Then he would offer solutions that created dependency.

I processed termination payments ranging from 30,000 to 80,000 dams for women who signed NDAs promising never to speak about their relationship with Victor.

The prosecution presented exhibit A, a spreadsheet recovered from Victor’s laptop titled personal inactive xlsx.

The document contained 12 rows each with a woman’s name, nationality, hire date, relationship duration, termination date, NDA amount, and the notes column.

The notes were damning.

Min relocated Shanghai too independent settled 30K.

Jasmine Cruz pregnancy claim threatened legal action settled 50K plus medical.

Lena Kowalsski miscarriage complications medical repatriation paid 65K high risk of future claims.

The final entry added September 2022 read RRowena Estraa major threat viral exposure legal action required permanent solution necessary.

Former victims testified throughout March 8th and 9th.

Jasmine Cruz appeared via video from Manila, describing how Victor had pressured her to abort his child in 2019, threatened her with prostitution charges if she refused, and paid her 50,000 dams to return to the Philippines and signed documents stating she had fabricated the pregnancy.

He told me Filipinos were known for baby trapping wealthy men.

Jasmine testified, tears streaming down her face.

He said UAE authorities would believe him over me because I was poor and illegal.

I had the abortion alone in Manila and have never been able to conceive again.

P Satang testified from Bangkok via video on March 10th.

She described Victor installing tracking software on her phone in 2017, showing up at locations she hadn’t told him about and sending anonymous emails containing photos of her family in Thailand.

He told me he had connections with Thai police.

Ploy stated.

He said if I ever spoke about him, my father’s business would be destroyed through tax investigations.

I lived in fear for 2 years after leaving Dubai.

When I saw Rowena’s videos, I finally felt brave enough to speak.

The prosecution’s technical evidence came through Dubai Police Cyber Crime Division specialist Muhammad Alcabi, who testified March 11th about Victor’s surveillance infrastructure.

Alcabi demonstrated how Flexuspy software on Rowena’s iPhone gave Victor complete access to her digital life.

Every text message, email, photo, GPS location, and even ambient audio recording capability.

Mr.

Hail accessed this application 847 times between March and September 2022, Alcabi explained, showing login records.

He could activate Ms.

Distrella’s microphone remotely and record conversations without her knowledge.

We found audio files on his laptop containing private discussions she had with her sister in the Philippines about leaving Dubai.

The health tracking spreadsheet was presented as exhibit D on March 12th.

Dr. Sarah Mitchell, a British forensic psychologist specializing in coercive control, explained its significance.

This document shows Mr.

Hail tracked Ms.

Estrella’s menstrual cycles with the precision of a medical professional monitoring a patient.

He noted estimated ovulation dates, marked high- risk days, and documented his sexual encounters with her in correlation to her fertility window.

This level of reproductive control is a hallmark of intimate partner violence designed to prevent pregnancy that might complicate his ability to discard her.

Jason Lim Jia testified March 13th and 14th, having pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for a reduced 15-year sentence and cooperation against Victor.

Jason’s testimony provided the murder timeline in excruciating detail.

Victor had contacted him October 1st via Telegram using an encrypted account.

He said he needed help with a personal matter.

A woman who was suicidal and wanted to end her life peacefully, Jason explained.

He offered me 15,000 dams to deliver wine and medication to her hotel room, ensure she drank it, and help her go to sleep.

He told me it was a mercy killing, that she was suffering and had asked for his help.

Jason described receiving the fentinyl syringe from Victor on October 3rd at 6:00 pm in the parking garage of Princess Tower.

Victor had provided a hotel staff uniform stolen from Marina Bay Hotel’s laundry service, the exact room number where Rowena was hiding, and a security override code to disable hallway cameras.

“He told me to inject her after she drank the wine, wait until she fell asleep, then leave through the service exit,” Jason testified.

He said he would handle the rest.

The prosecution presented phone records showing Victor’s telegram messages to Jason.

October 3rd, 9:15 pm Package ready.

October 3rd, 10:30 pm Is it done? October 3rd, 11:47 pm Confirm completion.

Payment transferred.

The corresponding bank transfer of 15,000 Dams to Jason’s account was timestamped October 3rd, 11:52 pm Just as Rowena was dying in Victor’s wine celler.

The defense strategy revealed during Roderric Tan’s opening statement March 15th attempted to frame Rowena as a sophisticated extortionist who had manipulated Victor and staged her own death as the ultimate revenge.

Mr.

Hail is not a murderer.

Tan argued he is a successful businessman who made the mistake of becoming romantically involved with an employee.

When that relationship ended, Ms.

Estraa manufactured elaborate evidence, made false accusations, and when faced with criminal consequences for extortion, chose to take her own life in a manner that would frame Mr.

Hail for murder.

Victor testified in his own defense March 16th and 17th, a decision that stunned legal observers and likely sealed his fate.

Dr.essed in a tailored dark suit, speaking in his polished British accent, Victor attempted to portray himself as the victim.

I cared deeply about Rowena, he stated.

I helped her achieve legal status, supported her family financially, gave her opportunities she never would have had in the Philippines.

Yes, we had an affair.

I’m not proud of betraying my marriage vows.

But when Rowena demanded 100,000 Dams to delete her videos, I realized she had been using me all along.

Chief prosecutor Alsham’s cross-examination was devastating.

Mr.

Hail, you claim Miss Estraa extorted you, yet you filed a police report only after she released videos exposing your abuse.

Why didn’t you report this alleged extortion when it occurred?” Victor faltered.

“I I thought I could handle it privately.

” Alshamsy pressed, “You tracked Ms.

Estrella’s location 847 times in 6 months.

Is this normal employer behavior, Victor? I was concerned for her safety.

” Alshamsy, you documented her menstrual cycles.

Why, Victor, that’s taken out of context.

Alshamsy, you paid Jason Lim 15,000 durams on October 3rd for what service? Victor, consulting work.

Alshamsy, what kind of consulting requires delivering fentinel to a woman’s hotel room? Silence.

The trial’s climax came March 18th when the prosecution played Rowena’s final video.

Recorded October 3rd, 10:58 pm in room 28:47.

The courtroom fell silent as Rowena’s face filled the screen, her voice calm and clear.

My name is Rowena Estraa.

I’m recording this at 10:58 pm on October 3rd, 2022.

I’m in Marina Bay Hotel, room 2847.

Victor Hail has found me.

A man just delivered wine to my room with a message to drink it.

I know it’s poisoned.

I’m drinking it anyway because if I don’t, Victor will find another way to kill me and that way might hurt others.

By drinking this willingly, I control how I die and I make sure my death convicts him.

To Victor, you thought you own my life.

Now you’ll spend yours in prison because I own my death.

To Bianca, I love you.

Finish school.

Tell my story to everyone watching.

This is what happens when we let powerful men treat poor women as disposable.

I’m Rowena Estraa from Batangas, Philippines, and I refuse to disappear silently.

Several observers in the gallery wept.

Judge Jasm remained impassive, but his subsequent questioning of Victor was unforgiving.

Mr.

Hail, did you send someone to Ms.

Estrella’s hotel room on October 3rd? Victor, no, your honor.

Judge, did you provide fentinel to Jason Lim? Victor, no, your honor.

Judge, did you transfer 15,000 dams to Mr.

Lim for any purpose related to Ms.

Estraa? Victor, that payment was unrelated.

Judge, then you contest Mr.

Limb’s testimony that you hired him to drug Ms.

Estustral estraa.

Victor, he’s lying to reduce his sentence.

Judge, so this court should believe you.

A man who monitored his employees menstrual cycles and maintained files on 12 previous women over a witness who pleaded guilty and provided evidence corroborating the prosecution’s timeline.

Victor had no response.

Closing arguments concluded March 20th.

Chief prosecutor Al Shamzy.

Victor Hail is a predator who operated with impunity for seven years, exploiting vulnerable women and silencing them through intimidation and money.

When Rowena Estraa exposed him, he had her murdered and staged it as suicide.

The evidence is overwhelming.

Digital surveillance, financial records, witness testimony, and Rowena’s own words predicting her murder.

This court must send a message that the UAE does not tolerate such evil, regardless of the perpetrator’s wealth.

Defense Council Roderick Tan.

The prosecution has constructed an elaborate narrative but lacks definitive proof Mr.

Hail personally killed Miss Estraa.

At most, this is a case of terrible judgment in hiring Mr.

Lim, not premeditated murder.

We ask for a quiddle or at minimum conviction on lesser charges.

Judge Jasm announced he would deliberate and render verdict within 10 days.

The courtroom emptied.

Victor returned to Alawir Central Jail where he’d been held since October 2022.

And the world waited.

Judge Jasm bin Sed delivered his verdict at 10:00 am in a packed courtroom where Philippine ambassador to the UAE Maria Theresa Dison sat in the front row beside Bianca Estraa, now 21 years old, who had flown from Manila specifically to witness justice for her sister.

The judge’s voice was firm and clear as he read from a 47-page judgment that methodically dismantled Victor’s defense and affirmed every element of the prosecution’s case.

Having reviewed all evidence, testimony, and legal arguments, this court finds defendant Victor Hail guilty of premeditated murder under UAE Penal Code Article 332.

The evidence demonstrates beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr.

Hail planned and executed Ms.

Rowena Estrella’s killing through an intermediary, staged the scene to simulate suicide, and attempted to evade justice through deception and witness intimidation.

Victor’s expression remained blank, his lawyer immediately requesting appeal rights.

But Judge Jasm wasn’t finished.

Furthermore, this court finds Mr.

Hail guilty of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, systematic violation of privacy laws, and conspiracy to commit murder.

The pattern of abuse spanning 7 years and 12 victims represents not isolated criminal acts, but a calculated system of predation enabled by wealth and exploiting power imbalances inherent in sponsorship based employment systems.

The judge paused, looking directly at Victor.

Your crimes are aggravated by your position of authority, the vulnerability of your victims, and the complete absence of remorse.

This court sentences you to death by execution under article 332.

The courtroom erupted.

Filipino observers crying in relief.

Media scrambling to file reports.

Human rights advocates embracing.

Bianca Estrella collapsed into Ambassador Dison’s arms.

Her body shaking with sobs that represented not just grief but validation.

Her sister had told the truth.

And the world had finally listened.

Victor’s lawyer immediately filed appeal paperwork.

UAE law requires automatic appeal of death sentences to the Supreme Court, but the conviction stood.

Victor was led back to Alaware Central Jail in handcuffs, his face finally showing emotion.

Rage mixed with disbelief that his money hadn’t purchased freedom.

The sentencing hearing held April 10th, 2023 allowed victim impact statements that would be considered by the Supreme Court during mandatory death penalty review.

Bianca Estrella spoke first, reading from prepared remarks in unsteady English.

My sister Rowena was supposed to come home in 2024.

We were going to start a small business together, maybe a laundry service in Batangas.

Instead, I came to Dubai to collect her body.

Victor Hail didn’t just kill my sister.

He killed our future, our family’s hope, and our belief that working abroad meant opportunity rather than danger.

But 8 Rowena was smart.

Even in death, she made sure he couldn’t escape.

I ask this court, “Let the death sentence stand.

Let every man who thinks Filipino workers are disposable know there are consequences.

” Elena Estrella’s statement was read by the Philippine embassy’s labor attach since Elena’s health had deteriorated severely after Rowena’s death.

My daughter went to Dubai to escape poverty.

She came home in a coffin.

Victor Hail stole my baby, my hope, my reason for living.

Every morning I wake up and remember she’s gone.

Every evening I cry myself to sleep.

There is no sentence long enough.

No punishment severe enough for what he took from me.

But I thank God and this court for believing Rowena.

She died fighting.

Let her victory be complete.

Jasmine Cruz testified via video.

Victor Hail forced me to abort his child and threatened to destroy my life if I ever spoke.

For four years, I lived in silence and shame.

Rowena gave me courage to speak.

Because of her sacrifice, I can finally heal.

I beg this court.

Don’t let her death be in vain.

Execute him.

P Satang, he terrorized me for 2 years after I left Dubai.

Rowena’s videos freed me from fear.

Honor her memory with justice.

Min, Linu, and four other former victims submitted written statements describing years of psychological torment, financial manipulation, and threats that continued long after they had left Victor’s employment.

Judge final sentencing statement addressed the broader implications.

This case reveals systemic vulnerabilities in how foreign workers are protected in the UAE.

While this defendant’s guilt is established beyond doubt, his crimes were enabled by legal structures that tied visa status to employer sponsorship, creating conditions where workers feared reporting abuse.

This court recommends legislative review of sponsorship systems, mandatory independent oversight of employer employee relationships, and stronger protections for workers who report misconduct.

Victor’s appeals consumed 18 months.

His legal team, now funded by liquidating his business assets since his family had downed him and frozen his trust fund access, argued the death penalty was disproportionate, that evidence had been improperly obtained, that Jason Lim’s testimony was unreliable.

The UAE Supreme Court rejected every argument in a decision issued September 15th, 2024.

The final paragraph was unequivocal.

The evidence supports not only guilt, but demonstrates exceptional cruelty warranting.

Capital punishment.

The defendant showed no mercy to his victim.

This court extends none to him.

Death sentence confirmed.

Execution to be scheduled following exhaustion of all appeals.

Victor Hail’s final appeal to the UAE president for clemency was denied December 2024.

Execution date was set for March 4th, 2025, exactly 2 years after the trial verdict.

Under UAE law, executions are typically by firing squad, though hanging is also authorized.

Victor would be the first Western national executed in the UAE in 15 years.

A decision that sparked international debate about capital punishment, but which Amirad authorities defended firmly.

Ministry of Justice spokesperson stated, “The UAE’s legal system applies equally regardless of nationality or wealth.

Mr.

Hail received every due process protection.

His crimes warranted the maximum penalty, and that penalty will be enforced.

” Meanwhile, Victor’s Obsidian Noir empire collapsed spectacularly.

The Dubai nightclub closed permanently in November 2022 after authorities revoked its liquor license and entertainment permits.

The property was sold at auction for 8 million durams, half its assessed value, with proceeds placed in escrow for victim compensation.

Victor’s penthouse at Princess Tower was seized by Dubai courts and auctioned for 12 million duram.

His luxury car collection, a Lamborghini Aventador, two Ferraris, and a Bentley Continental sold for combined 3 million dams.

Total asset recovery reached 28 million durams distributed to 14 victims and their families according to a formula based on duration of abuse and severity of harm.

Bianca Estrella received 5 million durams approximately 68 million pesos which she used to establish the Rowena Estraa Foundation in Manila registered as a nonprofit in January 2024.

The foundation’s mission protecting overseas Filipino workers from exploitation through legal assistance, emergency repatriation, and advocacy for stronger labor protections.

By December 2024, the foundation had assisted 47 OFWs in Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and Hong Kong with legal representation in abuse cases, repatriated 12 women from dangerous situations, and successfully lobbyed the Philippine Congress for mandatory pre-eparture orientation, including training on recognizing coercive relationships and documenting abuse.

Bianca herself became an outspoken advocate, testifying before the Philippine Senate Committee on Migrant Workers in May 2024 and presenting legislation named Rowena’s Law, requiring Philippine embassies to conduct quarterly welfare checks with OFW employers, creating a confidential hotline for abuse reporting and establishing a rapid response legal fund.

The law passed unanimously in August 2024.

At the signing ceremony, Senator Risa Hontivivero stated, “Rowena Estraa died 8,000 km from home, but her courage changed laws that will protect millions of Filipinos working abroad.

That is the definition of heroism.

” UAE authorities, stung by international criticism of how Victor operated undetected for 7 years, implemented sweeping reforms.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization announced in June 2023 new regulations allowing foreign workers to transfer employment sponsorship without current employer permission, eliminating the power imbalance that had trapped Rowena.

Employers found guilty of confiscating worker passports, a common abuse tactic, now faced mandatory jail time and deportation if foreign nationals.

Electronic monitoring of sponsorship-based employment required employers to file quarterly reports on worker welfare subject to random inspection.

Jason Limway Jia began serving his 15-year sentence at Alaware Central Jail in a separate block from Victor to prevent intimidation.

Prison records show Jason participated in rehabilitation programs, expressed remorse in letters to Bianca, which he never answered, and assisted authorities investigating the underground network through which Victor obtained unregistered fentinel.

Jason’s cooperation led to the arrest of a Pakistani doctor who had been selling prescription medications illegally and revealed that Victor had purchased fentinel doses on three previous occasions in 2020 and 2021.

Raising horrifying questions about whether other women’s deaths attributed to accidents or suicides had actually been murders.

Clarissa Vanderbilt Hale, Victor’s aranged wife, filed for divorce in New York courts in November 2022, waving all claims to Victor’s assets and issuing a public statement.

I was complicit through willful ignorance.

I knew Victor had affairs.

I didn’t know he was a predator and a murderer.

I will spend the rest of my life supporting organizations that protect vulnerable women from men like my ex-husband.

Clarissa donated $2 million to the International Domestic Workers Federation and became a trustee of the Rowena Estraa Foundation’s US Fundraising Arm.

Victor Hail’s family severed all ties.

His father, Christopher Hail, released a statement in January 2023.

My son’s actions are indefensible and unforgivable.

Our family extends deepest condolences to Ms.

Estrella’s family and all victims of Victor’s abuse.

We will not oppose the court’s sentence.

Some crimes sever even blood bonds.

Christopher died of a heart attack in September 2023.

Friends said he never recovered from the shame.

Victor’s mother, Amaly Duboce, visited him once at Alaware Central Jail in December 2022.

A meeting that lasted 15 minutes and ended with Amaly leaving in tears.

She never returned and refused all interview requests.

Elena Estrella’s health deteriorated after Rowena’s death.

The back surgery Victor had paid for in 2022 couldn’t repair the emotional damage.

She died in her sleep in August 2024, aged 54, from what doctors listed as cardiac arrest.

But what Bianca knew was a broken heart that never healed.

Elena was buried beside Rowena at Leipa City Cemetery in a ceremony attended by 300 people, friends, neighbors, overseas workers Rowena’s story had inspired and representatives from labor rights organizations.

The headstone paid for by the Rowena Estraa Foundation reads Elena Estraa 1970 to 2024.

Devoted mother who sacrificed everything so her daughters could dream.

reunited with her beloved Rowena.

Rowena’s grave became a pilgrimage site.

Every November 12th, her birthday, hundreds gathered to leave flowers, candles, and handwritten notes from Filipinos working abroad.

Your courage saved my life.

I escaped my abusive employer because you showed me how to document evidence.

Thank you for fighting back.

Because of you, I reported my boss and won my case.

You didn’t die in vain.

8.

We remember we fight back.

The municipality of Lipa designated November 12th as Rowena Estraa Day for OFW rights, hosting annual symposiums on worker protection.

International media coverage transformed Rowena’s story into a watershed moment.

Netflix released a documentary in October 2024, Obsidian Noir: The Rowena Estraa Case, featuring interviews with Bianca, surviving victims, investigators, and legal experts.

The documentary was viewed by 47 million accounts in its first month and earned an Emmy nomination for outstanding investigative documentary.

Academic institutions added the case to curricula.

Harvard Law School taught it in their human trafficking course.

Cambridge University included it in gender studies and universities across the Philippines used it too.

The captain of a Qatari fishing trawler sailing early in the morning to the port of Doha spotted an uncontrolled motorboat on the open sea.

Upon approaching, the crew discovered two women on board.

One of them, later identified as an Indonesian citizen, was dead from extensive blood loss caused by a wound that experts later identified as the result of a hunting arrow.

The second, an Egyptian citizen, was in a state of deep shock and severe dehydration.

This discovery recorded by the Coast Guard became the starting point for an investigation that the Qatari authorities subsequently tried to conclude without publicity.

To understand how these women ended up 80 km from the coast, it is necessary to reconstruct the events that preceded their discovery.

At the center of this story is 28-year-old Yasmin, an Egyptian citizen who arrived in Doha on a work visa.

Like thousands of other women from Southeast Asia, Africa, and Arab countries, she worked as a domestic servant.

Her contract with a cleaning agency in Doha provided her with an income of $600 per month.

This was a standard salary for such a position, but for Yasmin, it was critical.

She sent almost all of her earnings to her family in Cairo.

The money went to support her sick mother who needed expensive kidney surgery and to support her three younger sisters who were receiving an education.

Yasmin worked without days off, taking extra shifts and saving rigorously.

Her life in Doha was a closed cycle, working in the homes of wealthy Qataris, sleeping briefly in a shared room with other workers, and making weekly phone calls home.

The agency’s management described her as an efficient and unobtrusive employee.

It was these qualities that apparently attracted attention to her when the agency received an unusual request.

One day, the agency manager called Yasmin to the office.

She was offered what they called a special project.

The job was temporary for only 3 days.

The client was a high-ranking official whose name was not disclosed.

The place of work was a private area where transportation would be provided.

The nature of the work was described vaguely.

Assistance in preparing for a private event serving guests.

The pay for 3 days of work was set at $5,000.

This amount was almost 10 times her annual salary.

The agency manager emphasized that the offer required absolute confidentiality and an immediate decision.

Yasmin was aware of the risks associated with working at closed private events about which there were various rumors among the servants.

However, the $5,000 would fully cover the cost of her mother’s surgery and subsequent rehabilitation.

After a moment’s thought, she agreed.

She was instructed to sign additional non-disclosure documents, the text of which was written in English, a language Yasmin knew only at a basic level.

She was not given a copy.

The next day, an unmarked car picked Yasmin up from the agency’s dormatory.

She was taken to a small private airfield outside Doha.

There, she met three other women who had also been hired for this job.

They were girls about her age, one from the Philippines, one from Indonesia, and one from Kenya.

They kept to themselves, and it was clear that they had also been instructed not to make unnecessary contact.

They were loaded onto a helicopter.

The flight lasted about an hour.

Yasmin, looking out the window, saw the coastline of Qatar disappear, replaced by the uniform blue surface of the Persian Gulf.

The island where the helicopter landed was small, no more than four square kilm, according to estimates.

It was densely covered with jungle-like vegetation and palm trees.

On the shore, near a small pier, stood the only modern villa built of glass and concrete.

A man who introduced himself as the manager met them at the landing site.

He was a man with a stern face of Pakistani origin who spoke clear English.

He immediately took the women’s passports and mobile phones, explaining that this was a security requirement and registration procedure on private property.

When Yasmin tried to clarify when her documents would be returned, the manager replied that all questions would be answered at the end of the day.

The women were taken to a separate guest house adjacent to the main villa.

The rooms were luxurious with panoramic windows overlooking the ocean.

The manager informed them of the rules.

Prince Nasser, the owner of the island, who was 42 at the time, would arrive tomorrow.

Today was meant to be a day of rest.

They were forbidden to leave the guest house or approach the main villa or the pier without an escort.

In the evening, they were brought dinner.

The women ate in silence.

The tension between them was growing.

They found themselves completely isolated, 80 km from the mainland, without documents, without communication, on an island belonging to a man they had never seen.

Yasm means attempts to talk to the others were unsuccessful.

They were frightened and clearly did not want to break the established rules.

Towards evening, Yasmin was left alone in her room.

She looked around the room.

In the closet, in addition to a bathrobe, she found a neatly folded set of dark-coled sportsear and a pair of new sneakers that fit her perfectly.

The same clothes, as she later learned, had been prepared for the others.

This was the last detail she remembered before falling asleep, exhausted from the flight, and nervous tension.

At around 3:00 am, Yasmin and the other women were awakened by a loud noise, which Yasmin later identified in her testimony as the sound of gunshots fired in the immediate vicinity of the guest house.

These were not single shots.

According to her testimony, it was a short but intense burst of gunfire, presumably from automatic weapons, fired into the air.

Almost immediately afterwards, the doors to their rooms were forced open.

Several people burst into the rooms.

According to Yasmin, they were the same guards who had greeted them upon arrival, but now their faces were hidden by tactical masks, and they were armed with automatic weapons.

They did not say a word, using only sharp gestures.

The guards pointed to the sportsear and sneakers that Yasmin had previously noticed in the closet.

They were ordered to change immediately.

The state of shock and disorientation prevented the women from resisting or asking questions.

They were led out of the rooms, their hands roughly tied behind their backs with plastic ties.

The women were led along a dimly lit path from the guest house deep into the island into the thick of the jungle.

After about 15 minutes of walking, they came to a clearing lit by several powerful spotlights powered by a generator.

A man was waiting for them in the center of the clearing.

It was 42-year-old Prince Nasser.

He was dressed in expensive camouflage clothing used by professional hunters.

In his hands, he held a modern composite hunting bow and a large knife was secured in a tactical sheath on his hip.

The Pakistani manager who had met them on arrival stood next to him acting as an interpreter.

Although the prince apparently understood English, Prince Nasser looked at the women.

His gaze, as described by Yasmin, was devoid of any emotion.

Then he began to speak.

His tone was calm and business-like, as if he were instructing staff before the start of a routine event.

The manager translated his words.

The prince explained the rules.

He called what was happening a survival game.

He said he would give them exactly 30 minutes head start.

After that, he would begin the hunt.

Their task was to hide and survive on the island.

He reminded them that the island was surrounded by water and that the nearest shore was 80 km away, making any attempt to escape by swimming impossible.

The prince specified that the game would last 12 hours.

However, he also set a key condition.

If at least one of them survived until 6:00 in the morning, i.

e.

until dawn, she would be declared the winner.

The winner, according to him, would immediately receive her freedom and a reward of $100,000.

He did not specify what would happen to those he caught before that time.

According to Yasmin, the women were in a state of shock.

The Kenyon woman began to cry quietly, but the manager ordered her to be quiet with a sharp gesture.

Prince Nasser gave a sign, and one of the guards cut the ties on the women’s hands.

“Run,” he said.

The women scattered in different directions into the darkness of the jungle away from the lit clearing.

Yasmin, who had been a track and field athlete in Cairo during her school years and had good stamina, ran without looking back.

Her first thought was to reach the shore.

She instinctively believed that she would have a better chance of finding shelter or perhaps a way to leave the island near the water.

At that moment, she did not fully realize the distance to the mainland that the prince had mentioned.

The jungle was dense and unfamiliar.

She pushed through the undergrowth, trying to move as quietly as possible, but her own breathing seemed deafening to her.

After what Yasmin mean estimated to be about an hour, although in her state of panic, her perception of time was severely impaired, she heard the first scream.

It was a distinct female scream full of terror coming from the side of the island where, as she recalled, the Kenyon woman had run.

The scream was loud, piercing, and abruptly cut off.

Yasmin froze, pressing herself to the ground and hiding in the thick roots of a large tree.

She tried to suppress her panic.

Fear gave way to a cold, clear understanding.

This was not a game or some form of cruel staging.

This was reality.

Prince Nasser was indeed hunting them, and he was armed.

Yasmin continued moving, but now much more slowly, listening to every rustle.

She decided to move parallel to the coastline, but remain under the dense cover of the trees.

The humid night air made it difficult to breathe.

She navigated by the sound of the surf, which was barely audible through the thick foliage.

She realized that the hunter was probably using night vision goggles, which made her completely vulnerable in the dark.

She tried to choose roots where the foliage was denser, avoiding open glades.

After what seemed like another 2 hours, a second scream rang out.

It was much closer than the first.

Yasmin recognized the Filipino woman’s voice.

The scream was short, followed by a sound like a struggle or a body falling, and then complete silence.

Now there were only two of them left.

Yasmin lay down on the ground, covering her mouth with her hands so as not to make a sound.

She lay there until she was sure there was no immediate danger.

Realizing that passive waiting in the jungle would lead to inevitable discovery, Yasmin began to move cautiously deeper into the island away from the shore where she assumed the hunter might be waiting for her.

She moved almost blindly, stumbling over roots and branches.

During one of these stops, she almost collided with another figure.

It was the Indonesian woman whom Yasmin remembered from their brief conversation in the helicopter named Sari.

Sari was just as frightened, but unlike Yasmin, she was barefoot.

She had lost her sneakers while crossing a small swampy area.

The women communicated in whispers.

Sari was on the verge of hysterics, but Yasmine managed to calm her down, explaining that noise would attract attention.

They realized that their only chance was to join forces.

Moving together was more dangerous in terms of noise, but it gave them a psychological advantage.

They discussed the situation.

Yasm mean suggested that the prince would not expect them to go to the villa where the guards were stationed.

But Sari had a different idea.

She pointed out that the villa was the only place on the island with means of communication.

If they managed to sneak into the house unnoticed, they could find a radio room or satellite phone and call for help.

It was a desperate plan.

The villa was the prince’s headquarters, and there were sure to be armed guards there.

However, the alternative was to wait passively in the jungle until a hunter with a bow found them.

They decided to take the risk.

According to their calculations, there were no more than 2 hours left before dawn.

That is before 6 in the morning.

They had no time to hide any longer.

They began to slowly make their way towards the villa, guided by the dim lights of the service buildings visible through the trees.

According to Yazmine’s estimate, it took them over an hour to reach the villa.

They moved slowly using the thick shadows, running from one hiding place to another.

Time was running out.

The clock on the wall in the guest house, which Yasmin remembered, showed that dawn would break at around 6:00 in the morning.

According to their calculations, it must have been around 4:30 in the morning.

All their hope was that the prince, having caught two victims, might stop actively hunting until morning, or that the guards, confident in the island’s isolation, had relaxed their vigilance.

The villa seemed to be plunged into darkness, except for a few dim service lights around the perimeter.

The main living areas with panoramic windows were dark.

The women circled the building, looking for a point of entry.

They discovered that the door leading to the kitchen from the courtyard was unlocked.

This could have been either an oversight on the part of the staff or more likely part of a deliberate plan.

They had no choice but to take the risk.

Once inside, they found themselves in a large kitchen equipped with the latest technology.

Everything was made of stainless steel and stone.

They moved cautiously, trying not to make any noise.

From the kitchen, they entered the main hall of the villa.

Moonlight streaming through the glass walls created deceptive lighting.

They passed a bar counter stocked with expensive drinks.

Their goal was the radio room or the manager’s office where communication equipment might be located.

They found a door that appeared to lead to a service corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a room with electronic equipment.

It was a radio room equipped with satellite communications.

The equipment looked complicated, but the main transmitter had a standard red button with the international distress signal SOS.

Yasmin, who had taken basic courses in office technology in Egypt, understood that activating this signal might be their only chance.

Sari stayed by the door watching the corridor while Yasmin approached the console.

She pressed the button.

Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then a green light came on on the panel confirming that the signal had been transmitted.

At that moment, there was a click from the speaker in the corner of the room, followed by the calm voice of Prince Nasser.

He spoke in English.

He congratulated them on making it to the final.

At that moment, a bright light flashed in the hallway and in the wheelhouse itself.

The women were blinded.

Prince Nasser stood in the doorway.

He was calm, holding the same hunting bow, but this time with an arrow knocked.

He was not alone.

The Pakistani manager stood behind him, blocking the exit.

The prince slowly raised his bow.

He was not aiming at Yasmin, who was standing at the console, but at Sari, who was frozen in the doorway.

Sari screamed, but did not have time to move.

The prince released the bow string.

There was almost no sound of the shot, just a dry click and a whistle.

The arrow with a hunting tip entered Sari’s thigh deeply a few centimeters from the femoral artery.

Sari collapsed to the floor, her scream turning into a moan.

Dark blood immediately began to soak through her sweatpants and spread across the lighted floor of the hallway.

Yasmin, seeing this, reacted instinctively.

She was no longer a victim paralyzed by fear.

She acted out of desperation.

Without thinking, she turned to the bar counter, which was a few steps away from the radio room in the main hall.

The prince, obviously enjoying the moment, was slowly turning toward her, perhaps to reload his bow or simply to speak.

Yasmin grabbed a heavy, full bottle of whiskey from the bar counter.

With all the strength she could muster, she hurled it at the prince.

She aimed for his head.

The bottle struck Nasser in the temple.

There was a dull thud and the sound of breaking glass.

The prince made no sound.

He simply collapsed to the floor like a mannequin and lay motionless, briefly losing consciousness.

The manager standing behind him was momentarily taken aback, not expecting such aggression.

That moment was enough for Yasmin.

She rushed to Sari.

The Indonesian woman was conscious but in pain shock.

“Run,” Sari whispered.

But Yasmin refused to leave her.

She grabbed Sari under the armpits and dragged her across the floor, leaving a wide trail of blood behind her.

The manager came to his senses and shouted, apparently calling for security, who Yasmin assumed were sleeping in another wing of the villa.

Yasmine dragged Sari across the main hall to the glass doors leading to the pier.

She didn’t weigh much, but for the exhausted Yasmine, it was an almost impossible task.

She pulled her onto the wooden deck of the pier.

Several boats were morowed at the dock, including the one that was apparently supposed to be used for the morning’s fishing or sea trip, a small but powerful motorboat.

Yasmin dragged Sari to the side and with superhuman effort lifted her inside.

She jumped in after her.

In desperation, she looked at the control panel to her utter amazement and perhaps as another detail of the prince’s diabolical plan or simple negligence on the part of the staff.

The key was in the ignition.

Yasmin had never driven a boat in her life.

She turned the key.

The engine roared to life, breaking the silence of the night.

Shouts came from the villa.

Security guards ran out to the pier.

Yasmin desperately pulled the lever she assumed was responsible for movement.

The boat lurched forward, hitting the dock, but broke free into open water.

Yasmin steered the bow away from the island into the darkness of the open sea.

Almost immediately, she heard the roar of a second, more powerful engine.

The guards were starting up a pursuit boat.

The race for survival continued on the water.

Yasmin had no idea how to navigate.

She simply steered the boat straight ahead while Sari moaned and bled on the floor of the boat.

Yasmin tried to steer with one hand and hold Sari’s wound with the other, but it was useless.

There was blood everywhere.

The chase continued in the pre-dawn darkness.

The security boat was faster, but Yasmin maneuvered desperately, albeit clumsily.

Dawn was breaking.

The sky in the east turned gray, and in that first light, Yasman saw a silhouette.

It was not the security boat, which had fallen behind for a while, but a large vessel.

It was a Qatari fishing twler heading for the port of Doha.

The captain of the vessel, as he later reported to the Coast Guard, noticed a small boat moving erratically with two women on board.

When the twler got closer, the crew saw a scene they couldn’t explain.

One woman, covered in blood, was lying unconscious, while the other, severely dehydrated, was trying to get their attention before she lost consciousness herself.

The fisherman pulled both women on board.

The twler’s crew immediately administered first aid using their onboard medical kit, but Sari’s injuries were too severe.

The captain contacted the Qatar Coast Guard by radio, reporting an emergency situation, the discovery of two injured women on the open sea.

He was ordered to proceed to the port of Doha at maximum speed and was informed that an ambulance crew and the police would be waiting for them at the port.

Upon arrival in Doha, the pier was already cordoned off by security personnel.

The medical team immediately transferred both women to ambulances.

Sari, who was unconscious, was rushed to the operating room at Hammed Main Hospital.

Yasmin, who was in a state of deep psychological shock and physical exhaustion, was also hospitalized.

An hour after arriving at the hospital, Sari died on the operating table.

According to the doctor’s conclusion, death was caused by irreversible blood loss and hemorrhagic shock due to a ruptured femoral artery.

Initially, the police who arrived at the hospital treated the incident as a possible pirate attack or a failed attempt at illegal migration.

However, as soon as Yasmin was able to speak, her testimony radically changed the course of the investigation.

She gave a detailed, albeit rambling due to shock account of the events of the previous 12 hours, the job offer, the helicopter flight, the arrival on the private island, the confiscation of her documents, the sportsear in the wardrobes, and finally the night hunt organized by Prince Nasser.

She described the deaths of the Kenyan and Filipino women, the trap at the villa, and Sar’s injury.

At first, the police were skeptical of her story, perhaps mistaking it for the ravings of a traumatized person.

However, the physical evidence was undeniable.

Sari’s wound had been inflicted not by a firearm or a conventional cold weapon, but by a specific hunting spearhead, which had been removed during surgery.

In addition, Yasmin gave the exact name, Prince Nasser, a member of one of the influential branches of the ruling family.

This name immediately elevated the level of the investigation.

The case was transferred from the port police to the state security service.

Based on Yasmine’s testimony and physical evidence, Sari’s dead body, a decision was made to conduct an immediate operation on the island, which was quickly identified by air traffic control as the private property of Prince Nasser.

A special operations unit of the Coast Guard was sent to the island.

What they found fully corroborated Yasmin’s words.

Prince Nasser, his manager, and several security guards were on the island.

The prince had visible signs of trauma to his head, presumably from being struck with a bottle.

While searching the island in the area Yasmin had indicated as the place where she heard the screams, the task force discovered two fresh graves.

The graves were shallow, dug in haste.

They contained the bodies of two other women, a Filipino and a Kenyon.

A forensic examination conducted later determined that both women had died from multiple stab wounds, presumably inflicted with a large hunting knife.

Traces of blood matching Sari’s blood type were found in the villa, as well as broken glass from an expensive whiskey bottle.

Prince Nasser and all the staff on the island were arrested and taken to Doha for questioning.

The incident involving a member of the royal family, three murdered foreign nationals, and one surviving witness had the potential to escalate into a major international scandal.

However, further events unfolded according to a different scenario.

Prince Nasser was taken into custody.

A team of high-profile lawyers immediately got involved in the case.

Their defense strategy was announced almost immediately.

According to their version, what happened on the island was not murder.

They claimed that the women had been hired to participate in an extreme role- playinging game with elements of survival.

The lawyers provided contracts allegedly signed by all four women, including Yasmin and Sari.

These documents written in English described the risks in detail, including the possibility of injury and specified a reward of $100,000 for successfully completing the game.

The lawyers insisted that all the women participated voluntarily, lured by the large sum of money.

The death, they said, was a tragic accident, the result of a failure to follow safety rules during the game.

The investigation also faced difficulties in gathering direct evidence against the prince.

The murder weapon, the knife used to kill the Kenyon and Filipino women, was never found.

The bow that wounded Sari, according to the defense, was loaded with a special humane arrow with a blunt tip for role-playing games, and the fatal wound was the result of an accident and Sar’s fall.

Yasmine’s testimony was the only direct accusation, but she was an interested party, and the defense insisted that she had violated the terms of her contract and was now trying to avoid responsibility for the tragedy.

3 days after his arrest, Prince Nasser was released from custody due to a lack of direct evidence linking him to the actual commission of the murders.

The manager took responsibility for insufficient security arrangements for the event.

As for Yasmin, her position quickly changed from that of a witness to that of a problem.

She was in the hospital under guard, effectively in isolation.

Neither representatives of the Egyptian embassy nor journalists were allowed to visit her.

A few days after the prince’s release, she was visited by people who did not introduce themselves, but were acting on behalf of the authorities.

She was made an offer she could not refuse.

she would be paid compensation in the amount of $500,000.

In return, she had to leave Qatar immediately and returned to Egypt.

She was also made to understand in no uncertain terms that the safety of her family in Cairo, her mother and three sisters, depended directly on her complete silence.

Any attempt to contact the media or human rights organizations would have fatal consequences for her loved ones.

Deprived of her passport, phone, and any support, Yasmin was forced to agree.

She was deported from Qatar on the same day.

Put on a private flight to Cairo.

The money was transferred to an anonymous account.

The story of the hunt on the island never received widespread publicity.

The Qatari authorities classified the incident as an accident that occurred on private property.

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