All Chapters of Vows Written In Silence : Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The call came through at eight in the evening. Zoya was on the hotel sofa with Riyana asleep across her lap, a case file open on the cushion beside her, when she looked at the screen. Amira . She answered. “Hi,” Amira said. “Hey.” Something warm in her chest she had not expected. “How are you? “Good. Actually good.” A beat. “I started at Mansoor Corp.” “Wow! Congratulations! When?” “Four days ago. Raiyan asked me before you left LA. I said yes.” A pause. “Does that change anything—?” “No,” Zoya said. Immediately. “It doesn’t. It’s your family’s company, Amira . It makes sense.” A beat. “So technically,” Amira said carefully, “we can’t talk.” Zoya looked at the ceiling. “Technically,” she agreed. “Which is a problem?” “It is.” “Because I like talking to you.” “Amira .” “How is Liyana?” “She is good, don’t worry, Aunty Mirrium is here.” Zoya sighed. “Good.” Zoya looked down at Riyana asleep across her lap. At the dark wavy hair.. At the small hand loosely curled a

In Mansoor Corporation, Michael flagged the number at eleven forty-three. Unknown. Monaco area code. Raiyan looked at it for three seconds. He picked up. “Raiyan, how are y—” “What do you need this time?” A beat. “Or how much?” Silence on the line. Then — “How can you talk to your mother like this Rai, I am still your mom. I want to see my granddaughter.” “Drop the act Rene. What do you want?” “I also need to tell you something Raiyan, it—” “I do not want to hear anything from you. Now tell me what you really want or I am hanging up.” “I need your help.” She never built to things. She just arrived at what she wanted and waited. “I am in a difficult position. I need funds. Quietly.” “How much.” She told him. He was quiet for a moment. “Transferred by Thursday. Do not contact Raina about this.” “Raiyan—” “Thursday.” He ended the call. He set the phone face down on the desk. He transferred the money before Thursday. He sat at his desk. He w

The meeting had been running for two hours. Harrison had the case summary on the screen — trial progress, evidentiary position, jury read, opposition strategy assessment. He delivered it the way he delivered everything — methodically, without editorialising, the professional confidence of a man who had been doing this for thirty-one years and knew the weight of every word he chose. Raiyan sat at the head of the table and listened. He had been to the factory site that morning. He had stood at the eastern drainage channel with Matthew and looked at the capped pipe and the weld that was eight years newer than the infrastructure around it and he had stood outside a woman’s door and listened to her talk about her husband who died at sixty-four and her grandson on medication since the age of four. He had not told Harrison any of that. He sat at the head of the table and listened. “The victims’ coalition is the primary liability,” Harrison said. “Their testimony is emotionally compellin

In the Masoor Manor, Liyana was upset about something. He genuinely could not remember what. It had started as a reasonable disagreement about whether dinner needed to happen before Ice cream and had evolved into a position Liyana was holding with great conviction and zero flexibility. She was sitting on the sofa. Arms crossed. The pout deployed. He looked at her. Zoya's pout. Exactly. The lower lip. The slightly elevated chin. The expression of a woman — a two and a half year old woman — who had decided she was correct and was prepared to remain correct indefinitely. It appears in front of him now on a small face wearing star pajamas and he had to look at the ceiling for a moment. "Lily." "No." "Dinner first." "No, daddy." "Then ice cream." She said nothing. The pout intensified. He sat down beside her on the sofa. "Okay," he said. "What if—" "Daddy." She turned to look at him with the full force of the expression. "I love you." He stopped. "I love

“Liyana already has a mother—Grandfather.” He paused. “My daughter does not need anyone else as long as I am alive,” Raiyan said. His voice came out even. Quiet. Not angry. “I raised her on my own for the past two and a half years. If she did not need a mother then, she doesn't need one now.” He looked at his grandfather directly. "Elena is like family Grandfather," Raiyan said. "She's like Amirah to me. That has never been anything else and it will never change. I won't discuss this." Zayed looked at him. Raiyan looked back. Something in his face had closed, his eyes were already dark, he was trying not to show it. "I want to sleep, Grandfather." Pleasant. Final. "Thank you for tonight. Goodnight." He went into his room. The door closed, the click of the lock sharp and heavy in the empty space. Zayed stood in the dark corridor. The warmth he had been wearing — the love, the concern, the grandfather who only wanted what was best — faded slowly. The way a light dim