No Help Came

Sumaya's stomach twisted into tight, painful knots, a cold weight settling in her chest like a block of ice. Every nerve in her body screamed at her to do something—anything—but she remained frozen, pinned beneath her father's gaze like an insect beneath glass. The air in the room thickened further, suffocating, pressing in on her like unseen hands tightening around her throat.

Another silence stretched between them, taut and unbearable.

Then, the smirk on his face curled into something else—something cruel, a slow, knowing smile that sent a bone-deep chill racing down her spine. It was the look of a predator who had already won. As if he could see straight into her mind, reading the frantic, panicked thoughts swirling within—and savoring her helplessness.

Sumaya swallowed hard, her throat clicking as she fought the instinct to recoil.