Elsewhere, within the walls of Zein's house, a shadow lingered.
The figure, clad in black and masked, had for more than a week been slipping silently into his home, her presence concealed from all eyes.
She had hidden herself behind the great tree that stood before the house, watching, waiting.
The moment Zein departed, driving his car towards his parents' home, she moved with sudden swiftness, darting across the roof like a phantom.
From the murmur that escaped her lips as he left, "It has been so long, my husband...", it was certain that the figure was a woman.
Yet the question burned, why did she call Zein 'husband', when his wife, Angelique Verania, had been dead these nine long years?
Was there a secret buried within Zein's past, a truth yet to be unveiled?
And the answer was 'Yes'. There was indeed a mystery, a shadow from Zein's past that refused to remain buried.
Then, what manner of past it was, and what bond it bore to this shadowed figure, could not yet be discerned.
For at that very moment, the woman in black, masked and concealed, was rifling with restless hands through the documents kept within Zein's cabinet.
"Where has he hidden it???!!!" She cried, her voice thick with frustration, echoing against the silent walls.
For more than a week she had haunted Zein's house, slipping unseen through its chambers, yet despite her tireless search in countless places, the object of her desire remained elusive.
"He must have hidden it somewhere else!!!" She exclaimed, her breath quickening with rage.
Her mounting frustration at last overcame her, and she cast aside the search in bitter defeat.
"Damn it!!!" She shouted, her fury spilling over as she struck the table with her clenched fist, the sound reverberating like a curse through the empty house.
After a time, she resolved to pause, her breath heavy with fatigue.
She removed the black mask that had concealed her features and made her way towards the kitchen.
With swift steps she drew a glass of cold water from the dispenser.
[GLUG! GLUG! GLUG!]
The glass was drained in three gulps. She felt parched, her body overheated, the oppressive heat of the day stripping her of strength, while the tension within her grew ever more burdensome.
The woman, revealed now with striking beauty, the long black hair, slightly wavy, the sharp brown eyes that spoke of her Middle Eastern heritage, stood in silence, lost in thought.
Her mind drifted back to Zein. She recalled that if he possessed something of importance, such as documents, he would never keep them in a place easily reached.
"He's always clever in hiding what matters most!" She murmured to herself. "I'm certain this is no exception!"
Resolute once more, she determined to search every corner of Zein's house.
From the front of the dwelling to the roof where she had first slipped inside, not a single place yielded a clue to stir suspicion.
Only one part remained untouched, the back of the house.
With hurried steps she made her way to the rear of the house and pushed open the back door.
As the door creaked upon its hinges, she paused, her eyes sweeping across the scene before her.
There stood a storeroom, cloaked in dust and long forgotten, its air heavy with neglect.
The gloom and the tightly sealed entrance seemed to whisper that this place had scarcely been touched in years.
A faint smile curved upon her lips, unbidden.
"Here's where it must be!" She thought, her certainty growing. "I'm sure the thing I've sought lies within this forsaken place!"
Every clue she had gathered seemed to point inexorably towards it.
With renewed resolve, she stepped forward, prepared to face whatever secrets the storeroom might conceal.
She crossed the threshold into the dark, stifling chamber.
The choking scent of dust forced her to cough, until at last she drew the black mask once more across her face to shield her breath.
With cautious steps she traced each corner of the room, which bore the silence of years untouched.
Piles of old belongings, sacks and forgotten furniture filled the narrow space, together with discarded garments once belonging to Angelique, Zein's late wife.
At last her gaze settled upon a great wooden chest, long and heavy, lying in the corner of the storeroom.
Its shape was suspicious, its weight suggestive of secrets, as though it concealed something of grave importance.
She moved closer, her curiosity swelling, her hand already reaching towards the lid.
Yet before her fingers could touch the timber, her eyes caught sight of something upon the wall.
A small safe, neatly fixed, half hidden behind a veil of dust and cobwebs.
She froze, her gaze transfixed upon it.
"That's it!" She whispered to herself. "I'm certain this is where he's hidden it!"
In that instant she knew her instinct had not deceived her.
It was not the chest that mattered, but the safe, the true keeper of what she sought.
To open it would require a code, a sequence known only to Zein.
Yet for her, such locks were no obstacle.
"I'm not afraid of this!" She murmured. "I've broken harder codes before, and I'll break this one too!"
With quiet confidence she stepped forward, her fingers poised to conquer the digital lock that might appear daunting to the untrained eye.
She opened the small rucksack she carried and drew forth several compact yet sophisticated tools.
Among them lay a miniature thermal scanner to detect traces of heat upon the safe's buttons, a UV torch to reveal fingerprints or fine scratches, and a digital decoder device, designed specifically to breach electronic security systems.
She switched on the thermal scanner and directed it towards the safe's keypad.
At once the device revealed a shifting spectrum of colour, the lingering warmth betraying which buttons had most recently been pressed.
Four keys glowed faintly brighter, hinting at the hidden sequence of numbers.
A faint smile touched her lips as she exchanged the scanner for the UV torch.
The violet beam swept across the surface, uncovering the faint trace of a fingerprint upon one button, the third digit of the combination appeared to have been uncovered.
"That's very classic!" She murmured softly, as she connected the decoder device to a small port beneath the safe, a port almost hidden beneath a layer of paint.
The decoder began its work at once, accessing the safe's system digitally.
Lines of code flickered across the small screen of the device.
With its capabilities, the tool simulated combinations based on usage patterns, timing, and the order of pressed buttons.
In less than two minutes, a delicate click was heard.
The safe yielded, opening little by little, its heavy mechanism groaning yet smooth, as though reluctant to surrender its secrets.
The woman gazed upon the contents without a flicker of her eyes. This was the moment she had long awaited.
"So he kept it here, in a place such as this?!" She murmured, scarcely able to believe what she had uncovered.
"That's clever indeed!" She continued, her tone now softened with genuine admiration.
Slowly she drew out several documents, neatly arranged and protected within a folder resistant to water and dust.
As she opened sheet after sheet, her eyes narrowed with concentration.
The papers revealed a death certificate in the name of Angelique Verania, Zein's wife, accompanied by medical records and laboratory reports chronicling Angelique's condition during her intensive care in hospital, until the day of her passing.
"Let's see what I'm going to find this time..." She whispered, her voice low yet resolute, like one who had at last uncovered the first fragment of a puzzle long pursued.