Page 36 of Saving Salem
“I left the U.S. immediately after Tarik’s death.” She looked at Salem. “And, no, I do not blame you or hold you responsible for his death, no matter what his family says. I am…ashamed of my actions. I humbly apologize for the distress I caused, though I know nothing I say can alleviate the harm I did to you and your then unborn child. But I am trying to make amends, to change the person I was, and maybe become a better one in the process.”
“I think you need to skip ahead, Ms. Baptiste. Start with Rashid’s visit.” Samuel gave her an encouraging smile, and Jack heard the almost imperceptible growl from Andrea.Looks like Samuel might be eating crow when this meeting is over.
“Of course. As I said, prior to Tarik’s death, the Amir family basically refused to acknowledge my existence. However, a few months after arriving back in Paris, Rashid appeared in my office, claiming he didn’t care what the family wanted, that he wished to forge a relationship with me. He claimed that Tarik told him all sorts of things about me, and now that Tarik was dead, he needed to know his sister. I was leery at first, but he seemed sincere, coming to Paris every other month. Rashid is a playboy, travels around Europe, although he mostly enjoys London and Paris. Abdullah handles the family’s business now that Tarik is gone, and Rashid lives a decadent, hedonistic lifestyle. Parties and women fill his every waking moment, because he isn’t responsible for or required to work. Money isn’t an issue because the Amirs are wealthy beyond belief. They have more money than they can spend in any one lifetime.”
“Tarik handled the family’s business interests when I lived at the compound. I always believed that was partly why he was so stressed all the time. He had so many lives dependent upon him.” Salem stared down at her hands, which she’d placed in her lap. Jack noticed them bunched into fists.
“Abdullah has that responsibility now, and Sayifa is unhappy.” Jennifer looked at Jack. “Sayifa is Tarik’s mother. To her, Tarik was the golden one, perfect. Her firstborn son, she doted on him, and she is the one who is calling for Salem’s head. Rashid told me his mother refuses to believe Tarik did anything wrong. Feels like the Americans murdered her son in cold blood to protect the filthy harlot. I’m sorry, Salem, but that’s what she calls you.”
“It’s not like I haven’t heard it before. That’s probably one of her kinder names for me.”
“She sounds like a peach,” Stephanie muttered.
“Rashid gets a little talkative when he’s drinking and partying. And he loves both, so he does it a lot. He let slip that Sayifa hired private investigators to find out where Salem lived, where she worked, whether she was dating anyone. She has files on every aspect of Salem’s life, right down to the brand and color undergarments she chooses. This was all handled through a company in the U.A.E., contracting the work to people in New Orleans. Salem, she hasn’t forgiven you for Tarik’s death, and she will see you pay.”
“It makes sense, we knew it had to be the Amirs targeting Salem. Things have happened which point to them.” Jack looked at Samuel, ready to ask if Stefan had gotten anything, but Samuel’s subtle shake of his head forestalled him. He mouthed the word “later” and Jack nodded. He’d get the answers he needed, and protect Salem and Chloe, even if it meant leaving the country and going into hiding.
“Rashid let it slip his mother is making plans to come to the United States, ostensibly for the custody hearings, but he thinks she’ll make some kind of move to harm Salem. He feels she wants to be there, to watch as Salem suffers the way her son suffered.”
“How does Rashid have this information if he’s rarely in Dubai? Is he that close to his family, to his mother, that she’d confide murderous intentions to him?”
“Mr. Carpenter, Sayifa is an intelligent woman. Though I’ve never met her personally, I make it a habit to know my enemies. She hated me and my mother from the time she discovered I existed. Many times she interfered in my life, costing me job opportunities, and even caused me to lose my fiancé. He backed out of our engagement when confronted with the very real threat of Sayifa’s wrath. Dubai is a metropolitan area, for all its ties to the Muslim religion, and she has many who will do her bidding without question, regardless of the fact that she is a woman. The Amir name means something over there. The world may think Abdullah runs the family, but I assure you, Sayifa is the true control behind the throne.” She brushed a hand through her bangs, ruffling them, the first break in her perfectly coiffed appearance since Jack had come into the room, and for the first time he really looked at her. Beyond the perfect outward appearance, there were lines of fatigue bracketing her eyes and her hand continued to tremble. He was beginning to feel sorry for her. She’d come all the way from France, traveled to Texas, and then to New Orleans to share information with Salem. Maybe she wasn’t all bad, simply misguided.
“Could I get a cup of coffee? I’ve been traveling for so many hours, I could use the caffeine.”
Stephanie jumped up from her chair. “I’ll get it. Be right back.”
“Thank you. You asked about Rashid. He’s the youngest son, and a bit of a mother’s boy—is that the right phrase?”
“A momma’s boy. That’s what we call it here in the South.” Andrea was the one who answered her.
“Yes, that’s it. A momma’s boy. Sayifa confides in him, feeds him her poisonous thoughts, and her plans for revenge. He listens, garnering information, doing what he can to talk her out of her rash acts, but this time he claims there will be no stopping her. When I questioned him about why it was so important for her to eliminate Salem, his answer surprised me. It was a shock because I didn’t see, didn’t anticipate Tarik taking such action.”
Jack straightened, his back ramrod stiff as the answer morphed in his head like a streak of lightning. “Son of a…it all ties back to Chloe, doesn’t it? Tarik made her his heir. If he controlled all the family finances, the business, that means everything the Amirs own rightly belongs to her. That’s why they need to get custody so badly. If the money belongs to Tarik’s daughter, control of the money would go to—”
“Salem. Tarik’s will states everything he has be bequeathed to his unborn child. Sayifa tried to have the will destroyed once she found out, but it had already been filed. Abdullah is acting as the executor of the estate, handling the day-to-day affairs, keeping the businesses running and thriving. Sayifa has been able to keep the contents of the will a secret, but she hasn’t been able to change what Tarik did with the stroke of a pen. Chloe has inherited a multibillion-dollar estate, and unless Sayifa can get Salem out of the picture and get custody of the child, they stand to lose everything.”
“Why would Tarik do this?” Samuel posed the question, tossing it out like a grenade. “It goes against not only common sense, but flies in the face of his family’s traditions. If Tarik died, almost always the next in line inherits. Which would have been Abdullah Amir. Why would Tarik fly in the face what he knew his family would want, bequeathing the family livelihood, all their worldly goods, to a child that at the time his will was written had not even been born?”
“Tarik was obsessed with Salem to the point she was all he could think about, all he talked about. Incessantly. Every time he would call, Salem was all he could talk about. His unborn child became his hope for getting her back. He told me he changed his will leaving everything to his child. Of course, he was convinced he’d have a son, a boy to carry on the Amir family name. It was his obsession, to raise his son in his image. He never imagined he’d have a girl child, much less that he’d die before ever seeing his progeny. Fate had other plans it seems.” Jennifer looked at Salem, pity in her gaze. “I promise, he would have taken your child whether you accompanied him back to his home or not. He meant to raise his child to be the next Amir leader.”
“I don’t want his money! I don’t wany any of this! I’ll sign away all rights, give it back to the Amirs. I never asked for this. I just want to be left alone with my daughter.” Salem’s body shook beneath Jack’s hands and she tried to jump from her seat. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, whispering in her ear.
“It’s going to be okay. Now that we know why they want Chloe, Chance and Ivy will be able to destroy them in court. They will never touchourdaughter.” He placed emphasis on the word our, letting Salem know he’d fight for Chloe as hard as she would, protect them both with his life.
“Rashid told me about the cameras, about Sayifa spying on you. He said Chloe was injured. Then when I got here, I heard about the fire at your apartment. You know it had to be Sayifa behind it. I can contact Rashid to confirm she ordered the fire, but it’s of no coincidence.”
“My daughter could have died in the fire if we hadn’t managed to get out. What would have happened then?”
“I asked Rashid about that. He is very talkative when he’s drinking. Tarik’s will states that in the event of Chloe’s death before the age of twenty-one, all Amir assets revert to the family, specifically to Abdullah Amir. If they cannot get custody, where they can control her, they have no compunction about causing her untimely death.” A look of sympathy crossed Jennifer’s face, and it looked like she wanted to say more, but instead took a sip of the coffee Stephanie placed before her.
“What about Abdullah? Is he part of trying to murder my daughter?”
“Strangely enough, he knows little to nothing about what his mother is doing. He filed the custody suit because Sayifa convinced him she wants Chloe because she is the last link to Tarik. He sees it as progress that Sayifa is healing from the loss of her eldest son, when nothing could be farther from the truth. The woman is evil to her core, and she never gives up once she sets her mind to something.”
“You’re sure you can trust what Rashid says is true? Not twisted to benefit himself in some way?” Samuel threw out the questions in rapid-fire succession.
“Mr. Carpenter, I have learned the hard way not to trust anything an Amir says. I’ve been burned by them too many times now. I felt it was my duty to tell Salem what they are doing, what their plans are. I am not a bad person, though I did something I’m ashamed of because I trusted my half-brother. I’m hoping that helping Salem and her daughter helps make up in some small way. Consider it my redemption, if such a thing is possible.”
