4 Chapter 4
4 Chapter 4
Getting back to the United States was a harrowing ordeal. Soon after, the harassing
phone calls started. It was Omar. He had found my contact information through the local Afghan community. 1
My dad grew desperate and whispered something to my mom. Zahra adjusted her
sunglasses and murmured to them as well. A new confidence seemed to settle over my
parents.
That was the reason they’d tricked me into coming to Afghanistan.
The comment section was on fire.
“The third charge. Defendant Layla Ahmadi is accused of intentionally pushing her
adoptive sister, Zahra Naziri, down a flight of stairs, blinding her and inflicting immense
physical and psychological trauma.”
The commenters’ fury was now aimed squarely at my parents.
I was in a clean pink dress with my hair in pretty braids. Back then, I was still the apple of
my parents’ eye.
“Serves them right! Why didn’t they let Zahra have such a ‘great’ marriage?”
She shrieked as if I were the one selling her daughter for cash.
The scratch left a permanent scar on my face. My mom cut my bangs to cover it and
hugged me, saying, “You’ll always be mommy’s most beautiful little princess.”
Before I could finish, Zahra shoved me away.
Zahra’s parents were screaming at each other in the next room.
“Bullshit! You did it for the money!” one of the jurors shouted. “You don’t deserve to be a
father!”
My memory went back a long, long time.
Three hundred thousand dollars.
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4 Chapter 4
My father fell silent.
So they knew. They knew marrying me off to Omar would destroy my life.
This time, I received 78 votes for my innocence.
“Okay, there’s no way this one gets overturned.”
She was wearing dirty clothes, her hair was a tangled mess, and her eyes were wary and
sharp.
“Shameless! People who sell their own children deserve to die!”
These fragments of memory now felt like they belonged to another lifetime.
He threatened to destroy my entire family if I didn’t go back and marry him.
Because our families were so close, my parents let it go.
My father tried to defend himself. “This is a tradition in Afghanistan…”
Zahra just looked innocently at the adults. “I didn’t do anything.”
She dug her fingernails into my face, then quickly scrambled away.
“Vote on the second charge,” the judge commanded.
Later, his threats turned into vile, explicit messages, describing in detail how he would “teach me a lesson” in bed. I changed my number and address to get away from him.
I knew then that I had no ties left to this family.
The electric current pierced my brain again.
“Even if she had a hard life, that doesn’t give her the right to hurt an innocent person.”
My mother slapped me hard, her nails scratching my cheek. “You ungrateful thing! How could you say that about Zahra!”
A hollow, broken laugh escaped my lips. I pointed at Zahra. “What about her? She’s beautiful and educated. She’d be a much better match for you.”
I stood there, stunned, before bursting into tears.
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4 Chapter 4
The first time I met Zahra, she was four and I was three.
I walked over and took her hand. “Don’t be scared, I-”
I ran out of the house, crying. That night, I waited until everyone was asleep, stole a little
money, and climbed over the wall to escape.
But it wasn’t enough. I needed over 95 to win.
Just when I thought I could finally start over, another storm was brewing.
“Be my guest,” I told him coldly.
The chat went quiet for a second.
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