Palmist. Books 1,2,3
Tsvetana Alеkhina

© Tsvetana Alеkhina, 2022

ISBN 978-5-0056-1566-4

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Book One: Palmist

CHAPTER 1

Amir was born and raised in Laos, in the family of a noble doctor. He inherited his gift of reading the fate of people by the soles of his feet from his father as a child. His father taught him everything. With age, this gift gained strength and Amir felt this gift in himself, but unfortunately, he did not know how to use it competently, and he did not really like it. His father is the owner of a dental clinic; he fully devoted himself to his business. His mother has been engaged in home improvement and raising her son since her marriage. Amir’s childhood was joyful and carefree. This joy ended with the advent of the gift of palmistry and when this gift gained its strength, Amir lost his childhood and sense of protection. It seemed to him that he was in danger everywhere. He read people’s destinies without mistakes, and he was already known as a hereditary fortuneteller. Instead of being proud of his gift, Amir felt a sense of fear, and he could not understand what it meant. He never opened up to his father for fear of offending him.

After graduating from high school, Amir entered a medical institute in Moscow, the capital of Russia. A change of scenery and study dispelled his fears, and he thought little about his abilities. Sometimes he resorted to them to earn some money. At the institute, no one knew about his ability to read the fate of people. He was widely known in his homeland thanks to his father, he was well known as a hereditary predictor, and crowds of people turned to him. His father used this gift for its intended purpose and was a sought-after person. People loved him, knew and respected him. In his spare time, Rashid received people from a noble family. Thanks to his gift, he helped many successful businesspersons to conduct business, as well as many families successfully arranged the lives of their children. Rashid expected the same from his only son. But over time, he saw that his expectations did not justify his hopes. Deep down, he believed that Amir would prove himself and one day take his place.

Amir’s mother, first, was a loving wife, and a good mother. She always tried to try on her son and father, but in any position, she took the position of a father. From childhood memories, he recalled how his mother stroked his hair, listened to the problem taking his position, and eventually said, let us do as our father says. Amir always agreed with his father’s will because he loved his parents very much. His childhood was golden, this child was so spoiled that he really had nothing to complain about. This golden childhood did him good, he was very proud of his family, his origin, his gift, which was passed down from generation to generation. Sometimes this gift was given after a generation. Over time, these abilities manifested themselves so well that Amir could so accurately predict the time and date of the event, this ability came to him at the time of admission to the institute.

Life was much easier for Amir in Moscow than at home. This environment had a beneficial effect on him. And despite his religion of Buddhism and the climate in which he grew up, Amir felt like a fish in water. Since the upbringing once invested in him and the atmosphere that prevailed in his family so benefited him that many could envy him. Fellow students and teachers treated him with great respect, and since he was so well mannered that even many teachers greeted him as a colleague. Rashid did not prevent his son from choosing a profession, Amir chose the department of surgery, and he liked it. Rashid did not like this idea of studying in another country, believing that it was too far from home, and his parental instinct had a premonition of bad things. Amir did not want to practice dentistry, justifying this by the fact that you do not have to be a dentist to have your own clinic. It was easy for him to study, he studied well at school, and medical school subjects were given to him without much difficulty. He still has not revealed his gift to anyone, only occasionally he wondered to his well-known fellow students to find out about relationships with people. Amir asked them not to tell anyone about what is happening here. Carefully examining the girl’s foot, he saw much further than she expected. A seemingly smart girl sat and chatted incessantly, telling about some guy who didn’t stay in her life for long.

– I do not understand you. That is exactly what you are telling me. Why don’t you make money from it? Here, in Moscow, you can cut a lot of money on this. Even at our university. I can imagine how many girls would run after you. The guy abruptly interrupted her.

– I am asking you. Do not tell anyone about this. No one should know about this.

– «But why?» Amir himself could not explain the reason. But he was terrified of his gift. Amir was guessing at these two friends only out of friendship with them, and in order not to lose his gift. He understood that someday he would have to use his gift for its intended purpose, and waited for this day.

– You are going to have another boyfriend. You will see this a couple more times. If your friend wants to, then let her come today. I am home today. The friend left offended, quietly closing the door behind her. She was more offended by not wanting to talk than by the prediction. Amir knew about it, but he did not like chatting with girls. He was more of an ascetic. In the group, he was a sociable guy and helped those who did not study well. Everyone loved him.

Remembering his last prediction in his hometown, Amir remembered how wrong he was. He made a mistake by specifying an incorrect date, and this mistake sank so deeply into his soul that sometimes he doubted the accuracy of his predictions. The girl’s mom was so scandalous that she even went to swear at his father, accusing Amir of being a charlatan. Despite their abilities, Amir and his father never took money from people, especially from poor people. Poor people thanked them themselves as best they could; noble people paid generously, and gave gifts. On that day, Amir made a mistake with the date of the wedding, although in fact it was postponed. The bride’s mother screamed so much that Amir felt remorse. Perhaps that is why it was easier for him in Moscow than in Laos in his provincial town. No one here knew him as the son of his respected father. Amir could safely go outside and he did not need to either hide, or guess on his feet, or behave appropriately on the turn, since he is from a noble family. That is what Amir liked about this city, that here he is the way he is, just a person. But as Amir did not hide his gift, it became known sooner or later.

One day he stayed too long in a cafe and his attention focused on one man at the next table. This man was nervously overstressed. He had business problems. Amir was sitting at the table next to the bar and saw how this man was nervous and frantically throwing the phone at the bar. Amir understood that he could help, but he was in no hurry to help, and continued to watch, thinking about the situation, to help or not. Fearing the consequences that would follow from this situation, he thoughtfully looked at the red rims around the eyes of this man. – It would be easier if I could read the lines of fate on my hands, but it is not given to me, I cannot see anything. This is the essence of the hereditary gift, to read only what you see. Amir thought to himself and looked no longer at the man, but at what he imagined, trying to imagine his lines, a blurred picture emerged, and that was it. Through his thoughts, he heard the curses of this handsome man and when he came to himself, he saw him leaving the cafe. Amir quickly paid for the coffee and quickly followed him out. When he went outside, he looked for him with his eyes; the stranger was standing in front of him, with his back to him.

– I will help you.

– What? The man also looked at him nervously, as for the first time in the bar when Amir tried to examine him.

– I want to help you.

– In what way?

– Listen to me. You should accept my help in your situation. Then see for yourself. Amir told him about his gift. And he offered to test it in practice.

– OK. The man also spoke nervously. But if you’re lying to me, then I’ll find you. Amir’s heart was pounding wildly; he remained calm and was confident in his abilities. They arrived at the man’s house, and Amir carefully examined his legs. The feet of this man’s feet were small, his legs were as neat as he was, this man was not tall, but very attractive. He was young, about thirty-five years old, of a thin, strong build, dark-skinned, with a clear contour of eyes and thick black hair neatly arranged back. Amir examined his legs for a long time and carefully, saying nothing.

– Your close friend works for your opponent. These words dealt a strong blow to this man and his forehead was covered with sweat. You have a big leak of information and with it the loss of large sums.

– What should I do?

– Don’t say anything to your so-called friend. Now he will be the bearer of false information, so you will destroy your competitor. The man smiled back.

– I guessed, but not that much. I already know what to do. Thank you. You did not let me down. How can I thank you?

– I do not need anything. We will see you repeatedly. They exchanged a phone number, and Amir left satisfied with his work. Over time, he began to realize that he sees more than he should. His abilities are much stronger than his father’s abilities. Amir saw not only the lines of fate, but also the exact date, and sometimes the right place. These visions began to appear to him during his arrival in Moscow. Sometimes he had visions in which the lines of a person nearby were visible, but he could not see them. This vision was blurry, he could not see anything, and the vision was disappearing. These abilities distracted him from reality, and Amir began to study worse. Trying to develop this ability, he was constantly immersed in his thoughts, but his efforts were in vain, it angered him, and this ability faded into the background.

Amir was followed by crowds of girls, as one of his friends blabbed and he had to settle it all, explaining that he wanted to learn it, but nothing worked out for him, and he decided to give it all up. Amir was a handsome guy, and many girls liked him. His tall stature, deep penetrating gaze, smooth combed back hair, plus the greatness that he inherited from his father set him apart from the crowd; he could not be confused with anyone else. His mindset and subtle flair helped him to get to the heart of the problem and master the situation. The girls considered him almost a genius, and his oriental beauty captivated the hearts of many students. But Amir did not give preference to anyone. Amir just flirted with girls, nothing more, believing that he was not ready for a serious relationship, and good upbringing did not allow him to fool girls.

Amir understood that eventually his ability would be revealed, and he would have to use it since it was a generic gift and it could not be concealed. Amir did not want to use it just like that, and even more so at uni. He needed to share it with someone, and he could not stand it and told everything to his friend, with whom he lived in an apartment.

– You have a good ability. But you shouldn’t have bragged to our girls. Now you will have many clients. You cannot hide it all for long.

– Yes, that is for sure. I am sorry myself. I do not know how long I will last. This gift prevents me from learning to some extent.

– And why do you need to study? If I had such a gift, I would have given up my studies long ago. You can earn such money here in Moscow.

– I know, but I am not ready for this. I have not gotten used to my abilities yet. I have not fully uncovered them, and I feel some kind of fear. I know for sure that I will have problems because of this palmistry.

– Yes, what a fear. It is all nonsense. You screwed it up yourself.

– No. It appeared with the gift in my childhood, I do not know yet, but danger awaits me.

– Well, if you think so, I do not know. Ask your father to help you, he can.

– «You’re right. I have never asked him. My father will definitely be able to help me. Amir said these words, but he never had a heart-to-heart conversation with his father. His mother was always the mediator between them. Amir thought about it, but always put it on the back burner. His phone rang, it was the man he helped, and he urgently needed to meet him.

The man was aggressive and overworked, as evidenced by his red rims around his eyes. He drove up to the entrance and Amir got into the car.

– Help me. Igor said with uncertainty. Amir realized that it was bad. They left. During the trip, Amir had pictures, he saw lines and even a man, but he could not understand anything. After examining his legs again, Amir realized that this man was trapped and decided to help him out himself.

– I do not know how to tell you, I need to become your assistant for a while. I will help you get your business back. But it will be difficult.

– «You were right about my friend. He stole some of my shares. I am his companion now.

– I understand. But all this can be returned. I see that you still have a share of shares and you urgently need to conclude a contract with another firm, this contract will bring profit and eventually destroy your friend’s shares. Without your head, this person is nobody. You urgently need to sever all ties with him, including friendly ones. He will not be able to manage these papers and will eventually die. You will have another company, and it will find you by itself do not sign anything without me, always call me. They can send their own man to you, and you will be ruined. With these words, they said goodbye and Amir left. Amir did not know why he decided to help this man, but he decided to help him. Amir saw that this man was noble and to some extent helpless. Besides, he became attached to him, even if not so much, but he became attached, and at the same time felt responsible for him.

Returning home late, Amir could not sleep for a long time, he was haunted by a vision in which he saw a danger threatening the life of this man. If Igor severed all ties, he could be killed, and he did not know how to protect his ward. With these thoughts, Amir fell asleep.

A week later, the phone rang and he needed to come to the designated place urgently. At the meeting, Amir realized that the contract needed to be signed right now, and Igor was waiting for him. Amir was not ready for this – he should have called me yesterday, I would have prepared.

– I could not yesterday. Everything happened unexpectedly. What now? Amir strained his thoughts and closed his eyes. He was trying to see the future. But he couldn’t do it. – You tell me, yes or no. Amir made another attempt and saw the lines and a successful future.

– Yes. Agree. With these words, they entered the room and went up to the office. Igor introduced Amir as his assistant. After negotiations, Igor signed a contract. After leaving the room, Amir asked – tell me, have you severed all ties with your best friend.

– Yes. And what?

– Nothing. I just saw that you were in danger, and you need to be careful. Amir could not say that Igor could be killed and he was choosing his words.

– How to understand? – What kind of danger?

– The danger will come from your friend. Now it is your best enemy. He will take revenge on you. And anything can happen. Stay in touch, and be careful. They said goodbye to these owls. Amir was afraid for the life of his friend now. But he was dragged out by life in Moscow, he began to visit more entertainment places with his neighbor and did not notice how a month had passed. These two friends rented accommodation not far from the institute, only three metro stops. It was a studio apartment; the neighbor from above liked to watch life near the entrance, she noticed these guys and always waited for them to return, and always said, -«where are these two from the casket?

Exactly a month later, Amir came home and a gift was waiting for him at home. There was a small box on his bed, and when he opened it, he saw an expensive watch. – Where is this from?

– This is for you!

– From where?

– Your friend Igor gave it to you. That is what his driver said. He said it was a sign of gratitude.

– Igor, damn it! I completely forgot about him.

– And he is not talking about you. See! What a gift! Your gift is worth a lot.

– That is not what I am talking about. He could be killed. I need to meet him.

– Are you a lifeguard? You warned me, and then it is none of your business.

– This can be avoided. I need to see him. Amir dialed his number, but the caller did not answer. Amir became nervous. Lyosha tried to calm him down, justifying everything by saying that he should not save someone’s life and climb under bullets. Amir turned the watch in his hand, plunged into his thoughts, and did not notice himself how he saw the lines of this man and with them he had a vision of how this man was being kidnapped. He recovered quickly. – I need to establish the date and time of the abduction urgently.

– How?

– I need to see him. With these words, Amir left the apartment. He arrived at the building where the contract was signed and went up to the same office. It was not difficult for him to get into the office, since he was once Igor’s partner. He was warmly welcomed in the office, but Igor was not there.

– We cannot find him ourselves; he has not been in touch all day.

– I need to see him urgently.

– «Is something wrong?» Do you need it so urgently?

– Yes. It is a matter of life and death.

– Well, if so, then sit down, I will take you to him, I really need him too. Igor’s apartment was not so far from the office, and when they drove up, Igor got into his car and at the same moment, a passing car cut him off. He did not attach any importance to this, but Amir quickly flew out of the car and ran up to Igor.

– What happened?

– An attempt is being made on you; I need to see your lines urgently. Igor invited everyone to his house, but since they were not alone, Amir could not do anything and wanted to leave. Igor detained him, referring to a serious conversation, and made it clear that his new companion would leave. Left alone, Amir told Igor everything. – I need to know the exact time and date, and then we will prevent all this.

– «You’ve saved my life more than once. I am your eternal debtor.

– Don’t worry. We will see you repeatedly. I was on time today. I am sure that car was not an accident.

Igor plunged into thought, and after a long pause said: – I have one little man, I know what to do. If your set date and time do not let me down, then everything will turn out as well as possible. Amir left, leaving Igor alone, but he was not at ease. He was actually very worried about his friend’s life.

The set date and time were not so far from the actual dates. The abduction was supposed to take place in the entrance of his own house, late at night, when Igor had to return home from the restaurant where he liked to sit on Fridays. He had no family, he was lonely. Igor had a girlfriend with whom he liked to spend time, but never let her into his affairs. On Fridays, he liked to sit in a restaurant alone or with friends, this evening. As usual, he spent without his girlfriend. Everything was prepared, enemies for abduction, friends for protection and justice.

On the night from Friday to Saturday, Igor got out of his car and headed towards the entrance. He did everything mechanically and confidently, as always. Approaching the entrance, he opened the door with the key from the intercom. After a short period, two men came out of the entrance, and they both headed towards the car waiting for them. The police who arrived detained them.

– Just do not let him down. Igor spoke. Igor and Amir were sitting in the car opposite and watching what was happening. – It is good when there are acquaintances everywhere, Igor said with a sly smile. A familiar homeless man, a familiar cop.

– A familiar palmist! Amir said with a laugh. They exchanged glances with a smile as a sign of friendship, and a real friendship began between them.

This familiar homeless man disguised as Igor told the police how he was attacked with a gun, and he wanted to hide in the entrance. He had the keys to the intercom for a long time, someone lost them, and he went to bask in this entrance. The homeless man was released on the same day. And Igor’s former best friend was detained for questioning. A familiar cop interrogated him for a long time, and this friend turned in his companion and told him everything, as in confession. He said that he did everything with the instructions of one person. How he was able to take away part of Igor’s shares, and about many other frauds, including the kidnapping of a man, and an attempt to kill him. The two scammers were remanded in custody pending trial. Igor had nothing to fear anymore, and he felt free.

Spring was coming; Amir and his friend Lesha were dating girls. Amir was not in love, it was just an interest, and he tried to keep his distance in the relationship, despite all the pressure from the girl. His friend changed girls too often, and did not feel any inconvenience in this; on the contrary, it turned him on even more. Amir did not expect from himself that he would lead such a wild lifestyle in the future. Almost every weekend they spent in nightclubs, and on ordinary days, they spent in local cafes. He was going to fly to his homeland in Laos for the summer holidays. Amir completely stopped practicing palmistry, and did not even remember about it. His friend Igor did not make himself known.

– Tell me a fortune!

– I hope you are joking!

– No, I am serious. I wonder what awaits me in the near future, and in general, I wonder how you are guessing there. Well, guess!

– Well, sit down. Lyosha sat down in a chair and kicked off his sneakers.

– I see a knock!

– What.

– I see a girl pregnant with you; you will soon become a dad!

– All thanks; you do not have to continue.

– I was joking. Everything is fine with you. Do not worry. Pass the session, have a fun summer.

– Thanks, friend. You know how to cheer up. The phone rang. Amir answered and looked questioningly at Lyosha. – What happened?

– Igor invites us to a picnic.

– Say we agree.

– We agree.

The picnic took place outside the city. There were three of them, and they had fun. – Tell friends what you have been doing all this time.

– We pretend to study during the day, and have fun in the evening.

– So you are pretending!

– Amir does not need to study. He already knows everything. He is a genius. Amir smiled modestly and was silent.

– Yes, Amir is well done. I do not argue.

– And what actually happened?

– Actually nothing! I just remembered long-forgotten friends and decided to remind myself. It happens.

– It happens. I do not argue.

– If something ever happens to you, remember, you can always count on me. Igor carefully looked into Amir’s eyes. Amir mutually looked into Igor’s face and did not say a word. With these words, they hugged tightly and continued their gatherings. Amir flew to Laos for the summer holidays, and Lyosha stayed in Moscow.

CHAPTER 2

In Laos, Amir was waiting for the same life as before. Nothing has changed except for himself. The parents immediately noticed the change, but did not say anything. In the evening, at dinner, the father made a speech and praised his son, saying that the year of study had done him good. The mother did not say anything, she immediately noticed a change in him, and felt the danger that was coming, just like her son. After dinner, Amir and his father locked themselves in the study.

– Tell me, are you using your inherited gift for its intended purpose.

– Yes, Father, I use it. But I need to talk to you very seriously.

– What happened?

– It is okay so far. But, my gift, it’s much stronger than I expected.

– How does it manifest itself?

– When I see the lines of people, along with their fate, I also see the exact time and date of what is going to happen. I can predict it, and I am good at it. I have already put this into practice.

– «Is that all?»

– No. In addition to all this, when I am next to a person, I see his lines of fate without examining his legs. True, these are still blurry lines, they are not clear, but I can see.

– You are doing great. I am proud of you. But you said its okay so far. I hope nothing should happen, or I am wrong. Amir stood confused and did not know how to tell his father that he was scared.

– Father. I am scared. Sometimes, I feel like something is going to happen to me. This fear does not go away, and the more time passes, the closer my feelings get.

– This is normal. You are much stronger than your grandfather or me and that is why you are scared. Do not be afraid. You are a strong boy. My boy, I am proud of you. His father hugged Amir, and they left the office.

The mother had been eavesdropping on the conversation all this time. She realized that her fears were not in vain. The son could not tell his father everything, and she took a picture of Amir’s legs while sleeping. The next day, the father arranged a reception at their house and decided to advertise his son’s abilities. Amir considered many of the feet of notable people and predicted to them the exact dates of the conclusion of profitable deals, to some he called the dates where they are waiting for failures and deals that need to be abandoned. He predicted bankruptcy for one of the guests. Many people did not like it, but there was nothing to be done, his prediction soon came true.

– Son. Soon you will take my place. Learn how to receive visitors. Amir listened to his father’s instructions with pride. The next day, a woman and her daughter came to them; she asked them to predict when her daughter would finally get married. The father carefully examined the girl, and walked from side to side. Then he called Amir over and said, «It’s time for you to find a bride. I take it you are not in love yet. Amir wanted to object, but listened to his father to the end. – This girl is very well mannered; she comes from a good family. I know her late father.

– Dad, I did not even have time to read her fate.

– And you do not need to read her fate. I read it.

– I am not ready for such an acquaintance. I am still too young. I study.

– And no one is forcing you to get married right now. You will just be wooed and that is it. And over time, you will love the bride and marry her. We will celebrate this event and arrange a holiday in our house. Amir had no choice but to agree. This event, which happened so unexpectedly in his life, was not to his liking. Besides the fact that he was not ready to get married, he did not like the bride herself. Although she was pretty, but she did not sink into his soul, and could not hook him in the way that usually happens when you meet your love at first sight. Amir could not tell his parents about this, and decided to leave everything as it is. There was time, he thought. Everything will have time to change before the wedding. Alternatively, maybe my father is right, maybe I will fall in love with her and we will have a strong family. Especially since my father watched her feet, so he knows what is best for me. Rashid decided that if he married his son in his homeland, he would be able to move him back, and this would solve the problem that loomed.

The family was preparing for the engagement. On the appointed day, the groom’s family had to go to the bride’s house to ask for her hand in marriage. Deep down, Amir hoped that this wedding would not take place. Still he went to this engagement. The bride’s family welcomed the guests as befits this celebration. Everything was prepared for the arrival of the welcome guests. While both families were celebrating the holiday, the Sultan’s girlfriend lived in another country, in the same provincial city. And at the moment she wasn’t having as much fun as about the aforementioned newly-made bride.

Sultana was born in the country of Cambodia, the city of Poipet. The religion is Islam. She was born into a poor family, and grew up in complete poverty. Unlike Amir, she had a completely different relationship with her father. They were friends. Sultana told her father everything, shared secrets, asked for advice. It was a full-fledged happy family, despite the fact that it was poor. Sultana, just like Amir, was spoiled, and despite the fact that she grew up in complete poverty, she possessed beauty and greatness. It was given to her from above, and it was very becoming to her. This girl looked like an empress, but her poor background left an imprint on her, and she knew about it. Her mother died when she was twelve years old. Her father never married again, he devoted himself to his daughter, and they lived together. Ahmed earned his living by working as a handkerchief seller. He worked for well-known people, and this money was enough for them to live. One day this man had problems, and he had to bury his store for a while, Ahmed, out of respect for his friend, was waiting for the store to open, but it all dragged on and poverty set in in the family. At that time, Sultana was sixteen years old, and she went to work as a dancer. Her father was categorically against it, she managed to persuade him, and this allowed her and her father to improve their financial situation. Sultana has been dancing since childhood, her mother taught her to dance. A year later, she became the best dancer in the city and was offered to go to Phnom Penh. She was against it. From that moment on, people began to come to their house and threaten. At first, these threats were not taken seriously. But the Sultan’s last threat did not want to leave, and even more so to leave her father alone horrified her, she was told that if she did not agree, her father would be killed, and she would never be able to dance again, much less get married. Sultana agreed, and reluctantly left her home.

Sultana danced better and better, and gathered a huge audience. Cafes and restaurants were crowded. It was ordered for private banquets. Over time, Sultana began to regret that she had once gone dancing. She wanted so much to return home, to her father, to her poverty. But nothing could be returned. She felt so alienated and rejected in this city, she had no one to tell about her condition and this made her stronger. One day Sultana overheard a conversation that concerned her. The mercenary for whom she worked opened several restaurants in Moscow, and she had to attend the opening, and in the future earn an audience for these restaurants. Having overheard this conversation, Sultana decided to run away. She had money, but she did not know where, her master was such an influential man, she was afraid of him all the time. She could not imagine living in a foreign country without knowing the language. Not knowing where to run and who to turn to for help. He had her documents, and she was thinking how to steal them. The main problem was that she did not know where her passport was. All these problems suffocated the poor girl, and Sultana drowned in her grief.

To some extent, Sultana did not live as badly as it seemed. She did not need anything, her work was well paid, she sent the main part to her father, and she kept less for herself. Sultana lived in good conditions, and a guard was assigned to her to protect her beauty. The owner himself did not encroach on it, he needed it for business. The Sultan was afraid of her future, and even more so she did not want to fly to Russia. She wanted to escape from reality, to start all over again, she already wanted to get married more than to work as a dancer, and Sultana decided to escape. Sultana noticed that one of the guards was not indifferent to her and decided to use feminine charm. She was right, the guard succumbed to her charms, and after a few dates, and the poor girl was already asking him for help.

– Of course I will help you. I do not want you to leave either. I will not let you die. To be alone in a foreign country, with this dark man. You will disappear there, or he will get rid of you eventually. Let us run away together. I am going to marry you. You and I will leave and live with me. At first, the Sultan was frightened by this proposal, but after a little reflection, she agreed. It was a chance to start life over. Having accepted his offer, she completely trusted the guard and her life was in his hands. It was decided that the passport would be seized at night while the owner was watching Sultana’s performance. I had exactly a month left before leaving for Russia. Sultana could not believe her luck. There was a man who would help her get rid of this slavery.

– After I steal your passport, we will run away early in the morning when everyone is asleep. We will hide at my friends’ place in the market and sit out until night. And at night we will be taken to my city, and we will be safe. Sultana was elated with happiness. She thought for a minute that she was in love with this guard. Who is capable of madness for her sake? But the guard was not just in love, he loved, and loved with all his heart.

Night was falling, and Sultana was preparing to perform. She was beautiful. Just gorgeous. She was bold and at the same time gentle and these oriental costumes simply emphasized the curve of her waist and complemented her oriental beauty. Early in the morning, the girl had already packed her things; it was a small bag and hid it under the bed. After the performance, she was to be brought home, and two guards were to guard the entrance to her house. When she was brought back, she looked for her friend with her eyes, but for some reason he was not in his place. There was another one instead. Her heart was pounding. What could have happened? She did not show that she was worried, but inside her soul was all in tears. In the morning, Sultana went to the door and tried to eavesdrop on the conversation, tried to hear a familiar voice, but it was in vain, she did not hear anything. Realizing that something had happened, and deciding not to find out what had happened to her savior, Sultana began to eavesdrop on every word.

Sultana was allowed to leave the walls of her house on certain days, strictly accompanied by guards, and of course, so that her master was notified of this. Sultana worked every evening, and sometimes at night. She no longer liked dancing as much as it once began in her hometown. When it all started, Sultana was a very young girl, and was under the wing of her father. She always came home, and was not afraid of anything. Now the dance meant nothing to her, it was just a reminder of her mother, sometimes she danced so expressively and this made the dance even more spectacular and attractive, at these moments she remembered how her mother taught her. Sometimes she liked to dance for the audience, because it was her only entertainment. Sultana loved dancing, but lately she believed that dancing had ruined her life, and now her life will never be the same.

Exactly a week has passed, and every evening, returning home, Sultana looked imploringly and questioningly into the eyes of each guard. But there was silence in response. Sometimes she tried to talk to each of them, but all her attempts were in vain. Each of the guards was working his shift, but none of them said a word. Deep down, she hoped that her lover would find her and they would run away, as he promised, but her heart told her something completely different. Every morning there was a change of post, and Sultana eavesdropped on their conversation, hoping that someday they would blab. One shift was too harsh, she did not like them, and she never went shopping with them. Sultana studied each of them, and waited for the others, who were constantly whispering, and thus she sometimes learned news, including those that concerned her.

– God forbid anyone such a fate. She heard.

– It is your own fault. Contacted a woman. So I got it.

– May Allah rest his soul. Hearing these words, Sultana’s legs gave way and the girl realized that her savior would not come again. She covered her mouth with her hands and continued to listen so as not to miss a word.

– May he arrive in paradise. He died for love, and is worthy of paradise.

– Yes, yes, he will arrive in paradise. The lesson to be learned from this is that our host Arthur does not forgive such tricks. We need to be extremely careful.

– «You’re right. And what will happen to her? To be honest, I feel extremely sorry for her. He’s got to get rid of her, too.

– I think so too. As soon as he does not need her, she will face the same fate as her fiance. I feel sorry for her too, but I do not want a bullet in the forehead. Sultana pressed herself against the door and tears flowed down her cheeks. After hearing everything she needed to know, and realizing that she would no longer see her own father, and that she was no longer a tenant in general. Sultana realized that she was just a temporary bait for money. She sat on the edge of her bed and hung her head on her hands.

– I will not give up. I will run away, even without a passport. I will run away anyway. She decided so and lay down on the bed. Her thoughts were confused, tears choked her, she could not afford to cry, so as not to swell her eyes, pain tore her chest, and the girl fell asleep. Waking up, Sultana quickly came to her senses, and immediately decided that she was running at the first exit to the street. – I will run away to my city and tell the police everything, they know me there, and they will protect me there, even without a passport. I will hitch a ride, she thought, and warmed up her food. The evening was as boring as all the previous ones yesterday, Sultana brightly made up her eyes to cover up the traces of emotions. – Although he already knows about everything. Sultan was taken away to perform. She prayed to God that God would spare her from unnecessary meetings with Arthur.

In the morning everything was according to the standard, Sultana had breakfast, cleaned herself up and asked to take her to the shopping center. As usual, two guards accompanied her. They were the ones she did not like. Sultana could not wait any longer and decided to try her luck and escape today. There were few people in the mall, she looked around nervously, and feeling her helplessness, she wanted to call for help. But quickly recovering, she continued the hike. Her body was trembling, but the girl did not show it, and did everything on autopilot so as not to arouse suspicion. They went into a clothing store, and she picked up a whole bunch of things.

– Why does she need so many clothes? She does not go anywhere. Is she going to get married?

– Yes! To the late groom!

– I will go to him myself soon!

– Quiet. We are in public.

– Exactly. I forgot. She probably took it with her to Moscow. It will be like a madam walking there!

– That is right. If he has time. Sultana listened attentively to every word, and pretended that she did not even hear what they were talking about. She laughed sweetly with them, pretending that she did not understand what they were laughing at.

Sultana went into the booth, closed the curtain and let out the air that had accumulated in her chest. The next booth was occupied on one side, on the other was empty. Thinking how she could escape, she bent down and tried to see the guards’ legs, and not seeing them, she was afraid to look out, so as not to attract attention. Sultana tried to see them through the curtains, but they were dense and nothing could be seen. Deciding to go to the extreme, she began to look through the crack. There were no guards in sight, and she had to look out even more, they were standing to the side and for some reason with their backs to her. She began to shake even more, or she was just confused, or it was fright, but Sultana hesitated and did not know what to do.

– «She won’t run away from us?» One of them said, and turned to face the booth.

– If he wants to die prematurely, then let him run.

– Let her die, but I do not want to die because of some girl.

– She has many rags, let her measure. Relax. And if she runs away, we’ll catch her and get praise from the boss.

– A good option. I like the way you think. The partner smiled contentedly and looked at the fitting room. They were still standing with their backs to each other, but this time Sultana did not hear their conversation. She hung a fitting room door with rags, quickly changed clothes, wrapped herself in a long shawl, put on glasses and quickly left the booth, leaving the curtains closed and silently slipped into the rows of clothes. Sultana was choking with fear and confusion, not knowing where to run. She quickly and silently made her way to the exit and walked at a brisk pace, and then ran and ran out into the street.

During the year of living here, Sultana had studied this area well and already knew from which bus stop and where the bus goes. Jumping into the first oncoming minibus, and all, trembling with fear, she sat down in the farthest corner, the door slammed shut, and the minibus drove off. Having reached the final stop, the girl got out of the gazelle with fear, and realizing that she was on the outskirts of the city, she breathed a sigh of relief. Now she had to get to her hometown and tell her father and the authorities everything. – How to do it? Go by bus or hitchhiking? Therefore, and so dangerous? Sultana understood the danger she was in, and if she were found, she would face the same fate as her fiance. She did not have a passport, so they will not put me on the bus. We will have to get there on our own. But Sultana was a woman, a Muslim woman, and hitchhiking was much scarier. Moreover, many men of the capital knew her by sight. Sultana went to the suburbs, she had money, and she rented a room from a single woman. A day later, she told her everything and asked for help. The woman believed her and with tears in her eyes promised to help.

Two guards, who discovered the loss, turned themselves in to their boss. – Look for yourself. Alive or dead. Better alive. I need her for the case. You are two of my best guards; I would not like to see you with a hole in your forehead. The guards came out of the office briskly. A whole search party was assigned to search for Sultana.

Arthur was a terrible man. His power was much greater than anyone suspected was. Not many people knew about it, and those who knew it were a few. His main official field of activity was cafes and restaurants. He himself did not like nightclubs, and therefore did not open them. Arthur liked to look after young girls and dancers, and later they found themselves in his slavery. It was his weakness. Only a few people knew about his slavery, the bulk of the workers believed that he was just a cruel restaurant owner who loves girls.

By nature, yes, Arthur was very cruel. This cruelty had developed in him over the years, even his harsh features on his face spoke about it. He had such an evil face that, looking at him, you could tell a lot about this man. Arthur was not tall, about one hundred and sixty-five centimeters. A solid build, his skin was dark, and flabby, despite the fact that he was not old. He was about fifty years old. His eyes and hair were black, the arrangement of the hair on his head was similar to a lion’s mane, and they were stiff and not pleasant to the touch. His habit of combing his hair back with his left hand has developed over the years and over time, he did it so mechanically that the hair took a certain pose. His gaze was aquiline, his eyes glittered maliciously, and nothing could escape his gaze. His rough skin on his face and sunken dimples indicated that he smoked too much, and he always smelled unpleasantly of cigarettes. Despite all his rudeness, Arthur was always clean-shaven, and always wore the same suit and never changed it for another.

Despite his hobby of looking after girls, Arthur did not like women, including Sultan. In his entire life, he has never been married, he has no children, and any woman has not yet conquered his heart. For him, women were a source of income, a living commodity, nothing more. And when he didn’t need the product, he just got rid of it without any regret. Its activities have been developed in several countries, including Russia. In addition, Arthur got rid not only of girls, this also applied to the male sex. As soon as he did not need a person, he saw him as a threat and the person disappeared without a trace. Everyone was afraid of him, and not everyone went to work for him. Those who went to work for him received good money and did not complain, they had no idea where they were. Many have already talked about his dark deeds, but no one opened his mouth more than necessary, everyone was afraid to disappear without a trace. Those who helped disappear without a trace disappeared after, so that there would be less talk. Arthur was afraid of unnecessary gossip, he considered it a threat, and thus covered his tracks.

These two guards knew their outcome, so they prayed to God for help to find this escaped dancer. Meanwhile, Sultana was having a nice breakfast in the company of a kind woman who sheltered her. Sultana always cooked the food herself. She was not accustomed to ready-made food, and did not like it. For breakfast, she always mostly cooked scrambled eggs with tomatoes; it was their favorite dish with her father. At breakfast, Sultana always remembered her father and ate slowly to prolong the pleasure. This lovely woman listened to Sultana’s stories about her childhood, about the death of her mother, and finally about how she fell into slavery. – It seems to me that your master is a dark man. This woman was not so young, perhaps she understood people.

– I think so too. He killed my fiance.

– So you had a fiance? I did not know about it, but I was. I had a truly devoted person. He died for me. God did not give us the happiness to be happy, but I found out that I was loved. Sultana told the woman about the guy who tried to save her.

– It is a sign that you can handle it. You will still be happy. You managed to escape. You are so young, so beautiful, and so smart. I feel that you will succeed. What city are you from?

– Poypet.

– Not very close. We need to think about how to transport you. My friends can take you to a nearby town and buy a bus ticket, but you are so young, I am afraid to let you go alone without documents.

– I have no other choice. At least I will see my father there, and I will be safe. The whole town knows me there. And here the whole town knows this killer. No one will believe me.

– I know. I know.

– When your friends can take me.

– Tomorrow. I will ask them, and they will take you tomorrow. Sultana’s eyes lit up with fire. She was already at home and did not think about the danger that lay in wait for her.

A great danger awaited the Sultan, but she did not suspect it. Arthur was beside himself with anger, he was tearing and throwing. He did not kill his guilty guards, in principle, so that they would look better. Everyone was looking for Sultan, everyone wanted to live, and finally everyone concluded that they should look for her in her hometown of Poipet.

– Go there and guard her house until she shows up. But when she shows up, grab her and bring her. Not really. I will personally go to her house. I will surprise her. And when the surprise is done, I will personally take her to Moscow, and I will send her father to hell. Arthur shouted these words and angrily walked around the room. His black shirt was sweating all over and gave off an unpleasant smell. His people listened to him and thought with regret about Sultana’s father. They understood that the father of a woman like her should have been a respected man, and did not deserve such a death. No one dared to contradict Arthur and everyone obeyed the decree stupidly and silently. Everything was ready for departure, Arthur and his men left for Poipet.

CHAPTER 3

Amir was having fun at the party and he really had fun. It turned out that his fiancee has an older sister, much more beautiful than his fiancee, more daring and open. The wedding was scheduled for next summer, as the bride is not yet of age. Amir could not understand the trick of his father, who arranged this engagement. He realized for sure that this was not his fiancee and was not going to marry her; he liked her sister much more, but nothing more. He imagined meeting his future wife in a completely different way and wanted to marry for love.

– Your mother and I were also introduced, and you see we are happy. Rashid was speaking. Amir saw his parents happy, but he would not want such a marriage. Now, he did not know what he wanted yet. Amir was a modern young man, but this did not prevent him from honoring and respecting the will of his parents.

On the day of departure, Amir still asked his father, «Why did you arrange all this?» – Dad, I am not marrying her.

– Who knows? I examined her feet; she will have a happy marriage.

– Yes, but not with me. Did you see me there? Have you examined my feet? Father, finally look at my lines of fate.

– I will definitely look at them, but next time. You see, I want to see you happy, and next to you, I want to see a good wife. Which will make you happy. Maybe you are right; maybe it is not your destiny.

– Then why did you arrange this engagement? She will wait a whole year and hope.

– «An engagement can always be broken off. If she is not your destiny, then her destiny will find her, do not worry.

– It is impossible to talk to you. It was the first time Amir had spoken to his father in such a tone. Rashid was understanding and did not say anything. At the airport, they said goodbye as usual, Amir hugged and kissed his father. His mother had changed since the day of his arrival, Amir could not understand this change, and thought it was something feminine. The plane arrived in Moscow, where his friend joyfully greeted him.

– You have finally arrived. I am already tired of hanging out here without you.

– And why didn’t you go to your home?

– Went for a couple of weeks. There is nothing to do there. Amir gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. Tell me how you spent the summer.

– You will not believe it, but I am a betrothed groom now!

– How is that?

– And that is it. My dad was engaged. He found me an imperfectly summer bride and arranged a matchmaking.

– «Gee!

– And how? Are you happy?

– «Are you kidding me?» Although, the bride is pretty, and will be a great wife.

– So what are you getting lost for? Marry her.

– You see, I am not mentally ready. I do not know, maybe something will change in a year, and I will marry her. Lyosha laughed.

– I have the same thing, I would also get married, but I am not ready.

– We are still just young. We need to grow up! Lyosha continued to laugh.

– Here! Clever words. We need to go to a restaurant and look at oriental beauties.

– What restaurant?

– Opening soon! An Oriental fairy tale! There will be such a beauty performing there. I forgot her name. And, in my opinion, the Sultan. I saw an advertisement, there is such a girl.

– Yes, a woman with that name should be a Sultana, not a dancer. Amir thought about it.

– What are you thinking about?

– You know, Sultana. Such a name is just fascinating.

– So we’re going?

– Yes! Let us go! When is the opening?

– In September. Do you want me to show you a minute-long video of her dancing, though you cannot see her face?

– No. I want to see her live myself. Amir pronounced these words so sternly that Lyosha even froze.

– Have you already fallen in love after hearing the name?

– No. It just will not be interesting.

– Well, as you know. I suggested it.

Arthur posted a short video on the Internet to attract customers. To promote his new restaurants, he posted a video where Sultana dances with her face covered. This is quite a fascinating dance, where she takes off her headscarf at the end. This exclusive room gathers a full hall of guests. Many visitors came only for her sake, the public loved Sultana. Arthur could not have suffered such a collapse and lost Sultana on the opening day of the restaurant. Of course, he could easily find a replacement for her. Change the performance number. But not now. Now he wanted to use her and take revenge on her for what she had done. Arthur’s people came to Poipet with him. Arthur was preparing a trap for her and this only provoked him, he often smoked, almost did not let the cigarette out of his mouth, and smiled slyly.

Sultana left early in the morning and was looking forward to the end of the journey. She did not sleep a wink the whole way. The car drove up to her father’s house late at night, she was afraid to go out, sensing danger. She rarely used mobile communication for fear that her phone was tapped. And after what happened, she stopped using the phone at all, she was afraid for her father’s life, and her fears were not in vain. The persons accompanying her entered with her. Her father was not revived by her arrival and was extremely surprised. Ahmed was quite young and full of energy. He greeted the guests joyfully, unaware of what had happened.

Arthur himself watched their house. Seeing the extra people, he gave the order to wait. – Let these people leave. We do not need extra eyes and ears.

– Chief, you are right. But they can guess something if they hid it.

– You are good, but I will get even with them later. I will settle the score with this girl first. Arthur waited patiently for the guests to leave the house, but they did not come out. – Well, we will wait in the wings and he leaned back in the car seat.

Sultana hugged her father so tightly that Ahmed immediately realized that something had happened. He looked questioningly at the guests, and after greeting them according to Muslim customs, invited them to come in and feel at home.

– What happened? Sultana looked imploringly at her father and could not say anything.

– Your daughter is in great danger. And maybe you are too. You need to contact the police urgently. The woman and her husband told Ahmed everything. – It is better to call the police right now.

– «Yes, but its night, and we haven’t been attacked. We have to wait for the morning and go to the station.

– When you are attacked, it will be too late. It is extremely dangerous for you to even stay here. My husband has heard about the dark deeds of this bandit. Many people are already talking about him. Ahmed could not believe what had happened. Sultana sat with a drooping face and was silent. She was breathing fast and had a terrible headache.

Ahmed fed the guests a modest dinner. Apologizing all the time for my modesty, I was not expecting guests, and I am not satisfied with much myself. After dinner, he offered the guests a modest bed for the night, and escorting them to the room, all the time apologized for his poverty. The guests were well mannered, and as poor as the Sultana family.

– What are you? We live the same way as you. Wealth is not about money. This Arthur, he is much poorer than we are. Ahmed was pleased to hear these words. Smiling through his beard and mustache, he said, «You’re right. With these words, he left the guests alone and went to Sultana’s room.

Sultana sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her father. Her father sat down next to her and took her hand. – Well, how so. How did it happen that I could lose you at any moment? Sultana looked into her father’s eyes with eyes full of tears; she barely restrained herself from crying.

– «Oh, Dad, I don’t know. I miss my childhood so much. I really want to get back into it. When Mom was around, when I felt safe. I am so sorry that I once went dancing.

– And I regret that I allowed all this. I should have locked you up and never let you out. But nothing Allah is great. He will enlighten our minds and send us help and the key to the right decision. Sultana smiled sweetly and, without saying anything in response, continued to look at her father.

– Dad, I am so afraid of losing you.

– Don’t be afraid. I will not leave this world before my time. How many earthly days Allah has given me, so long will I stay here. Do not worry. Sultana squeezed his hand even tighter. Her father stayed with her for another minute, kissed her on the top of her head and left the room. My father gave up his room to the Sultan, and he spent the night in the living room. He prayed hard all night, and fell asleep in the morning.

While Sultana’s father was praying, Arthur kept an eye on their house. – When the morning finally comes. He uttered these words in such a nasty voice that the driver involuntarily shuddered. – When will these compassionate guests finally leave, and in the end, I will shoot them so that they do not climb anywhere. Dawn was coming, and all the residents of the house got up to perform prayer. After that, a delicious breakfast was waiting for them. Breakfast was lively. The guests talked about their city, their family and shared recipes. It was time to say goodbye, and they were going with great reluctance.

– We are not kicking you out.

– We are just scared to leave you. It is so dangerous to live in such fear, when at any moment they can kill.

– It was so nice to meet Swami. God has sent me people who value my daughter’s life so much. Allah bless you. And after saying goodbye to them, he closed the door. After getting into the car and driving a short distance away, the woman called the police.

– Urgent! She was shouting into the phone. Armed attack.

– What are you? Are you crazy? What are you doing?

– You will find out now. Come back. The husband obeyed his wife and returned. Exactly five minutes have passed. Arthur was already getting out of the car, and his men, armed, were approaching the house.

– Wait. She stopped him. Wait for the police to arrive. Perhaps Sultana’s father will need help. Allah, protect their home. People have already entered the house, knocking the door off their feet. The police were approaching. The siren could be heard.

Sultana stood up, covering her father with herself. The father threw back the Sultan and the shot hit him in the shoulder. Hearing the arrival of the police, one of the people grabbed Sultana and ran out with her into the street, Arthur was waiting for him. They quickly left, leaving an order for two to kill the remaining two and escape. People quickly obeyed the order; they opened fire, killing their partners. Having quickly completed their task, they did not have time to escape, the police entered the house. One of the two jumped out of the window and quickly ran away, the second opened fire on the police, and pushing them ran out into the street. The police shot at him on the street and he was wounded.

The police and the guests who did not leave entered the house. Sultana’s father was alive, but seriously wounded. He was breathing heavily, but he was in his right mind. They could not tell him that she had been abducted.

– She is already at the station. Everything will be fine soon.

– You did not leave!

– No. The woman said with a smile. We are swami to the end. Ahmed smiled back and closed his eyes. An ambulance took him away. Karima and her husband drove to the police station to tell the police everything. – This girl came running to me to spend the night. She managed to escape from the clutches of this bandit. Now, fate has changed her again. This bandit is so strong. I have heard many terrible things about him. Karima told all this with such an expression. Her husband talked to the investigator alone, their conversation lasted a long time. He knew a lot more about Arthur than his wife. He did not let his wife into such secrets. She only knew what she had heard on the street.

– Thank you for your testimony, they will help us a lot in the investigation. The woman smiled happily, after waiting for her husband, took him by the hand, and left the station with him. Karima was such an adult, intelligent and, of course, a beautiful woman that the shawl in which she was wrapped like a blanket could not hide her beauty. Her husband knew about it. And I always tried to wrap it as carefully as possible. Therefore, after leaving the station, he made a stop and corrected all the details of the handkerchief on it. Karima loved it so much when he did it, it did not bother her at all, but on the contrary pleased her. They got into the car and drove to the hospital to visit Ahmed.

The last thing Sultana saw was her father falling from a gunshot wound. Next, she was seized and taken away. Sultana was sitting in the back seat in a semi-fainting state. She did not want to live. She thought her father was dead. Sultana did not have time to see anything, she only heard the howling of the approaching police, and she did not know what happened next. All these events happened in just two or three minutes. She did not have time to understand anything. It seemed to her that barbarians had raided their house, destroyed the entire inventory, killed her father, and she was kidnapped and sent into slavery. To some extent, it was. Only her father remained alive, the entire destroyed inventory remained in place. His own men, one managed to escape, killed two of Arthur’s men, the wounded man was on his last legs, which caused a lot of trouble to Arthur. He was afraid that he would shake up something superfluous and then he would be finished. He could not find a place for himself, and sent one of his men to finish him off.

Despite the fact that Sultana was not well educated enough, she had the dexterity of mind that she inherited from her mother. But her main quality was the ability to eavesdrop, she could hear even what the walls could not hear. This girl was always silent, but her ears were the ears of the walls. Sultana realized that she had taken another life. It was this guard who shot at her father, and he missed and hit her in the shoulder. Sultana did not know this; she just thought that this guard was on her side. It was so; he missed on purpose, not wanting to kill an innocent, respected person. Sultana realized that she was bringing death, and this feeling made her disgusted with herself, it seemed to her that everyone around her was leaving her. The car brought her to Arthur’s private plane, and she was prematurely delivered to Moscow.

Moscow was preparing for the Day of knowledge. There was a week left until 1 September. Students stocked up on textbooks and notebooks, flower sellers received orders for bouquets. Lyosha and Amir were sitting in a pizzeria and enjoying the last days of the outgoing summer. – It is somewhat boring.

– Yes, there are not enough girls.

– I am not talking about them. I miss my gift. I need to apply it somewhere. I fade out without him. Do you understand?

– To be honest, no. If I get bored, it means that I have not been with a woman for a long time and have not received female energy.

– Yes, you are an obvious womanizer. Lyosha looked at his friend with a smile. His smile was so funny. His front upper teeth bulged forward so much, Lyosha did not notice it or just got used to it, and it attracted attention, including women. Lyosha had no problems with girls, and he did not value them. Amir still shunned them. Their sweet conversation was interrupted by a phone call. Igor called and asked Amir to come. Amir gladly agreed and took Lyosha with him to make it more fun.

– What happened? A man was sitting in Igor’s apartment, he looked kindly at the guests who arrived and gave the floor to Igor.

– It is okay. It is just that this young man has very strong problems in his personal life. Women just run away from him. And the last time, a woman who is very dear to him left him. I wanted to ask you to help him. Maybe you know the reason. Amir listened attentively to Igor, and silently examined the two feet of his friend’s feet.

– Who do you work for?

– A pathologist.

– By whom? Amir could not stand it and laughed. You know, if I were your girlfriend, I would run away too. Just do not be offended. The guy looked at Amir sadly.

– And what exactly is the matter?

– That is the whole reason that you do not understand. Women should not be told what is happening at your work. And even more so on yours. Your position is not enviable. And your details just scare them. They run from you like the devil from incense.

– That is right. This guy was so simple and straightforward, he just couldn’t be any different. After a long conversation, Amir agreed to come to his work. He was interested in getting into the morgue himself.

– See you later. And don’t forget what I told you. This meeting, as well as the meeting with Igor, was not accidental in Amir’s life. In the future, she will play a big role in the events taking place.

Meanwhile, the man who carried out Arthur’s orders found out that Sultana’s father was alive. Ahmed was seriously injured, Karima took care of him, and her husband looked after the house. They did not know that the guard who shot Ahmed was seriously wounded in the same hospital.

This man has done his job masterfully. He made his way to the hospital and injected through a syringe into a vial with a dropper solution some kind of remedy, after which a cardiac arrest occurred. Walking along the corridor, he saw Ahmed lying in the slightly open door of the ward, he hesitated, and not knowing what to do, he quickly left the building. Having reported to his boss about the work done quickly and efficiently, the killer did not tell that Sultana’s father was alive, and the same woman who delivered her to him was taking care of him.

When he came to, Ahmed immediately asked about his daughter. They could not hide the truth from him for so long, and the truth had to be told. Ahmed’s eyes grew sad. Ahmed fell into silence, spoke occasionally, mostly answered questions briefly. An investigator came to his ward and accepted a statement about the abduction of his daughter.

The sultan was placed in some kind of basement room, which was illuminated by a dim light; there were no windows in this room. The door was tightly closed, and it seemed to her that no one could hear her from outside. It was like a laundry room, or a vegetable warehouse. This warehouse was empty. Her accommodation, which was rented for her in Phnom Penh, was much better. It was a whole house, and she felt like a mistress. – Nothing, I will get out of here. She spoke, but no one heard her. After sitting there for exactly a day, she was transferred to a room that was not very cozy, when she was led down the corridor, she realized that she was in a restaurant, and this room was for relaxation. The sultan was fed dinner, and she spent a day in this room. No matter how she tried to find out something, no one talked to her, even the employees of this restaurant; they walked by as if she was not there. The girl gained patience and began to wait in the wings. The main staff of this restaurant was brought from Morocco, as Arthur had Arab roots; they were cooks and a bartender. The bartender, knew several languages, including Russian, and was one of Arthur’s loyal people. The waiters were brought from different countries, including Cambodia, but this did not help the Sultan, it was simply forbidden to talk to her. Arthur knew Russian, but he used this language when it was extremely necessary.

CHAPTER 4

Sultana was waiting in the wings; Arthur was waiting in the wings. A great plan had matured in his head, and luck helped him in everything. Arthur kept Sultana just for one performance in a restaurant. Further, he no longer needed her, and he planned to get rid of her in such a way that no one could establish her identity and find traces. He found her a suitable replacement, no less worthy than her. It was an Indian woman from Indonesia who was in no way inferior to the Sultan. She is also good-looking, also danced only Indian dances in Indian costumes, and is poor in origin. He plans to replace one dancer with another, and the audience will not feel the difference, and will not have time to get used to the dancer in one evening. But this evening will gather a full hall of people. Arthur rejoiced, and did not think about the problems.

Arthur made frequent flights from one country to another, as he had his dirty business in several Indo-European countries. In one of which he found this Indian woman Guilty. A guard who informed him that Sultana’s father was alive and being cared for by a woman who helped her escape overshadowed his happiness.

– The blockhead. You let him live. Why did I send you? I want you to ruin my whole holiday. Arthur pulled out a gun and took it off the safety and shot the guy in the head. The gun was with a silencer, no one heard the shot, and Arthur called his partner to get rid of the corpse as soon as possible. – People know how to spoil the mood, he said, and stepping over the corpse went outside and went to a restaurant to watch the performance of Guilt. Arthur watched this girl dance perfectly, the audience would not feel the difference, he thought, without taking into account the opinion of the Guilt itself. The girl did not know yet that she was already considered a slave in Arthur’s opinion, and she was going to perform in restaurants in Moscow. Arthur also thought about what actions Sultana’s father had managed to commit against him. This news crept into Arthur’s head and gave him no peace. This girl is nothing but trouble, he thought, looking at the new dancer. Guilt, unaware that evil itself was looking at her, came up to him and seductively let out a wave with her stomach. Arthur gave her a sly wink, and the girl smiled back.

Unlike Sultana, Vina had the advantage that this girl was not a dancer; she worked at a dance school and taught dancing to girls, girls. A friend of her family invited her to work in the restaurant, he asked her to help him. His restaurant had fallen into disrepair and he was on the verge of bankruptcy. Arthur did not suspect that it would not be so easy for him to take this girl to Russia. She was poor, but she was not as lonely as Sultana was. She had a full-fledged family, including brothers. Vina was beautiful, very beautiful, but she did not have such greatness as Sultana, and she was not so proud. Rather, on the contrary, softer. Maybe thanks to her gentleness, Arthur will be able to take this beauty away voluntarily, and in addition to everything, she herself contributes to her removal.

Sultana lived out her days in the staff room. She could not talk to anyone, eat as she was used to, she did not have the opportunity to bathe and clean up. Her life has turned into an even bigger nightmare than it was before coming to Russia.

The first of September came, and all the students started classes. Amir and Lyosha were surprisingly happy about this day. – The day of knowledge has finally arrived.

– Yes, with his funny smile, Lyosha picked up. The girls at the institute were waiting for Amir; they really needed to know everything about the guys they met in the summer.

– What nonsense. You might think that they have written on their feet in detail about every guy they meet.

– «Isn’t that right?»

– Of course not. You can read fate, not a fleeting acquaintance.

– And why are you guessing on your feet?

– I did not study it. I inherited this gift through the male line. He came to me by himself. And my father helped me figure it out.

– Cool. You are lucky. You can find out everything about every person. No, not about everyone. I cannot read my destiny. And my father has not read it until now, and I do not know where danger may await me.

– So no one knows where danger awaits him. That is the whole joke.

– You know, you are right; it is actually easier to live this way. Not knowing what is waiting for you around the corner.

– You see! And don’t forget that I ordered us a table in an oriental restaurant.

– So early. Plenty more time.

– So there are no more free tables. Everything is packed!

– Holy shit. Is it really going to be such an evening there.

– yes. There will even be real oriental musicians.

– You are doing great. And I completely forgot about this oriental dinner.

Arthur was trying to find out what Sultana’s father had managed to do against him. What he managed to tell the police, and how the search is progressing. This information did not give him peace of mind, Arthur wanted to personally fly to this area and find out everything, but out of fear of attracting attention to himself, he said goodbye to this thought. «I’ve seen enough of this town,» he thought. And I decided to send a well-tested person. Arthur had people who served him like dogs. But there were few of them. And he got rid of the rest as soon as he didn’t need them. He himself was preparing for the opening of a restaurant in Moscow, and was going to fly there in the coming days. He was more interested in how to take the Blame with him. Something told him that there would be more problems with her than with Sultana. It was easier to get rid of Sultana, Vina was too necessary and famous a person. Her search could create too many problems, but Arthur was obsessed with revenge, and revenge clouded his eyes. At his own risk, he negotiated with the owner of the restaurant where the Wine was performed. But these negotiations were in vain. – Her family will not do it. The man answered, and spread his hands. Arthur decided to talk to the Guilt itself, deciding not just to bribe her, but also to recoup. Promising that as long as she works for him, her family will not need anything. The fault itself was not against this trip, it remained to persuade the family, and the girl took on this complexity. Of course, Arthur could not understand the purpose of Vina’s visit to Russia, but her goal was simple. Vina fell in love with this villain and was ready to go anywhere just to be with him. This happened when Arthur began to come to their restaurant and stay there, the wine was already dancing there at that moment. He often came to this restaurant to look after a girl for work; it could be a waiter or a dancer. No one suspected where the girls were disappearing. Everyone thought they were just quitting. And his next victim was Guilt. She took over negotiations with her parents and a few days later the plane with Vina and Arthur flew to Russia. Vina had no idea who she was falling in love with.

Arthur was ready to do anything to find a replacement for Sultana. And when he finds a replacement for the Fault, he will have to either return it or get rid of it. But he wasn’t thinking about it now, his head was busy opening the «Oriental Fairy Tale». There was exactly a week left before the opening, and Arthur, to his misfortune, decided to show Vina Moscow. He did it not out of love for her, but in order to appease her and win her over. Vina took it all completely differently and her eyes shone with brilliance. Arthur did not notice this, he was thinking about his plans, and placed the Wine in one of his apartments, not very far from the restaurant. He did not want to arouse any suspicion towards himself and created the promised conditions for Guilt. Vina had a connection to the house when she wanted to, and everything went well. She was guarded as carefully as Sultana, only she did not know about it, and she did not really go anywhere without Arthur’s escort. Food was delivered to her apartment, and she did not need anything.

Meanwhile, Sultana, who was mourning her father, was obsessed with revenge, she so wanted to take revenge, or even destroy her tyrant, who had done to her and her father what she is going through now. But Sultana understood that she had almost no chance of salvation. She had not spoken to anyone since arriving in Moscow, she did not know the language, no one contacted her, there were three days left before her performance, and all these days she had to stay locked up. One of these days, Amir went to the morgue after studying, he accepted this invitation with pleasure, not expecting it from himself. When he entered the morgue building, he immediately smelled death and felt sick. The morgue is a creepy place. Moreover, this applies to people with supernatural abilities. It seemed to Amir that he could hear the voices of the dead, or even see souls walking along the corridor. But moments later, the visions disappeared. – Don’t be afraid. Said the guy. – We should be afraid of the living.

– «You’re right. Amir looked around in horror, not daring to go forward.

– «You’re going to have to go through this anyway. They will take you to the morgue anyway. All students go through this.

– I know. Somehow, I am not ready.

– It is better to step over yourself right away. This guy was acting so naturally. He was just born to work in the morgue. Amir got the impression that he came to the museum for a tour. This guy was acting so lively. He was always saying something. – Look at me. He said, and passed his hand over himself. – I have been working part-time here at night for six months, and nothing, I am used to it.

– Are you working part-time? So it’s a side job for you.

– Yes. Everything suits me. And the money is good. I am my own boss. Shut down and work. And you can’t please the living.

Amir bit his lower lip. – Now I fully understand why girls run away from you. Amir was scared to be with this guy in the morgue. And he, not daring to go any further, took a few steps back.

– Where are you going? Do not be afraid to come in. It is easier to work here at night. There are no bosses.

– No thanks. I will come on this tour with my guide and a group.

– Are you scared? I do not bite. You said something to me about my girls. So why are they all running? Amir has already taken a determined step towards the front door.

– Lets not do it today. I am not ready today. And taking a decisive step, he opened the door.

– I hope we will see each other again.

– Absolutely. With these words, Amir left the morgue building and walked with a quick decisive step to the metro station.

– Well, how was the meeting with a friend! Lyosha uttered these words with interruptions, between each word he laughed with restraint.

– What is so funny? Amir asked in all seriousness. At the same time, he himself restrained laughter.

– Nothing. That is why I am asking.

– Morgue, this is actually a serious excursion. She needs to be taken seriously, and that is why you are coming with me next time.

– How is that?

– That is it. I am afraid of my new friend. I wonder why girls run away from him!

– «He probably takes them to the morgue on their first date!» Friends laughed at the poor guy for a long time. – Why should we go there at all?

– «I don’t know. For some reason, it skidded. Let us go together while they invite.

– Okay, come on. Let us go to the restaurant first, and then to the morgue. The restaurant is more interesting. There are live girls there!

– You are all about your own.

On the opening day, the restaurant was lively and many people crowded around the entrance. As already mentioned, all the tables were ordered and even more, there were those who just wanted to come during the performance, and since there were no empty seats, the audience watched the performance standing up to watch the dance. Lyosha and Amir arrived earlier to enjoy oriental cuisine and an oriental-style interior. I must admit that this host was generous, and did not skimp on the interior and treats for guests. Everything was decorated with exquisite taste and chic. The menu of this restaurant was also designed with taste, and fully corresponded to the interior of the cafe.

– And here the truth is like in a fairy tale.

– Yes, but be careful with Oriental women.

– Thanks for reminding me. Lyosha was looking around animatedly. It was his first time in an institution decorated with such a subtle oriental taste.

The musicians were already ready to play their instruments. They were sitting in their seats. The uniform of all employees of the restaurant was also in the Oriental style. It was something medieval, reminiscent of the period when men wore dresses. The waiters and cooks were men. There were two waiter girls, they served certain tables, and they were forbidden to talk to customers. Alternatively, they just did not know the language. The ceiling was painted with a fine oriental painting, and Lyosha just went into himself admiring this beauty. But the most important highlight of this restaurant was that the tables were in Oriental style, and the guests were sitting on pillows. It was a surprise for the guests, the guests found out about it when they entered the restaurant. This highlight was surprisingly exciting, and the guests were simply delighted. The seats were occupied, the musicians played their instruments, and after making a pause, the owner of the restaurant came on stage. After greeting the guests, he congratulated the guests and himself on the opening and left. The musicians continued to play and there was a performance on stage, several numbers were presented before Sultana came out.

When Sultana came out, complete silence reigned in the hall. She created an atmosphere of rigor and at the same time, she quickly captivated with her rhythm. Everyone looked expectantly at the girl whose face was not visible. Sultana felt like a fish in water. And thanks to the fact that her face was not visible, no one knew what she was feeling right now. In fact, it was her last dance and the last hours of her life. Sultana had several performances and all took place with interruptions. At the very end of the dance, she took off her headscarf and showed her face. Lyosha and Amir’s table was not far from the stage and Amir was able to see the girl’s face in close-up. A shiver ran through his body and it seemed to him that they were familiar. – Strange, where did I see her?

– Do you know each other?

– No. But I have a strange feeling. Lyosha grinned and said nothing.

The next two dances Sultana danced with an open face, it was a dance with a sword and a dance with a candlestick on her head. The audience applauded standing and those who did not have enough seats did not want to leave. Amir was also in no hurry to leave, and they sat until closing time.

Nobody wanted to leave. All the guests did not even get up from their pillows and most of them booked their tables for the next performance.

– When is the next performance?

– If I am not mistaken, three days a week, Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

– That is, tomorrow?

– Yes. Tomorrow. What happened to you? You got a crush on the Sultana.

– Sort of.

– I will order a table.

– Thank you. I will pay for the treat.

– So I do not mind. With these words, they left the restaurant and went home.

By his origin, Arthur had Arab roots, which is why he had such a subtle and rich oriental taste. He had been accustomed to money since childhood, and this habit of getting rid of people originated in him since childhood. Arthur had a younger brother, the children grew up with their father, since their parents divorced, and the children belonged to their father’s family. The boys did not know their mother and grew up in cruelty. Their father died when they were old enough, they never managed to find their mother. Their father bequeathed them his business, in half, together with his brother. But since Arthur was quite cunning and cruel, he got rid of his brother and appropriated everything for himself. Thus, he became such a wealthy villain. All the people who worked for his father and did not want to be his supporters, they just disappeared without a trace. His brutality grew with his power. His dirty deeds grew with his years, and now he has achieved such results as business in different countries. Arthur was very pleased with his heights, and the success of tonight only made him even more excited.

Now, his main problem was how to silently get rid of Sultana. He did not want to get rid of her just like that, and a thought was maturing in his head. As previously stated, Sultana was a Muslim, and she had not yet had contact with a man. Arthur wanted to sell it to a very rich man for one night. This thought was spinning in his head, and he wanted to put it into action. Then of course get rid of her body.

Lyosha and Amir came to their apartment. – Tell me, are you into her?

– To be honest, no.

– And then what?

– When she came to the edge of the stage, I smelled death. I saw death walking beside her. But I could tell by her eyes that she knows this and doesn’t want to die. I could not mistake this smell for anything else.

– You are at it again. The whole world cannot be saved, much less a dancer. You just will not be able to contact her. She is well guarded.

– And here it is possible. I will order it. I will come up with something and order it.

– Nothing to yourself. Well, you give. See for yourself. If you are so set up, then it is up to you.

Amir was not the only one who wanted to order Sultan. After her performance yesterday, the restaurant received calls and even customers came to order a dancer. But the dancer disappeared without a trace, and this disappearance caused a sea of indignation.

On Saturday evening, the restaurant hall was as full of guests as on the opening day. The evening also began festively, it was Sultana’s time, but to everyone’s surprise, a completely different girl came on stage. Indignation was heard in the hall. But this murmur quickly subsided, out of respect for such a charming young dancer, and Vina began her performance with an Indian folk dance. As Arthur expected, the audience did not feel the difference, and fascinated the audience. The majority of the audience was sure that Sultana would definitely return, and these young girls would delight them in turn. The only guest who knew the reason for her disappearance was Amir.

– She will not appear on this stage again.

– Are you sure?

– Absolutely.

– And what should I do now?

– It remains only to pray.

– And how did you smell the smell of death?

– You know, when I first went into the morgue, I immediately smelled this smell. Now I will definitely not confuse it with anything. I felt the same yesterday as I did that night.

– To be honest, I feel sorry for her. You know, I am sure there is something wrong here. The guy who performed yesterday is kind of muddy. He has such a criminal face. Amir silently listened to Lyosha and thought about his own. «You’re right. It is actually muddy. Is there something wrong here, just what? With these words, they paid for the order and left the restaurant.

– What are you going to do?

– The first thing I will do is call Igor, really on Monday. I will not bother him on Sunday. Then we will see. Do not forget that we have an excursion to the morgue tonight. You know, it seems to me that you and I will be interested there. Amir switched from one topic to another so quickly that Lyosha felt uneasy.

After her brilliant performance, a terrible imprisonment awaited the Sultan. She was placed in some kind of basement and the door was closed. It was a restaurant basement where canned food was stored. She recognized this basement because she had been in it once. The night passed, in the morning it was heard how the work shift came, but everyone passed by her room. So a day passed, the girl was wearing an oriental costume in which she danced the last dance, and for exactly a day neither food nor water entered her stomach. She sat leaning against the door with the corner of her ear, hoping to hear and understand something, but it was all in vain. So the morning passed, and finally at lunchtime she heard movements in the hallway and realized that the front door had opened. Hearing Arthur’s voice, Sultana froze. Russian Russian was one of the languages Arthur knew, but he did not like Russian and did not speak it well. Fortunately, Sultan Arthur spoke in Lao, since his interlocutor knew this language. Arthur was talking to one of the guards who took part in the attack on Sultana’s father’s house. Sultana tried to hear every word as best as possible. They opened the door to ventilate the room and after smoking, a cigarette exchanged a few words in Lao.

– First I will finish her, and then I will personally fly to Poipet to finish her father. I am tired of this family. That is enough. They took too much time and effort. Do not let me down, or that fool let me down, leaving her father alive. She is here in this basement, you grab her in the evening, put her in the car, and then I will tell you what to do. With these words, the door closed and the voices died down. Sultana remained in the same position, but her heart beat joyfully. She found out that her father was alive. It makes sense to live, there is where and for what to return. And she decided to fight for her life.

There was not much time left until the evening, in her favor was the fact that the person who was supposed to grab her knew the Lao language, so he was his own. «Where is my passport now?» And what time is it now?

Everything was quiet in Poipet. Ahmed felt well enough, and could even get out of bed already. He had not received any news from Sultana and did not know whether she was alive or not. It was killing him, and the only thing that kept him alive was the hope that his daughter was alive and could be saved. The police were searching, including Arthur, he was already a suspect in several crimes, but no one could accuse him of anything, he always managed to get away with it. This time his position was shaken, there were too many clues pointing to him, and various rumors were circulating about him not only in this city, but also throughout Cambodia.

Arthur understood his situation, and to some extent in the depths of his soul, he was losing his peace. But he didn’t want to realize it and pretended that nothing was happening. His dirty deeds gradually surfaced. The police found the corpses of men and women who were once wanted, their relatives were looking for them, and over the years, their traces were lost. And gradually the moment came when it was time to answer.

CHAPTER 5

Amir and Lyosha were waiting for their evening to go to the morgue. To their surprise, they were not afraid, but on the contrary, they were having fun, and they laughed uncontrollably. On the way to the morgue, they stopped at McDonald’s to have a snack, and laughed at their new friend – maybe he should buy a burger, and the fact that he is sitting there hungry!

– No, if anything, he will eat homemade food next to the corpse on a stretcher!

– Oh, yeah, I forgot, he is at home there!

– Exactly.

Approaching the morgue, they looked around with apprehension. – Are you sure we are going?

– Exactly. And opening the door slightly, they entered the room.

– Hi. I thought you were not coming. Their meeting is a little man in a white coat, with a pleasant voice and with too smart and boring appearance.

– Why?

– I extracted this information from our last meeting with you. Lyosha could not stand it and laughed. – I do not see anything funny.

– You are right, it is not funny. We came in all seriousness. Come on; take us to your workplace.

Roman led them through a gloomy corridor and led them into a room where there were several corpses, two of which were covered with a sheet, two were lying undressed. – These have just arrived. These two are rootless; they are on a mass grave.

– What a horror. How bitter it is.

– Yes, a sad fate.

– And this one did not die a natural death.

– I have already had a look. Stop mourning everyone.

– Lyosha is right. The whole world cannot be saved. You know how many of these I have already washed.

– He fell in love with a dancer yesterday and is eager to save her. He says she should not die her own death.

– With such zeal you gather troubles on your head.

– «I know about that, too. That is what I have been afraid of since childhood. Troubles on your head. And Sultana, yes, she charmed me. But I can’t see her like my ears. She is already gone.

– Who knows? Never say never. I need to wash these two corpses, and then the autopsy. I am still studying. I work at night, on corpses that have no relatives. Then, over time, I will become a better pathologist. He uttered these words with such pride that Amir and Lyosha looked at him with admiration. – Sometimes it’s quiet, almost no one. And sometimes there are such nights that there is not enough day. I study during the day, the same place as you.

– And how do you know Igor?

– Our parents are friends.

At the same time, in the restaurant, the door of the basement in which Sultana was located opened, and the guard shouldered her and carried her to the car. Of course, no one saw it. Everyone was busy serving tables, the Wine was dancing its folk dance, the chefs were preparing an order and trying to watch the performance, the waiters were running around the hall and could not cope with the work, the music was playing loudly, and no one heard or saw anything. Sultana was thrown into the back seat of the car, the door slammed shut, and she realized that this was the end. Arthur was sitting in the front seat. The same security guard they had talked to at lunch got behind the wheel. Sultana recognized him; he was there too on the day she was abducted from her father’s house. She quickly ran over, looked into his eyes, and took her gaze away.

– «Don’t fall for her tricks. Otherwise, you will suffer the same fate as her late fiance. The driver drove the car in silence and occasionally threw quick glances at the back seat. He was afraid of Arthur’s anger. Arthur nervously negotiated in Russian so that Sultana and the driver would not understand anything. Arthur did not know that the driver had learned Russian while working for him and was silent about it. Arthur tried to behave with restraint so as not to spoil the deal. The driver understood what was going on, wanted to release the steering wheel of the car, but restrained himself in time and pretended that he did not understand anything. He worked only as a personal driver for Arthur and spoke to him only in Lao. This man realized that now everything depends only on him.

– Now we will come to a cozy place. Take this girl and give her to a very useful little man. Then you take me and come back, this little man will return it to you, and you will get rid of it. When you get rid of her, you will need to get rid of the corpse so that this corpse will never be caught anywhere under any circumstances. There are too many corpses. Bury her in an unmarked grave, or I do not know where. He made these speeches so easily that the driver could not help but keep silent, but he kept silent. He began to drive noticeably slower, and Arthur noticed it. Do you feel sorry for her? Do you want to lie down next to her on an unmarked grave?

Sultana heard everything. Her eyes widened. She became even colder from the horror she heard. The clothes she was wearing did not warm her. It was no longer hot outside, and she froze over. Her teeth were chattering, probably from fear, and her body was covered with goosebumps. She took a handkerchief that was lying next to her; maybe someone left it, and wrapped herself in it. Arthur nervously negotiated in Russian so that Sultana and the driver would not understand anything. The driver turned his head to the back seat, and made it clear with a gesture that this was a sign. Sultana quickly understood everything and took hold of the door handle. The driver pressed the pedal and accelerated the jeep. Arthur got scared and started swearing loudly. The car reached a high speed and crashed into an oncoming car rushing at the same speed. The car braked sharply, and making a turn put Arthur sitting next to him under attack. It turned out to be a cool accident. Both cars were smashed. Arthur’s driver received severe blows, but he was able to get out and stood on his feet.

The ambulance and the police arrived quickly. There were four victims, Arthur and Sultana were unconscious. The driver of the oncoming Jeep was dead. His two passengers sitting in the back seat were injured and were in serious condition. The police examined the accident and tried to identify the culprit. The ambulance examined the injured and carried Arthur and Sultana away on a stretcher. There was a car nearby to take the body to the morgue. While the police recorded the death, the driver stared intently at Sultana’s body, which was lying on a stretcher next to the ambulance.

– Well, let us go?

– Yes, bring the gurney in.

The deceased body was also standing next to the waiting car, and the police turned their backs on him, discussing something. There was no time to delay. And Arthur’s Driver decided to do it, knowing that he himself would soon become the same body. He swapped the bodies, not knowing how he did it, but he could. His body was trembling from the fear he had experienced, from what he had done, but he knew what he was going for— – I hope, he said faintly, that she knows what to do next. He covered her face and helped her roll the gurney into the car.

– Thank you, he heard. He nodded his head in response and quickly walked to the ambulance to fix the headscarf on the head of the deceased as soon as possible, which he removed from the Sultan and carefully covered the man’s face with it. He wrapped this corpse in a sheet so carefully that everyone thought it was her fiance.

– This must be your fiancee?

– Yes. This is true. He said in broken Russian. She is a Muslim; she is not allowed to show her beauty. The doctors smiled and gestured for him to go with his fiancee. Arthur was unconscious, and this poor guy was afraid of the day when he would come to his senses. He did not take decisive steps towards the ambulance, and he had to go with them. After getting into the car with them, he put his hand to his heart and groped there for his driver’s license and passport, believing that God himself was smiling at him in heaven. This man decided to run. Run wherever you want. Moreover, he had earned money. And he ran away as soon as the ambulance arrived at the hospital.

The car arrived at the morgue in parallel with the ambulance. While the ambulance was processing the patients, a stretcher with a corpse was brought into the morgue. The ambulance found the substitution of corpses and raised the boil. – Which morgue was the living girl taken to?

– What is the difference? If she is alive, then she will be delivered by herself. You do not have enough work. Let us make out the corpse now. Where to deliver it? Call your relatives? Relatives were waiting in the morgue for the corpse of the deceased. A phone call alerted them to the substitution.

– How is this even possible? Does that happen? To confuse a living person with a dead one, and even a man with a woman. Where to complain. Roman heard the indignant woman’s voice receding. And entering the room, he threw off the covers from the corpse.

– This corpse is rootless. But I’m sorry to send her to a mass grave. The time was about three o’clock in the morning. But this boiling dispelled the dream in the whole morgue. Amir and Lyosha approached the girl and froze. She was lying in front of them. Sultana was actually lying like a corpse, but there was still a glimmer of life in her.

– She is alive!

– How? And she’s really alive. Sultana opened her eyes. She lay motionless as a corpse and moved her eyes from side to side. From the recent events that she had to go through, she decided that she had been brought to be killed, and there were already corpses lying next to her, working for Arthur.

– «They’re already dead. I am next. She thought, and after looking at Lyosha and Roma, she realized that they would not understand her language. Amir approached her and looked into her eyes, he saw fear. The first thought that came to her mind was that he was Arthur’s man and wanted to kill her. And at the same time, she had hope that she would be able to persuade this guy to let her go. She could not figure out where she was. Turning her head from side to side, she was attacked by such horror, these corpses disgusted her, and she felt sick. And the feeling of hunger caused such weakness that I just didn’t have the strength. Her body was so weak that she closed her eyes again and passed out.

– You are alive, you are all right. Amir tried to bring her back to consciousness. Roman heard footsteps in the corridor.

– They are coming here. Oh my god. It is behind her.

– A girl. Where is she?

– Here it is. Roman replied with indifference.

– How did she get here?

«She was wrapped up like a corpse. She is a corpse. Especially not Russian. Nobody needs it. Do not worry, it is in my line. Look at her. They just got rid of her. Sultana was actually lying like a corpse. But she was as beautiful as a sleeping beauty. This girl was young, so fresh, the length of her black and smooth hair reached to her buttocks. Her eyelashes were lush like a porcelain doll. Eyebrows are clear and even. And her dark skin complemented her beauty. This flower girl looked like Princess Jasmine from the cartoon about Aladdin. Roman tried to cover the sleeping corpse with himself, and wriggled out as best he could.

– Okay. Good. I will not bother you; masterfully do your favorite job. With this grin, the man left the room.

– Well, you give. You are also a first-class actor. You can be envied. Roman proudly accepted this compliment. Amir tried in every way to bring the Sultan to his senses, but it was in vain.

– Sultan. Amir called her in such a voice as if she was his woman. I was at your performance. I have seen you dance. I also know you are in danger. I will help you. I am not one of those people who work for Arthur. I am a student who came here to study. My homeland is Laos. Amir fell silent with a sigh. – We cannot do without Igor, his help and a car. And Amir dialed Igor and told him everything.

– What a night. I have never had a living corpse before.

Igor arrived just in time. Amir got into his car and told him everything in detail. «Gee. But most importantly, what?

– What?

– Finally you asked me for help. I will be happy to help you. I will put your beautiful friend in a paid clinic. She does not have any documents. Isn’t that right?

– So.

– She needs medical services now. And be well hidden.

– That is also true.

– The only question that arises is how to get her out of this building. We need to bury someone instead of her.

– To bury someone, you need to bring someone into this building.

– «Gee. But we’ll figure something out. Stay in touch. With these words, Igor left.

– Morning is coming soon, and I will leave this building. And you too. What do we intend to do with it?

– I understand. But me too, what should I do? If she is found, she will be handed over to the police, and then she is definitely a khan. Amir paced nervously from side to side. His only refuge was Igor, who did not call. Dawn was coming.

Sultana came to her senses and understood, and having understood what was the matter, mentally thanked the driver who helped her to escape. She was still pretending to be dead and trying to eavesdrop on something. Sultana no longer trusted anyone and was on her own. She was alarmed by the fact that Amir was Asian as well as she was, and the fact that he was there at such a difficult moment did not cause her to trust him. Sultana thanked heaven that she managed to survive and God gave her life. Her body lay among these bereaved corpses, and yet she understood that if God had given her life, then she would be saved and live.

Roman was preparing the corpses for burial. Sometimes his mentor came to him and watched him at work. – How is your girl here? You will leave it to your day partner!

– To be honest, I cannot open it.

– «You don’t have to open it. Just pack it that is all. I feel sorry for her myself. And what kind of friends do you have here?

– These are our students. They came a year earlier. Roman uttered these words with such an idiotic smile.

– Well, if so. Let them not abuse visits. With that, he left.

– Listen, and fate itself favors us. It might really work out. She will have to be a corpse twice.

– I see it is not the first time for her. If she agrees, then I do not mind.

– So she does not have to agree, she is unconscious. At that moment, the phone rang.

– I have decided everything.

– How?

– I will come to pick up Sultana’s body, and I will hush everything up. Do not worry. I am going to bring her a beautiful outfit. Accordingly, the coffin is elegant. Prepare her.

– I understand you.

Igor arrived as promised. After giving Amir a bag of clothes, he waited impatiently. Amir came back and looked at me with a questioning look. – Who will dress her? Amir and Lyosha looked at Roman.

– Why me?

– Well, we are not going to dress a living corpse.

– «And if she wakes up?»

– Yes, a difficult case. Amir approached her in a tight. – Sultana, you need to run away from here urgently. You need to get dressed. If you do not get up, we will. Sultana, hearing a familiar voice, opened her eyes wide. She looked at Amir carefully once more. – Sultana, we have very little time. Get dressed faster. With these words, he gave her the package. The people went out the door. When Amir returned, he explained everything to her in detail, and the most important thing was that he would have to lie down in a coffin.

The coffin was taken out and loaded into the car. Amir accompanied the coffin, which contained a living girl. When the car started off, he quickly opened the lid and helped her out, and tightly closing the coffin, he looked attentively at Sultana. During all this time, Sultana did not utter a word. Amir spoke to her in Lao, being completely convinced that she understood him. Amir understood that this girl could not know other languages, and decided to speak to her in their common Lao language. Amir himself had several languages. As mentioned earlier, his father educated him well in his youth. The car made a stop, and they left the body, moving into Igor’s car. At the sight of Igor, the Sultan’s face changed. She saw everyone as an enemy. – Don’t be afraid, this is a man on our side. The evil is over. You will be safely hidden.

– But what about my father, he will die of grief.

– I will call him and tell him everything. You need to hide for a while. Until Arthur calms down.

Sultana wanted to believe him, but she was so afraid of being deceived or killed that she just let everything take its course.

– Igor will put you in a clinic and they will help you. You are very weak. You need care. Sultana was so unaccustomed to these words and such treatment that she simply could not believe what she was hearing. The words – You need care, just echoed in her ears, and she closed her eyes and fell asleep. She fell asleep like an angel. And Amir was afraid to disturb her sleep. Sultana slept until she arrived at the clinic, and she had to be carried into the building on her hands.

The clinic was already aware of the arrival of an unknown patient. Everything was ready for her arrival. Amir immediately carried her into the prepared ward and sat down next to her. Igor watched him with a smile. Amir did not notice Igor. He kept his eyes on Sultana.

– A doctor is coming to examine her now.

– «She’s sleeping. Let him rest.

– I understand that she has been sleeping for a long time. She needs to be examined and assisted. You are a future doctor yourself and you understand how serious this is. She was in an accident.

– «You’re right. She has just been through so much. That I am just sorry to wake her up. The doctor examined Sultana in a semi-fainting state. Nurses came to take tests. She herself could not walk, and was still silent.

– The patient is dehydrated. Decline of strength. And severe bruises after the accident. There are no fractures. I understand that your patient does not know the language. Who will be the translator?

– I will be.

– You cannot stay around all the time. We have a nurse in the clinic who knows the language. I think we can handle it. We will take care of our patient with you.

– Thank you Doctor. The most important thing is that this information should be confidential.

– I remember that. With these words, Igor and the doctor exchanged smiles.

Amir stood at the door of Sultana’s room and waited for the nurse to come out. The nurse came out and he came in. Sultana looked at him questioningly. – What do you want from me?

– Nothing. I just want to help you.

– Why?

– I cannot tell you about it right now. But trust me. When you get better, I will tell you everything about myself. I am not one of the people who want to hurt you. Now rest. They are bringing you lunch right now. I am leaving. I have to go to class, I am studying to be a doctor, and he showed his student ID. Sultana wanted to believe him so much, and she almost believed him, but the deceptions she experienced made her stay on guard. Amir left and lunch was brought to the ward.

CHAPTER 6

As described earlier. There was one fatal outcome in a car collision. The rest of the passengers survived. Two of whom escaped are Arthur’s driver and Sultana herself. The two who were sitting in the back seat were hospitalized, and Arthur himself was on the verge of death, his condition was critical. His condition was in the hands of everyone, since everyone was afraid of him, and everyone wanted him dead, with the exception of not many people devoted to him. These were his loyal dogs who served him faithfully, but there were only a few of these people, they had been walking with him since the creation of this dirty business, and he had another loyal person ready to give his life for him, this person was the Fault. Vina loved him with all her heart and soul. Arthur did not know about it. He had nothing to do right now, and especially not to her. He was in a coma.

At the time of his absence, there was essentially no one to do his business. Arthur did not have such a deputy to whom everything could be left. Arthur never thought that one day he might find himself in such a position as he is now. In all countries where Arthur conducted his business, including Russia, they held their own meeting and decided what to do next. In all restaurants and brothels, there were managers who reported to him the entire situation. For the first time, it was decided to wait until the owner comes to his senses, and leave everything as it is. Most of the women rejoiced among themselves, as they had a chance to escape and at the same time stay alive. Many guards escaped, taking a large sum of money. They fled abroad, changed their names, hoping that they would not be found. Mostly they were young youths who did not have parents, and if there were distant relatives, they did not need them. They ran first, ran without looking back. And all those who remained, they just prayed, and everyone prayed to himself, asking God to call the soul of this villain to him as soon as possible, so that she would answer for all that he had managed to do on this earth. Only the dogs devoted to him asked for health for their master, they actually loved this man.

While all these events were taking place, Sultana’s father returned home and fully recovered from his illness. He was not that old and looked good enough. Karima and her husband did not want to leave him alone, believing that he was still weak. Ahmed was so grateful to his friends for what they had done for him, and believed that he had already given them a lot of trouble. – I do not even know how to thank you.

– And we do not need anything. It was an honor for us to help your daughter and take care of the father who raised such a daughter. We believe that, thanks to the Sultan, this dark man will be punished. And we will do everything that depends on us.

– You have already done a lot. Thank you very much. With these words, the guests left. Ahmed was left alone, and did not yet realize that he was at home. The realization that he was alone did not come to him, and he did not want to understand it. Ahmed was looking forward to the call from the police, with the news that his daughter was alive. Karima’s husband put the house in order after the debacle, which was arranged by Arthur’s people. They also bought groceries, cooked food, and Ahmed could only wait for good news. But there was no news. And he understood that at any moment there could be news that Sultana was no more. Time passed, and Ahmed completely faded. He stopped leaving the house. To cook food, and had little contact with the neighbors.

Arthur’s situation remained just as hopeless, he was between heaven and earth. Vina prayed for him every day. She could not imagine herself without him. This girl did not allow the thought that he might not be, and she would have to return to her homeland not married to him. Vina was going to marry him, and did not allow the thought that she might not succeed. The news that Sultana was dead only made her happy. Vina considered Sultana her rival, and allowed the idea that she would have to fight. If she knew Sultana’s plans, she would not be her rival, but her and Arthur’s common enemy. Since Sultana was a threat to Arthur’s life.

The police were sorting out Arthur’s case, but in fact, there was nothing to accuse him of. As always, he got away with it everywhere. Somewhere he exceeded the speed limit; somewhere he was rude, he could not be accused of kidnapping or murder anywhere. Although a lot of evidence has already pointed to him, and his figure has figured in many dark cases. Many investigators dreamed of solving this case, putting an end to this case, getting a promotion, and were glad to everyone who wanted to help this case. One of these investigators was a friend of Igor. He gladly took up this task, and happily shook Amir’s hand.

– Your dancer is lucky. If she managed to escape from this slave owner. Usually these girls do not survive. And those who survive, they don’t go to the police out of fear, they just hide well. Amir listened to the investigator’s words with bitterness. I will be happy to interrogate the victim. I understand she is considered dead, and she is well hidden.

– Yes, it is.

– You did the right thing. This will all remain between us. When can I question her?

– «She’s too weak right now, and she’s scared. She has been through a lot.

– I understand. I will be in touch, and the sooner I question her, the better. The next day, Amir went to the Sultan, and to his surprise, the girl looked well. She made friends with a nurse who spoke the same language with her, and the nurse managed to convince the Sultan that she was not in captivity. Amir came into the room and looked at her questioningly. There was a change in her beautiful eyes, fear disappeared from them, and Sultana looked questioningly at Amir. Sultana looked like a medical worker. She was wearing white trousers and a sweatshirt, this form of clothing suited her, and was combined with her skin color. Amir hesitantly stood at the front door and was afraid to go in.

– Hi. You look good. Sultana smiled back.

– Thank you.

– Can I come in?

– Yes. Come on in. Amir walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

– How are you doing?

– I am much better.

– I could not come to you yesterday. I was at lectures, then at the investigators. The investigator wants to talk to you. This is necessary for the case to expose Arthur. The police cannot just arrest this man, they need an assistant. We will become these assistants. You will help the police, and I will help you. Okay? Sultana smiled back. So you agree. The investigator will come tomorrow and he will interrogate you. You will have to tell me everything you know. And everything that happened to you. It is very important.

– «When can I talk to my father?»

– At the moment, it is very dangerous, mainly for him. Your call can be calculated and then everything is gone. Sultana sadly lowered her eyes to the floor and did not say anything in response. Amir left quietly, closing the door behind him. Sultana was left alone. She came to life, felt the taste of life. Her father was alive, and it meant a lot to her. She felt safe, and the only thing she lacked was to tell her father that she was all right. Sultana listened to Amir’s words and decided not to violate her father’s safety. Amir was so concerned about Sultana’s condition that he still did not dare to examine her legs to see the lines of her fate. It should have been done back then in the morgue. Then everything happened so quickly, so unexpectedly. That he just could not do it. Now he considered it not a suitable occasion, and not realizing that the time was lost, he slowly returned to his home.

The time was actually lost. The lines of the Sultans’ destinies could tell a lot. For example, that the client who did not teach the Sultan had a direct and direct relationship to Arthur’s business. He also, like everyone else, was waiting for Arthur to pass away, and then his brothel in Moscow, along with his girls, would pass to him. He had all the papers ready. Sultana could easily lead the police to this man. But she didn’t know about it. The client still wanted to get Sultana for comfort, and then keep her as a living commodity, Arthur did not know about it. Sultana was a sought-after commodity, and not only were the police looking for her as a stranded citizen, but also several of Arthur’s competitors.

The next day, the investigator came to interrogate, or rather to talk to the Sultan. Amir was a translator, and from that moment, their close communication began. Amir and Sultana were to some extent closely related. They had one goal to catch the criminal, Sultana was the victim, and Amir was the defender and translator.

– Tell us from the very beginning how you met.

– It all started with the fact that my father and I lived very poorly. My father was widowed early, and at that time, he was out of work. And one day I went dancing to improve my financial situation with my father. Exactly a year later, I became the best dancer in our city. My father and I were well known and respected in the city. I had nothing to be afraid of. Every evening I returned home to my father, and we were happy. One day a man came to one of the restaurants where I performed every Thursday, it was Arthur. He started coming every Thursday. I did not pay any attention to him. I thought it was just a tourist from another city. But one fine evening he offered me a job in our capital city of Phnom Penh. Of course, I refused; I did not want to leave my father’s house anywhere. And from that moment on, he literally began to haunt me. It got to the point that this man started telling me that he would kill my father if I did not go with him. I had to agree. I did not tell my father anything. I said it was temporary and I would definitely come back. With these words, Sultana burst into tears. She could not talk anymore.

– You will definitely come back. This bastard will soon be put on the criminal wanted list in many countries.

– He has a private plane; he will fly wherever he wants. Sultana was so hopelessly desperate to catch Arthur, for her he was invulnerable.

– I do not know how to assure you. But if we help each other, then things will go uphill. Amir was so penetrated by Sultana’s grief that he was ready to cry himself. – What happened next?

– Then I performed all over the capital. I was taken to banquets, cafes and restaurants. I became famous. At first, everything was fine. I had a house that Arthur rented for me. This house was guarded; it was safer for me myself. I had money, I sent most of it to my father, and I kept less for myself. Then I began to notice that I had imperceptibly turned into a prisoner. The guards literally chased me, and sometimes I just could not go to the store, they would not let me out. Then I began to receive less money, and eventually the connection with my father stopped. I became a prisoner, and one day I found out that I was flying to Russia. This news sent me into shock. I realized that this is the end. Sultana’s eyes were full of tears, and her voice was hoarse. And I decided to run. During my entire stay in Phnom Penh, I noticed that one of the guards who stand at the entrance to my house likes me. I managed to get him to talk, and he confessed his love to me and offered to run away together. Then he disappeared without a trace. Sultana could not stand it and burst into tears.

– Let’s let her calm down. Maybe that is enough for today. The investigator stood up.

– No, I will continue. A week later, I managed to overhear that this guy was killed because he was able to steal my passport to escape. Also from their conversation, I found out who Arthur is. He is a murderer. And he killed many people. He kills everyone he does not need anymore. Those who have served their service have brought their benefits. From their conversation, I realized that he only needed me to open the restaurant that I opened. Then he will kill me. And I decided to run alone, by myself. I managed to go to the store for shopping. Accordingly, under escort. Two guards accompanied me. They were so afraid of losing me, and they lost me. I ran away. I succeeded. Without a passport, with a small amount of money, I managed to hide with a kind woman, and I told her everything. This woman understood me and helped me. Her relatives took me to my father. And I managed to see him. Sultana fell silent.

– You have achieved a lot. Well done. You are here. And your father is alive, too. Everything will be fine. Sultana looked straight into Amir’s eyes, trying to figure out if he was lying to her.

– We arrived late at night. Father was not expecting us. I could not tell him what position I was in. And Karima did it. She told him everything. I was so ashamed. But my father, he and I are so close. He raised me after my mom left us. In the morning, the guests left us, and we had to go to the police and write a statement, but Arthur’s people broke into the house and started shooting. I thought my father was murdered. I was taken out of the house, and on the same day, they brought me to Moscow. In Moscow, I found out that my father was alive, this news infuriated Arthur, and he decided to get rid of both of us. First from me, then from my father.

– From whom you will learn this news.

– I am eavesdropping. I can eavesdrop.

– You are doing great. Amir translated everything word for word. And Sultana broke into a smile.

– After my performance, I was locked in the basement, where I found out the latest news, and they took me somewhere again. Where I do not know. But the guy who was driving, he knew where and why we were going. And after Arthur said the words in Russian, he looked at me and gave a sign. I realized that this was my chance, and I began to hold on tighter. The driver accelerated the car and put Arthur under attack. Then you know.

– Yes. Then we know. You are doing great. You have told us a lot and helped us a lot. We will see you again. The investigator left the chamber, leaving Sultana and Amir alone.

– I will come to you tomorrow. Rest today, you are tired. Amir went out, leaving Sultana alone. Sultana looked out the window as Amir and the investigator got into the car. Then she went to bed and fell asleep.

– From the general picture, it is clear that this Arthur is looking after poor girls in restaurants that no one will look for much. Then he takes them to another country and when the girl is no longer needed, he gets rid of her. This picture has been painted for a long time, but it is not easy to prove it.

– Yes. This is a complicated case. We need to figure out how to contact her father. He needs to be informed that she is all right.

– It is better not to do that.

– I know. But she’s so worried about her father. Maybe something really will happen to him.

– «Something will happen to him if he finds out she’s alive. He will go to the police and tell them everything.

– «Oh, so he doesn’t know she’s dead yet. So leave it as it is. In a month, everything will fall into place by itself.

– Do you think in a month?

– I think yes, and be sure to examine her legs. This is very necessary for the case.

– I wanted to see them myself; it just has not worked out yet.

– I hope you will do it tomorrow, we just have to wait for this Arthur to come out of his coma, and he will. People like him are tough nuts.

All this time, Ahmed continued to be depressed, and almost did not leave the house. His neighbors noticed this, and began to come to his house. After finding out the reason for his condition, they decided to look after him until his daughter was found. Sometimes Karima called him and asked about his condition. He replied that everything was fine, and did not want to burden anyone with worries.

On the day when Ahmed’s house was attacked, the neighbors heard gunshots – we thought it was some kind of robbers. Although what to steal from us, we are already poor. We wanted to call the police, but the police themselves arrived so quickly. How is it so to steal people in broad daylight? It remains to trust in God. Your daughter will be found. If she came back the first time, she will come back the second time. You will see.

– I do not know why, but I feel trouble.

– It is a parental instinct. You just think about it a lot. Let us go to the mosque with you and pray. I have not been there myself for a long time.

– That is a good idea.

– I will pick you up today. And we’ll go. The neighbor left. Ahmed revived thanks to the arrival of a neighbor. Communication and support of a friend that is what he lacked. It was so hard for him alone. His neighbor was about the same age as him. True, he lived with his wife. They rarely talked. But in a difficult moment, he came to support a neighbor, and Ahmed was glad to communicate.

Exactly a week has passed since the accident. Sultana was fine. Arthur’s condition stabilized, and as the investigator said, he was a tough nut to crack and opened his eyes. His eyes darted nervously from side to side; the nurse on duty quickly ran up to him and called the doctor. Arthur came to his senses, but he did not remember everything. From a strong blow to the head, there were blackouts in memory. He immediately remembered a lot, but not everything, and did not want to show it.

– You should not strain yourself so sharply. Arthur glared at the doctor. The doctor was afraid of this look and left the intensive care unit. Arthur was transferred to the ward and a new doctor took care of his health.

– «I need to recover as soon as possible.

– I understand you; it all depends on your body. If you were able to get out of the coma, then you will quickly get better. Arthur felt for a moment that he was full of strength, and was ready to return to his old life. But his strength quickly left him, and the headache made itself felt, and he went to bed.

His people were notified of his recovery, his loyal dogs rejoiced. Women murmured at the sky and poured curses on his head. Only Vina thanked God and prayed for his health.

Left alone in the ward, Arthur tried to remember the latest events. A car ride popped up in his memory, but he could not remember why and where he was being taken. Arthur went into his phone book and began to look at the latest calls, but did not dare to call. He wanted to remember everything by himself in the smallest details. His premonition told him that his affairs were bad, and it was so. His affairs were very bad. He called one of his loyal people. And his faithful dog Jamal came running to his call— – Tell me how I got here.

– It is all because of this girl. It was her you were taking to sell for one night. And this driver of yours seems to have betrayed you. He escaped. We cannot find him anywhere.

«I knew it. From overexertion, a vein swelled on his face, and he felt worse. He lay down. His health condition was actually severe. Arthur was sick and weak. There was a stubble on his face; Arthur had not shaved all these days. And the imprint of the disease added wrinkles. His appearance was not very good. His habit of combing his hair back with his left hand has remained unchanged, for all these days his hair has taken a funny shape and Arthur looked like a lion after a fight. – This girl is stealing my best people. My driver was one of the best, I trusted him, he went through so much with me, and was able to fall under her spell. When I get out of here, I will personally finish her off.

– «She’s dead. She died in an accident.

– How? Have you personally seen her corpse?

But I know for sure that her body was taken to the morgue.

– «That doesn’t mean she’s dead. I will not believe it until I see the death certificate and her grave.

– This is also impossible. She was undocumented. So she was buried as a rootless one. Especially in the form in which she was taken away. No one thought of her, so she was just buried.

– Well, if so. But it seems to me that this girl was able to escape from the morgue. I can feel it. What about my fugitive?

– We are looking for him, but he disappeared without a trace. Thanks to the faithful servant, Arthur remembered a lot, but he completely forgot about the Wine, and where he brought it.

Vina was an Indonesian citizen. Where Arthur’s business flourished quite well. It was in this country that Arthur was the king of the criminal world, and no one cared about that. He was doing so well there. In addition to all this, he appeared there so rarely that no one knew him by sight. His well-tested people were behind all his affairs. The main direction of his business was the sale of girls, mainly dancers who were ordered from him, also for personal pleasures. He simply sold them to brothels, but he himself did not like to engage in brothels. He also engaged in the purchase and sale of cars, including stolen ones, and weapons. Despite all his dirty activities, Arthur has never been involved with drugs. Once he promised himself that he would never get involved with drugs, all this because he was afraid of them himself. He was afraid to get hooked on them, and thereby ruin his life, as well as his business ahead of time. It was enough for him that he was already making good money.

The next day, Amir came to Sultana in the hope that she would allow him to show his feet. And ask a few more questions. – Hello Sultan. Sultana looked at him affably. She liked him, but she was afraid to admit it to herself, she was also afraid to bring a person closer to her for fear of causing him trouble. The story with the guy who wanted to steal her passport ended badly. The fate of the driver who saved her was unknown to anyone. The guy who couldn’t kill her father died himself, and Sultana was just afraid to let anyone help her.

– What happened to you? You are sad.

– Nothing. I am just scared.

– Why? Sultana told Amir everything she knew about the people who tried to help her.

– «I’m afraid of causing you trouble.

– Don’t be afraid. Nothing will happen to me. Anyway, we have already met, and I have already helped you. So nothing can be fixed anymore. I have something very important to tell you.

– What? Amir told the Sultan about his origin and about the gift of palmistry that he inherited from his father.

– On the opening night of the restaurant, when I first saw you, I immediately realized that you were in danger. So I ordered a table for the next evening. But when my friend and I came, you were no longer there, there was another dancer.

– «Another dancer?» Sultana uttered these words with such indignation.

– Exactly. Another. So when I first saw you, I smelled death. And I was afraid for your life. I tried to find a connection with you from the restaurant staff, but I was refused. And no one could contact you. I realized that I had lost you. And that same night I saw you in the morgue. You see, death has bypassed you. You managed to escape.

– Yes, I succeeded. But for how long? Now a new victim has been brought in my place. And when she gets tired of her, they will get rid of her as well as of me.

– «Let me examine your legs.» I can see the future and we can change it. This will help us find answers to many problems. Sultana did not decisively take off her slippers and showed her feet to Amir.

– Amir touched her feet and flew far into the future, but he could not understand anything. Some episodes that had nothing to do with what was happening surfaced before his eyes. There were strange visions. His institute. His family. But nothing related to Arthur.

– That is weird.

– What happened? Sultana looked at Amir with such naive eyes. He could not say anything back to her.

– Nothing. We need to look again. If you don’t mind? Sultana did not decisively take off her slippers again. For the first time in all this time, Amiru faced such a difficulty as this. He could not reliably read the future, fragments and episodes surfaced before him. Reading Igor’s fate, Amir was able to see everything in detail. Up to the conclusion of the contract. But reading the fate of this girl, he saw himself, his institute, his family. – That is weird. What could it mean? Amir could not understand anything.

– «So what happened anyway?» Am I going to die?

– No.

– And what?

– I do not know myself. I guess I just lost my gift. With these words, Amir went outside. After standing on the threshold for a while, he returned to the ward. We will return to this issue later.

– OK. I have one more question.

– Which one?

– I would like to go outside at least sometimes, to be on the hospital grounds for at least twenty minutes.

– «Do you even know what you’re saying?» You are practically dead. If they see you, then everyone will end, including this clinic that sheltered you. Amir did not notice how he raised his voice to Sultana and Sultana looked at him sadly. – I am sorry. He said softening up.

– Yes. You are right. I was just daydreaming.

– OK. Go for a walk. Let everyone see you.

– No one will see me. I will go out the back door; I will be wearing a medical mask and a hood. I will be like a medical worker.

– «You’ve already thought of everything. Well done. Who is helping you, your nurse, with whom you are friends? Do not forget that she can be dangerous, too. You had better trust me more than her. With these words, Amir, offended, silently left the ward. Sultana sat down on the edge of the bed in thought.

Amir walked in thought over the lines of Sultana’s fate that he had seen. «Whatever that means.» Either I have lost the gift, or her fate is closely intertwined with mine. But how? What if I tell my father about it? I will test my gift first. When he got home, he examined Lyosha’s legs. – Well, that is quite another thing.

– And what actually happened?

– Nothing. I just cannot see the fate of this girl.

– How’s that?

– I see our honey, my house, and some other pictures. And nothing related to Arthur. Strange. Lyosha laughed and patted Amir on the shoulder. – What does that mean?

– Nothing. You will find out soon enough. Amir thought about it, and when he came to himself, he said that Lyosha would have a second half this year. – You too.

– I have already appeared, do not forget that I am engaged and I have a wedding date. Lyosha was laughing convulsively. Amir believed that it was from overwork in the classroom.

The next day, Amir met with the investigator and told him everything that he could not see the fate of the girl, and considered it right to seek advice from his father. – I will send him a photo or video of her legs, and he will help us.

– If you think so, then apply. I am interested in the driver who drove them. He is gone. If we could find him, this person would help us a lot. Perhaps he knows where and why they were going. In addition, everything points to the fact that it was he who changed the bodies, and he disappeared without a trace. Maybe this guy is just hiding from Arthur.

– Yes, it is possible.

– And the most important news is that Arthur has come to his senses. From now on, we will be watching him tirelessly. Behind his every move. To speed up his capture, we just need our own person, and it would be best if it were a woman. We need a decoy duck, and this duck needs to be found in the shortest possible time.

– «You’re right. That would solve all the problems. Can I use a ready-made duck?

– Who is she?

– This is the dancer who came to Sultana’s place. If she is initiated into the case and provides substantial evidence, then she will be on our side and will help us with the investigation.

– «You’re right. I will take care of it. The investigator left, Amir remained in his thoughts, he mentally built up his conversation with his father, asking him for help and explaining the reason. If his relationship with his father would be the same as Sultana’s. It would have been much easier for him. But everything turned out the way it is, and he decided to call.

Amir’s father was waiting for this call. He foresaw this storm, and it came. – Father, how can it be that I cannot read fate, but only see its episodes?

– And this episode is you? After a long pause, Amir squeezed out,

– There are in some places.

– I understand what you want to tell me. Send me a photo of this girl’s legs as soon as possible. Amir was surprised by such a peaceful conversation with his father, and quickly left for the clinic. Because of these events, Amir missed classes too often, which began to negatively affect his studies. Sultana and the investigator occupied all his free and not free time. Amir just became obsessed, and it seemed that he was personally involved in this case. Amir managed to take a picture of the girl’s legs, despite long persuasions, and he sent the photo to his father.

Rashid was waiting for this photo. After Amir’s departure, he was not at ease. It was as if he had been waiting for this conversation. Rashid himself could not understand how two completely different girls could occupy such a significant place in his son’s life. Looking at Sultana’s legs, he lost his peace finally. Not seeing his son’s legs, he saw that his life was in great danger. And not even just in danger, but could lose it at any moment. Rashid locked himself in his office and did not come out for dinner. His wife knocked on the door.

– What happened to you?

– What makes you think that something happened to me? In his entire life, Rashid has never closed himself in his office, and even more so for a long time.

Nina talked to him through the door and did not try to get inside. She hoped that her husband would come out to talk and want to see her. But he didn’t let her in and didn’t come out for dinner. She understood that something was wrong, and it had to do with their son. What Rashid saw simply horrified him, and only when he lay down to sleep he uttered the words, «oh, if I could only see his legs, everything could be changed. At these words, Nina got out of bed and handed her father a picture of Amir’s legs. – Where did you get this?

– I made it while he was sleeping. It was summer.

– What a good fellow you are. Rashid perked up and went to his office. He sat there all night. There were two photographs in front of him, and he examined them carefully.

Amir was waiting for a call from his father, but nothing had been received for two days. – There is something wrong here. What are the lines of this girl’s fate hiding? Sultana herself considered Amir’s words reasonable, and did not neglect the luck that favored her so much, and decided to refuse the walk offered to her by the nurse. Instead, she decided to just sit in her room on the windowsill. Her room was on the second floor of the building, and she could clearly see the whole street. She liked to sit with her forehead against the window. This mostly happened in the afternoon. When there was nothing to do in the clinic, patients could walk on the territory, or just sit on a bench, Sultana just watched their walk from the window. These cute and harmless windowsill seats did not go unnoticed. One day a car drove up to the clinic and opening the window, one person just took a picture and drove on.

While all these events were developing, the investigator was trying to convey to the ears of the Guilt that Arthur is a dangerous criminal. He showed her photos of the murdered girls. He showed her statements about missing girls, and according to the descriptions, these girls worked for him. But Vina didn’t want to believe it. She just could not believe that this was the man she loved so much. This information was a fatal blow for this girl, deciding to make sure of it herself, continuing to be faithful to Arthur, and between those and useful. – You understand that you are one of these girls, and you will suffer the same fate as the others. A beautiful girl performed here before you. And her body is not known to rest where. After these words, the Guilt seemed to recoil. She really could not imagine herself in Sultana’s place. For some reason, Vina considered herself better, and for some reason she thought that, she was closer to Arthur than Sultana herself was. But it turned out that besides her, Arthur had an excess of women that he got rid of. The investigator’s words were to some extent conveyed to her ears and Vina simply did not want to believe in them.

The investigator’s visit was brought to Arthur’s ears. «Damn it, is it really the end for me. These damned girls will ruin me. And it all started with this Sultana. She is the one who messed up my business. Arthur tore and raged. He had almost regained consciousness, although there were not big gaps in memory, and sometimes his head was spinning. But the most important news he received was a photo with Sultana, who was sitting on the windowsill. – That is her. He roared, and slammed his fist into the wall. A nurse came in and made a remark.

– Be quiet. There is already a lot of noise from you. Arthur wanted to make a reservation, but decided not to draw attention to himself and apologized.

«I’ll kill her.» And all those who helped her. You found the runaway.

– No. He covered his tracks.

«So much the better for him. As soon as this fugitive shows up, it will be the last day of his life. Arthur could no longer stay in the hospital and decided to continue treatment on his own. He was discharged from the hospital and completely immersed in his affairs, and he had many things to do. The very first thing he did was to keep an eye on Sultana’s chambers. Every step she took was reported to Arthur, everyone who came and went to her, everyone with whom she had contact, were calculated. – What kind of guy is this who is constantly hanging around her.

– One of them is an investigator, and I don’t know the second one, I know for sure that he is from Laos and studies at med.

– So find out what he has not mediocre attitude to her. End what else he does besides her and his honey.

– It will be done.

Guilt was waiting in the wings, and that hour has come. Arthur came to her. For the first time he looked at the girl not as a commodity, and she seemed beautiful to him. Vina had shoulder-length hair, but that did not interfere with her beauty.

– How are you doing? The wine was delivered to Moscow in a completely different way from Sultana and this served as further developments. Arthur had obligations to her family, and this burdened him and forced him to maintain a relationship with this girl.

– I am fine. I do not need anything. How is your health? Have you been gone that long? At these words, the girl’s eyes filled with sadness, but Arthur pretended not to notice it.

– You might think that they missed me here. These words touched the girl to the quick, but she did not show it. Arthur was always rude, and he never hid it. Vina wanted to say the words, but put them aside for later, and fell silent.

– The police came to you. What did she want? Vina turned cold with fear and was caught off guard. She had no idea that she was being followed.

– Yes. She came. They were wondering if I knew anything about the accident. About those who were sitting in the car.

– You know, you had better tell the truth, because I will find out anyway. Then look, decide for yourself. With these words, Arthur left, and the Guilt remained with the unspoken words. Arthur’s behavior and words made her reconsider all the events that were happening. She was not having as much fun now, either, as in the days when she had just arrived in Moscow.

Arthur, on the contrary, seeing the love in the girl’s eyes, surprisingly softened. After the events that happened to him, he reconsidered his life and realized that no one really needed him. No one loved him, and he had so few loyal people left. He did not know what love was because he had lost his mother once. Now he saw exactly the same light in the eyes of this lovely girl. He was never met like this by any of his captives; he always saw anger, hatred, and rage. Curses were hurled at him. This girl greeted him as a dear guest, and thanked him for the way he treated her. Arthur was pleased with this, and he decided to take a closer look at this girl.

A few days later, Arthur was informed that Amir has the gift of palmistry and is able to predict the future well. They told him everything, how he knows how to set up business, personal life, etc— – This is great news! Arthur thanked his man, and paid him a good amount of money. If this Amir is such a valuable find, then let him serve us as a farewell. I’ll make him work for me. And the connecting link will be Sultana. This news enlivened Arthur so much, he stood and smiled, leaning his hand on the table, his eyes shone with joy, and with his left hand, he combed his hair back and stroked them. His devoted dog was no less joyful, Jamal was glad that he could please his master and bring him so much joy. —This palmist needs to be caught immediately and brought to me. His faithful dog ran off to run an errand, and Arthur continued to stroke his hair and smile happily.

CHAPTER 7

As mentioned earlier, Arthur was being watched relentlessly. But he didn’t move much. He spent most of his time in the restaurant, and sometimes spent the night in his office. All events that happened shocked him, and this villain decided to be extremely careful and talked to few people.

Jamal ran away in search of Amir, at the same time Rashid flew out of Pakse to save his son. He was in a hurry to prevent what was brewing, and was afraid not to have time. Amir was in class, and did not suspect the danger that awaits him. Classes ended late in the evening, and he and his friend left the institute. They went to the metro station and entered the passage. The man sitting in the car watched the friends leave, and the car drove away. The car was driving fast to his house, at the same time Rashid was driving a taxi to his son’s house. Amir, unaware of anything, drove three metro stops and was in no hurry to return home. They went to the store with Lyosha, and after buying food, they slowly and cheerfully walked home. Friends were laughing all the way, and did not notice how a black tinted foreign car was chasing them. Turning the corner of the house, they went on, the car stopped. Two people grabbed Amir, gagged him, and quickly loaded him into the car. All this took about twenty seconds. Lyosha did not have time to do anything, the car quickly left. Lyosha immediately understood what was going on, but was in no hurry to call the police. He was standing with bags of groceries and thinking whom to call, Igor or the investigator. At that time, a taxi pulled up to the house and Rashid got out of the car. Lyosha was so surprised.

– You are late. He was kidnapped. Rashid calmly closed the taxi door, and calmly approached Lyosha.

– It is not for long. He will have to let him go. Lyosha looked at this man in amazement. He was amazed not by what he heard, but by what he saw. In front of him was a copy of Amir, only twenty years older. It was such a similarity in everything, appearance, manners, gestures, grandeur, and calmness. He was amazed and followed Amir’s father as a faithful servant. Although Lesha had the keys to the apartment, Rashid led him. – How are you doing here?

– Pretty good. I like Moscow. I have not even been home much in the summer. I wanted to come here as soon as possible. Rashid smiled. Lyosha was a simple guy, and Rashid understood it right away. – What a pity that you did not have time. It happened in a matter of seconds. Honestly, I did not even understand how it happened. Lyosha justified himself to Amir’s father like a little boy. He loved his friend.

– It had to happen. Even if I had time. They will not kill him today. But I need to stop it. He should be killed much later. And if this evil is not stopped, it will grow, and many innocent people will suffer. Lyosha listened to Rashid in amazement.

– So should we wait for him, or should we call the police?

– «He’s coming tomorrow morning. Lyosha breathed a sigh of relief, but what he heard inspired fear in him.

– He said that he was afraid of his gift because he felt fear. Rashid listened to these words with sadness.

– If I had looked at his lines earlier. I would simply not let him study in Moscow. But he didn’t want to be a dentist like me, he chose this department of surgery, and I didn’t contradict him. If I had my way. But I didn’t want to be an enemy in the eyes of my son, and that’s what came of it. Also this girl, she shouldn’t have been in his destiny, but she appeared. Now, this story needs to be settled. A neighbor watched the whole picture from above. – Well, there! One was stolen, the other arrived. How so.

Amir was brought to the restaurant. He was led through the back entrance and pushed into Arthur’s office. Amir came face to face with this man, and he sensed the unpleasant energy that this type was endowed with from birth. Amir immediately saw the lines of his life; they were black as black threads. They were like a web of black yarn, and in the end, he saw the outcome of this man. And he even feels sorry for him. He kept his outward calm, and what he saw remained a secret. His vision disappeared, and Amir quickly regained consciousness and looked into the eyes of this man. Arthur was not afraid of anything, he considered himself fearless, immortal and thought that the whole world belonged to him— – Do you know why they brought you here? Arthur behaved unceremoniously. He was never polite, and if he thought he was talking to a servant, he could start a conversation without greeting.

– No.

– «You’re going to work for me now.

– And, so that you do not doubt, I will assure you. Your friend Sultana is currently in a private clinic. So, if you don’t want her to continue her journey to where she was brought from, then you will do everything as it should. Very soon, she will be discharged from there. Do not doubt it. Everything will be according to the law. Now you are going to tell me about what this girl’s father managed to do. If you work for me, you will get good money, and I will not touch you. If you lie, you’ll go to hell with her.

– You think I need money. That no one has ever offered me a job. Arthur’s eyes flashed angrily. – Yes, you cannot take him with money, he thought. It will have to be blackmail.

– «If you don’t need the money, then it’s just easier for me to kill you both.» You have until morning. If you do not agree in the morning, then I will take my measures. And you know that I won’t get anything for it. With these words, Arthur personally opened the door, and Amir left the office.

Amir walked to the metro station, but the subway was no longer running. He decided to take a walk, and walked along the autumn alley, and kicking the autumn leaves. Climate change has not affected Amir’s condition. And the autumn temperature drop, on the contrary, had a positive effect. Amir liked autumn in Moscow, and sometimes he even collected bouquets of leaves, or just admired the fall of leaves. This unexpected event made him sad. He did not know what to do. Whom to call. Igor or the investigator. To hide the Sultan needs Igor. To help the case investigator. He dialed both. Igor took Amir, and they went to his house. The time was about two o’clock in the morning. My father opened the door. Amir was just as surprised as Lyosha, only not by his father’s appearance, but by his unexpected arrival.

– Dad, what is wrong?

– What is the matter with you?

– Dad, this is Igor, my friend. He is helping me.

– Does it help to hide a girl?

– Dad, let us kill her. Alternatively, fine, let Arthur kill her. My father sighed heavily.

– OK. Let us save her. Amir was glad to hear such words from his father, as he expected something completely different. Rashid did not tell Amir that their destinies with the Sultan are closely connected. He did not want to let that happen. He liked the girl with whom his son had a wedding scheduled more. He saw Amir’s future and wanted to change it. But seeing how Amir rushes to save this girl, Rashid realized that if he did not help, Amir would do it alone. And may die. The doorbell rang and the investigator entered.

– Hello. What are seven forks in one cutlet? Are we going to save the Sultan?

– Yes. It needs to be well hidden.

– Tell me what happened. Amir told everything that happened between him and Arthur.

– Yes, his people work well. Better than ours. Our surveillance of him did not help us.

– That is for sure.

– Where to hide this girl?

– I do not know. But I have until the morning. In the morning, he will come for an answer and make a decision.

– It needs to be hidden to catch him. He would have to kidnap her.

– He does not do anything himself. He will just shoot her. He does not need it.

– And whom he needs. Amir was silent for a long time. He needs me. To run his business. And I will become that person. Everyone was amazed.

– Wait. Think about it. Do not do that. We will figure out another way to catch him.

– No. Hide the Sultan. And right now. She will be killed in the morning. We will keep in touch with you. Igor and the investigator went out. Amir stayed with Lyosha and his father.

– My predictions are coming true. Your life is in danger.

– Dad, do not worry. I saw a vision yesterday. I saw this man die.

– Yes. But you didn’t see your fate. Amir understood what his father was talking about. He felt this danger himself. This is the feeling that came to him along with his gift. This time has come, and the predictions have come true.

Igor, who was in a hurry to pick up the Sultan, finds out that she was taken away. Sultana was not there, despite such an early hour. And his people are actually doing a good job. Amir received news that Sultana had already been taken away.

– Dad, he has it.

– I know. Rashid replied dryly.

– Will she be killed?

– Not now. Rashid also replied dryly.

– Dad, what should I do?

– You decided to save this girl. Save me.

A black foreign car drove up to Amir’s house and waited for him to come out. Amir was not going to come out. He was sitting on the sofa and resting his head on his hands, lost in thought.

– It is time for your lectures.

– I cannot study right now.

– You also cannot skip a year of study. Why did you come here? After the words were spoken, Amir got up from the sofa, put on his jacket and left. Lyosha left an hour earlier, he always tried to come on time, and despite his wild lifestyle, he was a diligent student. Amir came out of the entrance and saw a car waiting for him, the door slammed, and the car quickly drove away.

– You made the right decision. Now you work for me. With these words, Arthur took out his phone and showed a photo of Sultana, where she was again in captivity. – You see, my people are everywhere, my power is unlimited. If you do your job well, then I will save not only you, but also your friend’s life.

– And what makes you think that this girl’s life is dear to me? I am helping a friend investigate a case. And her life is not so dear to me. Arthur laughed out loud.

– «My boy. Whom do you want to fool? Not even to deceive, but to make you laugh. You are head over heels in love with this girl. I am older than you, and I’m not blind. Amir has not really realized yet that he is in love. He was too busy with his chores and studies and just did not notice that he was head over heels in love. This was actually the case. Even after hearing the words, Amir denied everything, believing that with the help of his feelings, Arthur would control him. Still not realizing his feelings, he tried to resist the words he heard. – All you have to do is fix my business, which was shaken by this girl. Fix all the problems. To ensure my complete safety. And when you do all this, then I’ll let you go and your friend too. You will not see her yet. Anyway, Amir decided for himself last night that he was not working for him, but for himself, and examined Arthur’s legs.

Meanwhile, Sultana was in some abandoned apartment. With old furniture and no wallpaper on the walls. And if there was wallpaper somewhere, then they were places. This apartment has not been renovated since the construction of this house; the furniture was the same age. She realized that an elderly lonely grandfather lived in this apartment. His things and carelessness spoke about it, which was present everywhere. In addition to none this terrible furniture, his smell was everywhere and it was pleasant for her to sit on this furniture. Sultana walked around the apartment wrapped in a blanket. The heating season had not started yet and it was cold in the apartment. She had no connection with anyone. She could not jump from the balcony either, she just had to scream and call for help. But her mind told her that it was better not to do this. The girl was waiting for her salvation, and was sure that it would come.

Amir returned home. – That classes have already been held.

– «I saw his legs.

– Dad, his lines are terrible. He is a terrible man. He is just a walking killer. And he asks me to help him. This dark creature wants me to develop his business. Saved him from prison. Otherwise, he will kill us both.

– That is what I assumed. Nothing. Keep up the good work.

– I am amazed at your calmness.

– You have everything ahead of you.

– What are you talking about?

– You will find out. So you are missing many classes because of this friend.

– What makes you think that?

– I asked about your attendance.

– Dad, I am studying well.

– «You have too many problems because of this girl. And not just you. Leave her to the police and study.

– Dad. I have already made a commitment that I will help her and I will help her. Rashid was convinced that his son was head over heels in love. Everyone was convinced of this except Amir himself.

– She has parents, and they need to be informed about the location of their daughter. They are probably looking for her.

– «Not them, but him. She asked me to help her contact her father, but I refused her.

– It was wrong. It was necessary to inform. Now I will go to this clinic and try to find out her data. She was talking to a friend there.

A friend should know a lot about her, and let us try to get to her father. Write me the address of the clinic. Amir quickly wrote down the address and gave the paper to his father. Remember, your route is the institute and Arthur. No one knows about me, and they should not know. With these words, Rashid left the apartment.

Knowing that he was being followed, Amir continued to see the investigator. He met with him secretly. He came to the institute, and they saw each other at recess. – He demands from me that I save him from the police and help settle things.

– «And what did you say?»

– Nothing so far. Arthur’s next move was to kill Sultana’s father. He wants to send a man to kill him. Then the police will drop the case of her disappearance, and no one will remember about her. She has not listed anywhere here; she is nowhere to be found. The investigator saw, too, like everyone else, Amir, head over heels in love. He stood with his elbow on the railing and looked at Amir as he told him about the Sultan.

– I understand you. Our next step will be this. Our man will fly after Arthur’s man and grab him in an assassination attempt. He will also lead us to Arthur.

– It is a good idea. But we need to think about everything. A person may not pass it. His people are loyal to him. And Sultana may suffer.

– «I hadn’t thought of that. Good. We will call you.

In the evening, Amir told his father about Arthur’s plans. – Maybe this is the right decision. The nurse does not have her father’s phone number. She asked to call, but she did not give it to her, she was forbidden to do it. I just know his name. His name is Ahmed. Let the person fly to Poipet and save her father. Ahmed will go to the police and tell them everything. The police will continue to search, and she will be officially wanted here. This will be necessary in order to make her documents later. Understood? My boy. And Rashid smiled sweetly. Amir sat down and breathed a sigh of relief. Amir could not believe that his father was helping him. He did not expect such a gift of fate.

Amir’s next step was to open other Arthur’s restaurants. He advised him to start opening restaurants, which he postponed for a while, and they remained not open.

– It will strengthen your position in society, and improve your business. Arthur agreed with pleasure.

– I really gave it all up. I really need to do this. He was stroking his hair and lost in his thoughts. – I need Wine.

– Who is this?

– This is my best dancer. I cannot do without her. With these words, he left, and did not return. Amir also left the restaurant. He moved freely, but he did not forget that his every step was being watched. This step was taken in order to reach out to his new people, and to track all his calls, actions, and of course, to reach out to the new girls he will have to bring for these restaurants. Amir was extremely careful, and did not communicate with anyone except Lyosha. Lyosha understood the complexity of the situation in which Amir was and did not know how to help him.

– «Is there no way to arrest him?»

– This requires substantial evidence. He is clean. Understand. Clean. We need to catch him red-handed. How he does it all, even I cannot understand. To do this, you need to be a genius like him.

Arthur came to Vina without warning. The girl did not expect this visit, and was not put in order. The casual look suited her, and for the first time Arthur noticed a woman. Vina was not afraid of him. The news that reached her ears could not extinguish her love for him. And her feelings were strong enough. She hid her love as best she could, afraid to seem intrusive or accessible. It was enough for her that he was there, and he needed her, even as an employee. For her, loyalty was above all else, and she was loyal. The devotion of this woman warmed his heart. He was afraid to scare her away, and tried to be as polite to her as possible.

– Wine. How are you doing? I came without warning. Maybe you were busy.

– No. What are you? I am always glad to see you. These words stunned Arthur, and he went limp.

– I need you. You are one of my loyal people, and I cannot cope without you. I am opening restaurants, and I need help.

– I am always at your service. After talking with Vina, Arthur came out of the entrance, and he felt uncomfortable. He did not want to see this girl as a dancer anymore. A man’s jealousy awoke in him, and he did not yet know what the feeling of love was. Arthur was sitting in his car and literally scratching his head. His faithful dog was waiting for instructions.

– You will fly to Poipet and shoot Sultana’s father. And I will fly to Indonesia and bring new dancers. We have a stagnation in business. It is time to move on.

– Wouldn’t it be easier to kill this girl?

– No. The police know she is alive. She is holding me. We need to remove the father before it is too late. Then her and her palmist. Unless, of course, this palmist does not want to live. If he wants to, then let him stay. However, not for long, and he laughed.

– As you say. But maybe we’ll fly to Indonesia together? I am afraid to let you go alone. Arthur smiled sweetly.

– How few of you are left. My loyal people. If I get out of this situation, I will thank you generously. And if not, then I do not know how you will be saved without me. Arthur literally had a premonition of his collapse.

– So we are not complaining about anything anyway. We have more than enough of what we get. Arthur smiled sweetly once more. That sweet smile was such a rare attribute of his. To do this, something very important and good had to happen that related specifically to him. His faithful servant was so glad to see this smile, and he smiled.

The next day, the Moscow airport left the plane in which the future killer of Ahmed was sitting. Two chairs away from him sat a man who flew to save Ahmed and tell him that his daughter was alive. Arthur himself flew on a private plane. He planned to do everything quickly and return with a live product.

Everything went exactly as everyone intended. Arthur carried out his plan. The police watched as he carried out his plans. The plane in which Jamal was sitting arrived at its destination, and a car was already waiting for the passenger at the airport. The man who was watching quickly took a taxi and followed the car that drove away.

Arthur’s business was progressing much more beautifully. He was sitting in a restaurant and, as always, admired the beauty of dancing girls. The girls were literally circling around him. It was only to Arthur’s advantage, and he looked after the best. Arthur visited several restaurants in two days, and planned to stay here no more than a week. He spent the morning on the beach, slept in the afternoon, and carefully chose the girls in the evening, regardless of whether they agreed or not. The police knew his whereabouts, and they were already waiting for him with live goods. Arthur himself was as cunning as Amir was, and played a double game. This time he decided to make everything official and rented four dancers instead of two. Two twins were to replace the Wine; the next two were to perform in two restaurants that had not yet opened.

Vina had no idea that such happiness was waiting for her. She was supposed to be the receptionist at this restaurant. Arthur wanted to personally present her with such a gift and was looking forward to this moment.

The car, the purpose of which was Ahmed’s house, drove with lightning speed. The taxi could barely keep up with her. And the taxi driver wanted to refuse the order, referring to the wear and tear of the car. The man who went to rescue Ahmed knew the language and was a trained specialist. He told the purpose of his arrival, and to his surprise, the taxi driver decided to help him. – I know whom you are talking about. You have brought good news. I will help you. And the car went as fast as the one in front of it. The taxi driver was a good driver, and he could hide when he needed to. The dark car did not notice the pursuit and drove up to Ahmed’s house. – Call the police.

– I am the police myself. If I call the police, I will scare them off.

– If you do not call the police, they will kill him. There are two of them. I know the history of this family. He has already been attacked. And the fact that his daughter is alive is wonderful news.

– «You’re right. Then call the police yourself. And the taxi driver called the police.

The police arrived with lightning speed, sometimes the police came to believe Ahmed’s safety and inquire about his affairs. The police broke into the house together with the attackers. Fortunately, the killer managed to escape, and the driver was detained. Ahmed sat drooping, and no longer thanked heaven for being alive— – When will all this end. When the day comes and my torment ends.

– Soon. With these words, the man who entered his house presented his documents.

– Your daughter is alive.

– «Alive?»

– Yes. And you’ll see each other soon.

– Who are you?

– Your daughter is in Russia now. Very soon, she will be free, and you will need to help her get back. Since she does not have a passport. I cannot tell you everything now, I have fulfilled my mission, and it is time for me to return to my homeland.

The arrested driver was taken to the police station and was awaiting interrogation. Meanwhile, Jamal called Arthur and told him everything. He was instructed to kill the driver by any means so that he would not have time to tell anything. Jamal started to execute immediately. The police were sure that the man taken was their trump card, and they would be able to use him to take Arthur. The door of the prison cell opened with a creek, and another detainee was pushed into it. – Now you are not alone. Stay quiet. The door slammed shut and footsteps could be heard retreating. Jamal did a great job. When the time came for the interrogation, the driver turned out to be dead. His neighbor justified himself by saying that it was an accident during a fight.

CHAPTER 8

Arthur’s business was going well. The girls were delivered. Restaurants were preparing to open. Arthur himself showed no interest in them. His main restaurant was the Oriental Fairy Tale. This was his abode, where the villain spent his days and nights. All events that happened to him knocked him out of his rut, and he did not want to spend the night alone in his apartment. Moreover, he has awakened an interest in Wine. Perhaps it was just an interest, since he did not know what love was. Rather, it was an animal instinct, as Arthur was experiencing a frenzied attraction. Somehow, the guilt was stuck in his head, and he did not want to drive away this feeling. His health was completely in order, and Arthur was full of energy.

Vina was a gentle and romantic girl. She was sincere in her feelings, and felt remorse for not telling the truth about that incident with the police. She was so scared at that moment that she did not know what to say and therefore lied. She wanted to admit it so much, and Vina was waiting for the right opportunity.

Meanwhile, Arthur was not happy that Sultana’s father was still alive. They are just damn lucky. Her father literally manages to get away from bullets, and his daughter even manages to escape from the morgue. It is like a paradox. Well, how is it? Arthur was pacing around the office and smoking a pipe. «Bring me some coffee.» He bellowed through the door. —I’ll kill him myself.» I will settle things here and kill this father, this girl. I know whose handiwork it is. I will kill all three of them. No them, no problem. First her father, then him, and then her, when there will be no one to intercede for her. Coffee was brought to him, and he sat down in an armchair. I know how to pin this palmist to the wall. This predictor will get his.

Amir came as soon as he was invited. Arthur greeted him with a satisfied smile. And he behaved extremely politely. – How are you doing? Amir shrugged his shoulders in bewilderment, sensing something not good. He knew the man’s future steps, and so far, everything was going well, Amir was calm. The only thing he wanted to know was the location of Sultana. – How was your studies?

– Thank you, good. I like to study. Especially when the profession is a pleasure.

– You come from Laos, Pakse city. So? Amir silently agreed. And your father is here with you now. In Moscow. Amir went cold. – Sultana’s father is also still alive. You can go now. That is all I wanted to say. After hearing the words, Amir himself wanted to kill this man. But reason brought him to his senses, and he calmly left the office. Amir walked a long distance and took the subway in oblivion drove his stop. He came home late at night, and after looking at his father, he silently went to bed. His father was full of strength and patience, Rashid patiently waited for the next events.

– Father. You should not stay in Moscow anymore. You could get killed. Go home.

– You too. Do not forget that. That is why I’m here. Better, tell me his next steps.

– He is having a lull. The villain is preparing for the opening. He killed his man in Poipet. This is a minimal loss.

– Yes. This is a minimal loss. Then what?

– Then we will have to save Sultana’s father again.

– Why we have to save Sultana’s father. Let the police handle it. After all, this person knows that he is in danger. Let him save himself.

– Yes. But I know the exact date of the assassination attempt on him. And if I know, then I have to save. Her father is very important to her. Sultana has no mother; she is very attached to her father.

– OK. Let it be so. Did you come here to study or to save some father?

– Father. I inherited this gift from you. And I use it for its intended purpose. With these words, Amir left for the institute.

It was Friday night, Vina was preparing for a performance. The doorbell rang, and when she opened it, she saw Arthur, who, as always, unexpectedly came. – Wine, Vinochka. Are you going to dance? Vina looked at him in bewilderment.

– Yes. What happened?

– «You don’t have to dance anymore.

– Why? Am I a bad dancer?

– No. You are the best. And that’s the whole problem. Arthur was standing near the front door, not daring to go through. He was afraid not to keep control over himself. Vina looked up at him questioningly once more. – I do not want you to dance anymore. Guilt’s eyes filled with tears. She decided that this was the end.

– How do you mean? Arthur did not dare to utter these words, and hesitated.

– «Now you’re going to dance for me.» Vina could not believe what she had heard. She went crazy and approached him in a tight.

– How do you mean? Arthur could not help but kiss her. Guilt reciprocated his feelings.

Two twin sisters performed at the restaurant that evening. They just excited the whole hall, and the audience called them for an encore. From that evening, Vina stopped her performances; she tried on other outfits and was going to dinner with Arthur. Arthur waited patiently, and did not think about the time. He was just happy and did not think about anything else. Vina did not have a dress that could be suitable for dinner in a restaurant. Therefore, quickly sorting through the wardrobe, she picked up her best outfits and quickly dressed up and approached Arthur. Arthur was intoxicated by her beauty and did not pay attention to her clothes. – Let’s go. I am hungry. They left the entrance and got into the car.

Arthur and Vina were sitting at the table like a married couple. It was a surprise to everyone. They were served dinner, and they behaved as if they had known each other all their lives. In fact, Vina felt very constrained, and tried to hold on with all her might. The girl was certainly happy, and it was written on her face. This is what she dreamed of; this is what she has been striving for all this time. Arthur, on the contrary, he was uninhibited, and felt like a lion. He looked like a lion. Proud, self-confident, lazy and angry predator. And his lion’s mane, not well-groomed, complemented all these qualities.

This evening was eventful. Since the program was changed in the restaurant, and the guests were not happy with the change of the dancer, but it all calmed down and, like the first time, when the Wine changed the Sultan. Dissatisfied murmurs were replaced by ovations. This evening there were big changes not only on the restaurant stage. While Arthur and Vina were having a nice dinner, Arthur was watching the dancers work, Vina was watching Arthur, Sultana was escaping at that time. She started it a long time ago, and was considering a plan of action. As previously described, this girl had the dexterity of mind, and carefully studied all the elements of escape. He brought her groceries once a week; it was done on the same day, at the same time. This person always came into the apartment, put the package on the doorstep and went back without saying a word. She decided to run away, despite the fact that she does not know the language, the city, without money and autumn clothes. Fortunately, Sultana had old dishes in this old apartment and she could cook food. Most likely, Arthur knew about this that is why he delivered groceries once a week, it was convenient, since bringing ready-made food every day could attract attention. Sultana understood that if she was still being kept alive and fed, then she was needed for some reason. But she couldn’t live like this anymore and decided to run away.

The escape was planned, and Sultana was standing with an old cast-iron frying pan in her hands at the front door. She unscrewed the light bulb so that the driver could not turn on the light, and hid in the corner of the corridor by the front door, listening for footsteps. She had already studied these sounds and her heart stood still in anticipation. These few minutes lasted like an eternity and she was shaking from cold and fear. Here they are the long-awaited sounds. The elevator doors opened, footsteps approached, the sound of a key and the door lock opened. The door opened with him, and the foot crossed the threshold. The man came in and out of habit pressed the switch. He always did it for no one knows why. Only then, would I put the bag down and go out the door. The light did not turn on, and he turned his back to her, focusing his attention on the light bulb. Sultana hit him with all her might with a frying pan. The guy swayed from the unexpected blow, and continued to stand on his feet. Then came blow after blow, and Sultana got into the taste when the man had already fallen unconscious Sultana continued to beat him. Only the fear of killing a man stopped her, and she froze. After touching his pulse, the girl calmed down, and exhaling took off his jacket, and with it took his phone and money. Of the shoes, she was wearing were the slippers in which she was in the clinic. Sultana quickly put on her jacket, locked the apartment with a key and called the elevator. Her breathing quickened, the girl was afraid to go outside. Later it was already dark enough, but the most important thing was that it was no longer crowded, and almost no one saw her. Moscow was not a familiar city for Sultana, and she simply did not know where she was and where to run, especially in this form. Sultana ran into the neighboring yards and began to climb into her pockets, finding a small bundle of money and not knowing how much she put it back. Then she turned off the phone so that it would not ring and the battery would not run out and when she came to, she thought where to run next. She just needed a translator, but where to find one. She walked along the road and began to look for a store or a car with her eyes in the hope of meeting what she was looking for.

On the same evening, a plane took off with Amir himself on board. He personally flew after Sultana’s father to save him, and with his help to find the missing Sultana. He was not at ease; he foresaw trouble and tried to prevent it. Amir took the next flight after finding out the address from the investigator. He hoped that with the help of Ahmed’s fate lines he would be able to see Sultana’s location and was looking forward to landing the plane. There was so little time, and he was constantly nervous.

This evening was favorable for everyone. Everyone spent it with benefit for himself or herself. Sultana escaped, Amir flew away, and Arthur found peace for his soul and body. He was trembling with happiness. And this happiness contributed to Sultana’s escape. Arthur was not interested in how the food delivery went. He was sure that everything went fine. Although what could have happened? The time was so late that no one cared who and where he or she were and what he or she were doing. Sultana reached the bus stop and saw two people, they spoke Armenian, and she passed by so as not to attract attention. When she reached the shopping pavilion where pastries were sold, and went into the room, she wanted to buy food, but after saying a few words in her own language, Sultana realized that no one understood her and went back out. She walked on and tears welled up in her eyes. It had been over an hour, the time was late at night. A car stopped near the bus stop, and the passenger who got out was saying something in her native language. She heard the familiar words and started walking at a brisk pace. The passenger said goodbye to the driver, slammed the door, and the car set off. Sultana ran after her and shouted for help. The car drove away for a distance and, to her surprise, braked sharply. A passenger who had left earlier came up to her and, after carefully looking into her face, quietly asked, «What happened?» Sultana could not stand it and burst into tears. The driver got out of the car.

– What happened?

Sultana was so glad to hear her native language that she began to tell everything that happened to her in the choke, asking for help. She told everything so quickly that the listeners did not have time to understand the words that Sultana blurted out. She was ready to call her father and he could prove that her words were true. That he wrote a missing daughter report and the police are looking for her in her home country. – We believe you. Get in the car. Sultana did not resolutely get into the car, although she had nowhere to go. In her position, it was a great chance for salvation.

Early in the morning, a taxi was driving to Ahmed’s house. Amir counted the minutes until his arrival. His premonition of trouble was growing by the minute. This is the same feeling that has been growing in him since childhood. —What’s going to happen?» He thought. What the sky wants to warn me about. The car drove up to Ahmed’s house. Amir paid for the taxi and got out. The door slammed shut. Ahmed, hearing the slamming of the door and the sound of a car leaving, looked out the window. He was already so scared of these arrivals that he was no longer happy with the guests. Amir walked up to the house and knocked on the door. Ahmed looked at him out of the window and wondered if this man had come with good, or wanted to kill him? —He does not look like a murderer. And who knows, maybe this politeness is fake? Ahmed reasoned. And seeing that the man sat on the threshold decided to let him in. – Allah has saved me from death so many times, maybe this man came with good. He opened the door and waved his hand in greeting. Amir entered the house. After greeting him, he carefully examined Sultana’s father, trying to find similar features. Sultana was more like her mother, but she inherited many qualities from her father. Height, character, greatness. From her mother she inherited beauty and dexterity of mind.

Amir told the purpose of his visit. And that he needs to help find the Sultan. He could not do it without her father’s help. Ahmed was glad to hear such words, and agreed without hesitation. Most of all, he was glad to see a guy like Amir next to her. Ahmed thanked heaven that Allah had heard his prayers and sent him such good news. While Ahmed was running around the house and fussing, a phone call rang, this call was from Sultana. – Dad, I ran away. Ahmed couldn’t believe his ears.

– How? Where are you? She ran away! Amir approached him and wanted to talk to her. But Ahmed didn’t give me the phone. – I am flying to Moscow. Amir came for me. I will see you soon.

– Do you have Amir? What is he doing there?

– He came to help you. He wants to bring me to Moscow.

– It will be great. Sultana fell silent. Her silence indicated that she could not speak.

– Daughter. I heard you. Stay in touch. Ahmed ended the conversation.

– How is she? Where is she?

– I do not know. She cannot talk. Her voice is cheerful.

– How did she manage to escape? Your daughter is doing well. Amir said these words with such a kind smile; Ahmed could not help but notice it.

Early in the morning, Arthur was notified that Amir had flown to Poipet. «So that’s how it is. He is not afraid of me. Good. I will act in my own way. Let it fly. That is when it arrives, and then there will be a surprise. With these words, Arthur leaned back on the pillows and hugged Vina. Now his permanent place of residence has become the apartment of Guilt. In the restaurant, this news became the main topic of discussion. No one expected this. This topic did not even relate to Wine, but had a direct relationship to it. No one expected this from him. Everyone is used to seeing him angry and lonely. Arthur was always untidy, angry and constantly swearing. With her appearance, he became extremely polite and did not pay attention to what was happening around, his attention was completely absorbed by this woman. All the employees of the restaurant were happy about this event, as their chef left the restaurant and showed up only occasionally. It was a good morning, and Arthur did not want to overshadow it with anything. He did not know about Sultana’s escape yet, and that his man was lying in an apartment with a punctured head. Exactly a day has passed since these events took place.

The plane that took off from Poipet Airport arrived in Moscow, and Ahmed and Amir were descending the ramp. Meanwhile, the driver came to his senses and lay down on the sofa. His head hurt terribly and he could not remember anything. So he lay for another day. Sultana was waiting for her father and Amir. She considered him her friend and could not even admit the thought that a guy like Amir would pay attention to a girl like her. The people who picked her up at the bus stop sheltered sultan. It turned out that they were from the same city, and they had something to talk about.

– If you managed to escape so many times, then you will be saved now. Especially since your father is coming. It will be much easier for you.

– Yes. God is kind to me. The main thing is that this Arthur does not kill my father.

«Your father is as lucky as you are. Therefore, you will be fine. Wait for your happiness, and it will come soon. Sultana actually felt safe. Her soul was calm, and she was waiting for her father’s arrival.

Meanwhile, Jamal tried to break down the door to the apartment from which Sultana escaped. He could not do it and had to cut out the lock. The workers opened the door, and Zhamal saw a terrible picture. The walls of the corridor were stained with blood, and a man with half-open eyes was lying on the sofa in the room. He died of bleeding, and his dead body lay for a day.

– «I’ll kill her myself. He shouted, the workers came out to the site in horror and waited for instructions. – I will avenge you, and he covered the eyes of the deceased. Jamal dialed Arthur’s number and reported the situation.

Arthur, so carried away by his love, completely forgot about his problems and has not called anyone for exactly a day. The phone call completely turned the whole morning upside down. Arthur was angry. – She managed to escape again. He was clenching his hands into fists and shaking with anger. His face turned red and the veins on his forehead bulged. «Damn the day I didn’t kill her. Vina looked at him with eyes full of fear. She still could not figure out whom it was about. But I understood that about the murder and the woman who was supposed to be killed. – Jamal. You are the only one I can rely on. Find her and kill her. Without any ceremony.

These conversations fully confirmed the words of the person who came to her for a conversation. The guilt could not open up to Arthur, the time was gone, and the words not spoken in time were in the past. Now Vina saw everything with her own eyes. These words turned out to be true, and she made a great effort to keep her outward calm. – Who is he talking about? She thought. And trying not to annoy him even more, the girl sat quietly under the blanket and was afraid to look into her lover’s eyes.

– I would not be surprised if this girl runs away from the other world. She even ran away from the morgue. Vina began to understand that the conversation was about the Sultan, and waited for confirmation of these words. Vina, who had never seen Sultana, initially considered her rival. Now she understood how difficult it was for Sultana, but the feelings she felt for Arthur were stronger than her mind, and they covered all his crimes. She did not care who he was. A murderer or a thief. Alternatively, even the devil himself. The fault was entirely on his side, and whatever happened, she decided to go with him to the end. – I know what to do. Get my plane ready, we are flying to Pax. I will not leave you for long. Arthur turned to Vina with all the tenderness that he practically did not have. Still, he tried his best to be as courteous to her as possible.

Ahmed and Amir came to the apartment that they once rented with Lesha. This apartment has long lost its peace, and it has turned from a quiet bachelor retreat into a guesthouse. Lyosha quietly tolerated these guests and did not show his displeasure. Of course, he did not like it, but he could not do anything and patiently waited for this story with the Sultan to finally end. – It is all because of this girl, he thought to himself. How good it was before she appeared. I am afraid I am going to have to move into a dorm soon.

– Dad, this is Ahmed. Sultana’s father.

– Very nice. Rashid said dryly. And he shook Ahmed’s hand. Rashid was by nature a strict person, even if he was very happy about something.

– Dad, Sultana ran away.

– «That’s what I was afraid of. He also said dryly.

– And what exactly is so terrible. It is good. We will find her ahead of Arthur and that is it.

– Yes. You are right. Rashid did not object to Amir, and took up the arrangement of the guest, who was standing in the doorway and did not dare to pass. Lyosha went to the institute with a dissatisfied look, as always before the usual time. – Come in. Do not be shy. Ahmed hesitantly walked into the apartment and sat on the edge of a chair, feeling embarrassed. Ahmed understood that he was not welcome here, but he was willing to put up with it for the sake of his daughter. He constantly apologized to Rashid, explaining everything by the fact that he had such a situation.

– Well, understand me. I just want to save my daughter.

– No need to apologize. Soon everything will be settled, and you will see her. I am a father myself and I understand you. Ahmed calmed down and drank coffee with pleasure.

– I want to see my daughter as soon as possible.

– We are going to see her today.

– I would like to go to her right now.

– No, you are not going anywhere. It is not safe. It will be quickly calculated because of your visits. At first, it is better to call on the phone.

– We are going right now. Amir said and, despite his father, began to get ready. Meanwhile, the father dialed the investigator’s number and informed him about the arrival of Sultana’s father.

– Rashid is right. If they find her, they will kill her. It is better to wait. And Ahmed sat down on a chair with sadness in his eyes.

Sultana called herself. She was talking from the phone of the woman she lived with. – Dad, take me away from here. I don’t want to stay in this country anymore.

– It is impossible until you have documents. I will go to the police today and make you a temporary ID. You do not have a flight permit, all this needs to be processed. There was silence on the phone, and Ahmed realized what his daughter’s soul was silent about. «Oh, if only I could take you and carry you away like a little girl. But this is impossible, and you and I will have to realize the reality. Sultana silently agreed with her father. The investigator who came interrupted their conversation.

The investigator listened attentively to Ahmed. – Your testimony coincides with the Sultan. As for the documents, I cannot help you, and I need her herself. She had better be safe right now. As soon as something can be done, I will let you know. The investigator went out. Silence reigned in the apartment.

Ahmed, as well as Sultan, did not know Russian. Amir accompanied him wherever his help was needed.

CHAPTER 9

No one liked the support of communication with the Sultan from someone else’s phone, and everyone came to a unanimous decision that it was time for her to have her own phone and it was time to show herself to people. She can be under house arrest all the time.

– I think so too. My daughter and I need to live separately. And if we’re going to die, there’s no getting away from it. I cannot stay with you any longer. It is time for me to find a place to live.

– You think it is that simple. We will certainly help you with the search. Rashid did not mind that. But Amir didn’t like what he heard.

– And thanks for that. I will be glad if you help.

– We can find you something not expensive in the nearest Moscow region.

– «So be it. Ahmed was serious about leaving. Amir was categorically against it. Lyosha breathed a sigh of relief in his soul. Of course, his father would leave, he thought to himself.

– I will ask Igor to help us. He must have something suitable. Maybe you will not have to pay.

– Allah will thank you for your kindness. Ahmed was so glad of Amir’s help that he was ready to kiss him. But Amir took a step back and sat down on the sofa.

– I know for sure that Arthur is not in Moscow now, and I can see the Sultan.

– Why. No need to attract attention. You are being watched. She is being watched.

– I want to buy her a new phone.

– What? Her father will take care of it. And you shouldn’t see her.

– Rashid is right. There is no need to do this. I will call this woman and give her the phone for Sultana.

– This is the right decision. Let Ahmed do it. Amir did not lose hope of seeing the Sultan and came up with a plan of action how best to do it.

– Dad. Ahmed still goes everywhere accompanied by me. I will have to go with him and hand over this phone.

«That’s exactly what I wanted to hear from you. Go. They went out. It was Sunday morning. A woman was waiting for them in the store. She looked Amir up and down. And without saying anything, she left the store with the purchased phone. They went out separately. Sultana was so happy about the new phone, as if she had been offered an offer.

– «My God, you’re so happy.

– Yes. It is just that no one has given me anything for a long time, and I have not been out for so long.

– Soon you will have a new life.

– Do you think so?

– I am sure of it.

Sultana’s stay with these people had a beneficial effect on her condition. She perked up, revived and became even more beautiful. The kind people who gave her such a huge help by hosting her, and moreover, they did even more for her by deciding to update her wardrobe, and the host did it personally. Sultana gave her all the money she had. – You need to look good. You have such a fiance. I will help you! And she looked merrily at Sultana.

– This is not my fiance. Sultana was denied.

– I saw this guy, and I understood everything. Do not lie to yourself. Rosa brought things home and Sultana chose what she liked. She did not know where Rosa got them. Sultana kept a few things that she just needed. – Take more. Take this, and this. And the hospitable hostess threw dresses at her. It was so inconvenient for Sultana to take all this. She felt like a freeloader. – Don’t be afraid to take it. If they give it, then you have to take it. Sultana smiled happily. She was pleased to feel such an attitude towards herself, and she really liked to dress beautifully. Sultana liked to have many clothes in her closet, change outfits. She had all this when she worked as a dancer in her homeland. Sultana remembered those carefree times when she was so young, so pure, so naive. When grief had not yet touched her. Sultana accepted these things with great joy, took them to her room, and put them on the bed. The girl lived in the same room with the owner of this apartment, and they became friends. This woman’s name was Rosa, she was about the same age as Ahmed, and Sultana lovingly called her Aunt Rosa.

In the evening, Igor came to them and told them the joyful news that he had a dacha in which to live. – Remember my country house.

– Yes, we remember. But how do we ensure security?

– Very simple. The police will guard the house. It will be a great bait for Arthur.

– Maybe you are right. The sooner this is over, the better.

– That is nice. What are Arthur’s plans? What do his lines say?

– To be honest, I saw them once. To be aware of his actions, I need to be constantly with him, this person changes decisions so often. His lines are terrible, some murders that I could not predict anything for sure. Everything is so mixed up. This type is not permanent.

– «Gee. And when are you going to see him now?

– When he calls himself.

– He may not call. You need to do it.

– Maybe you’re right.

– Tomorrow morning I will pick you up and take you to the dacha. With these words, Igor left.

Meanwhile, the person who was following Amir made a call to Poipet. – Chief, Sultana’s father is walking around Moscow accompanied by Amir. Finish him off or wait for your arrival.

– Wait for the arrival. I will be back soon.

Fate favored Ahmed again, and this beautiful morning he was taken to a country house. No one knew about the location of Sultana. Only phone calls were made. And it was decided that it would be safer for her that way. For a while, Sultana stayed as a guest, and was a welcome guest. Igor’s house was monitored by the police and by Arthur’s people. Arthur himself arrived late at night. The first thing he did was to come to Vina to see her. The not so long separation strengthened their feelings, and this couple grew morally. She merged into a single whole and this love gave nourishment to the fallen forces of Arthur, thanks to which his strength strengthened, and he became even stronger, and with him his atrocities. Vina herself could not believe in her happiness and during Arthur’s absence decided to open up to her sister. She told her everything on the phone and now her main task was to get married. She could not return to her homeland unmarried.

Vina’s sister was more intelligent than Vina herself. This girl was not so amorous, dreamy and impulsive. Diana was all severity and seriousness. Many men were afraid of her, the severity of her character and treated her with extreme respect. She understood that Vina’s trip to Moscow would not lead to anything good, and despite her objections, this trip took place. She immediately realized that Guilt is guided by feelings, not reason, and understood that this case is not clean. —There is something wrong with what she said. But no one listened to her.

What can be wrong if this person is verified? He has a restaurant here. He is famous.

After Vina’s departure, her sister began to collect information about this Arthur. But after hearing from her sister that he was going to marry him, Diana could not accept it. – I will not allow it.

Arthur himself admitted the idea of marriage. Only this thought was so far away from him. He was too busy with his pile of problems, and was not yet mentally ready for marriage. Arthur spent exactly a day with Vina, and only then got busy. He went to the restaurant with Vina. He wanted to make her an administrator, but decided that it would not be convenient for him. It is better for him if she is always free and always at hand. After a hearty lunch, Arthur called Amir and asked him to come. – This is about to start. Vina looked at him sadly. She understood that he was up to something not good. Vina prayed to God that it would all end. She wanted so much to be happy, she loved and was loved. But these dark deeds were destroying her happiness, and she understood that one day the end would come. Arthur apologized and left the Blame in the hall, and he went to the office. Amir arrived as quickly as possible.

– I have arrived. What happened?

– Will you see it now? With these words, the door of the office opened and Arthur invited Amir to enter. They entered. There was a girl sitting in the office, tied to a chair. It was his fiancée from Laos. – do you recognize it? Arthur said sarcastically. Amir felt cold inside. He did not foresee this event. I did not see this in the future and could not figure out why. «That sounds like news to you.» Arthur continued to grin. – I am glad I surprised you. You are not that much of a palmist. With these words, he approached the girl and put a knife to her throat.

– What do you want?

– That is better. We have a lot to talk about. I said earlier that I started having problems with the police. It all started with the appearance of this girl Sultana. She knocked me down in many ways. You have a choice. She or Sultana. I also heard from your mouth that you are not interested in Sultana. Isn’t that right? That means you are going to kill her. You know where she is. First, you kill her father, and then you kill her. If you do not, then I will kill this girl. You can go now.

Amir did not dare to look into the eyes of this girl. He left the office like a drunk. His mind was not working. He barely came home and told his father everything. – Dad, what should I do?

– You started all this, you figure it out.

– Help me. Why didn’t I see this? I would not allow it.

– Because Lilya is your destiny, and you cannot read your destiny.

– Dad, I do not love her.

– «But she’s willing to die for you.»

– Why do I need all this? Rashid sighed heavily.

– Call the police. To his investigator. He has to help.

– I have exactly one day. After dialing the number, Amir asked him to come.

Meanwhile, Sultana wasted no time. She studied Russian, Aunt Rosa helped her with this, and Sultana taught her the dances that she knew how to dance. Her days passed serenely. Sultana kept in touch with her father and it seemed that she was happy. But she was burdened by the feeling she had for Amir. Sultana drove this feeling away. I did not want to admit to myself that I fell in love, and I hid this feeling deep, deep. She thought that Amir would not want to connect his life with a dancer, and this feeling was killing her. She wanted so much to cuddle up to her father and tell him everything, but Sultana was strong and did not show her pain. Instead, she laughed, spoke broken Russian, and danced. The dance healed her pain, especially since the audience was in the past, Sultana danced with pleasure, and her only spectator was Aunt Rosa. Sometimes she danced alone, and she liked it.

– What are you so sad about?

– Does it show that I am sad?

– «You can’t fool me.

– I just miss my dad.

– My girl, I understand you, but there is not much left, be patient. Soon you will leave this country and you will miss Moscow. Sultana was looking up and dreaming about something.

– «You’re right. Maybe I will miss Moscow. But we will see each other. We are from the same city.

– Yes. Sure. God has joined our destinies, and we will communicate. We were in the right place at the right time, and this is no accident. Therefore, it is fate. Sultana was smiling happily. Imagining returning home. And how she walks along a familiar street and is not afraid of anything.

Meanwhile, Lily’s abduction became known immediately after her abduction. A statement was written to the police. Lilya was stolen very carefully, but the police officer who accepted the statement admitted the idea that it was the work of Arthur. Relatives could not understand why and how their child disappeared. – It is not exactly summer.

– We understand you and are doing everything possible.

Meanwhile, the investigator arrived and asked what happened.

– I have a huge problem. Amir told what Arthur wanted from him.

– Handsome.

– I am not laughing.

– I understand. I think. I do not even know what to come up with. How and for what to arrest him?

– I came up with it. This old villain has a muse. Therefore, she will save us. He himself will die from his weapon.

– You are a genius.

– We even know where she lives. It will not be difficult for us to catch her.

– That is good. We have very little time.

In the evening, Arthur answered an unspecified number and heard the voice of Guilt. She could not say anything, but just sobbed. These tears touched him to the quick and he realized that this was the end. Despite his fear, pride and hurt pride, Arthur went to the specified address. Jamal went with him. – I will not let you go alone. Arthur gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder, and they got into the car. Jamal saw this huge attachment of the chief to Wine. He liked the fact that Arthur was finally attracted to a woman. But most of all he liked the fact that this woman loved him, and Jamal had a deep respect for her for making his boss happy. Having learned such news, he was ready to kill, go to jail or even die, but in any way eliminate what hinders the happiness of his boss.

Arthur arrived at the specified address. The driver stayed in the car, he and Jamal entered the room. These were garages, and no one was here at this time of day. They were alone. A police car was parked nearby. Amir did not have his own car until today. His father was going to give him such a gift, but postponed it for later, considering that, it was too early for Amir to travel around Moscow. Seeing the police, Arthur’s heart trembled. He was afraid that these were his last days at large. But most of all he was afraid for the life of his woman. It was such a strong attachment that Arthur could not imagine himself without it. Maybe it was a sense of ownership, or maybe it was really love, but he was melting all over next to her. The people around him could not get used to this change in his behavior, and they respected the Wine.

The iron door creaked and, stepping over the threshold, the door slammed shut with a sound. The lighting was weak, but Arthur’s gaze immediately fell on the Wine sitting on the chair. It was the same picture as in the morning, only now there was Wine sitting on the chair. Her eyes were tear-stained, and she was afraid to look at Arthur. She understood the current situation, that with her help, they would manage him. And that made it even more painful for her. The guilt was ready to die.

– A familiar picture? Amir uttered these words with the same grin with which he had heard them this morning. There were two police officers in this garage, Amir, and Rashid. Arthur stared intently at Amir’s father, and admired the resemblance. He did not expect to see him here.

– The dynasty is assembled. He said through his teeth.

– I have a business proposition for you. I propose to exchange brides. I am yours for you, you are mine for me. These two, he pointed to the police, they will not say anything. I promise you complete safety, as I promised. In any case, nothing will come from my side. You leave Sultana and her father alone; they will withdraw their statement from the police. We are returning you are beloved to you in integrity and safety. If you do not agree, then the police will take you and your girlfriend away. The parents of my fiancée have written her as an accomplice, a statement against you. The police calculated the car in which she was taken away. You’ve already stolen people in this car.

Arthur stood silently at the threshold and listened attentively to Amir’s words, he did not want to agree with this. But he had no choice, and he agreed. Hoping to kill this family in the future. He thought it over quickly and clearly. – Let them go home, he thought. It will be easier for me to get rid of them there than here. There will not be this palmist there.

– Why are you silent?

– I agree.

– Very good. Then so. As soon as Sultana, Ahmed, as well as my father and Lilya fly to their place, only then will you get your bride back. And look without tricks. If something happens to them or to me, Lilya is your mistake that you made. Then it will be worse for you. You should not have kidnapped her from her home. She is not a dancer. She will tell the police everything about you. In the meantime, her parents will be silent. Arthur was not quite grunting and hesitating in the doorway, he wanted to take the Blame right now and go with her to their apartment. Vina looked at him pleadingly with her loving eyes. At that moment, Arthur was ready to give the whole world just to be with her. But it was time to be far away from each other, such a cruel separation was not part of his plans, and he was cruelly hurt. Amir noticed his vulnerability and even felt sorry for him. But Lily’s captivity brought him back to reality, and Amir quickly banished these thoughts of pity.

– OK. Even so, I agree. Amir could not believe his ears. Is this cruel guy really so in love. Although it was noticeable in his eyes and beaming face. But the fact that this love is so reflected in his affairs, Arthur could not even admit the thought of it.

– Then it is time for us to disperse. With these words, Amir pointed Arthur to the exit, and they went out. I could hear the car doors slamming and the sound of wheels. The police opened the door and went outside; Rashid held Vina by the arm and led her outside for an exchange. Amir got out first. As soon as he came out and took a step forward, a shot rang out, and he fell at his father’s feet. The next shots were aimed at the police. And did not stop until they were killed. Rashid threw the girl over his shoulder and quickly pushed her into the police car. The car drove off, not coping with the controls. Rashid turned on the siren and accelerated. He was shaking with fear, the thought of his murdered son did not leave his head, and he called the police and an ambulance. The investigator was also killed; he was one of these two police officers. Now that he had lost his son and a friend from the police, he did not know whom to call and dialed Igor.

– I could not save him. He was killed.

– I am coming to you.

– No. I have his woman. They will intercept me. I urgently need to save another little man before it is too late.

– Who if it is not a secret.

– His fiancee. He was supposed to have a wedding in the summer. Vina listened to the conversation, and understood something in Russian. Where should I go?

– Come to my house. Igor dictated the address.

– I am driving a police car with flashing lights.

– We will figure it out. You can explain everything to the police. While they were talking, the car was halfway there and Rashid saw Arthur’s pursuit. At the howl of a police car, another car joined her. Arthur stopped the pursuit and Rashid continued on his way, but without flashing lights. Driving up to Igor’s house, Rashid was left alone, unaccompanied by the police. Vina was tied hand and foot in the backseat. Rashid’s thoughts were all with Amir. He still had a glimmer of hope that his son was alive. He was offended that Amir was left there completely alone. Where are all those whom he has been saving all this time. Sultana, her father, Igor, Lyosha, where are all his friends. Where is the guarantee that Arthur’s people did not come back and finish him off? His heart contracted and it seemed that he was having a heart attack. His left arm was numb, it was painful for him to breathe, consciousness began to turn off, and he barely got out of the car. Igor met him; he took him by the arm and sat him down on a bench near the entrance. – Where’s the girl. Rashid pointed with his hand.

– «She’s staying with me for the time being. He also took her over his shoulder and unceremoniously carried her into the apartment. Then he parked the police car and returned to Rashid. – Come on. And they went into the entrance.

– Tell me everything in order. Rashid told about what happened this morning. – Why didn’t he tell me? I would have thought of anything. Rashid saw Igor’s custody of his son, and regretted that he did not call him himself. – Stay here with this girl, and I will go to the scene of the accident.

– No. I will go myself. I will be needed there more. Amir has no documents with him. Our investigator has been killed, who will help us now?

– It is certainly very difficult.

– I do not even know if my son is alive. How do I explain the carjacking? Rashid’s thoughts were confused; he did not know what to say anymore.

– This is very bad. If my well-known friend has died, then even I will not be able to help you. He was very skillful in this case, and helped Amir. Now it remains only to pray that everything will be fine. Maybe it is even worth telling the truth. So as not to make it worse for yourself. Rashid stood undecided and walked quickly to the car.

– I went. The car drove away from the house; Igor stood at the entrance and felt the cold air burning his face. November came, and the first snowflakes were swirling in the air. Residents of Moscow were accustomed to such weather and rejoiced at the first snow. They did not feel the cold, unlike the people who came here from Asian countries. It was more difficult for them, and especially for Vina, who was now sitting in a closed room and dreaming of escape, as Sultana had once dreamed of it. Vina understood that her captivity was causing great harm to her lover, and she just dreamed of escaping and hiding in his arms. She was so disgusted that it happened to her. She considered herself so perfect, so close to him, that she did not even allow the thought that such a thing could happen to her. Vina knew that Arthur could keep the girls captive. But to be captured by herself, who would harm him, it humiliated her.

Igor returned to the apartment and entered the room where Vina was sitting and looked at him as an enemy. Igor came up to her and sat down next to her. – I will not touch you. I do not need you. Do you understand Russian? Vina nodded her head in agreement. But she didn’t understand Russian well. – We need a girl who is being held captive by Arthur. This girl is from a respected family, and she needs to be returned to the family. Do you understand me? Vina nodded her head. We will only get you back when Arthur gives her back to us. Vina sat quietly. She understood what was going on and tried not to resist. She also understood that Arthur was wrong to kidnap a young girl from the family, given that this girl was not of legal age. – I will untie your hands and feet, but you will sit still. Okay? Vina was silent all the time. She had not said a word in all that time. Igor took the ropes off her and left her alone in the room. He sighed heavily and closed the door. He was afraid that she would jump out of his second-floor window. And he left her at his own risk. Vina was not as risky and desperate as Sultana was, and continued to sit on the sofa and did not move.

Rashid arrived at the scene. In his heart, he hoped to hear that his son was alive. That Amir is just wounded. But the lines of his life he saw told a different story. – Here it has come true, this prediction, he thought. It is probably better not to know what will happen tomorrow. Nothing can be changed anyway. You cannot run away from fate. Rashid got out of the car and walked slowly to the garage.

– Who are you?

– I am the father of the murdered man.

– There you go. The police pointed to two corpses that were covered with a canvas. They decided that he was a relative of one of the murdered police officers. Coming closer to the two lying bodies, Rashid realized that his son was not here, and held on as best he could. His appearance and inner state were opposite. Rashid turned and headed to the place where his son had been lying not long ago. But he was not allowed to this place.

– Where is he?

– Who? Who are you looking for?

– My son. He was here. Is he alive? The police officer looked closely at Rashid’s face, wondering at the similarity.

– He was taken away. By ambulance. Gunshot wound. There was a long pause between each sentence, and Rashid was very angry, but kept his outward calm. After hearing these speeches, he did not wait for the continuation, turned around, and wanted to leave. – Where are you going?

– To my son.

– We thought you were a relative of the victims. You need to explain where you got the police car. The police did not know that a woman was involved here, Rashid decided to keep it a secret. —We are going to have to question you.

Rashid took a neutral position and invented a story to save his son and arouse suspicion on Arthur. – My son inherited the gift from me. He knows how to predict the future, reading the fate of people in the footsteps of their feet. I sent him to study in Moscow and exactly a year later one person began to force him to work for him. This man wanted Amir to help him in his dirty deeds. My son told me everything. After the refusal, he began to receive threats. The threats became more frequent and I had to come to Moscow to personally solve this problem. After my arrival, I personally became convinced that this man is a murderer and a dealer in human goods. His feet spoke about it. If you do not believe me, you can make sure of it. I have a dental clinic in my homeland in the city of Pakse, and I am known and respected there. My son is a good student, and he is known and respected at the institute. This Arthur made an appointment for him at this place, and my son went. But I was against it. You see the parental instinct. I called a taxi and followed him. My son left me an approximate address, and left before me. When I got here, I dismissed the taxi and went down, there was already a police car parked here. Everything shook inside me, and I went along these garages to look for the right garage. The door opened and I saw Amir get out, then the police got out of the car. A shot rang out and my son fell. I ran up to him while the police were firing at him. And I heard the car doors slam, I needed to apprehend my son’s murderers, and I took your official transport and started the pursuit. I called the ambulance and the police. I could not stop them, so I came back. With these words, Rashid finished his story.

– OK. Leave your contact number. We will contact Swami. Rashid went to the hospital to see his son. He did not like the person who interrogated him, and he was not at ease.

CHAPTER 10

Amir was seriously wounded. He was in intensive care. Rashid was glad that his son was alive, but for how long. Will he get out of this coma, or not. And maybe Arthur’s people will get here. Rashid was pacing up and down the corridor. He was not at ease for his son’s life. And even more so for the life of the girl who was now with Arthur. He was even ashamed to return her to the family. But what to do. Alternatively, maybe the family no longer wants to tie the knot with their son after all that has happened. – My presence did not help, I could not save him. He thought. Pacing from side to side.

Arthur arrived at the Oriental Fairy Tale and the evil one went to his office, realizing that he had suffered a complete failure. Now his life depended entirely on these people. He could hide, cover his tracks, and he would have succeeded. But he was held by Guilt, he could not leave her. Arthur realized how dear she was to him, only then did he lose her. This fear that he might not see her again overshadowed his mind and Arthur went completely mad. His pride was trampled. Arthur sat in his chair like an angry beaten dog, and his main goal was Guilt. Having lost all interest in the life of Sultana and her father, he no longer wanted to take revenge or pursue someone.

Arthur wanted a quiet and serene happiness with his woman. He dreamed of saving her, and flying with her to another country, where they would be happy. But all his dreams were quickly dispelled by the realization of what he had done. The attempt on Amir’s life was a grave mistake. Now he could not just call his father and agree to the condition offered to him. Arthur was at a dead end, and did not know what was waiting for him tomorrow. He did not know what actions Amir’s father would take, and he just had to wait.

Rashid returned to Igor and told him what had happened and what he had told the police. – Maybe you are right. The main thing is that Amir is alive. Therefore, everything will be fine.

– Maybe I should talk to this Arthur myself. The girl needs to be returned to her parents. It is my fault for what happened. There was no need to arrange this engagement.

– You never know what is best. If I knew, everything would be different. Rashid did not look at Igor with satisfaction.

– I saw that the fate of this girl is closely intertwined with my son. What could it mean? I decided to marry them. I know this family, I saw in it a good wife for my son, a good mother. I like her better than this Sultana does. Igor glanced at Rashid.

– To be honest, I do not like this Sultana either. She is causing a lot of trouble. Before her appearance, everything was smooth and calm. Everyone lived his or her own quiet and serene life. As soon as she appeared, some problems began.

– I will solve this problem. While my son is in a coma, I will send her and her father to her country, and everything will be forgotten. My son will return to school, the girl to the family, and everything will be as before. With these words, Rashid left for his apartment. He returned home in the early morning. Exactly a day has passed since these adventures. At home, a tired Lyosha met him.

– I am so tired of waiting for you. What is going on there? Where is Amir?

– Amir is in a coma. The girl is in captivity.

– What girl?

– Oh, you do not know. Amir’s fiancee. Arthur kidnapped her, in exchange for Sultana’s life.

– Wow. I have missed so much. But you can’t skip classes. I am leaving. With these words, the guy left the apartment. All this news and guests began to annoy him. Not getting enough sleep because of the guests, and it became more difficult for him to meet girls. He began to worry about his life. – It is all because of these girls. We were fine without them. Lyosha dreamed that all these dark-skinned guests would leave the apartment. He missed those carefree times when he and Amir lived a carefree student life.

Rashid came to his senses and wanted to rest at least a little, but after drinking coffee, he decided that he had no time to rest and dialed Arthur’s number. – We need to meet. After saying these words, he hung up the phone. Rashid behaved just like Arthur, unceremoniously. Arthur immediately called him back. He realized that it would be about his salvation, and decided to accept this chance for salvation. He drove up to the house; Rashid came out of the entrance and got into his car.

– I suggest you, for the last time, hush up this kidnapping case or it will be worse for you. If something happens to this girl, her parents will not leave you alone. The girl’s parents did not know that their daughter was in Russia, they were waiting for the result of the police search. Give me the girl, I will return yours to you, and I will not write statements about an attempt on my son’s life. Arthur was silent for a minute. Then he did not even agree. And they agreed to meet here late at night, when it would be dark.

In the evening, at the appointed time, Arthur’s car drove up to the entrance. Igor’s car was parked nearby. Rashid got out of the car and waited for Arthur’s actions. Arthur opened the door and Lilya got out of the car, at the sight of Rashid she perked up and wanted to run to him, but Arthur took her by the hand with his iron grip. Rashid saw all this, opened the door, and helped Vina out. Her hands were tied, she was lightly dressed, and she was trembling all over. – I will let her go after Lilya gets into our car. A neighbor from the window who loved to watch what was happening saw it all.

– Well, well. Then they steal guys, then they change girls. Like playing with toys. And hanging her cheeks on her hands, she continued to watch.

Arthur pushed Lilya, and she ran to Rashid. When she got into the car and the door slammed shut, Rashid let go of the Guilt, and she quickly walked to Arthur. Despite her fears, Arthur hugged her and hugged her to him. The wine was trembling all over like an autumn leaf. She was all icy with cold and fear, and was afraid of Arthur’s anger, but these fears were dispelled after his strong embrace. – I am not leaving you. Everyone got into his or her own car. After waiting for Arthur to leave, Rashid and Lilya said goodbye to Igor and went to their apartment. The neighbor, who was watching this picture, moved away from the windowsill. – Well, that is it for today. Now until tomorrow.

Lilya and Rashid went into the apartment. Of course, it was a studio apartment rented by Amir and Lesha. With the arrival of unexpected guests, they had to make room. Someone had to sleep on the floor and in the kitchen. Lyosha was still awake and met the guests. He did not expect to see a girl in this apartment at such a late hour. Especially almost a member of Amir’s family. The arrival of the girl at such a late hour put him in an awkward position. Rashid, noticing this, was shy himself, and apologizing added, «Nothing, we will leave you soon.

– So I do not mind your presence. Live as long as you want. I will sleep in the kitchen while you make yourself comfortable. Rashid called Lyosha to the kitchen.

– This girl was a prisoner. She could have been killed. Moreover, she is not of legal age. I am guilty before her. With these words, Rashid left the kitchen. Lyosha lay down in a folding chair and turned on the TV. – And Amir was right. She is pretty. Lyosha smiled and leaned back on the pillow. Rashid fussed in front of Lila, made her bed, brought her food to her room. «I’ll call your parents tomorrow and we’ll figure out how to get you home.» Lilya smiled and ate a sandwich.

Rashid’s morning was busy. He called the girl’s parents, and it was decided that they would pick her up themselves. Then a call was made to Ahmed, and he heard the long-awaited news that the war was over and they could return home together with the Sultan. Ahmed had been waiting for this particular call for so long; he could not stand it and joyfully called Sultana.

– Daughter, we are going home.

– How? What happened?

– I will explain everything to you later, when we meet. We need to do the paperwork, and we are flying home with you. Sultana was glad to hear this news. She dreamed about it. However, she had reason to be sad, she had not heard from Amir for a long time. They had not spoken in over a week. Sultana could not stand it and dialed him herself. In response, she heard that the subscriber was not available. This upset her, and the girl sat down on the sofa with her knees pressed to her stomach.

– What happened to you?

– Nothing. I am flying home. Sultana smiled through her sadness. She knew how to do it. She learned this when she started working for Arthur.

– Don’t lie to me. Is he your reason for being sad? There was silence in response. – Everything is clear. You do not have to go on. I will try to find out something.

– Don’t do anything. I am flying home. That is enough. My mission here is over.

– First, do the documents. Then you will see. Everything will work out, by itself. The time for the production of documents calmed the Sultan, and she perked up a little. Recently, Sultana dreamed of leaving this city, and now sadness has entered her heart. She could not explain it to herself, but she was sad at such a joyful hour. Sultan’s father stopped by to pick her up and make a temporary passport. During their stay in Moscow, it was their first meeting with their father.

Ahmed has not seen his daughter for more than a year. Except for the day, she was abducted in her hometown of Poipet. During this time, Sultana has changed a lot. She became more mature, more courageous, and stronger. This was no longer the same girl who had once left his house. At the sight of Sultana, Ahmed doubted for a moment that this was his daughter. – Is that you, Sultana? Sultana raised her lush eyelashes and was afraid to look into her father’s eyes, but she plucked up the courage and did it.

– It is I. Sultana sat in the back seat and looked in the mirror when she saw Igor’s eyes. Igor greeted her in a friendly way.

– So we met in peacetime. I am glad it is over. Sultana did not have the courage to ask in front of her father what had happened to Amir. She decided to rely on her eavesdropping skills and waited for the right moment to hear what she needed. They arrived; Igor accompanied them everywhere, like a faithful servant. He assisted them right up to the departure, and they had exactly two weeks left before departure. On this day, no one talked about anything and Sultana was left with nothing.

This morning, the circumstances were such that Rashid did not leave the apartment for a long time, having been a temporary interpreter for Ahmed, and Lyosha and Lilya were left alone. No one was prepared for such circumstances. Lilya went into the kitchen and saw Lyosha sitting in an armchair. He quickly got up and bombarded her with questions, what did she want? Lilya did not understand Russian well, but she was able to understand what was being said. Smiling, she went into the room. Lyosha remained sitting in his chair, and not wanting her to leave, he decided to bring her coffee. He is used to communicating with easily accessible girls. They were mostly friends from the cafe. But there was a whole goddess sitting in front of him, which he could not touch, he did not know what to talk about with her, and it was also impossible to talk to her. Lyosha just lived with her under the same roof, and admired her beauty, if you can say so through the glass. He just lost his mind, and this guy couldn’t just breathe calmly anymore. He brought her a cup of coffee into the room, and after standing for a while in silence, he went to his place of residence. Now the kitchen has become his permanent habitat. Lyosha decided so himself, and it was so convenient for him to sleep here, eat, watch TV, and even sometimes Lilya came into the kitchen, and he had a chance to look at her. He did it stealthily so that no one would notice his liking for this girl. Lyosha was so confused; everything he did seemed so funny and clumsy. Lilya was laughing like a child. She was a child. Now the day of her parents’ arrival was coming.

Rashid was often away on business. He kept his word and did not declare Arthur, the new investigator asked to name the make and number of the car. But Rashid gave only the color and brand, he did not call the number, referring to the fact that he did not remember it. He did not see who was sitting in the car either and it all got hushed up. The police were more preoccupied with killing police officers than wounding Arthur, and they did not bother Rashid anymore and waited for Amir to recover. The new investigator was not so interested in the case of Arthur’s capture, and conducted this case passively. Arthur was lucky that the previous investigator kept many details secret so as not to harm the Sultan, and these details were taken with him to the grave. Everything was in Arthur’s favor, Rashid and Lily’s parents did not testify against him, Ahmed withdrew his statement. Arthur got away with it again. Amir remained in a coma and this was the main cause of concern for Rashid and Arthur. Rashid was worried about his son’s life; he was more concerned about the threat posed by Arthur than his condition. Arthur prayed that this palmist would not survive. He took out evil on Jamal.

– It was necessary to finish him off to the end, or not to start at all. Why did you even start this whole shootout? I did not give you that right. Why did you open fire?

– Master, I am sorry. I just swore that I would avenge my friend. She killed him. He was bringing her food, and she killed him with a frying pan. If I had known sooner, I could have saved him.

Maybe you are right. Then it was necessary to kill to the end. Now I am in his hands. When this palmist wakes up, he will tell the cops everything.

– «Just say the word and I’ll kill him.»

– It will have to be done when I leave Russia. It would be a medical error. That is when I will finish what I started. And you will fly with me. I need you. I have no one left but you and my girl. The poor thing was so scared. He spoke these words with such warmth, it looked so ridiculous from the outside, and his appearance did not correspond to these words. Arthur decided to hide. He could only hide in Indonesia, only there everything went smoothly for him, and there he was completely safe. Arthur loved to fly there and spend time there. Moreover, his muse was originally from Indonesia and Arthur decided to give her a gift. He had decided to marry Vina, but he had not told her about it yet.

Guilt, after experiencing fear, was afraid to stay alone in the apartment. She still could not believe that she could be stolen. Arthur did not talk to her much on this topic, he tried not to put pressure on her psyche and be as courteous to her as possible. Arthur understood that he was to blame for everything that happened.

– We will fly to your homeland soon. You and me. Arthur took her hand. Vina was so happy. She had not expected to hear those words.

– Is it true?

– Yes. It is true. It is time for you and me to change the situation. Rest. You probably miss your relatives.

– I cannot believe it. Vina’s face lit up. She squeezed Arthur’s hand tightly. Arthur squeezed her hand even tighter.

Sultana was also preparing for the flight home, but in her soul, she was not as radiant as Vina. Her soul was dark and overcast and she could not open up to anyone. Only Amir himself could help her grief, and only voluntarily. But he was in a coma, and did not know what was going on in the soul of his beloved. Sultana was packing her things to move in with her father.

– Maybe you will stay with me again. I do not want to let you go.

– I would love to, but that is it, it is time to say goodbye. My stay in this city is ending.

– Let’s take a walk around Moscow at night today. Our city was decorated for the New Year. It’s so beautiful outside.

– To be honest, I am afraid to go outside. I have been locked up for more than a year and I have forgotten what freedom is.

– Well, it is time to remember. Do not be afraid. It is time to start living. Life is a holiday. Do not be afraid. Your father’s house has not been guarded for three days, so everything is fine. So let us go. Sultana could not believe that it was over, and reluctantly agreed.

– Come on.

Moscow at night was burning with bright lights. The city was completely decorated and ready for the New Year. Sultana was not accustomed to this climate, cold, snow, and such celebrations as the New Year in Moscow. She admired this evening beauty and quickly got tired of the flow of people and bright shop windows. They sat down on a bench.

– Well, you see. Nothing happened. You are not being followed anymore.

– Thank you for reminding me! Otherwise, I relaxed. The interlocutor laughed.

– Will you come to us again? Sultana’s mood changed abruptly.

– No. She replied dryly.

– It is just that you got here in such conditions that you have many unpleasant memories. Many tourists love Moscow, and not only tourists.

– No. I just want to go home and that is it. With these words, Sultana got up from the bench and looked at the sky. The sky was covered with white clouds.

– It is for the snow. Did you even like the snow? Sultana took the snowflake in her hands. – Make a wish. And it will definitely come true. And Rose sang a song about a snowflake. Sultana held a snowflake in her fist and did not want to open her palm. After listening to the song, she opened her palm and blew on the melted snowflake.

– How great! It started snowing. It was light. White thin snowflakes swirled in the air and fell on Sultana’s beautiful, long hair. Rosa also had long hair, but not as long as Sultana’s did. Snowflakes looked beautiful on black. And the girls looked at their beauty on their hair. Sultana did not want to return to the apartment, or even to her father. She wanted to walk until morning. This snowfall lifted her spirits and Rosa, noticing this, decided to arrange a holiday for her. They skipped all night and returned home in the morning. This night was the last night that Sultana spent in the company of Rosa. In the morning, it was time to say goodbye and Sultana almost burst into tears.

– Well, do not cry, girl. We will see you again. Sultana understood that this was the end. The end of her stay in Moscow and of course her acquaintance with Amir. She hid this pain deep, where no one has access, and a mask of happiness was put on her face. Sultana smiled as best she could, the girl knew how to do it, because she once did it for the audience. The three of them had breakfast, Sultana, Ahmed and Rosa. Rosa’s husband always left early and arrived late. But sometimes he could spend the whole day at home in the middle of the week. Sultana did not dare to ask what he was doing, but this family was quite rich. – I hope our acquaintance does not end there. And will we see you again?

– Of course. My daughter was lucky. Allah sends her good friends. Here in our capital Phnom Penh, she met her family, and we became friends. Now we have friends in Moscow.

– So we are glad to have guests. But do not forget that we are fellow countrymen and we will see each other often. We are from the same city.

– That is even better. Sultana will have more fun. Yes, daughter?

– Yes, Dad. Breakfast ended and it was time to say goodbye. – Aunt Rosa, do not cry, I will be in Moscow for another week. Now you come to us, otherwise I am there alone, in this house.

– I will definitely come. Ahmed and Sultana left the entrance and got into a taxi. Rosa explained where to go, and the car drove away from the entrance.

As they drove up to the house, they saw a car waiting for them. The investigator, the one who interrogated Rashid, was waiting for them. Ahmed and Sultana did not know Russian and they had to wait for Rashid. He wanted to ask a few questions about the Sultana case. Rashid arrived quickly and after a cursory examination of the Sultan, he noticed to himself that this girl was actually a sultansha.

– I have some problems with Arthur’s case, and this girl is present in his case, I found something. Of course, it was not easy. The fact is that we are looking for another human trafficker, and he is directly related to you and Arthur.

– To me? What does he have to do with me?

– As we found out, he wanted to sell you to him. Then you disappeared, it is not known where. You should have crossed paths, he was waiting for you. What do you know about it?

– Nothing.

– If I could prove it. But no one goes against him. It is all so complicated. It is possible that everyone is afraid of him. Sultana was ashamed to conduct all these conversations in front of her father. But she kept her mask on and behaved like a sultana. Sultana believed that she was no longer a resident of Moscow, but with one foot at home, and behaved relaxed.

– I have the phone number of one of his people. Do not ask where it is from, I will just give it to you. I did not use it for personal safety, here it is. And she quickly took the phone out of her bag. As soon as it was turned on, the phone immediately rang. It was just that person. He could not get through to Arthur and tried to find him through one of his drivers.

Arthur actually withdrew from this case, as he incurred a lot of suspicion and went into a lull. His business was booming in other countries and he had nothing to worry about. Rashid answered the call and adjusted his voice to Arthur. The merchant demanded the Sultan. He needed her. – You promised, remember? Do not be afraid I will not let you down. And Rashid agreed to the meeting without hesitation.

– So we’ll take him, this merchant.

Ahmed did not like this idea. He was absolutely against it. But Sultana insisted on it. – Dad, do not be afraid, everything will be fine. If we catch him red-handed, many girls will get their freedom.

– All right, have it your way. Just remember when I was against your dancing and you did not listen to me, what happened. You have a chance to fly home, and you climb into a brothel. Sultana thought about her father’s words.

– We guarantee you complete safety. We will not get that chance either. We have been looking for him for a long time. And to catch him red-handed, it means to solve the case. The meeting was scheduled for tomorrow evening. The investigator left very happy. Rashid and Ahmed sat down to talk.

– So we will be leaving soon. The documents are being prepared.

– Lilya will fly ahead of you.

– Who is Lilya?

– This is my son’s fiancée. They have a wedding date set. The wedding will take place in the summer. This Arthur even kidnapped her. We had to sort it all out. He did not talk about the exchange for life. Sultana heard all this with her own ears, and she was no longer a tenant.

– Yes, so that I would then die in this morgue. She thought to herself. This Arthur has rather kill me than saved by this Amir. Sultana was sitting next to them on the sofa and no longer heard the continuation of the conversation. She did not hear Rashid say that his son was in the hospital and he was in a coma. The words echoed in her ears – «he has a wedding date and the wedding will take place in the summer.» Sultana could not believe what she heard. She did not want to see Amir anymore and considered him her enemy. Although, what did he do to her? I just rescued him from the morgue, put him in a clinic, and that’s it. Perhaps he did his duty as he said. He did not confess his love to her, and did not swear allegiance. It was difficult for her to accept this information, and she quietly got up from the sofa and excused herself from the room. Sultana did not shed a tear. I just lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. She fell into a dream in which she wanted to forget this chance encounter and wake up feeling nothing for this man. Sultana thought that heaven was just laughing at her, removing from her life the people to whom she was so attached. She was so afraid to fall in love, she fell in love, and this is the result. Now, she just did not want to live, and she blacked out.

– Sultanа. Rashid leaves. Sultana did not hear his words. She was sleeping so soundly. Ahmed entered the room and seeing his sleeping daughter quietly left, closing the door behind him. «She’s sleeping. Let him rest. Rashid looked lovingly at Ahmed, who took such careful care of his daughter.

– Let him sleep. See you.

On the same evening, Lily’s parents arrived, with a return ticket to their city. They were not in a good mood and did not have much communication to themselves. Rashid immediately realized this. He understood the reason and did not even try to explain everything. Rashid knew that he was guilty before them, their daughter, and their family. —We are not going to talk to you here. We will talk about everything at home when we meet. Lily’s mother said these words dryly. And Rashid did not dare to contradict her. Lilya was in the same condition as Sultana. She did not want to leave, and buried her pain in herself. Her appearance did not mean anything. The girl sat with her head down and was silent. She was silent until she arrived at her home. It was exactly a day before her home. Their plane left in the afternoon, and in the evening Rashid had a case with the police, and he did not have time to visit his son at all.

– This is some kind of evil fate. He said nervously.

The guests apologized to Lesha, realizing that he was the main tenant of this apartment. They did it in broken Russian, as they used this language very little. – We will leave tomorrow. Lyosha tried to prove to them that he was very happy with them. This was actually the case, and he did not mind if they stayed alive, and especially their daughter. He sat huddled in a chair and watched, as they got ready for bed. The mother went to bed with her daughter. Lily’s father lay down on Amir’s bed and Rashid himself on the floor, all this was done in silence, and no one said a word until morning.

The day of departure came. Lyosha was so looking forward to this day when at least one of them would leave. But the very last of the arrivals and the most welcome guest was leaving. He did not want to admit it to himself, but it was the saddest day of his life. Lyosha was as silent as they were. Now he did not even dare to offer this girl coffee. She was not available. It seemed to him that a ghost was walking around the house, which he could not touch and he could not talk to him either. He wanted to go with them to the airport, but he did not dare to offer it to them. Lyosha packed his backpack and went to the institute. Although he had to go to the third pair. Before leaving, he took a moment and was able to look into the eyes of this girl and make it clear that he likes her. The girl reciprocated, and this guy left the apartment like a living corpse. Lyosha understood that this was their last meeting. In the evening, when he returns, she will no longer be there, and he saw no point in returning home. At that moment, when the front door slammed and Lyosha walked to the elevator, his whole world collapsed, and he wanted to go without looking back, only he did not know where. Lyosha did not go to the institute, for the first time he missed classes, and went to wander around the city, no matter where he was going. The snow fell in flakes and lay on his hair and eyelashes. Lyosha did not pay attention to this, his step quickened, and it seemed he was ready to kill. Just who? He was angry with himself. There was no one to blame for this story. There were no culprits, but there were victims. Everyone suffered, he, Lilya, Sultana, Amir. Having made a sharp stop, Lyosha looked around to understand where he was. Realizing that he missed the lecture, the guy went to the pit stop to drink coffee. He did not want anything, and he just sat silently like a monument, not noticing the life around him. He thought. Lyosha experienced this feeling of pain for the first time in his life. Previously, he was not attached to anyone, and never fell in love with anyone. This love arose suddenly, and suddenly left. Lyosha did not even have time to understand what it was. I did not have time to experience the joy that lovers experience; I did not have time to enjoy the taste and aroma of the love that comes in the first moments. Lyosha has not yet had time to realize that he has lost her, because he has not yet realized that he was in love.

It was time for lunch; it was time to send the plane to Pakse. Lyosha reluctantly waited for this time, it dragged slowly and at the same time flew fast. He did not have time to understand how lunch came. All this time he was sitting in the pit stop and drinking coffee. The plane left Moscow airport, and Lyosha realized that this was the end, the end of his former life. In fact, Lilya was experiencing the same thing, and not having the right to tell anyone about her feelings, she kept everything to herself. It was much harder for her than for Lyosha. She was not as free compared to him. And she had to accept what she had.

After boarding the guests, Rashid went to Igor’s country house to finish the job he started yesterday. Everything was ready. Igor came to support the Sultan. He was very worried about her, knowing about his friend’s feelings. He was greatly overshadowed by the departure of Sultana, as well as the Sultan herself. But he couldn’t do anything about it and was looking forward to his friend’s return from the coma. Everything was ready for the meeting with Sultana’s buyer. The car arrived at the appointed time at the appointed place. Igor rented a friend’s car so as not to arouse suspicion. He himself remained in the car. Rashid was sitting in the back seat next to Sultana, Ahmed and Igor were sitting in the front seats. Sultana had to get into the client’s car and leave with him. The police were waiting for their moment and watching what was happening in the car standing in the adjacent rows. Everything happened in the parking lot of a multi-storey luxury house. Rashid made a call, rearranged his voice, said that the goods were ready, and was getting out of the car. Sultana came out. This customer wanted her. He had a crush on her for a long time and was ready to pay any amount if only he had her, knowing that Arthur did not need this girl, and in order to save her from the fate that was in store for her, he had long dreamed of buying her out and making her his property.

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