Kidnapped by the Arab

The days were passing, and Ahmed was anxiously waiting to deliver all the evidence. He had already handed over a portion, but the ones he had just obtained were definitive.

“As soon as the arrest order is issued, I’ll go for Aisha. Doing it earlier would put them on alert,” Ahmed said.

“You must not rush,” Zafir advised. “The lady is safe; Mrs. Badira keeps Mahib informed about what’s happening. She is taking care of Mrs. Aisha.”

“I’m missing her pregnancy. I wanted to be by her side, supporting her,” Ahmed lamented.

“Sir, what I’m about to tell you may not please you. Mrs. Badira mentioned that Mr. Carlo and his wife share the same room,” Zafir informed.

“I already know that, Zafir. Carlo has made sure to rub it in since they were in Italy. I’m sure he’s forced her; she despises him. If she wanted to be with him, she would have done so from the beginning,” Ahmed replied.

Assim no longer considered Carlo a reliable ally; he had lost power, and now he felt him as a burden.

“Now tell me, Mr. Román, what are your plans?” Assim asked.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“I’ll get rid of Ahmed Assad first, and then Vinizzio. After that, I’ll return to Italy, meet with some capos, and reclaim the power they took from me. Those territories are rightfully mine,” Carlo declared.

“How do you plan to do that? Your allies have turned their backs on you,” Assim inquired.

“That remains to be seen. They think I’ve gone soft, so they did it, but I’ll show them who I truly am. If they won’t respect me, they’ll fear me. But I’m sure they’ll hand me back what’s mine themselves,” Carlo stated.

“I hope so, Mr. Román. I’m waiting for an opportunity to attack the palace. It’s heavily guarded; the Sheikh has too much security around him. I understand your men from Italy have already returned,” Assim said.

“Those men were the ones responsible for tearing everything down. I’ll settle scores with them soon,” Carlo affirmed.

Caroline had physically recovered, but emotionally she had not yet overcome what had happened. She stayed in the palace with her father, not wanting to return to Italy until her sister was rescued.

“Daughter, I must return to Italy soon,” Vinizzio told her.

“I don’t want to go back until I see my sister safe. Besides, Amira has helped me a lot; her company comforts me. You should go back if it’s necessary,” Caroline replied.

“I won’t go back without you; I’d rather wait,” Vinizzio said. He wanted to be with his daughter every moment and was willing to give up his territory to another. He had enough fortune to live luxuriously for the rest of his life and to leave his daughter well protected.

The days passed, and finally, the council deemed the evidence sufficient to bring Assim Amin, his son, Arkham, and Carlo to trial. The charges were severe, including drug smuggling, money laundering, human trafficking, and even financing recognized terrorists.

At the Amin’s house, Carlo kept a close watch over Aisha’s room. His men tasted her food before she did, as he knew they despised her. Carlo was aware of their hatred for her, and he feared they might harm her. For Aisha, being there meant danger for her unborn child. She had asked Badira for help to escape, and the woman urged her to be patient; perhaps she could be with her husband soon.

Almost a month later, after several attempts by the Amins to attack the palace, Ahmed was ready to go for his wife. On that day, his enemies would be arrested. He didn’t want to risk them causing harm to Aisha if they felt defeated.

“Mahib, you’ll come with me. You know the mansion’s secret passages very well, and we can enter without being seen,” Ahmed said.

“Of course, I know them like the back of my hand. My mother has already told me which room the Sheikha is in, and there’s a way to get to that area without being seen,” Mahib replied.

At midnight, they set off for the Amin mansion, leaving the trucks at a considerable distance. Several men would stay there; Ahmed, Zafir, Mahib, and four others, including two Russians, went to rescue Aisha.

They walked for 30 minutes; if they had approached with the vehicles, they would have been noticed. To exit the palace, they first had to neutralize Amin’s guards who kept watch.

As they approached the mansion, Mahib approached a large rock with a small opening behind it. They entered through there, and the smell inside wasn’t pleasant. Mahib lit a lamp he was carrying.

“Soon, we’ll be in the garden. It’s better not to all go out at once; we might be discovered. My father and brother don’t know this path; we discovered it with Aracha. We decided to keep it a secret as we used it to escape to the beach. The mansion is ancient, so it has its secrets. In 1833, the Emir established a commercial port, and this was one of the first mansions built. I imagine he constructed several passages for escaping if necessary.”

They reached the end of the passage and emerged behind another rock, concealed by a large palm tree. The inner garden was enormous, and several men guarded the area. They silently immobilized them one by one, and three other men were waiting for them in the cave.

“Follow me this way.”

They were getting close to where Aisha was. Suddenly, an alarm sounded, and several trucks approached. Ahmed cursed; it was most likely the police; they were supposed to arrive in the morning.

From the shadows, he saw Carlo enter and later leave his wife’s room. Ahmed considered going for her, but Zafir stopped him. Revealing themselves at that moment would be suicide; the yard was swarming with guards. They had to retreat through the passage.

“Damn! The time to rescue her is now.”

“Sir, it would be suicide,” Zafir cautioned.

Badira hid while her husband and son fled the house by helicopter. She didn’t want to go with them; she hadn’t been involved in any illegal activities, so she wasn’t afraid. If the police were coming to her house, it was because they already had evidence against her husband.

Carlo watched as Assim abandoned them to their fate. Just before the trucks arrived, they ran off. Aisha couldn’t move fast due to her condition; her belly had grown significantly in a short time. Arkham accompanied them.

“I need to follow them. Assim’s men won’t go with them; it seems he only has a few men left.”

They returned through the passage and saw the direction they were heading. At that moment, the police surrounded the mansion.

Ahmed and his men pursued Carlo and Aisha. Aisha could no longer run, feeling pain in her belly.

“You’ll have to leave her if you don’t want to get caught,” Arkham said to Carlo.

“That will never happen,” Carlo replied.

“I can’t go on.”

Carlo lifted her into his arms to prevent her from running. Leaving her behind was not an option for him.

Arkham shook his head; the Italian was truly foolish. Ahmed caught up with them.

“You better let her go.”

“Never. She belongs to me. I’d rather see her dead than with you,” Carlo declared, pulling Aisha along by her arm.

Ahmed turned pale upon hearing his words, and the men around them engaged in a struggle. Carlo took advantage of the distraction and shot Ahmed, wounding him in the side.

Aisha screamed as she saw Ahmed fall. She attacked Carlo, hitting him, but he retaliated with a strong blow to her face and held her by the hand to force her to go with him.

Zafir, who was fighting Arkham, saw his boss injured on the ground. Arkham used that moment to escape, and several police officers approached and arrested Carlo’s men. Zafir ran to Ahmed.

“You need to catch up with them. Don’t let him take her. She’s so close,” Zafir pleaded desperately.

“Don’t speak, boss. An ambulance is on the way,” one of the men said.

When they took Ahmed away, they searched for Aisha and Carlo but couldn’t find them. Arkham had also escaped.

Ahmed underwent surgery to remove the bullet, luckily it hadn’t hit any vital organs. When he woke up later, he tried to get up but had to be sedated.

Zafir sent men to look for Aisha, but they couldn’t find them. He had no idea where to look. Later, the police informed him that they had arrested Assim and his son at the airport as they attempted to leave the country. They had enough evidence against them.

Zafir knew Ahmed might not forgive him for not following Carlo, but he couldn’t leave his boss bleeding on the ground. He had applied pressure to the wound until the ambulance arrived. If he hadn’t done that, Ahmed probably wouldn’t have survived.