Chapter 3 - The Fire
1502 Words
Aria didn’t sleep.
`The fire. -V`
The message glowed behind her eyelids all night.
88 days left on the contract.
And she had no idea what she’d signed up for.
7:00AM. A knock.
Not room service. Three hard knocks. His.
"Open up, Ms. Cole." Kairo’s voice. Tired.
She opened the door in yesterday’s clothes. Hair a mess.
He was in a suit again. Mask back on.
But his eyes were red. He hadn’t slept either.
"Pack a bag," he said. "We’re leaving Lagos today."
"Where are we going?"
"My private island," he said. "No press. No Victoria.
We talk there."
Rule 2: You don’t question me.
She questioned him anyway. "About the fire?"
His jaw locked. "Pack."
---
The jet was empty except for them and one pilot.
Kairo sat across from her. Laptop open. But he wasn’t typing.
He was watching her.
"Page 17," Aria said. Breaking Rule 4 again.
"It says I give up rights to anything I ‘witness or experience’ during the 90 days."
"Correct."
"Why?"
Kairo closed the laptop. Slow.
"Because 90 days ago, my company burned."
Aria frowned. "Burned?"
"Literally," he said. "Blackwood Tower. Floor 42.
Arson. Two people died."
The air left her lungs.
"The police said it was an accident," he continued. "It wasn’t.
Someone set it. Someone who wanted me gone."
"Victoria?"
"She was engaged to me then," he said. "We broke up 90 days ago.
The same night as the fire."
Aria’s blood ran cold. "You think she did it?"
"I think," he said, leaning forward, "she was in the building that night.
And the only person who can prove it... is you."
"Me?" Aria laughed, but it came out broken. "I wasn’t even there."
"You were," he said. "You just don’t remember."
---
The jet landed on a private airstrip. Black sand. Blue water.
One villa. No neighbors.
Kairo led her inside. The place was all glass and silence.
"88 days," he said. "Starting now, you’re not my assistant.
You’re my witness."
"Against Victoria?"
"Against whoever killed my people," he said. "Including her."
He pulled out a folder. Photos. Police reports.
And one CCTV still. Blurry. A woman in a black hoodie.
Running from Blackwood Tower at 11:43PM.
"That’s you, Aria," he said.
Aria stumbled back. "That’s not me. I’ve never—"
"You were drugged," he said. "90 days ago. At the Christmas party.
I fired you the next morning because I found you in my office.
No memory. Clothes burnt at the edges."
Aria’s hands shook. "You think I... I set the fire?"
"I don’t know what to think," he said. Voice cracked.
"That’s why I brought you here. 90 days. To find out the truth.
With me."
Rule 3: No touching.
He reached for her hand anyway.
"Please," he said. "Help me remember what you forgot."
---
Night fell fast on the island.
Kairo gave her the east wing. He took the west.
"Don’t leave your room after 10PM," he said. Rule 5 again.
9:59PM.
Aria was at her window. The ocean was black.
Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.
`You’re not safe with him. He’s using you. Come to the beach. Alone. -V`
V. Victoria.
Aria looked at the door. Rule 5.
Then she looked at the message.
She left.
The beach was empty. Moonlight on water.
And Victoria. In white. Waiting.
"You came," Victoria smiled. "Good girl."
"Why did you text me?"
"Because Kairo is lying," Victoria said. "He set the fire."
Aria froze. "What?"
"Blackwood was failing," Victoria said. "Insurance money would save it.
He needed a fall guy. Someone disposable. Someone he fired."
"Me."
"Yes," Victoria stepped closer. "He drugged you. Made you forget.
He’s keeping you here so you can’t talk to police."
Aria shook her head. "No. He’s—"
"He’s what?" Victoria’s voice turned sharp.
"The man who ruined your life? Who got you addicted to him in 2 chapters?"
A noise behind them.
Kairo.
He was there in sweatpants again. No suit. Gun in his hand.
"Step away from her, Victoria," he said.
"Or you’ll shoot me?" Victoria laughed. "Like you shot the guard on Floor 42?"
Kairo’s eyes went dead.
Aria looked between them. "Stop. Both of you."
Kairo didn’t look at her. "Aria, go inside. Now."
"Tell me the truth," she said. "Did you do it?"
Silence.
The ocean was loud.
"Yes," he said finally. "But not how she thinks."
---
They were back in the villa. 3AM.
Kairo’s gun was on the table. Unloaded.
"I didn’t set the fire to kill people," he said. "I set it to destroy files.
Victoria was blackmailing me. She had proof I was involved in illegal trades."
"So you burned the building?"
"I tried," he said. "But two guards were still inside.
I didn’t know. I swear, Aria. I didn’t know."
Aria’s stomach turned.
"Victoria framed you," he said. "She drugged you. Put you there.
Made it look like you didit."
"Why me?"
"Because you were in love with me," he said. Quiet. "And I was in love with you.
And she hated that."
Aria stood up. "I don’t love you."
"Liar," he said. Again.
He stood too.
"90 days," he said. "That’s how long we have before the police reopen the case.
Victoria will pin it on you if we don’t find proof she did it."
"So what do we do?"
He stepped close. 1 foot.
Rule 3 was gone.
"We trust each other," he said. "For 88 days.
Or we both go to prison."
His hand lifted. Brushed her hair back.
Not s****l. Desperate.
"I didn’t mean to hurt you," he whispered.
"90 days ago. Or now."
Aria should have pulled away.
Instead she whispered, "Then prove it."
His phone rang.
He didn’t answer it.
The screen lit up on the table.
`Unknown: The police are coming. You have 48 hours. -V`
Victoria.
Kairo looked at Aria.
"Pack again," he said. "We’re not safe here either"Why me?"
"Because you were in love with me," he said. Quiet. "And I was in love with you.
And she hated that."
Aria stood up. "I don’t love you."
"Liar," he said. Again.
He stepped close. 1 foot.
Rule 3 was gone.
"We trust each other," he said. "For 88 days.
Or we both go to prison."
His hand lifted. Brushed her hair back.
Not s****l. Desperate.
"I didn’t mean to hurt you," he whispered.
"90 days ago. Or now."
Aria should have pulled away.
Instead she whispered, "Then prove it."
His phone rang.
He didn’t answer it.
The screen lit up on the table.
`Unknown: The police are coming. You have 48 hours. -V`
Victoria.
Kairo looked at Aria.
"Pack again," he said. "We’re not safe here either."
She didn’t move. "Where do we go?"
"Off thegrid," he said. "My father has a safehouse in Ghana.
No records. No cameras. Just us and the truth."
"Your father?"
"The man who built Blackwood," Kairo said. "And the man Victoria wants dead."
Aria grabbed her bag. 88 days turned to 2.
On the jet again, she couldn’t sleep.
Kairo sat beside her this time. No table between them.
"Ask me anything," he said.
"Did you love her?"
"Victoria?" He shook his head. "No. I married her for business.
I stayed with you for me."
Aria stared at him. "That’s the first honest thing you’ve said."
"Don’t get used to it," he said. But he smiled. Small. Real.
They landed at dawn in Accra. A black SUV waited.
The safehouse was a villa on the coast. Walls high. One guard.
Inside, Kairo pulled out a hard drive.
"This is everything," he said. "Emails. CCTV. Bank transfers.
If Victoria touched it, it’s here."
"And if you did?"
"Then you turn me in," he said. "After 88 days."
Night came fast. Aria’s room had one bed. One window. One lock.
11:58PM.
Her phone buzzed.
`He’s lying about the guard. Check file 7. -V`
File 7.
Aria opened the hard drive. Folder 7.
Video.
Blackwood Tower. Floor 42. 11:40PM.
A guard. Running.
And Kairo. With a gun.
The screen went black before she could see more.
The door opened.
Kairo.
"You weren’t supposed to see that yet," he said.
Aria stood. Back to the wall.
"Did you kill him?"
Kairo didn’t answer.
He just closed the door behind him.
87 days left. The room was silent.
Smoke from the hallway.
Alarms far away.
Aria’s hands shook.
"Answer me," she said.
Kairo stepped closer.
"No," he said.
She exhaled.
"Then why is everyone dead?"
"Because they tried to take you."
His voice was low. Dangerous.
"I don’t care about the rules anymore."
He reached for her.
She didn’t move back.
"87 days," he said.
"That’s all we have."
"Then what?"
He looked at her. Really looked.
"Then I don’t let you go."
The fire outside was nothing compared to this.He took her hand.
No more lies.
No more rules.
Just 87 days.
And whatever came after.The fire burned.
They didn’t.They stayed.
Together.Always.
Only forward.
No turning back.[End Of Chapter 3]
- Writer
