“The documents will be given to the appropriate authorities. Nobody here needs to decide guilt based on a speech. The evidence must be examined properly.”
That was the first sensible thing anyone had said all evening.
There were no dramatic arrests that night. No instant confession. No magical resolution.
There were questions, statements, and consequences that would take time to unfold.
But Khalid could no longer rely on everyone accepting his version of events without question.
For the first time, other people had heard the beginning of the truth.
And I had not been forced to tell it alone.
I left the event with Huda and the lawyer who had accompanied me.
Khalid did not follow us.
I expected to feel triumphant.
Instead, I felt exhausted.
My hands shook when I reached the car. I kept thinking about Lina, wondering whether she had eaten dinner and whether she was waiting for me.
