“Father,” he began, “arrest this man. He is a traitor, a thief, and a terrorist,” he said calmly.
“I’m sorry?” the Sultan asked.
“Have you gone mad, boy?” Alacabak spit his words at Zaid.
“Father,” Zaid continued, “I have proof that the terror attack was orchestrated by your chief advisor, Alacabak Noozu.”
“What?!” The Sultan’s voice boomed.
“In fact, Noozu has been funding this terror organization with money he has been funneling out of programs intended to revitalize areas like Rajak and Timina,” Zaid continued. “At the same time, he has been funneling money out of various programs and depositing it in personal offshore accounts to avoid detection.”
“Is this true, Alacabak?” the Sultan demanded.
“What, are you really going to take the word of a playboy Sheikh with a bastard child by one of his American concubines?”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” the Sultan said.
“Father,” Zaid continued, “I’ve collected documentation that will show Noozu has been stealing money for several years now. Some of which he has funneled into a terror organization he cleverly labeled a private security group so that no one would notice. A larger portion he transferred to a private bank account that he keeps in his wife’s name.”
Turning to look at Alacabak, “Didn’t think I’d realize you used your wife’s maiden name, did you?” As the older man hissed at him, Zaid continued relaying the information he had. “It’s my suspicion that he had plans to overthrow the Emirate government while specifically targeting all American targets here in the Emirate of Sharjah in order to make you look bad. I’m of the belief that if he managed to remove all foreign investors, our people will call for a vote of no confidence in you, father.”
The Sultan was standing now, fuming. “Arrest this man,” he bellowed through the ballroom.
Alacabak bolted, running for the door. The soldiers who had followed him in were now approaching him to detain him for the Sultan.
“Alacabak Noozu, in accordance with the law, you will be brought up on charges of terrorism, conspiracy to commit terrorism, money laundering, and anything else the prosecutor sees fit to add after reviewing the facts in your case. For now, these soldiers will remove you from the palace, and you will be remanded into custody until your trial. I can’t believe I trusted you for so long. There is no telling how much you have stolen from our people, but this is just the beginning of the full, formal investigation I will launch into your actions,” the Sultan told him, his voice full of fury.
As Alacabak was escorted from the ballroom, Zaid continued his speech.
“Father, I do have more to say,” Zaid started. Gesturing to Rebecca to come forward, he turned to the other side of the room and gestured to someone else. Rebecca watched as Amy walked toward them holding Calum’s hand.
Holding his hands out, Zaid turned back to his father holding both Rebecca’s and Calum’s hands.
“Father, I would like you to meet your grandson, Calum. Calum, this is your grandfather.”
Calum waved his hand as he gave the Sultan a shy “hi” before hiding his head behind Zaid’s leg.
Any anger the Sultan may have felt seemed to evaporate instantly as he walked toward Calum. Bending down to his eye level, he waited for Calum to acknowledge him before holding his hand out to shake his hand.
“It’s very nice to meet you, young man,” he told him solemnly, as Calum smiled.
Tightening his hand on Rebecca, he pulled her in front of him. “Father, this is Rebecca Reid, my fiancée.”
“Ah, the terrorist,” the Sultan responded, shaking her hand.
Sighing loudly, “No, father. Her parents were activists who made the mistake of bringing their daughters to parts of the world they didn’t belong and sometimes the measures they went to could be deemed dangerous, which is why both sisters,” he paused, gesturing to Amy, who waved at the Sultan, “were sent to live with an aunt. Rebecca is a humanitarian who often speaks her mind without first thinking about the consequences.”
At both Rebecca’s and Amy’s shocked looks, Zaid shrugged. “What? Did you think after all the hints you dropped, I wouldn’t have you investigated?”
The Sultan began to laugh, as he looked from one to the other. He still hadn’t released Rebecca’s hand and she gently tried to pull her hand away but he took it in both hands, instead.
“Do you love my son, Ms. Reid?”
“With all my heart, sir,” she answered him, tears starting to shimmer on her eyes again.
“And you, Zaid? You love this woman?”
“Yes, sir.”