement in Zamira's disappearance, then I will kill you, Zulaikha. I don't care if I end up in prison for killing you. For me, it's better to live in prison than live with a cunning woman like you!``said Moussa sarcastically.
Without saying anything else, Moussa immediately left the palace where the al-Bintani family had lived for generations. He doesn't care about anything anymore. On his mind now is to find Zamira. However, her little daughter seemed to have disappeared onto the earth.
"Moussa, come back, son. We can talk about this in good faith. Where are you going?" her birth mother screamed, but she didn't care.
Meanwhile, Zulaikha looked at her husband's departure with tears in her eyes. She didn't expect that, after so many years since Kasia Galliano's death, her husband finally returned to the palace to meet her. However, not to hug and kiss, then express longing for him. Instead, the man came full of threats to him. And even sadder, Moussa is more concerned about the safety of one of his daughters from a previous marriage than thinking about their two children who really need the presence of their biological father.
"Zafran … I will make my own calculations for you! You've been playing with fire with your own dad. If he finds out you're the cause of your half-sister's disappearance, then Moussa will kill you! You stupid child!!"
Zulaikha remembered how Zafran contacted her a few days ago and asked her for help in a voice that sounded scared. He knew, this time, Zafran had made a big mistake.
"Mother, come here quickly. I need your help," Zafran said, half shouting over the phone.
"Now, what else have you done, Zafran? Tell me, you stupid child!" Zulaikha snapped at her son.
"I-I just raped and killed a girl. S-he's still in my apartment. Please help me," he stammered.
"What!!! How could you do that stupidity, Zafran? You put our family in big trouble! Stay there, and don't go anywhere. Mother will take care of it."
Zulaikha immediately hung up the phone. After that, he immediately contacted someone to help him take care of the body of the girl who had been raped and killed by Zafran.
"At any rate, get rid of the girl's corpse and don't let anyone find out about this news. You know what to do, right?"