Unknown Traces (Crime) Chapter 1
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Crime
A mysterious crime shakes the apparent calm... An accused lawyer, a businessman killed under suspicious circumstances, and an investigating officer seeking threads that intertwine between truth and illusion. Every trace leads to another, but the end... is not as anyone thinks. Unknown Traces When a trace becomes a mystery, reaching the truth becomes a danger.
In Cairo, specifically in the Zamalek neighborhood, where the luxury of the place blends with a calmness that hides many secrets behind it, the house of "Lawyer Ahmed El-Shennawy" stands tall among a row of old houses that carry endless tales within their walls.
The clock was pointing to half-past seven in the evening, and the atmosphere seemed strange... too still, as if the city was holding its breath in preparation for something coming.
In a highly elegant house, the desk lamp shone with a dim yellow light, reflecting on the serious face of Ahmed El-Shennawy as he sat behind his massive wooden desk, surrounded by piles of scattered files and papers.
He was engrossed in reviewing the documents of his new case... a massive case against a number of corrupt businessmen, headed by Adel Zahran, the man everyone fears and no one dares to confront.
Ahmed held his pen in his right hand, and began writing down his notes while talking to himself in a low voice:
"I won't leave them... This time the reckoning will be different."
*****************************
In the club, the atmosphere was full of fun and noise.
At a table at the end of the cafeteria sit Nour and Tuqa, Nour's features were very tense.
Tuqa said, laughing cheerfully:
- "By the way, Nour, you need to take a course in calmness. I swear the birds in the club are starting to get annoyed by you."
Nour exhaled in annoyance, saying:
- "I don't mean to get annoyed, but all these people are so heavy-blooded... even the waiter talks as if he's interrogating me!"
Tuqa laughed and then said:
- "My girl, he just asked if you wanted anything else!"
Nour shook her head lightly and said:
- "Yeah, but his tone was provocative!"
A familiar voice interrupted their conversation.
Aseel Zahran, their colleague in college, but her relationship with Nour is not good...
And no one knows the reason for this yet!
Aseel said smiling:
- "Evening of roses, girls, what's up? Studying in the club?"
Tuqa replied, trying to break the tension:
- "No, Aseel, we just came to change the atmosphere a bit."
Nour looked at Aseel and said coldly:
- "And if you came to give me a headache today, you can cut the trip short and go bother someone else."
Aseel took a step closer to her and then said:
- "Why do you always get nervous like this, Nour? Even when I haven't said anything yet."
Nour raised her eyebrow sarcastically and then said:
- "Because your voice alone is always enough to annoy me and ruin my day."
Tuqa laughed nervously, saying:
- "Well guys, take it easy a bit, no one can stand the two of you together."
Aseel smiled coldly:
- "I really don't understand, everyone loves my joking except you. Maybe because you took all the nervousness in the world?"
Nour replied sharply:
- "Maybe because your joking isn't joking... your joking always has this jab that makes someone want to wring your neck."
Aseel laughed coldly and gave her a look of suppressed jealousy, and said:
- "Yeah, it's obvious... maybe because there are people who take everything without even trying."
Nour froze for a moment and then added:
- "What does that mean, what do you mean?"
She shrugged her shoulders artificially and then said:
- "Nothing... I'm talking generally. But you know? Sometimes calmness is not a sign of weakness, it's just that calm people don't need to prove everything with nervousness."
Nour laughed sarcastically and said:
- "And these calm people are usually very jealous, and speak in an annoying tone when they can't express what's inside them."
Aseel smiled artificially and said:
- "Maybe... and maybe this nervousness is just a cover for your fear of being exposed for your true self."
Tuqa said quickly, saving the situation:
- "That's enough girls, I swear everyone is looking at us!"
Aseel laughed lightly and said as she prepared to leave:
- "I told you, Tuqa... Nour is always the hero of any noise. You can't leave her for five minutes without her getting into a fight."
Nour looked at her sharply and said:
- "And I told you, Aseel, if I didn't respect the place, I would have shown you what real nervousness looks like."
Aseel raised her eyebrow coldly and said as she left:
- "That's what I love about you, Nour... you never know how to keep quiet."
And she left with calm and confident steps, leaving Nour breathing quickly from anger, and Tuqa trying to hide her laugh.
Tuqa said, shaking her head and laughing:
- "Honestly... there is no chemistry between you two at all."
Nour said, lifting her short hair from her face:
- "There isn't, and I don't want there to be. This girl is cold and I hate coldness."
Tuqa thoughtfully:
- "But it's obvious she's very jealous of you, Nour."
Nour replied quickly:
- "Jealous? Of what.. her father probably pushed her on me maybe because of the problems my dad put him in due to the case between them.."
Tuqa shrugged and said lightly:
- "I don't know... but usually whoever mocks like this, has something behind it. Actually, her way of talking to you specifically makes me feel like you really murdered someone belonging to her.."
Nour fell silent, but her brown eyes had a small gleam of anger... not just from Aseel, but from the feeling that she doesn't understand what this Aseel is always hinting at!
***********************
"Al-Masry Family House"
Fourth floor (Residential tower)
Aliaa: (From inside the kitchen)
- Reem! My daughter, see where the mint is for me? Looks like I put it in the fridge instead of the parsley again.
Reem cheerfully:
- Oh Mom, you're knocking into the spices like you're doing a chemical experiment.
Here it is, on top of the counter.
Aliaa with a satisfied smile:
- Oh wow, without you I would have forgotten half the food.
But tell me, is Adam still studying with Nour?
Reem replied while washing her hands:
- Yeah, it's obvious my brother Adam is going to get paralyzed soon... Every little while I hear "Where does the plant breathe from, Nour?"
Aliaa commented with an affectionate smile:
- God forbid, girl, may God give him patience... Nour got his stubbornness from his father, and arguing from me.
Reem looked at her mother affectionately and then added:
- No, he got the kindness from you more.
But Adam gets tired too, Mom, he's trying to compensate Nour for the absence of his mother, and doesn't want him to feel this lack.
Sadly and with pity, she replied:
- I know, my daughter, from the day Rabab died he's been playing both roles, may God bless him... and he refuses to get married for Nour's sake.
(Inside the living room - Adam shouting lightly)
Adam:
- Nour! The plant doesn't have ears, sweetheart, it can't breathe through them!
Nour replied with an innocent voice:
- Well maybe it breathes through its nose, Dad!
Adam fell silent for a moment in amazement, then said with comical agitation:
- It has a nose?! If this plant could talk, I would have booked a new case with it by now!
Both Reem and Aliaa couldn't hide their laughter.
Reem said, laughing:
- Oh our great officer, do you see this case ending well?
Adam left the book and leaned on the sofa, then added:
- No, the accused refuses to cooperate with the investigating authorities.
Nour laughs and sings to himself:
- I am an innocent accused, the plant is the cause.
Aliaa added while stroking his hair:
- Enough studying for today, my love, your brain got hot.
Adam with a laughing sigh:
- My brain is the one that got hot, Mom. If this boy enters the faculty of science or agriculture, he won't leave the plant alone.
Reem with her usual calmness:
- That's it, my love, leave him, I will study with him after dinner.
Right, Nour?
(Adam looks at her for a moment, a warm look full of gratitude and love.
Reem is truly great, taking care of him and Nour despite her difficult job, and refusing many suitors due to her intense attachment to Nour, which of course annoys Aliaa, not because she doesn't like Reem's care for her grandson, but because she wants Reem to settle down with a husband and family.)
Khaled: So, Grandpa's love, what did Dad do with you in studying?
Nour runs to him and hugs him.
Nour:
- Grandpa, Dad is yelling at the plant, not at me!
Khaled replied laughing:
- Alright, hero, leave the plant to him and I'll deal with him.
Adam sarcastically:
- Oh wow! Now he has a whole defense team.
Aliaa with a mother's laugh:
- This team is what keeps this house alive, Adam.
We all breathe through each other... like the plant, but from the heart, not from the leaves.
(A short silence prevails, everyone smiles at each other, and the laughter returns anew.)
Nour:
- So Titi Aliaa, if the plant loves the sun... does it love God too?
Reem looked at him with love and then said:
- Anything that loves the light (Nour), my love, loves God.
*********************
Eight o'clock in the evening, in Ahmed El-Shennawy's office...
Calmness blankets the place, the sound of the clock's hands increases the tension of the moment.
Ahmed's phone rang.
Ahmed with a firm calmness:
Hello?
Adel Zahran replied in a calm but arrogant tone:
Good evening, Mr. Ahmed... It's obvious you're busy with my case.
I wanted us to vent a little... like men.
Ahmed with a provocative calmness:
What is there that needs understanding? I still have your papers right in front of me, Adel Bey.
Adel laughed artificially and then added:
Not everything can be understood from afar...
Come to the house, let's understand each other in peace.
If you fear for your children, then it's better we solve the matter without problems.
Ahmed with a slight but composed hesitation:
Don't bring up my children on your tongue... Do you think this talk will make me back down from the truth?
Adel in a seductive tone, trying to control:
You're not backing down from the truth... but sometimes we have to calculate things right so no one gets hurt and no losses happen, and you know very well what I can do.
Come and see for yourself... you'll make sure that the solution can be easy and comfortable for both parties.
(A few seconds of silence... Ahmed holds the receiver with his eyes fixed on the papers in front of him.)
Ahmed with a sigh:
Alright... I'll come.
But just once... any trick or threat, and you know how I will act.
Adel with a hidden smile:
Alright... waiting for you, Mr. Ahmed.
Believe me, you'll change your mind.
(Ahmed hung up, placed the receiver on the desk, his eyes on his family's picture.. his inner voice repeating)
"I won't leave the truth... but sometimes you have to enter the field personally."
Then he put on his jacket, picked up his car keys, and headed to Adel Zahran's villa.!
******************
Adel Zahran's Villa
The villa is well-lit and luxurious, but the atmosphere inside is cold!
Ahmed enters the office, finds Adel standing behind his desk, a purely professional smile painted on his face.
Adel said with artificial calmness:
Welcome, Mr. Ahmed... Please come in.
Ahmed with a cold face:
Good evening, Mr. Adel. I came to hear a clear word from you.
Adel leans forward as if to connect with him:
The talk was clear on the phone, but your presence is an honor. Let's understand each other as human beings.
Ahmed looked at him steadily and then added:
I'm not here to "understand each other". I'm here because I have documents and witnesses that implicate institutions and figures in your work.
Adel laughs a short laugh, trying to lighten the mood:
You are a persistent man... nice. But there are easier ways than a judicial war. A lot of people like settlements.
Ahmed quickly interrupted the talk, in an indignant tone:
I didn't come to discuss the term "settlement". I came to tell you: stop what you're doing. If you don't stop, I will continue until the people who will love to hold you accountable.
Adel's tone cooled but contained malice:
Stop? Ahmed, the world isn't black and white the way you people like it in courts. There are interests, there are consequences... Thinking with your logic is a bit naive.
Ahmed took a step forward, his voice low and firm:
It's not naivety to prefer profit at the expense of people. It's naivety for someone to think that anyone can overlook injustice if met with secrecy. I'm not here to ask for money - I'm here to ask for justice.
Adel stubbornly:
Justice? You seem to think you're a knight from the movies. Do you know there are people who like to invest in silence. Can you stop that?
Ahmed in a decisive tone, without hesitation:
I know. And I know that the truth is in front of you, and you will be held accountable - legally. And here is the difference: I am with papers and witnesses, not with chatter.
(Momentary silence - Adel watches Ahmed with eyes trying to read him, Ahmed standing firm as a rock.)
Adel in a cold voice trying to color the threat with a diplomatic tone:
If you won't listen to my words.. then you'll be the one to bear the consequences of this game. Not everything is solved in court. Some of it is solved in other places... places that don't like the media.
Ahmed with the calmness of a knife's edge:
This talk doesn't scare anyone who has a conscience. If you think you have ways to make people back down, let them resort to accountability. I'm here to open a file, not close it.
Adel smiles a final cold smile:
Strange courage, Mr. Ahmed. You'll see its results soon.
Ahmed gathered his papers, announcing the end of the dialogue and the visit:
The results I see are clear from now: either you stop, or I will continue. And quite calmly, I'll let the law work.
(Ahmed turns his back and heads for the exit. Adel looks away from him for a second, and in his voice is an unconcealed tone of defiance.)
Adel smiles coldly, and looks at Ahmed:
You know, Ahmed... the little girl, your daughter, Nour? I heard she's very smart... but maybe not smart enough to understand the world like adults.
Ahmed turns around slowly, his voice low but sharp:
Who are you talking about?
Adel with a cunning sarcasm:
About your little girl... I heard she's nervous and easily provoked and tries to act her own way... but honestly, it looks like she'll get lost if she enters the adult world..
(Ahmed's eyes widened, his fist tightened, his body tensed. The inner voice screaming: "Don't you dare touch her!")
Ahmed's voice suddenly rose, as he stepped forward:
Why are you bringing her name into your talk?! I told you not to bring up my children on your tongue!
Adel in a provocative laughing tone, winking:
Oh Uncle Ahmed... just a warning. But it's obvious you're very sensitive...
Ahmed couldn't stand the tone of this man standing in front of him talking about his daughter.
(Ahmed lunged at Adel, hitting him hard with his shoulder then slapping him, the table shakes, the papers fly, Adel steps back surprised, the shock on his face is clear.)!
The air in the office became heavy, and the silence after Ahmed's slap was as if it pressed on the chest of the whole room.
Adel stands in front of Ahmed, his face red from rage and insult, and his eyes gleaming with evil. Ahmed stands with panting, angry breaths.
Adel came to speak angrily
But he couldn't!
Suddenly, amidst the silence that was for a few seconds like paint on glass, - no usual gunshot was heard, but a sharp feeling, like a cold prick, sneaked through the internal noise.
Adel froze, his eyes cooled and their prestige disappeared in the same moment.
He swallowed air with difficulty, and fell to his knees against the desk wall, his hand spinning quickly on his chest. His shirt started covering with a quietly expanding stain.
The guard team rushed inside because of Ahmed's voice in a moment, their eyes gleaming between amazement and fear. One of them shouted:
- "Someone get an ambulance... grab this criminal and call the police.."
Ahmed returned to take a quick look around him, as if his eyes were searching for the source of the shot, for anything to clarify the scene. His heart beats fast; not only from fear for Adel - but an internal conflict:
Who did this and how?!
The noise started to increase followed by shouting, fast footsteps, the phone ringing, and with every passing second, the danger turns into an immediate investigation situation. Ahmed, his breathing increases but his mind works fast, pushing the guards to prevent anyone from leaving the villa, and calling the ambulance and the prosecution, but by then it was too late.
And Adel died!
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#Unknown_Traces
All rights reserved to the writer Maryam Abdel Aal