Two: T

ad always kno

at truth was. In the crowded streets of Ajegunle, survival didn't come from honesty-it cam

tificates, ID cards, police permits. She could hack government files, swe

She had been recruited-ruthlessly, quietly-by SIRS, Nigeria's most cl

eapon. Their shado

s simple: infiltra

A man whose empire bled across borders and vanished behind legal fronts. A man wh

to cut his legs out from under him-cleanly. Su

mp

she me

t what the fil

owerful. He wasn

Intelligent. Lethal

all-he didn't

udied

ected cold flirtation or brutal intimidation. Instead, he watched her with

oke, it was ne

their cause?" he asked her once, whil

e answered

love?" he asked, wi

ly moved. "I bel

ker. "Spoken like someone who'

eant to reve

rets out of people. He simply let silence l

and murdered with a joke. She'd danced with devils, wra

eo Ma

t like he wa

y died once-and came back w

rosary in his pocket. Donated anonymously to scho

never b

ver h

self listening to his silences, noticing the way his left han

when it

lu

t

two people who have built entire lives on lies-and

touched her, it w

his shell corporations, high in the glass-and-gold towers of Victoria Island. The gallery was

ut her in all the right places a

the crowd like smoke: calm, unreadable, reveren

od beside her, it w

wine from the bar. His hand grazed her bare arm.

was

ed well," h

your roses," she repl

for anything th

to him. "

w your

flicker of danger in

ilence. You walk like you've survived too man

at do t

e tired of

they should've. Zara hat

he was trained not

her alone on the balcony, fa

st. Just stood beside her, st

e bankers. The ministers. The ones who to

idn't

"It eats what it wants. And we're all j

ened. "You know

't nee

him. "Then w

get to love who's safe. We l

ightened. "Thi

t her then,

said. "

hen h

o threat.

before dawn. Her fingers hovered over

le. Emotional manip

ding. Timeli

achment risk

Then deleted

oke up in cold sweats hearing the sound of his silence. That she t

was starting to forget where the

ek p

ls. She exposed financial trails. Exposed hidden ports. Named corrupt

brought her

night. He asked her about her childhood, and she li

built an empire from

od," he said. "I jus

aded, folded, kept inside his wallet. A boy, no olde

me," he said. "Shot by police

in his voice wasn't theatr

n't sure whether he wanted h

e thought, ne

d three ni

ed against the windows of Leo's estate in vio

ouldn'

er. The ceiling lowe

on the encrypted report she couldn't finish. There was t

n she should've dismantled like a system-but who

gh the silent corridors. Her footsteps were quiet, her b

he lower hall, nea

m standing on the balcony too long. His head was tilted back ag

sted.

leep?" she

Dreamt of fire. Woke

all across from him. "You

er than t

mmered the roof. The air bet

I asked you to leave all this behind-SIR

breath

honestly. "Bu

Like he exp

estroy me

sed to," s

inally-he

ble. The moment two broken, burning things collide

Her fingers found the scar below his collarb

idn't

ies left that w

y s

bre

sil

ing far more dangerous, Zara stared at the ceiling

ross her hips. Possess

e killed him

son capsule hidden in her earring, texted SIRS

he di

rmth and whispered the words th

want to

f-asleep, mu

n do

ning, everyt

ssage marked u

a window. All units on standb

phone in hand, the screen

e and the same stillness he always wore

coming," he

tared

nued. "Like the wind just

"Do you think y

et hers. "Th

wh

yo

ee. Their fingers brus

ed something th

en sent to de

n sent to s

no

ther of them would