Kelechi's phone buzzed in her hand as she walked out of the building. The city felt suffocating again, as if it were closing in on her. Every corner she turned seemed to whisper her name—her old name, the one she had tried so desperately to bury.
The message was from the same contact she hadn't spoken to in years. A name that should have been forgotten.
Ayo: I know what you're doing. You're not ready for this. I told you to stay gone.
Her grip tightened around the phone. Ayo had been there once, a dark chapter of her past that she would never forget. He had been her ally. Then, just as easily, he had become her enemy.
She hit the reply button, her fingers dancing across the screen without hesitation.
Kelechi: Maybe. But I don't have a choice. You know that.
The reply came almost instantly.
Ayo: You think this is about Seyi. It's bigger now. If you walk into this alone, they'll eat you alive — and I won't be able to stop it this time.
Kelechi cursed under her breath, stuffing the phone back into her bag. The heat of Lagos, the noise, the chaos—it was all starting to press against her chest. She couldn't think about Ayo right now. She had bigger problems.
⸻
Seyi had always been reckless.
Kelechi had told her a thousand times to be careful, to stay out of the circles that Kelechi had once walked in. But Seyi had always been stubborn. Always thinking she could do things her way without understanding the risks.
Now, it seemed, that stubbornness had caught up to her.
Kelechi took a sharp turn down a narrow street. The people on the sidewalks barely noticed her, too busy with their own lives, their own worries. But Kelechi was sharp, and her instincts were screaming.
She had to find Seyi before the situation escalated further.
⸻
Two hours after the call, Kelechi arrived at the safe house — a nondescript two-story townhouse tucked behind a row of aging flats. The ride had been long, quiet, and suffocating. She'd taken three detours, changed cars once, and disabled her phone's GPS. She wasn't taking chances.
But the house didn't feel right.
It was too quiet. The windows were dark, no movement inside. The air carried a wrong kind of stillness — not peaceful, but dead.
⸻
The door opened with a soft creak, and Kelechi stepped inside, her body tense, every sense on high alert.
The first thing she noticed was the silence. It was deafening.
The second thing was the blood.
It was smeared across the floor, dark and drying. Kelechi's stomach churned, but she didn't flinch. She stepped further inside, her gaze scanning the rooms. It was the same as she remembered, only now it felt wrong—empty, abandoned.
She reached the back hallway and froze. The door at the end was slightly ajar, the light flickering in the cracked opening. Kelechi's breath hitched as she walked toward it, her fingers brushing the wall for support.
Inside, she found what she feared. Seyi was lying on the floor, blood pooling around her. Her sister's face was pale, her breathing shallow.
Kelechi dropped to her knees beside Seyi, her hands trembling as she checked for a pulse. It was weak, but there.
Seyi's eyes fluttered open, just enough to meet Kelechi's gaze.
"K…Kelechi," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "You came…"
Kelechi fought to keep her composure, her heart slamming in her chest. She brushed a lock of hair from Seyi's face, her voice barely a whisper. "I told you to stay out of this."
Tears pricked her eyes, but Kelechi pushed them down. She couldn't afford to break now.
"I… I tried… to get away," Seyi murmured, her words slow, slurred. "But they… they found me."
Kelechi's throat tightened, and she couldn't help the anger that surged inside her. Who did this to her?
"Don't talk, Seyi. We'll get you out of here. You're going to be okay." Kelechi's voice was firm, but inside, everything felt like it was breaking.
Seyi's eyes fluttered again, struggling to stay awake. "Promise me… promise me you won't hurt them…"
Kelechi's hands clenched into fists. She wasn't sure if she was more furious at Seyi for getting herself into this mess or at herself for not protecting her better.
"I will make them pay, Seyi. I swear it," she said through gritted teeth. "But first, we need to get you to safety."
⸻
The escape plan was simple.
Get Seyi out of the city. Get her somewhere safe. Kelechi could feel time slipping away like sand in her fingers. Every second that passed was a second closer to something much worse happening.
Kelechi scooped Seyi into her arms, her body protesting the weight, but she didn't stop. She wouldn't stop.
The back door creaked open as Kelechi stepped outside. Her car was parked around the corner, but there was a problem. The streets were already crawling with people. Something was wrong. The chaos felt too coordinated. Too planned.
Kelechi's phone buzzed again. This time, it was a call. Ayo's name flashed on the screen.
Kelechi hesitated. But she couldn't ignore him now.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"I told you. They're closing in on you," Ayo said, his tone grim. "You need to move fast, Kelechi. They're already watching you."
The sound of approaching footsteps made Kelechi freeze. She could hear voices in the distance—men's voices. And they were getting closer.
"Damn it," Kelechi muttered, slamming the phone down into her pocket.
She couldn't wait any longer. She had to act.