Altair - Marian Tee Page 0,22

were of Safiya Tannous, taken during her school days in Mushriq.

Vanna stared at Altair, and her firstborn simply gazed back at her. "You are truly not going to say anything?"

Malik noticed a sudden undercurrent of tension between the two. What the hell? He grabbed one of the photos and took a closer look, feeling like he was missing something—

Ah.

"Is this about the locket?" Malik asked warily. "Altair didn't ask permission or something before taking it out of the family vault?"

"He doesn't have to ask for my permission," Vanna said impatiently. "It's entirely his choice whom he wants to give it to."

Malik frowned. "So..." He tried to think of what else Vanna could find wrong about the whole thing but couldn't. "I give up," he said finally. "I can't see what the problem is—-"

"There is no problem," Altair cut in flatly.

"That's all you're going to say?" Vanna demanded.

Malik could no longer keep up with the conversation. "So do we or do we not have a problem?"

"Yes," Vanna insisted.

"No," Altair denied at the same time.

And then the two were back to staring at each other.

"Stay out of this, Mother," Altair warned.

"Only if you tell me the truth," Vanna shot back.

"Are we still talking about the damn locket?" Malik demanded.

"This has nothing to do with you—-"

"Not another word, Altair Al-Atassi!" Vanna rarely used her I'm-your-mother voice these days, but when she did, it was still enough to silence both her sons. "You are my son, and therefore my loyalty is to you first and foremost. That will never change, but...will you please just explain to me why it is that I found my locket still inside the vault?"

Malik was stunned upon hearing their mother's words. Did that not mean Safiya's locket was nothing but a mere replica?

Vanna stared challengingly at her firstborn. "Well?"

The sound of someone knocking saved Altair from replying to his mother, but his relief was short-lived when he saw the dark-haired woman at the other side of the door. She was taller than the average Ramilian female, more athletic than slim, and her beauty more sensual than ethereal. Born to one of the kingdom's wealthiest families, the woman used to move in the same circles the sheikh had, with both of them attending the same parties and sharing the same friends. All of this changed, however, when she had decided to follow her heart by joining Ramil's secret service. In so doing, she had to give up her identity, and since then Altair, too, had only looked upon her as Agent 53 and nothing else.

"We have a Task FT emergency, alshaykh."

Task FT was the assigned code for all things related to the Tannous family, and Altair gave the agent a curt nod of acknowledgment. "Wait for me outside the palace. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Nem, alshaykh." Yes, sheikh.

Altair made his excuses to Vanna and Malik, and although his mother didn't keep him from leaving, the look she gave Altair also told him their discussion was far from over.

Agent 53 was waiting for him by the palace steps when he stepped out, and at his nod, the woman immediately delivered her report. "We've received word from security posted in Sheikh Mahmud's home. They've intercepted an encrypted message from the sheikh's daughter."

The sheikh's features turned expressionless. "You are absolutely sure of this?"

"We've triple-checked, alshaykh. There is absolutely no doubt it was the princess who sent the message."

"And have you been able to decode it?"

"Our team is still working on it."

"Very well. Keep me posted then."

Agent 53 stared at him, and the sheikh raised a brow. "Is there anything else?"

"She sent her father an encrypted message—-" She broke off upon seeing the sheikh's dark gaze turn chilly.

Lueta. Shit.

She quickly backtracked and bowed her head in apology. "Maehdina, alshaykh. I did not mean to overstep."

Altair didn't bother to answer even though both of them knew she was lying. Agent 53 never did anything impulsively; she had said what she said because she had known she could get away with it. And while Altair had made allowances for her in the past, he had no such plans of doing the same thing when Safiya was involved.

Frustration churned inside of Agent 53 at the sheikh's continued silence. The sheikh used to be more lenient towards her, owing mostly to the fact that they had known each other for decades. While she could only think of one reason for Altair to suddenly change his attitude towards her, that same reason was too preposterous by half!

Altair