He thought it was one of the neighbors.

The police began searching for this car.

They checked the camera recordings and indeed half an hour before Ahmed’s van drove by, the same camera had recorded a dark sedan moving towards the mansion.

The license plate was not visible.

The camera was old and the quality was poor, but they were able to determine the make approximately.

It looked like a Honda Accord or a Toyota Camry, both common models.

Investigators compiled a list of all similar cars registered in the area.

There were 1,300 of them.

They began checking the owners, looking for connections to Sed, Ahmed, and Daniel.

One of the detectives noticed a call log on Sed’s phone.

3 days before the fire, he had received a call from an unknown number, an unregistered prepaid SIM card.

The conversation lasted 2 minutes.

It was impossible to determine who had called or what they had talked about, but the same number had called Akmed the day before the fire.

It couldn’t have been a coincidence.

Someone else was coordinating their actions or threatening them.

or making arrangements.

The police tried to locate the phone using cell towers.

They were somewhat successful.

The calls came from the Washington area, but they couldn’t determine the exact address.

The number was no longer in use after the night of the fire.

The phone had apparently been thrown away or destroyed.

The detectives returned to the women.

They asked if they had seen anyone else besides Akmed, Daniel, and Sed.

Oxana remembered that a few days before the fire, someone else had gone down to the basement.

A woman, young, around 25 to 30 years old, dark hair, thin, spoke with an accent, possibly Eastern European.

She came with Ahmed, examined the women, and wrote something down in a notebook.

Oxana thought she was a buyer, that they were being checked before the sale.

The woman asked questions where they were from, how old they were, if they had any illnesses.

Oxana refused to answer.

The woman shrugged and left.

Oxana didn’t see her again.

This was a new lead.

The investigators asked Oxana to describe the woman in more detail.

She was tall, about 170 cimeus, slim with shoulderlength, straight dark brown hair.

She had an oval face, a small nose, and thin lips.

She was dressed modestly, jeans, a dark jacket, and sneakers.

No jewelry, as far as Oxana could remember.

The police compiled a photo fit based on Oxana’s description and began their search.

At the same time, they checked Sed’s financial transactions.

Bank statements showed that he regularly withdrew cash, $10 to $15,000 a month.

These were large sums, unusual for ordinary purchases.

Most likely, he used this money to pay Akmed and other participants in the chain.

But there were also transfers, several transactions to offshore accounts through shell companies.

Investigators were unable to immediately determine who owned these accounts.

International inquiries were required, and that took time.

One of the transactions caught their attention.

A month before the fire, Sed transferred $50,000 to an account belonging to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

The name of the company meant nothing.

It was just a string of letters and numbers.

But when investigators began to dig deeper, it turned out that this company had ties to several other entities in Eastern Europe, in Muldova, Romania, and Ukraine.

All of these companies were involved in recruitment in one way or another.

Officially, they were employment agencies that helped people find work abroad.

But in reality, many of them were fronts for human trafficking.

The police contacted Interpol.

It turned out that several of these agencies were already under investigation by law enforcement.

They were suspected of recruiting women for sexual exploitation, but there was not enough evidence, so no cases were opened.

Now, the investigators had a concrete lead.

They requested information about the employees of these agencies, photos, data.

One of the profiles matched the photo fit of the woman Oxana had seen.

Her name was Elena Rousu, 32 years old, a citizen of Muldova.

Officially, she worked as a manager at one of the agencies in Chisanau.

But according to Interpol records, she had been detained several times in different countries on suspicion of human trafficking.

But each time she was released due to lack of evidence.

Investigators began searching for Elena Rousu in the United States.

They contacted the immigration service and found out that she had entered the country on a tourist visa 2 months before the fire.

She flew back to Muldova a week after the tragedy.

Her whereabouts are currently unknown.

Muldovven police reported that Elellena had not appeared at her place of residence and her phone was not answering.

Most likely she went into hiding knowing that she would be hunted down.

But her role in this story was becoming clearer.

Most likely Elena was the coordinator.

She connected agencies in Eastern Europe with buyers in the United States.

She recruited women, arranged for their delivery, and checked the merchandise before handing them over to clients.

Said was one of those clients.

Akmed acted as a local intermediary.

He met the women, brought them to the mansion, and controlled them.

Daniel provided medical assistance to keep the victims in relatively normal condition.

Jang mapped out the entire chain.

At the top was Sed, who financed the operation and used the women for his own purposes.

He may also have sold some of them to other buyers, although there was no direct evidence of this yet.

Below him was Elellanena Rousu, who recruited and transported victims from Eastern Europe.

Further down was Ahmed, who did the dirty work on site.

And at the very bottom was Daniel, who helped keep the women alive without asking questions.

But who started the fire? That question remained unanswered.

Akmed swore he didn’t set the house on fire.

Daniel was at work.

Elena had already left the country.

That left one possibility.

Someone else whom the investigators had not yet found.

Or say himself.

Maybe he really had decided to kill himself and Jana just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Lawson ordered an additional examination of the scene of the fire.

Experts returned to the burnedout mansion and conducted a detailed analysis.

They discovered an interesting detail on the bedroom floor.

Under a layer of ash, they found shoe prints, a partially preserved soul print, size 43, men’s shoes.

The tread pattern indicated Nike sneakers.

The experts compared them with Sed’s shoes.

He wore size 42, not a match.

So, there was someone else in the bedroom.

This clue gave investigators a new lead.

They checked Ahmed’s shoes.

Size 44 didn’t match.

Daniel’s, 43, a match.

But Daniel was at work.

His alibi confirmed by video recordings from cameras in the building where he worked that night.

He couldn’t physically be in two places at once, unless he had an accomplice.

The detectives returned to question Daniel.

They asked if he had a partner, someone else who could have come to the mansion.

Daniel denied it.

He said he worked alone and didn’t involve anyone else.

But when Lawson showed him a photo of the shoe print and said that the size matched his, Daniel turned pale.

He paused.

Then he said he had a brother, a younger brother, 19 years old, named Kyle.

Daniel sometimes gave him his old shoes, including sneakers.

That changed everything.

The police immediately began searching for Kyle Curado.

It turned out that he was a freshman at a local college studying business administration.

He lived in a dorm on campus.

When the detectives arrived there, he was not there.

His roommate said that Kyle had left a few days ago, saying he was going to visit relatives.

He didn’t say when he would be back.

Investigators contacted Kyle’s parents.

They had divorced many years ago.

His mother lived in Pennsylvania, his father in Ohio.

Both said they hadn’t seen their son in several months.

He hadn’t visited them.

The police put out a warrant for his arrest.

The detectives returned to Daniel.

They asked where his brother might be.

Daniel said he didn’t know.

They weren’t very close and rarely communicated.

Lawson asked directly if Kyle knew what was going on in the mansion.

Daniel hesitated, then admitted that yes, he did.

Once Kyle came to his house, found a medical bag, and started asking questions.

Daniel told him that he was doing some side work, helping people who couldn’t go to the hospital.

He didn’t mention the women in the basement, but Kyle wasn’t stupid.

He guessed that something was wrong.

He insisted that Daniel stop.

He said it was dangerous, that he could get arrested.

They argued.

Kyle said that if Daniel didn’t stop, he would take care of it himself.

Daniel decided it was just talk and didn’t think much of it.

Lawson asked when that was.

Daniel replied, “About a week before the fire.

” Everything coincided.

Perhaps Kyle decided to take action.

Maybe he went to the mansion to free the women or to scare Sed or to get Daniel out of this story once and for all.

But something went wrong.

Maybe Sed caught him.

A fight broke out.

Kyle grabbed a can of gasoline.

It was in the garage.

Say used it for the lawn mower and in a fit of rage, he doused the bedroom and set it on fire without thinking about the consequences.

Or maybe it was cold-blooded murder.

Jang checked Kyle’s phone records.

The day before the fire, he called Daniel several times, but Daniel didn’t answer.

Then Kyle sent him a message.

I’ll take care of it myself.

Daniel read it but didn’t reply.

He thought his brother was just threatening him to scare him.

He didn’t think Kyle would actually do anything.

The search for Kyle continued for several days.

His photo was sent to all states and cameras on roads, at airports, and at bus stations were checked.

Finally, information came in from Texas.

Local police detained a young man resembling Kyle at a gas station near the Mexican border.

He was trying to buy food with cash and was acting nervously.

When the police asked for his ID, he tried to run away.

They caught up with him, handcuffed him, and checked his ID.

It was Kyle Curado.

He was taken back to Virginia.

For the first few hours, he remained silent, refusing to speak without a lawyer.

When the lawyer finally arrived, Kyle began to testify.

He confessed to setting fire to the mansion.

He said he didn’t want to kill anyone.

He just wanted to save the women.

He knew his brother had gotten involved with bad people and decided to put an end to it.

On the evening of September 12th, he drove to the mansion.

He parked his car in the woods and walked the rest of the way.

He saw that the lights were on in the house.

He knocked on the door.

A man opened it, said.

Kyle said he was Daniel’s brother and had come to talk.

Said, “Let him in.

” They went into the living room.

Kyle asked where the women were.

Said was surprised and said he didn’t understand what he was talking about.

Kyle raised his voice and demanded to see the basement.

Said refused and told him to leave.

Kyle didn’t leave.

Instead, he started looking for them himself.

Went into the kitchen, opened the door to the basement, and went down.

He found the wine celler and found a hidden door.

He went down to the second basement.

He saw the women.

He wanted to free them.

He tried to break the chains, but they were too strong.

The women screamed and begged for help.

Kyle ran upstairs looking for tools.

Sigh blocked his way.

He had a gun in his hands.

He told Kyle that he had made a mistake, that now he would have to pay.

Kyle was scared.

He grabbed the first thing he could find, a can of gasoline that was standing by the garage door.

He swung it at Sed.

Sad fired, but missed.

The bullet hit the wall.

Kyle threw the canister at him, spilling gasoline on the floor.

Said slipped and fell.

Kyle ran upstairs to the bedroom where he thought he could lock himself in and call the police, but Jana was there.

She was screaming, demanding an explanation.

Kyle tried to calm her down, saying that the police would be there soon, but Sed had already climbed the stairs, banging on the bedroom door, threatening them.

Kyle panicked.

He saw the gasoline that had spilled on his clothes and shoes.

He took out his lighter.

He smoked and always carried it with him.

He thought that if he created a fire hazard, Sed would back off.

He spilled some gasoline on the floor by the door and flicked his lighter.

The fire ignited instantly, faster than he expected.

The flames spread across the carpet and shot up to the curtains.

Kyle tried to put them out, but couldn’t.

Jana screamed.

He grabbed her by the hand and tried to pull her out the window, but it wouldn’t open.

The old frames were stuck.

Smoke filled the room.

Kyle was suffocating.

He rushed to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge.

Sciot had locked it from the outside and propped it with something heavy.

Kyle banged on it and screamed, but his strength was fading.

The last thing he remembered was falling to the floor and losing consciousness.

He woke up on the street.

At first, he didn’t understand how he got there.

Then he remembered the window had broken from the heat and he had fallen out or crawled out.

He couldn’t remember.

He stood up and looked around.

The house was on fire.

Flames were bursting out of the windows.

Kyle realized that Jana was still inside.

He wanted to go back but couldn’t.

The heat was too intense.

He heard sirens.

The fire department was on its way.

He was scared.

He ran to his car, got in, and drove away.

He didn’t think about the consequences.

He just ran.

Investigators listened to his testimony.

They checked it.

The story generally matched the evidence.

A bullet lodged in the wall on the first floor confirmed that there had been a shootout.

The shoe print in the bedroom matched Kyle’s size.

The clothes he had worn that night were in the trunk of his car, covered in soot and smelling of gasoline.

The DNA on the fabric matched his DNA.

But Kyle’s version raised questions.

First, if Sed locked the door from the outside, how did he himself die in the fire? Experts returned to the scene and examined the bedroom door.

It had indeed been propped open by a heavy dresser that stood in the hallway, but the dresser was not completely burned, and it could have been moved.

Perhaps Sed blocked the door to prevent Kyle from escaping, but then he himself did not have time to escape.

The fire spread too quickly, blocking the way to the stairs.

He returned to the bedroom, trying to escape through the window, but suffocated first.

So did Yana.

their bodies were found together.

Second, why didn’t Kyle call the fire department immediately after he got out? He explained that he was panicked and afraid and couldn’t think clearly.

The lawyer insisted that it was an accident, that Kyle didn’t want to kill anyone, that he acted out of good intentions, trying to save the women.

The prosecutor objected, saying that Kyle deliberately set the room on fire, knowing that there were people inside.

It was murder, albeit unintentional.

The case was sent to court.

Kyle was charged with the unintentional murder of two people, arson, and trespassing.

Daniel was charged with complicity in human trafficking and unlawful detention.

Ahmed was charged with human trafficking, kidnapping, unlawful detention, and aiding and abetting.

Elena Rousu remained at large and was charged in absentia with organizing human trafficking.

Five women from the basement received medical care and psychological support.

Three of them were deported to their home country.

They did not have legal status in the US, although human rights organizations tried to obtain temporary visas for them as victims of crime.

Two others, Marina and Oxana, agreed to stay and testify in court.

They were given witness protection and temporary asylum.

The investigation was still ongoing.

Investigators were trying to find other members of the chain.

Those who helped recruit women in Europe, those who financed the operation besides Sah.

International requests were slow and bureaucracy slowed down the process.

But Lawson and Jang did not give up.

They understood that this case was just the tip of the iceberg, that there were dozens, if not hundreds, similar schemes out there, and they wanted to destroy them all.

The story of Shik Sed al- Mahadi and his basement in Virginia did not receive widespread press coverage.

The shik’s family used their connections to minimize media attention.

A few small articles appeared in local newspapers, but the major publications avoided the topic.

Officially, this was explained by the fact that the case was under investigation and disclosure of details could interfere with justice.

unofficially.

It was due to pressure from influential people who did not want Sed’s name and his connections to human trafficking to become public knowledge.

But for those directly affected by this story, the women who survived the nightmare in the basement, the investigators who uncovered the crime, the families of the victims, it remains an open wound.

On March 21st, 2024, Dubai police discovered the body of 21-year-old Indian student Amina Paraman in a private mansion in the Albara district.

Her husband, 53-year-old businessman Mansour bin Hammad Al- Mazroi, claimed it was an accident, but marks on the girl’s neck suggested otherwise.

Amina Parammanan was born and raised in a small town in the state of Kerala in southern India.

Her family was not wealthy, but her parents tried to give their daughter an education.

The girl was in her third year at a local college studying business administration.

According to her classmates, Amina was a quiet, modest student who rarely participated in social events and spent most of her time studying.

She had no close friends, did not attend parties, and hardly used social media.

Her Instagram profile contained only a few photos from family celebrations.

Amina’s parents, like many conservative Indian families, held traditional views on marriage.

When the girl turned 20, her mother began actively looking for a suitable husband for her.

At first, local candidates from their community were considered, but most families refused because of the modest dowy that Amina’s parents could offer.

The girl’s father worked as a clerk in a government agency and his salary barely covered the living expenses of the family of five.

Amina had two younger sisters who were also about to get married.

In December 2023, Amina’s mother contacted a marriage agency in a neighboring town.

The agency specialized in international marriages, mainly with grooms from the Persian Gulf countries.

The agency’s owner, Rashid Hussein, had been working in this field for 15 years and had connections with several similar agencies in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

The process was simple.

Indian families provided photographs and basic information about their daughters, and the agency passed this information on to partners in Arab countries where it was shown to potential grooms.

Rasheed Hussein met with Amina’s mother in his office on the third floor of an old building in the city center.

The office was small with a few chairs for visitors and a desk piled high with folders of documents.

On the walls hung photographs of happy couples in front of expensive cars and large houses.

Hussein explained the procedure.

They had to provide photos of the girl, copies of her documents, a medical certificate, and consent to the marriage.

The agency’s services cost 50,000 rupees which was a significant amount for Amina’s family.

However, Hussein promised that if the marriage took place, the groom would usually cover all the expenses and provide a generous dowy.

Two weeks later, Hussein called Amina’s mother and said he had found a suitable candidate.

Mansour bin Hammed al- Mazroi, a businessman from Dubai, was looking for a young, educated bride from India.

Hussein showed a photo of a middle-aged man in traditional white clothing standing next to a black SUV.

He said that Mansour owned several hotels in Dubai and a transport company involved in logistics.

The man was divorced and had two adult children from his first marriage.

Now he wanted to remarry a young woman who could run the household and bear him more children.

When Amina’s parents learned of the groom’s age, they were initially skeptical.

The 32-year age difference seemed too great.

But Hussein convinced them that such marriages were common in Arab countries and that Mansour would be able to provide Amina with a comfortable life that they could never give her.

He also mentioned that Mansour was willing to pay a dowy of $20,000 and cover all the wedding expenses.

This money could help the family marry off their two younger daughters.

Her parents showed Amina the photo.

The girl silently looked at the image of an unfamiliar elderly man.

She said nothing, only nodded.

In their family, it was not customary to argue with their parents’ decisions.

Her mother took this as consent.

In January 2024, the process of preparing the documents began.

Hussein regularly contacted the partner agency in Dubai that represented Mansour’s interests.

Both sides exchanged requirements and conditions.

Through the agency, Mansour sent a list of requirements for his bride.

She must be under 25 years of age, educated, a virgin with no criminal record or serious illnesses.

The last requirement was particularly important to him, and the agency emphasized this several times.

Amina underwent a medical examination at a private clinic recommended by the agency.

The doctor issued a health certificate stating that the girl was healthy and fit for marriage.

The certificate also included a note about her virginity, although the examination itself was superficial and formal.

The doctor spent no more than 10 minutes with Amina, asked a few general questions about her health, and wrote the certificate.

Later, the investigation would establish that this clinic regularly collaborated with Hussein’s marriage agency and issued similar certificates without thorough examination.

In February, Mansour sent an official marriage proposal through the agency.

The document was written in Arabic with an English translation.

It listed the terms of the marriage, the size of the dowy, and the obligations of both parties.

According to the document, after the marriage, Amina was to move to Dubai and live in her husband’s house.

She was forbidden to work without his permission.

She was obliged to run the household and obey her husband’s will in accordance with Islamic traditions.

In exchange, Manser undertook to provide for her financially, provide housing, and pay all living expenses.

Amina’s parents signed the document without going into details.

The main thing for them was that their daughter would be provided for and able to live in Dubai where in their opinion everything was better than in their poor neighborhood in Carerala.

They did not think about how a 21-year-old girl who had never left her state would feel in a foreign country with an unfamiliar man who was old enough to be her father.

After signing the preliminary agreement, the visa application process began.

Moner used his connections to arrange a bride visa for Amina.

The process took about 3 weeks.

During this time, the girl continued to attend college classes, but became even more withdrawn.

Her classmates later recalled that in the last weeks before her departure, Amina often sat alone in the corner of the classroom, staring out the window and hardly talking to anyone.

When asked what was wrong, she replied that everything was fine.

On March 7th, Amina received her passport with a visa.

A ticket for a flight to Dubai was purchased for March 10th.

The girl had only 3 days left to pack her things and say goodbye to her familiar life.

Her mother helped her pack her suitcase.

They bought several new dresses, underwear, and cosmetics.

Her father gave Amina a small amount of money that he had saved especially for her.

Her younger sisters cried and hugged their older sister, not fully understanding that she was leaving forever.

On the evening of March 9th, relatives gathered at the house.

Aunts, uncles, cousins came.

They had a small farewell dinner.

The guests congratulated her parents, saying that Amina was lucky to be marrying a rich man and living in Dubai.

Some of the female relatives whispered among themselves, discussing the large age difference, but no one voiced their doubts aloud.

In the cultural environment in which Amina grew up, a woman’s fate was determined by her parents’ decision, and her opinion was rarely taken into account.

On the morning of March 10th, her father drove Amina to the airport.

The drive took about 2 hours.

They hardly spoke.

Her father tried to say something several times but stopped mid-sentence.

At the terminal, he hugged his daughter, wished her happiness, and quickly left without looking back.

Later, he admitted to investigators that he felt guilty, but could not have done otherwise.

For him, it was the only way to secure his daughter’s future and help the whole family.

Amina checked in, dropped off her luggage, and headed for the boarding gate.

The flight to Dubai lasted about 3 and 1/2 hours.

The girl sat by the window, looked at the clouds, and did not touch the food offered by the flight attendants.

A passenger sitting next to her later said that she looked scared and nervous, took out her phone several times, looked at photos, but did not call anyone.

The plane landed at Dubai International Airport at around 8:00 pm local time.

Amina passed through passport control, collected her luggage, and exited into the arrivals hall.

She had never been to such a large airport before.

Everything around her seemed huge, noisy, and frightening.

She looked for the sign with her name on it, as the agency had instructed her.

A few minutes later, a man in traditional white clothing approached her.

It was not Mansour, but his driver, whom he had sent to meet his bride.

The driver took her suitcase and gestured for her to follow him.

They went out to the parking lot where a black SUV with tinted windows was waiting.

The driver opened the back door and Amina got in.

The car was large with leather seats and the air conditioning running at full power.

The girl was shivering even though the interior was cool.

The driver did not speak English but silently drove through the evening streets of Dubai.

Amina looked out the window at the skyscrapers lit up by neon lights and the wide highways filled with expensive cars.

It was also far from her quiet town in Carerala.

40 minutes later, the car turned into a private neighborhood with large villas behind high fences.

The driver stopped at the gate of one of the houses, pressed a button on the remote control, and the gate slowly opened.

Amina saw a two-story mansion with a white facade, large windows, and a well-kept garden.

Mansour bin Hammed al-Mazu himself was standing near the entrance.

Mansour looked older than in the photographs.

His face was lined with deep wrinkles.

His beard was streaked with gray, and his eyes were cold and appraising.

He stood motionless, his hands clasped behind his back, and looked at the girl as a buyer appraises merchandise.

Amina got out of the car, lowered her eyes, and greeted him quietly in broken English.

Mansour did not reply, but nodded to the driver, who carried the suitcase into the house.

Then he turned and went inside without waiting for the bride.

Amina hesitantly followed him.

Inside the house was even more impressive.

Marble floors, high ceilings, a large chandelier in the hall.

A wide staircase leading to the second floor.

Everything was impeccably clean and tidy, but completely lifeless.

No family photos on the walls, no personal belongings, no signs that anyone lived here.

The house resembled an exhibition hall of expensive furniture.

Mansour led Amina to the second floor and showed her the room.

It was a large bedroom with a huge bed, a separate bathroom, and a dressing room.

He briefly explained in English where everything was, said that tomorrow morning the maid would show her the rest of the house and left, closing the door behind him.

Amina was left alone in a strange room in a strange house in a strange country.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and took out her phone.

Several missed calls from her mother.

The girl dialed the number, but no one answered.

Due to the time difference, her parents were already asleep.

She wrote a short message.

I’ve arrived.

Everything is fine.

I’ll write tomorrow.

Amina hardly slept that night.

She lay on the huge bed, listening to unfamiliar sounds, trying to get used to the idea that this was now her life.

Somewhere downstairs, she could hear footsteps, the sound of the TV.

Then everything fell silent.

Mansour didn’t come to her room.

The girl did not know whether to be happy about this or not.

In the morning, the maid knocked on the door.

Maria, a 45-year-old Filipina, had been working in Moner’s house for 7 years.

She spoke English with a strong accent, but it was understandable enough.

Maria showed Amina around the house, showing her the kitchen, living room, dining room, and master’s study.

She explained that she did the cooking, and that Amina didn’t need to do anything.

Mansour usually left for work in the morning and returned in the evening.

The house also had a room for the security guard, who worked shifts with his partner.

Their main task was to watch over the property and the gates.

Maria showed Amina the house rules.

She was not allowed to enter the master’s study without permission.

She was not allowed to open the gates on her own.

All purchases and trips outside the house required the master’s permission.

Maria said this in a calm tone as if she were listing ordinary household rules.

For her, having worked in Arab families for many years, such rules were the norm.

Amina spent the first few days mainly in her room or in the garden.

Mansour hardly spoke to her.

In the morning, he left for work, returned in the evening, dined alone in the dining room, watched TV, and went to his room.

Sometimes he asked Amina short questions how she was feeling, if she needed anything, if she was getting used to the heat.

The girl answered in mono syllables, trying not to look him in the eye.

She felt awkward and scared to be around this silent stranger who was now considered her husband.

The wedding was set for March 11th, the day after Amina’s arrival.

Mansour wanted to hold the ceremony quickly and without unnecessary fuss.

He did not arrange a big celebration as is often done in Arab families.

only the bare minimum, an official marriage ceremony according to Sharia law in a mosque in the presence of witnesses and a representative of the imam.

On the morning of March 11th, a representative of a marriage agency from India arrived at the house, having flown in especially for the ceremony.

He was accompanied by a translator, a middle-aged woman who was supposed to help Amina understand what was happening.

Mansour’s two brothers with their wives and his adult son from his first marriage also arrived.

A total of 10 people gathered.

Amina was given a traditional Indian wedding dress to wear which her parents had sent her.

It was a red sari with gold embroidery and jewelry that her mother had given her.

The girl got dressed in her room with Maria’s help.

When she looked at herself in the mirror, she hardly recognized her own reflection.

She looked like a bride from the Indian movies she had watched as a child.

Only in those movies, the brides were always happy.

Around noon, everyone went to the mosque.

It was a small mosque in the Albara district, not the most famous or visited.

Mansour had deliberately chosen a quiet place where there would be no unnecessary witnesses or curious onlookers.

The ceremony was quick and formal.

The imam read the prayers, asked the mandatory questions, and Amina and Mansour confirmed their consent to the marriage.

The girl repeated the words after the interpreter, not fully understanding their meaning.

The whole process took less than half an hour.

After the ceremony, a small lunch was served at the house.

The guests congratulated the newlyweds, wishing them happiness and many children.

Mansour’s brother’s wives looked at their new sister-in-law with curiosity, whispering to each other in Arabic.

Amina sat quietly, barely touching her food, answering questions with nods.

Mansour’s son, a 25-year-old man, did not speak at all to his stepmother, who was younger than him.

He sat through the entire lunch with a gloomy expression, clearly unhappy with his father’s decision to remarry.

By evening, the guests had left.

The house was quiet again.

Maria cleared the table, washed the dishes, and went to her room.

The security guard took over the night shift.

Amina went up to her bedroom, changed into simple home clothes, and sat down by the window.

It was getting dark outside, and lights were coming on in the windows of the neighboring houses.

Somewhere out there, other people were living their lives with their own problems and joys.

And she was here, locked in a golden cage, not knowing what would happen next.

Around 10:00 in the evening, Mansour knocked on the door.

Amina started in surprise and opened the door.

He stood on the threshold in his home clothes, looking at her with a long, appraising gaze.

Then he asked if she was ready to fulfill her marital duties.

His voice was even emotionless, as if he were asking if she wanted tea.

Amina didn’t know how to respond.

She remained silent, her eyes downcast.

Mansour took this as consent.

What happened next, Amina would later recall as the most terrifying experience of her life.

Mansour behaved rudely and demanding.

He was not physically cruel, but his coldness and indifference to the girl’s feelings were worse than any violence.

For him, it was simply an act of possessing property that he had legally acquired.

He did not talk to her, did not ask about her condition, but simply did what he considered his right.

When it was over, Mansour got up, got dressed, and left the room without a word.

Amina remained lying on the bed, trembling from shock and humiliation.

She did not cry.

Her tears had ended somewhere around the time the plane took off from Carerala.

Now she just lay there and stared at the ceiling, trying to understand how her life had turned into this.

The next few days passed in a strange limbo.

Mansour continued to go to work, come home in the evening, and sometimes visit Amina at night.

They hardly spoke.

The girl spent her days at home, sometimes going out into the garden, trying to read the books she had brought with her, but unable to concentrate.

Maria tried to cheer her up, cooking her favorite dishes and trying to get her to talk, but Amina remained withdrawn and silent.

Her only connection to her former life was her phone.

Every day, Amina called her mother and told her that everything was fine, that her husband provided well for her, that the house was beautiful, that she was getting used to it.

She lied easily and naturally because she couldn’t tell the truth.

She couldn’t explain to her mother who was so happy about this marriage that her daughter was unhappy.

That she felt like a thing that had been bought and paid for that every day here seemed like an eternity to her.

Her mother, for her part, was delighted.

She told her neighbors and relatives what a nice house her son-in-law had, how much money he gave Amina, what a stroke of luck it was for their family.

Her younger sisters envied their older sister and dreamed of also marrying a rich man from Dubai.

Her father remained silent, but in the evenings, he often looked at a photograph of his daughter, which stood in a frame on the shelf.

A week after the wedding, Mansour showed his dissatisfaction for the first time.

One evening he came home from work earlier than usual.

Called Amina into the living room and said that he did not like the way she was behaving, that she was too quiet, too withdrawn, that a good wife should be more open and cheerful, that he had paid good money for her and expected her to behave accordingly.

Amina tried to explain that it was difficult for her to get used to her new life, that she needed time.

Mansour listened to her and said that she hadn’t had enough time, that she should have prepared for this marriage in advance.

Then he added that he would check whether she was worthy of being his wife, that if he found out that she had been deceived, that she did not live up to what the agency had promised, she would regret it.

These words frightened Amina.

She did not understand what Mansour meant, but there was a threat in his voice.

He did not come to her that night, nor the next two nights.

He avoided her, hardly ever appeared at home, left early in the morning, and returned late at night, immediately going to his room.

Maria noticed the changes in her employer’s behavior.

She had known Mansour for many years and had seen him in different states of mind.

After his divorce from his first wife, he had been gloomy and irritable for a long time.

Then he calmed down and became more reserved.

But in recent days, he had been nervous again, often talking on the phone and raising his voice.

Several times the maid heard him yelling at someone on the phone in Arabic.

She didn’t understand all the words, but she got the general idea.

Mansour was angry, demanding answers from someone, accusing them of cheating.

One morning when Mansour left for work, Amina heard Maria talking to the security guard in the kitchen.

They were speaking in English and the girl couldn’t help but overhear their conversation.

Maria said that the owner had called some agency the night before, swearing, demanding his money back, saying he had been cheated.

The security guard asked what was going on.

And Maria replied that she didn’t know for sure, but it seemed that the owner was dissatisfied with his new wife, that he suspected that he had been given the wrong girl, not the one he had been promised.

Amina felt cold at these words.

She returned to her room and tried to remember all the details of the marriage.

the medical certificate she had received at the clinic, the documents her parents had signed, the conditions specified in the marriage contract, and then she remembered the agency had stated in the documents that she was a virgin.

That was one of the groom’s main requirements.

But Amina was not a virgin.

Two years ago, when she was 19, she had a brief relationship with a classmate.

It lasted only a few months.

Then the young man transferred to another college and they broke up.

Amina didn’t tell anyone about it, not even her friends.

In their conservative society, premarital relationships were taboo.

If her parents found out, it would be a disgrace to the whole family.

When Amina underwent a medical examination before the wedding, the doctor asked her a few formal questions and issued a certificate.

There was no real examination.

The girl assumed that this might be discovered on her wedding night, but hoped that Mansour would not pay attention to it or attach any importance to it.

Many modern men did not attach importance to such things.

But Mansour, as it turned out, was not one of them.

Now, Amina realized she was in danger.

If Mansour really believed he had been deceived, he could do anything.

The UAE had strict laws, but for foreign wives without connections or money, there was virtually no protection.

She was in the country on a visa that her husband had arranged.

Her passport was in his safe.

She had almost no money, only the small amount her father had given her.

She had nowhere to go.

Amina tried to call her mother, but she did not understand the seriousness of the situation.

Her mother said that all brides go through difficulties in the first weeks of marriage, that she needed to be patient and obedient, and that her husband would surely appreciate her in time.

She did not hear the panic in her daughter’s voice, did not understand that she was asking for help.

On the evening of March 18th, Moner came home later than usual.

Amina heard the car door slam, heard him climb the stairs heavily, heard him go into his study and close the door.

After a while, he called Maria and told her to prepare dinner for two.

The maid was surprised.

Mansour usually dined alone, but she silently obeyed the order.

When dinner was ready, Mansour called Amina to the dining room.

The girl went downstairs, feeling her heart pounding in her chest.

They sat down at the table opposite each other.

Maria served the food and went to the kitchen.

Mansour began to eat in silence, not looking at his wife.

Amina did not touch her plate.

After a few minutes, he put down his fork, leaned back in his chair, and looked at her.

His gaze was cold and harsh.

He said that he had called the agency that had arranged their marriage, that he had demanded an explanation, that he had been told that all the documents were in order, all the conditions had been met, and the claims were unfounded.

He paused, then added that he didn’t believe the agency, that he wanted to hear the truth from Amina herself.

The girl was silent.

She didn’t know what to say.

If she lied, he could check it.

If she told the truth, the consequences could be terrible.

Manser repeated the question, this time louder and harsher.

Amina lowered her eyes and quietly admitted that she was not a virgin before marriage, that she had had a relationship with a young man 2 years ago, that she did not know it was so important to him, that the agency had issued a certificate without a real examination.

Mansour listened silently.

His face showed no emotion, but his hands were clenched into fists.

When Amina finished speaking, he slowly got up from the table.

He stood motionless for a few seconds, then turned and left the dining room.

The girl heard him go upstairs and slammed the door to his office.

Then there was silence.

Amina sat at the table, unable to move.

Maria looked out from the kitchen and saw her frozen daughter-in-law and the untouched dinner.

She approached and quietly asked if everything was all right.

Amina did not answer.

The maid helped her up and accompanied her to her bedroom.

As she left, she whispered that the girl should lock the door for the night.

There was alarm in her voice.

Amina did not sleep that night.

She lay on the bed fully clothed, listening to every sound in the house.

Something banged downstairs.

Footsteps were heard.

Then silence again.

The clock on the wall counted down the minutes.

1:00 in the morning, 2:00, 3:00.

It was beginning to get light outside.

Nothing happened.

In the morning, Mansour left for work as usual.

He didn’t go to his wife.

Didn’t say a word.

Amina spent the day in her room, not even coming out to eat.

Maria brought her food, but the girl didn’t touch her plate.

She sat by the window all day looking at the street trying to figure out what to do next, but there was no way out.

On the evening of March 19th, everything changed for good.

When Mansour returned home, he was a different person.

His face was calm, almost peaceful.

He had dinner, watched TV, then went upstairs.

Around 11 pm, he knocked on Amina’s door.

The girl opened the door.

Mansour stood on the threshold in his home clothes, his face calm, almost indifferent.

He asked if he could come in.

Amina nodded and stepped aside.

Mansour closed the door behind him and sat down on the edge of the bed.

He was silent for a few minutes, looking around the room as if he were seeing it for the first time.

Then he spoke.

He said he had been thinking all night and all day.

that he understood she was young, that she had had her own life before him, that perhaps he had overreacted.

His voice was even almost soft.

Amina felt the tension ease a little.

Maybe everything would be all right.

Maybe he would forgive her.

Maner got out of bed and went to the window.

He stood there looking at Dubai at night through the glass.

Then he turned to Amina and asked if she had loved that guy.

The girl didn’t know how to answer.

She mumbled something indistinct about youthful foolishness, about how it was a long time ago and didn’t mean anything.

Mansour nodded as if he didn’t care.

Then he asked if she understood that she had disgraced him.

There was a new tone in his voice.

Not a shout, not anger, but something cold and harsh.

He said he had paid good money for her, that he had a right to get what he had been promised, that he had been deceived, and deception was an unforgivable insult in their culture.

Amina tried to say something in her defense, but he cut her off with a sharp gesture.

Mansour took a step toward her.

Amina instinctively stepped back.

He asked if she knew what he could do to her for this deception.

that under Sharia law, a husband had rights she couldn’t even imagine.

The girl felt a chill run down her spine.

She whispered that she was sorry, that she didn’t want to deceive anyone, that the agency had issued the certificate without her knowledge.

What happened next happened very quickly.

Mansour grabbed her by the shoulders tightly, painfully.

Amina screamed and tried to break free, but he was much stronger.

He pinned her against the wall and hissed in her face that she had disgraced him in front of his family, the agency, and himself.

That he would not allow some girl from a poor Indian village to make a fool of him.

Amina tried to push him away, hitting his chest with her hands.

This only made him angrier.

Mansour slapped her across the face with his open palm.

The blow was hard and the girl felt the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

She screamed, but Mansour covered her mouth with his hand.

Then he dragged her to the bed.

The next few minutes were a nightmare.

Mansour beat her, choked her, and yelled at her in Arabic.

Amina tried to defend herself, scratching his hands and trying to bite him, but the strength was unequal.

At one point, he wrapped both hands around her neck and began to squeeze.

The girl tried to breathe, but no air came in.

She scratched his hands, tried to push him away.

But with every second, her strength was fading.

Black circles floated before her eyes.

The last thing she saw was Mansour’s face, contorted with rage above her.

When he let go of her neck, Amina fell lifelessly onto the bed.

Mansour stood over her for a few seconds, breathing heavily.

Then he leaned over and checked her pulse.

Nothing.

He took a step back, looked at his hands at the girl’s motionless body on the bed.

His face was impassive.

No remorse, no shock, only cold calculation.

He left the room and went down to his office.

There he sat for about an hour thinking about the situation.

Then he picked up the phone and called the private security company he worked with.

He explained that there had been an accident, that his wife had fallen and hit her head.

He needed help.

The person on the other end of the line advised him to call the police and an ambulance immediately.

Mansour thanked him and hung up.

He went back up to the bedroom.

He looked around the room.

There were signs of a struggle on the sheets.

The pillows were on the floor and one of the bedside tables had been moved.

Mansour tried to make it look like an accident.

He turned the nightstand on its side and laid Amina down as if she had fallen and hit her head on the corner.

Then he noticed scratches on his hands and neck, traces of her resistance.

He went to the bathroom, washed the scratches, and changed into clean clothes.

He put the bloodstained robe in a bag and hid it in the far corner of the dressing room.

Around midnight, he went downstairs and woke up the security guard.

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