Chapter 1
📖 CHAPTER 1: THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED
The rain in Lagos didn’t fall—it attacked.
Zara pulled her thin jacket tighter around her body as she ran, her slippers slapping against the wet road. Her heart pounded so loudly she could barely hear the thunder behind her.
“Stop there!” a voice shouted.
She didn’t.
She couldn’t.
If they caught her, it was over.
Her breath came in sharp gasps as she turned into a darker street, the kind people avoided even during the day. Her chest burned. Her legs ached.
But fear pushed her forward.
Headlights suddenly flashed in front of her.
Too bright.
Too fast.
Zara froze.
A black car stopped just inches away from her.
For a second, everything went silent. Even the rain seemed to pause.
The back door opened slowly.
And then he stepped out.
Tall. Dressed in black. Calm—too calm for a night like this.
Power clung to him like a shadow.
Zara swallowed hard.
“Please…” she whispered, her voice shaking. “Help me…”
The man didn’t move immediately. His sharp eyes studied her like she was something he was trying to understand—or own.
Then the shouting voices got closer.
“They went this way!”
Zara turned in panic.
Tears mixed with rain on her face.
“Please…” she said again, more desperate this time.
The man finally spoke. His voice was low, controlled… dangerous.
“Get in the car.”
Zara didn’t hesitate.
She rushed inside.
The door shut.
And just like that…
Her old life ended.
The car started moving.
Silence filled the air, heavy and uncomfortable.
Zara’s hands trembled in her lap. She didn’t even know who this man was… but something about him made her feel like she had just made a bigger mistake than the one she was running from.
“You’re shaking,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
Zara didn’t respond.
She couldn’t.
“Do you know who you just got into a car with?” he asked.
She slowly shook her head.
A pause.
Then—
“Good.”
The single word sent chills down her spine.
He leaned slightly closer, his presence suffocating.
“Because if you did…” he continued softly, “you might have chosen to run back to the people chasing you.”
Zara’s breath caught.
“What… what do you want from me?” she whispered.
He smiled.
Not a kind smile.
The kind that warned you it was already too late.
“Everything.”
