Siren Song

"Miss Dumont, perhaps I did not make myself clear enough before. I do not want anything from you except your absence of presence within my sole heir's life. As for Miss Hao and Mrs. Dumont, they are with us of their own accord, I care not." Without looking at her he talked as he led them down the stairs.

"What do you intend to do to my daughter?" Li Hua fixed a hard stare from one of the guards arms as he carried her down the stairs.

"Well that would truly depend on the answer she gives me. I hope it will be satisfactory."

----

"Do you feel regret now ya abi?" Fahir Sarhan al-Hassan smirked while standing over his father.

"Regret? Indeed, I have many of those, to which do you refer to in particular?" Hakim al-Hassan answered readily, his tone relaxed and unconcerned as if over a dozen men did not stand near with guns pointed towards him.

Fahir Sarhan al-Hassan's face grew ugly hearing his words. "I will speak with my father privately, remove yourselves until I summon you." He pointed to the door and directed the soldiers, waiting until they left before he spoke again.

"Do not feign ignorance! You know exactly what I am referring to! You have ignored the rights of birth and are planning on passing everything on to an outsider!"

"Do you mean my hafid, your nephew when you refer to this "outsider?"

"Pah!" The man spat. "Indeed!"

"He is the only child of your youngest sister, he is not an outsider He has as much right as my sons if not more so."

"How could he be more so, Mamud should have the most right as your eldest!"

Fahir Sarhan al-Hassan became incensed by Hakim al-Hassan's calm demeanor and he grabbed a fistful of the elder man's kaftan.1

"Why did you ever marry Amira to that foreigner? The disgrace still tastes bitter when I think of how you sent her to die alone in a strange land."

Pain came onto the older man's face at the words.

"If I had known that would be her fate, I might not have let her go.."

"Yet you did, and now you would give everything to the son of the man who murdered her. Your most favored child. You have gone senile." Fahir Sarhan al-Hassan released the older man and straightened his suit jacket.

"No, your brother has always been blinded by greed and you have become so as well..

"Most importantly he has honor, something your brother gave up long ago."

"Tch. I thought I would let you live and let Mamud decide what to do with you but I shall end it and spare him the trouble later.

"Tell me father do you regret the choices you have made?"

"I don't know brother, why don't you tell me that." Jari Maan al-Hassan's voice came from behind him after he spoke.

Fahir Sarhan al-Hassan turned in shock to meet a blade in his gut.

The younger man held his older brother's shoulder as he twisted the blade.