Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada  chapter 10 The End   She had won half the fortune and the divorce through blackmail—but Niroz wasn’t done yet. She wanted more than wealth. She wanted justice. Her voice cut through the silence, sharp and steady: “Half the fortune was just a down payment, Daniel. The real price… is freedom—Maggie’s freedom, who is me, Niroz. And justice will send you exactly where you belong.” She stepped out of the abandoned house, her eyes glinting in the dark. The map in her hand shimmered faintly beneath the streetlight—it was her compass, her guide to his end. With dawn’s first light, Niroz left behind the noise of the city, the illusion of Daniel’s mansion, and the ghosts of the past. Her sleek black car glided down a narrow rural road flanked by pine trees, toward the coordinates marked on the map her mother had once hidden away. Before leaving, she had sent the location to the only person she trusted—her friend and partner in everything, ...

 Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada  chapter 9 Nerouz, who had just walked out of Daniel’s room, wasn’t satisfied with what she had accomplished. Those papers weren’t just legal documents—they were chapters of a stolen life. For years, she had been forced to live under the name Maggie—the shy, fragile persona her fractured mind had created to shield her from the horror of her past. After leaving the hospital, she didn’t return to her marital home. Instead, she went back to the small town where her childhood had once bloomed—and where it had also died the day her bankrupt father sold her. That same night, she made sure no one ever bought that house again. Through her quiet power and money, she had kept it abandoned, a monument to her pain. Now, she returned under the cover of darkness. The storm outside flashed against the cracked walls, throwing long shadows through the empty corridors. She stepped into her old bedroom—the place that once smelled of jasmine and warmth—a...

 Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada  chapter 8 Daniel trembled. “No... no one will believe you! I’m a respected businessman! I’ll say this is nothing but revenge from a mentally unstable wife! I have the doctors’ reports proving you suffer from schizophrenia! I’ll expose you and send that video of your so-called ‘murder’ to your father myself!” Nerouz laughed — a wild, sharp laugh that sliced through the air like a blade. It wasn’t madness; it was precision. “I’ll expose myself,” she said coldly. “Do you know the difference between you and me, Daniel? You’re a criminal hiding behind a mask of elegance. I’m a criminal who wears her madness like armor. I’ll go to the media and tell them I was a child — a victim of abuse — and that to survive, I had to destroy the man who destroyed me. I’ll say I agreed to give up half your fortune in exchange for burying the truth forever. They’ll call me a survivor, a hero. But you...” — she leaned closer, voice dripping venom — “you’ll ...

Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada   Chapter 7 Against Daniel’s expectations, the visit wasn’t from Maggie—his naive, tearful wife who always forgave too easily. It was Elise—or as she now chose to call herself in moments of defiance, Nirouz. She sat before him in the hospital room, calm and cold as the stillness that comes before a storm, dressed in a sleek black suit that suited a woman who had come to sign the death warrant of an empire. Daniel had barely regained consciousness after the nightmare so skillfully orchestrated against him—a nightmare that had sent him collapsing on the first step of his mansion’s staircase, only to wake up here, surrounded by the machines that measured what remained of a life he had thought indestructible. His face bore more of humiliation’s mark than the sedatives Elias, Nirouz’s hired ally, had slipped into his drink. Nirouz lifted her glass of iced espresso, took a slow sip, and met his gaze with eyes sharp and black as obsidian—eyes...

Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada   Chapter 6 Inside New York’s domestic airport, Eric stood watching Nairoz leave—watching her walk away with his heart still locked in that same prison he’d built for himself years ago. He let her go, promising himself their reunion would come soon, once she rid herself of that arrogant old man. She slipped back into the identity she had chosen long ago—the day her mother decided they would move to another state, change their names, and vanish after her father’s disappearance. At least, that’s what her mother had made her believe. On the plane, she settled into her seat and closed her eyes. She didn’t want to remember. But quitting her treatment had its price—her mind always dragged her back to those memories, to the places she’d fought so hard to bury. A tear escaped her eye as the first memory struck: the night she first met Daniel. It was at her high school graduation—five years after the incident. The ceremony had ended, and she wa...

 Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada chapter 5 Chapter 5 He hurried across the room, stripping off his clothes as he went, tossing them aside while the servants rushed to gather them. He entered the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of juice, and pulled the food trolley closer with his foot. The maids had already set it with plates of fruit and several kinds of Italian pastries he had prepared himself after she called to say she was coming. He placed two glasses on the tray and called out, “Everyone out now! I don’t want to see a single shadow in this house before ten tonight! Tell the driver to be back by nine-thirty. Move it—everyone’s off duty!” The servants hurried away, their footsteps echoing through the hall. Nairoz descended the stairs, watching them scatter with an amused smile, listening to Eric’s voice barking orders behind them. She walked toward the glass doors leading to the indoor pool, where he was already standing beside the food cart, pouring drinks into the glasses...

Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada   Chapter 4 She walked out, her steps swaying softly from side to side as she dragged the suitcase behind her along the floor. Her presence alone forced every man—and even the women—around her to turn their heads, following her with curious eyes, wondering if she was a movie star walking without her bodyguards. But the absence of cameras made that assumption false. She smiled, a perfectly practiced smile, at the man in his forties holding a bouquet of fresh white roses. She took them gently from him and whispered, “Don’t say you’ve been waiting long, my love.” “Oh, Nairoz,” he replied with a grin, “I’d wait a lifetime if you asked me to.” Her laughter echoed across the airport lounge, filling the space with a sound that turned heads again. She placed one hand on his arm and held the roses in the other. He took her suitcase from her with a tender smile, his eyes never leaving her lips as she whispered soft words of affection—words he be...

Schizophrenia  A Novel by Asmaa Nada   Chapter Three The house echoed with the high-pitched laughter of the twins as soon as Maggie stepped inside. Their little voices were filled with both worry and joy, a mixture only children could manage. “Mom! Did they put the bad man in jail?” “Mom, are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, right?” Maggie smiled and sank to the floor, pulling them both into her arms. “Hush, sweethearts… everything’s fine. I’m okay now. The bad man’s gone. Don’t be scared. How about we go to the amusement park tonight?” Her mother chuckled from the couch. “Amusement park? You go ahead. I’m too old for all that noise.” The children immediately turned to her, pleading, their laughter bubbling like music. “Please, Grandma! You don’t have to play, just sit and watch us!” Maggie laughed. “Come on, Mom, don’t break their hearts. And look—it’s only five o’clock. We’re not leaving till eight. You can rest a bit. I’ll stay with them, read while they watch some cartoo...