The money Nasir withdrewhadbeen hers.
“Now what?” she asked shakily. “Are they going to go through my accounts? Are they going to—”
“Not without legal justification they won’t,” Haris said. “First thing tomorrow I’ll head to the police station and find out what is going on. If there’s new information, if they really found his location, you deserve the full picture. Don’t worry, Hena. We got this.”
We.For the first time since Milcheck arrived, her chest loosened. Haris was right. She wasn’t alone in this. Despite all the years that had passed, here he was, helping her carry this weight.
“I don’t know what I would have done without you,” she said.
“I’m happy to help.”
“I’m sorry, Haris,” she said. “For leaving the way I did. Khala…Lulu…you. None of you deserved that.”
“No one could blame you.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “We’re glad you’re back, though.I’mglad you’re back.”
She met his warm gaze and something stirred in her. She quickly pushed it away.
They walked toward the large oak doors. She braced herself for a sea of wedding guests on the other side trying to listen in, but only Irum was waiting in the hallway for them. Arms crossed, she wore a grim expression. Before Hena could say anything, Irum spoke first.
“Lulu told me to come find you,” she said. “I’m so sorry, Hena, but it looks serious.”
“What is it?” Hena asked.
Before Irum could reply, Hena saw red and white lights flashing outside the hotel entrance.
She rushed through the sliding doors. Partygoers were gathered around the ambulance. Before she could ask what happened, she heard the sliding doors part behind her. Two medics wheeling a stretcher hurried past as bits of conversation wafted over to her.
The stress was too much…
The officer…
The shame of it all…
That poor thing, after all she’s been through…
Their words surrounded Hena, but all she could focus on was her.
Ammi.
Lying motionless on the stretcher.
13
•
Hena hated hospitals. And today was the worst experience to date. Ammi lay sound asleep on the bed. The heart monitor beside her beeped in tune to the throbbing inside Hena’s own head.
But the beeps meant Ammi was alive.
It meant she was still here.
It had been two hours since she was stabilized. Khala yawned from where she sat on a stiff-backed chair by the wall. Gita, who had been standing guard by her mother’s side since they’d arrived, was curled up on the ledge of the cushioned bay window now, drifting in and out of sleep.
Hena hadn’t stopped pacing. Her body was restless, as if constant motion could hold off whatever was coming. She walked to her mother’s side now. Gingerly, she touched her mother’s sleeve and braced. For her mother’s eyes to fly open. For her to scowl at Hena. Ammi didn’t so much as flinch. Thanks to the wonders of morphine, she wouldn’t be waking anytime soon.
“I don’t understand,” Khala said. “Today was a good day. The new cough suppressant was working wonders. Thiscoughing fit came out of nowhere. When I saw the blood—” She paused. “I was preparing for the worst.”
A nurse came to check Ammi’s vitals. Hena stared at the IV delivering the morphine. She thought of the rows of pain medications lining the counter of her mother’s penthouse suite.
