Her Hand on the Knife

Kamala pulls the heavy knife from the drawer and sets it on the table between us, her hand still on the handle. Abdul watches her, unmoving, and she says, 'The shop stays. The debt goes. You burn the page tonight, or I open this door and let the cousin find what's left of you.' I see her knuckles whiten on the handle, and I know she means it — not as a threat, but as a promise she has already made to herself. Abdul's eyes move from the knife to her face, and for the first time, he is the one waiting. The act this chapter delivers: Kamala presses the flat of the blade against Abdul's throat, holding him still while she tells Sandip to take the ledger and burn it — and when Abdul's hand closes on her wrist, she does not pull away, she leans into the pressure, her breath coming hard as she makes him feel her strength.