<p> </p><p>At around 8:30 in the morning, the head cook brought her breakfast.</p><p>She was sitting in silence, lost in thought. She hadn't slept well the previous night, tossing and turning due to the unbearable hunger that had tormented her.</p><p>Suddenly, she heard someone speaking to her.</p><p>“Here, my dear, wake up and drink this. Today, I added milk to your tea, but the boss doesn’t know. I secretly took it for you. Please drink it quickly before he sees it, or else he will punish me. Just yesterday, he ordered that you shouldn't be given any food because he wants to starve you into revealing where you hid the camera.”</p><p>Zeenat sighed, looking at the head cook. She realized he felt sorry for her and seemed like a kind-hearted person.</p><p>She said to him, “Thank you, sir. May God bless you.”</p><p>"Amen," he replied.</p><p>He turned to leave but hesitated as if he wanted to say something else, then changed his mind.</p><p>As he reached the door, he quickly came back and said, “My sister, why don’t you just give them the camera? That way, you can save yourself and also rescue Mukhtar, whom they captured and are torturing.”</p><p>Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of Mukhtar suffering.</p><p>She replied, “I swear, I will never hand over the camera until I deliver it to the authorities.”</p><p>"Well, tomorrow is the final court session, and it seems they are confident of winning. I overheard the commander talking to their lawyer on the phone," he said.</p><p>Her heart pounded in fear, and she wiped her tears without saying a word.</p><p>He walked away silently, like a man hiding a secret.</p><p>After finishing her tea, she began thinking about how to escape.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p>The night she planned to escape, she couldn't sleep.</p><p>She prayed for God's help, and at midnight, the guard assigned to watch over her kept going to the toilet repeatedly.</p><p>She moved quietly to the door and tested it, but it was locked. She prayed again, asking God to grant her a way out.</p><p>Then she noticed the key to the room was left on the chair where the guard sat before going to the toilet.</p><p>Using great care, she stretched her hand through the bars, maneuvering carefully until she was able to grab the key.</p><p>She unlocked the door without difficulty and quickly stepped out.</p><p>The place was dark, with rooms lined up in a row, indicating that there were other people held captive in some of them.</p><p>As she moved forward cautiously, she heard voices approaching and quickly pressed herself against the wall, closing her eyes in fear. She knew if they found her, she was doomed.</p><p>While pressed against the wall, her hand accidentally hit something—it was a wooden ladder leaning against the wall.</p><p>She smiled. Indeed, God was on her side.</p><p>Carrying her bag, she climbed up the ladder, hoping to reach the top of the wall and jump over it.</p><p>Just as she was about to take the last two steps, a bright light shone on her.</p><p>Her heart sank. She shut her eyes tightly and began to pray.</p><p>It was the commander's men. They had heard a noise and came to check, only to find her.</p><p>One of them said, “You can either come down slowly on your own or we’ll shake the ladder until you fall and break your bones.”</p><p>Another one added, “Forget it, Sangami, let me just pull her down right now!”</p><p>She quickly began pleading with them because she knew they were capable of doing anything.</p><p>She started climbing down slowly, her body trembling.</p><p>By the time she reached the ground, most of the gang members had already gathered around.</p><p>Sangami grabbed her by the hair and dragged her back to the room as she screamed in pain.</p><p>The room chief was shocked to see her. He slapped her hard and yelled, “You cunning girl! You want to get me in trouble and make me lose my job? The boss will punish me because of you!”</p><p>Sangami threw her inside the room and locked it before leaving.</p><p>By morning, she quickly took the camera from her bag and hid it in the toilet storage area.</p><p>Later, the commander entered the room, glaring at her with a look of contempt.</p><p>"So, you think you're smart, huh? Well, your tricks won’t work here. If you want to leave this place alive, you must hand over the camera," he said.</p><p>“Let me tell you something—you might think you're going to expose Mudansir in court tomorrow, but it’s too late. I heard their lawyer is making arrangements to ensure Mudansir is set free.”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
