The Hostage Chapter One | The Hostage and the Vengeful Lover Novel
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The Hostage Chapter One
"There are moments that change you forever... moments that make you a different person, kill you while you are alive, steal your faith in justice, and leave you floundering in the darkness of revenge. Moments you cannot erase, even if you tried to escape them thousands of times..."
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
The Hostage and the Vengeful Lover
By my humble pen Heba Abo El-Fotouh 2025
(Chapter One: The Hostage)
"There are moments that change you forever... moments that make you a different person, kill you while you are alive, steal your faith in justice, and leave you floundering in the darkness of revenge. Moments you cannot erase, even if you tried to escape them thousands of times..."
The sound of gunshots still rings in his memory, the smell of blood never left him, and the pain... that pain that clung to his soul until it became a part of him.
He could have been a different person... he could have walked another path.
But he didn't.
Because some wounds do not heal, some memories do not die, and some names... are carved in the heart with the edge of a knife.
On a moonless night, where there was no difference between the darkness and his eyes, he realized that all the paths he walked were just a circular journey always bringing him back to one point...
The point where everything began.
But was he the hunter... or the prey?
And was he ready to face what was to come, or did the game this time have different rules?
She ran panting madly, looking for a lifeline from the unknown chasing her. There was no one to help her, how could she find help when she was in a deserted place, devoid of life and light? "Shatha" was struggling to survive, while her heart was about to explode from its rapid beats.
She looked around with intense anticipation, until she spotted a narrow corridor that could barely be seen. She decided to head towards it, thinking it might help her mislead her pursuer. And indeed, she made her way inside it, but as she walked, her ears picked up the sound of slow footsteps sneaking into her hearing.
She stopped, shrank a little, and her eyes darted in all directions. For a moment, fear crept into her, but it was not her only option... she had to face it. She took a deep breath, then decided to overcome her trembling and look behind her.
She turned around trembling, and when her eyes fell on him, they widened in a shock that made her feet freeze for moments. But suddenly, her scream erupted in the air, before she dashed running madly, not knowing where to, all that occupied her mind was escaping the nightmare chasing her.
She came out of the narrow corridor she was walking in, to find herself on a much wider road, looking like a public road. A new battle began, a race against time, looking for anyone to help her in the darkness of the night. But what she didn't expect was to find herself stopping suddenly, her body flinching, and her eyes closing tightly due to the bright light that exploded in front of her without warning, piercing the darkness of her escape and forcing her to step back in confusion and pain.
The car was huge and black, gleaming under the headlights like a silent declaration of wealth and power. Two men stepped out of it, while two others remained inside, watching the scene in suspicious silence.
She started opening her eyes slowly, trying to comprehend what was happening in front of her, but once she realized what was happening, her eyes widened in shock. She tried to flee, or even scream for help, but she was not given enough time. The two men rushed towards her quickly, one of them grabbed her tightly and bound her hands violently, while the other took out a syringe, and mercilessly plunged it into her neck.
She felt a cold liquid flowing in her veins, and her vision began to fade gradually. The last thing her eyes caught were the features of that masked man before everything drowned in pitch blackness.
She began to regain her consciousness gradually, shifting with a pain tearing at her body, not feeling what surrounded her. She tried to scratch her nose, but her hand didn't move. She grew more annoyed, trying again... but in vain, she couldn't move her hands.
She opened her eyes in astonishment, looked at her hands, and her eyes widened in a horrific shock. They were bound with metal handcuffs, firmly fixed to a cold iron chair. Her body trembled with dread, and she almost moved her feet, but they too were bound with the same cruelty.
Terror crept into her heart, and she almost screamed for help, but her voice got stuck in her throat when her gaze fell on him... He was sitting in front of her, contemplating her coldly, his lips parted in a sarcastic smile, and his eyes shining with bold looks completely devoid of mercy. His deep voice broke the silence of the place, saying in a tone full of sarcasm:
— Did you think you were smarter than me?
He exhaled with a soft laugh mixed with mockery, raised his head a little, and moved his hands with clear sarcasm:
— Everyone who gets close to my files ends up dead, simply. But your death... must be a harsh lesson. It wouldn't do for you, Ms. Journalist, to go just like that without an "honor guard" befitting your majesty... the famous and wonderful journalist, who preferred her job over her life, and decided to play on a field that wasn't hers... decided to dig behind a businessman who gathers his wealth from state money, and participates in operations... far from humane.
The corner of his mouth dropped gradually, and his sarcastic smile turned into a dark look, the look of a lion preparing to devour its prey.
— But you... are different.
He confessed in a low but sharp voice, with eyes narrowing thoughtfully.
— I must take my hat off to you... you managed to reach information no one was able to discover about me. Information that was enough to lead me to the hangman's noose if it reached the hands of justice. And if that happened... I would be among the dead right now.
He leaned his body towards her a little, and his voice dropped even lower, until it became like the hiss of a snake:
— But the problem is you don't know who I am... nor should you think for a moment that I lost control. You seem to have forgotten that merely mentioning the name "Al-Jabali" anywhere... is enough to turn the world upside down.
He got closer to her, his rough fingers running through the locks of her hair, pulling it slowly as if enjoying her weakness. But what he didn't expect was her reaction... She shook her head violently, her face filled with aversion and disgust, then she raised her head suddenly, and spat on him hard, her eyes blazing with emotion and anger.
She screamed in a voice mixed with a burning heart and a clear threat:
— Take your hand off me, you dog, untie me, or I swear to Almighty God, what will happen to you won't be easy. Don't you know who I am or what? It seems you forgot that your life is in my hands after God's. I mean, if I disappear... you will disappear with me!
She tried to break free, her body trembling with rage, continuing sharply, her tone overflowing with contempt:
— Untie me, you dog, get me out of here, untie me. Did you forget yourself or what? You criminal, you garbage, you murderer of murderers. You will never be able to do anything to me, and you know that all your despicable and black crimes are in my hands. I mean, the moment the news of my disappearance spreads... you will indeed be among the dead.
His eyes flared with anger, and his features turned into a dark mixture of mockery and disgust. He raised his hand slowly, wiped the spot of her spit with disgust, but suddenly, he jolted with overwhelming rage, grabbed her hair violently, and pulled her towards him until the distance between them vanished.
He whispered in a low but threat-charged voice:
— Can you handle the move you just made?
He didn't give her a chance to reply, but yelled in her face with a roaring anger:
— Answer me! Can you handle it?! What evidence and what crap... you mother of evidence? Wake up! I managed to bring you all the way here, wouldn't I know how to get rid of a piece of garbage paper like you?!
He growled with a sharper voice, his eyes burning with wild madness:
— Don't you ever think you're something just because you got a few papers on me! Nooooo! The filth you discovered and knew about me? That's nooooothing! But what you're going to see right now... that's a completely different stooooory!
He pushed her head violently, making her fall back hard until she almost fell over. Then he started taking off his jacket and threw it on the floor violently, before reaching his hands to the buttons of his shirt, unbuttoning them one by one, his eyes blazing with dark anger, his gaze fixed on her like a trapped prey.
She felt a pain in her scalp due to his previous grip, but despite the pain, she tried to hold together. Her mind working madly, thinking of any way to escape this cursed place. But suddenly, she froze in her place when she saw him taking off his upper clothes...
Her heartbeat accelerated violently, her body trembled involuntarily, tears welled up in her eyes, her feelings mixed between fear and oppression. She gasped, trying to comprehend what he was doing, before shouting in a trembling voice:
— What... are you doing?
Then her voice exploded in a panicked scream, her whole body trembling, trying to shrink away from him:
— What are you going to do?! Stay away from me! Stay away from me, you garbage! You scum! You filth!
She tried to break free, her body writhing in its restraints, her tears flowing burningly, screaming with desperate emotion:
— Let me go! Let me go.. I want to leave here!
He grabbed her head violently again, pulling her towards him as if enjoying seeing her weak, while a sarcastic, threat-charged smile formed on his lips.
— What's the matter, sweetie... are you scared?!
His voice came out low, but saturated with mockery and malice, his eyes shining with dark enjoyment.
— I haven't done anything yet... I told you your death would be today, but of course, I have to do something befitting you first... something to be an unforgettable memory, right?
He finished his words with a hard slap to her face, a slap that made her entire body shake, sending her head violently to the side. She felt as if the world was spinning around her, and comprehension began to gradually fade from her mind.
Her lips trembled in pain, she could barely whisper in a faint voice, vision fading before her eyes once more:
— Have mercy on you... stay away from me... Jawad...
But there was no life in whom you call. Revenge was far stronger than her plea for absent mercy. He pounced on her mercilessly, stripping her of every inch of purity and chastity, turning her into just another whore he had an affair with, completely ignoring her crying and burning pleas that, if made to a mountain, would have softened a little from her weakness.
In another place, darkness dominated everything, except for the faint light emitting from the huge TV screen mounted on the wall, where scenes were shown before him like they were clipped from an old movie, but produced by harsh reality.
He sat in his comfortable chair, one leg crossed over the other, watching what was happening before him with eyes full of enjoyment, as if the scene was a private show prepared specifically for him. He smiled sarcastically, then whispered in a calm but victory-saturated voice:
— Hmmm... and finally, Jawad Al-Jabali!
He took a sip from his glass, then continued slowly, as if tasting his words with pleasure:
— Audio and video evidence... after all these years?!
He laughed a short laugh, then added mockingly:
— Something sweet... something to cheer up all my past years.
He burst into a hysterical laugh watching the scene in front of him, as if watching a movie of his own production. He was enjoying every detail, every moment of this reality show, but something seemed to annoy him slightly.
His features contracted, a disgruntled expression appeared on his face as he noticed Jawad's transgressions with unwanted touches towards the girl. He tilted his head slowly, then muttered mockingly:
— Tsk tsk tsk... we didn't agree on this, Jawad Bey!
He pursed his lips as if reproaching with fake playfulness, then added sarcastically:
— It's a shame... the poor girl! Ah, it was a sweet opportunity and golden evidence against you, and if I left you a little longer, the evidence would be even sweeter... but still, it's a shame!
He laughed a soft laugh, then continued in a cold tone, but with a hint of warning:
— A little girl like this... your filthy touches shouldn't reach her.
He stood up suddenly, as if a decisive decision had settled in his mind. He began adjusting his clothes with quick but calculated movements, as if preparing for a special mission.
He secured the weapon firmly in his waist, while on the other side, he tucked a small dagger, a deadly tool that never leaves him. Then he wore a black sweatshirt, pulled his hood over his head to partially hide his features, leaving shadows of mystery surrounding him.
He looked at the screen one last time, his eyes narrowing in focus, before picking up the remote control and turning it off with a cold press. He didn't need to watch anymore, for it was time to intervene.
And in a moment... he disappeared from the apartment as if he had never been there.
He stood far away, his eyes monitoring the place with deadly focus. He took a deep breath, prepared himself well, and then started moving. His steps were confident, but his bullets preceded him, carving his way through the chaos. He gave no one a chance to survive, he moved like a ghost, nothing stopped him... until one unexpected moment.
The gunshots stopped, his ammunition had run out, and there was no time to reload the magazine. He didn't hesitate, he didn't slow down. In the blink of an eye, he tossed the weapon aside and drew his dagger, his small and most loyal friend. His grip tightened on it, and the fighting began with cold skill, as if he were executing his usual daily exercises. Everyone who stood in his way met the same fate, without exception.
Inside... Jawad backed away from Shatha with obvious annoyance, exhaling impatiently as he ran his hand through his hair nervously. He turned to her completely, watching her for a moment... she was sitting there, physically shattered, but her eyes?
They were still resilient...
Her tears were held back in her eyes, refusing to fall, refusing to surrender. This scene alone ignited something inside him... a strange mixture of annoyance and provocation.
— You still have an eye for pride?!
He said it with sarcasm mixed with surprise, before leaning slightly closer to her, his eyes narrowing as he continued in a low voice, as if talking to himself:
— I thought I broke everything in you... before this pride of yours.
And before he could say more, his ears paused at an unfamiliar sound outside...
He furrowed his brows, his intuition telling him something dangerous was happening. He stood up straight, looked at the door with focus, then cast a final glance towards Shatha, giving her a sarcastic smile as he muttered in a low voice:
— Just wait... I'll check out this noise and come back to you, sweetie.
His hands stopped putting on his jacket, his feet froze to the floor, his eyes widening in shock as he looked at the room door that was pushed violently, revealing a person he never expected to see...
— Ragheb?
His name escaped his lips in amazement, as if his mind refused to believe what his eyes were seeing. Moments of charged silence passed, before Ragheb moved with calm steps, a faint smile dancing on his lips. There was no rush in his movement, as he knew full well that Jawad would find no one to save him, not after he had taken out his men one by one.
He stood in front of him, his eyes full of deadly calmness, then said in a low but meaning-laden voice:
— Jawad Pasha... long time no see! I never imagined I'd see you after all these years.
Then he turned slightly to the other side, his eyes falling on Shatha, who was sitting there, her features a mixture of astonishment, pain, and lack of understanding of what was happening in front of her. Ragheb smiled with slight sarcasm, before turning his gaze back to Jawad and muttering in a meaningful tone:
— And as fate would have it... the one bringing us together is a woman.
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