As Ayşe's words echoed in my mind, the coffee cup in front of me trembled. "Kaan killed Leyla," Ayşe had said, her eyes flashing with hatred. Impossible. It had to be. But a voice inside me whispered that it could be true.
"What do you mean? How?" I asked, my voice shaky. Sitting across from Ayşe in the crowded university cafe, it was as if we had crossed into a different reality. The laughter, notes, and flirtations of the students around us were reduced to meaningless noise.
"Kaan was obsessively controlling Leyla," Ayşe began, taking a deep breath. "He was constantly calling her, texting her, wanting to know what she was doing, who she was with. Leyla initially enjoyed the attention, but then she started to feel suffocated."
Something inside me was breaking. Kaan... My Kaan, the man who treated me so kindly, so attentively... He couldn't have killed someone. But the pain and anger in Ayşe's eyes were too real. She wasn't lying, she wasn't hiding anything.
"Leyla wanted to break up. She told Kaan. But Kaan wouldn't let her. 'You can't leave me, you're mine,' I heard him say." Ayşe's voice trembled. Tears began to stream down her face. "That day... That day I saw Leyla go to Kaan's office. She never came out."
My stomach churned. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Kaan's office... That damned office. What had happened there? Why had Leyla committed suicide? Or... Had she not committed suicide, as Ayşe claimed?
"Why didn't you tell the police?" I asked, my voice barely audible.
Ayşe let out a bitter laugh. "The police? No one would have believed me. Kaan Berker, a respected professor. Leyla, a 'depressed', 'sensitive' student. Who would have taken Leyla's side?"
She was right. Kaan was like a god at school. Everyone admired him, everyone wanted his approval. Even me... I had even admired him. But now, that admiration had been replaced by fear and doubt.
"What about you? Why are you telling me?" I asked, fixing my eyes on Ayşe's.
"Because you're different, Elif. You... You can stand up to Kaan. You can challenge him. Maybe you can uncover the truth."
Uncover the truth... Like my father's truth? Like the terrible secret I've been hiding for years, unable to tell anyone? My father had killed a man. And I had seen everything that night. That moment, that helplessness, that terror... Had Kaan killed someone too? And if so, what was I going to do?
"I don't know, Ayşe," I said, desperately. "I don't know what to do."
"Just seek the truth, Elif. Get Leyla the justice she deserves."
Ayşe's words had deeply affected me. She stood up, came to my side, and placed her hand on my shoulder. "Be careful. Kaan is a dangerous man."
After Ayşe left, I sat at the table for a long time. The crowd around me had dispersed, and the cafe lights had dimmed. My mind was a mess. Kaan... Was he a murderer? A manipulator? Or was it all just Ayşe's delusions?
I took out my phone and dialed Kaan's number. I wanted to call. I wanted to confront him, to learn the truth. But my fingers were trembling. I couldn't bring myself to call.
I wrote a message: "Where are you?"
The reply came quickly: "I'm in the office. Working."
Working... In that damned office stained with Leyla's blood?
"Can I come see you?" I wrote.
A few minutes later, a reply came: "Of course."
My heart started to pound. Should I go? Should I confront Kaan? Or should I run away?
I made a decision. I had to go. I had to learn the truth. No matter what.
When I entered the office, Kaan was sitting at his desk as usual, working on his computer. He smiled when he saw me. That smile... The one that had captivated me before, now sent shivers down my spine.
"Elif, beautiful. Is there a problem?" he asked, his voice concerned.
"We need to talk," I said, my voice icy.
Kaan frowned. "What's going on?"
"We need to talk about Leyla."
The smile vanished from Kaan's face. His eyes darkened. At that moment, the fear inside me reached its peak.
"Leyla?" he asked, his voice a whisper. "Why now?"
"I don't think Leyla committed suicide."
Kaan stood up and slowly approached me. His eyes were locked on mine. "What do you mean?"
"Did you kill Leyla, Kaan?" I asked, summoning all my courage.
Kaan paused for a moment. Then a mocking smile appeared on his lips. "Where did you get that idea?"
"Ayşe told me."
Kaan's eyes flashed with anger. "That stupid girl... She must have lied to you."
"I know she didn't lie, Kaan. I know you killed Leyla."
Kaan took another step closer. Now we were almost nose to nose. "Do you have proof?"
"I don't need proof, Kaan. I see it in your eyes."
Kaan took a deep breath and stepped back. His shoulders slumped, his face paled. He looked like he'd aged in an instant.
"What about your father?" he asked, his voice unexpectedly calm.
I looked at him in shock. "What?"
"Your father, Elif. I know what happened that night."