The Billionaire's Fake Wife

Chapter 8: The Decision

The car ride to Udoka Tower felt like it lasted forever.

Ada sat in the backseat, her hands gripping Kene’s jacket so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Kene sat beside her, staring straight ahead, his jaw locked tight. Madam Ngozi was in the front passenger seat, silent for the first time since Ada met her.

Nobody spoke.

The weight of Victor’s threat hung in the air like a storm cloud.

_“20% of your company shares… or your wife’s mother won’t survive the night.”_

Victor’s words kept replaying in Ada’s head on loop.

Ada closed her eyes and pictured her mother lying in that hospital bed, peaceful and unaware that someone had planted something under her oxygen machine.

The thought made her stomach twist.

*“We’re here.”* The driver’s voice broke the silence.

Kene was the first to step out. He immediately moved to Ada’s side and opened her door, his hand hovering near her elbow like he was afraid she’d fall.

Ada didn’t pull away this time.

The Udoka Tower lobby was eerily empty.

Kene’s security team stood at attention, but even they looked tense.

Victor had timed this perfectly — 9pm on a Tuesday. The office was closed. No witnesses.

The elevator doors opened with a soft _ding_.

Victor stood inside, leaning against the wall with his phone in his hand, smiling like he’d already won.

Behind him stood two security guards, arms crossed.

*“You’re late,”* Victor said, glancing at his watch. *“I was starting to think you cared more about your company than your wife’s mother.”*

Kene stepped in front of Ada before she could respond. *“Don’t talk to her, Victor.”*

Victor shrugged and held up his phone. The video was still playing on loop — the man in the hoodie placing something under Mrs. Okeke’s oxygen machine.

*“Then let’s get to the point, Kene. One hour is almost up. Do you sign over 20% of Udoka Holdings to me, or do I press send and let your mother-in-law suffocate in her sleep?”*

Ada’s breath caught. _Mother-in-law._

Victor had said it like it was already real. Like Ada actually belonged to this family.

Kene’s fists clenched at his sides. *“You can’t do this, Victor. If anything happens to her, I’ll make sure you rot in prison.”*

Victor laughed. *“Good luck proving it was me. The man in the hoodie? He’s untraceable. The device under the oxygen machine? It’ll look like a mechanical failure. An accident. Tragic, but accidental.”*

Madam Ngozi stepped forward, her voice shaking with rage. *“You’re my brother, Victor. How could you do this to family?”*

Victor’s smile faded for a second. *“Family? You mean the family that chose Kene over me to run this company? The family that thinks I’m not good enough?”* He shook his head. *“No, Mama. This is business.”*

Ada had heard enough.

She stepped out from behind Kene, her legs trembling but her voice steady.

*“Stop.”*

Three pairs of eyes turned to her.

Ada looked straight at Victor. *“You want the company, right? So take it. But leave my mother out of this.”*

Victor tilted his head, interested now. *“And what makes you think I’d agree to that, Mrs. Udoka?”*

*“Because if you hurt her, Kene will never forgive you,”* Ada said. *“And without Kene, your 20% is worthless. He’s the one who built this company from the ground up. Without him, Udoka Holdings collapses in 6 months.”*

Victor’s eyes narrowed. For the first time, he looked unsure.

Kene turned to Ada, stunned. *“Ada, don’t—”*

*“Let me finish,”* Ada said softly, but firmly. She turned to Kene now, her eyes pleading. *“Kene, please. Don’t give him the company. You worked 10 years to build it. You sacrificed everything for it.”*

Kene’s expression softened. *“And I’d sacrifice it again to save your mother, Ada. Without hesitation.”*

Ada felt her heart skip a beat.

_Your mother._

He’d said _your mother_ like she was already family. Like she mattered to him.

*“Then don’t,”* Ada whispered. *“Because if you give him 20%, he wins. And if he wins, he’ll come after us again. And again. And again. This won’t end with one demand.”*

Victor rolled his eyes. *“This is touching. Really. But time’s up, Kene. 30 seconds.”* He raised his phone, thumb hovering over the send button.

Kene looked between Victor’s phone and Ada’s face. The struggle was written all over him.

Company or Ada’s mother.

Power or love.

Money or a life.

*“Kene,”* Madam Ngozi said quietly. *“Do what you think is right. I’ll stand by you either way.”*

Kene closed his eyes for a full 5 seconds. When he opened them, his decision was made.

*“You won’t press send, Victor,”* Kene said calmly.

Victor smirked. *“And why not?”*

*“Because if you do, I’ll release the financial records I’ve been holding for the past 3 months,”* Kene said. *“The ones that prove you’ve been embezzling 50 million naira from the company account every month for the past year.”*

The color drained from Victor’s face.

*“You’re bluffing.”*

*“Am I?”* Kene pulled out his own phone and showed Victor the screen — a PDF file titled _‘Victor Udoka Financial Audit - CONFIDENTIAL’_.

*“I didn’t want to use this. I didn’t want to destroy my uncle. But you left me no choice.”*

Victor stared at the phone for a long time. Then he laughed. But it wasn’t a real laugh. It was forced. Angry.

*“You think that will stop me, Kene? I can delete the video. I can disappear. You have nothing.”*

*“I have Ada,”* Kene said suddenly.

Everyone went quiet.

Kene looked at Ada, and for the first time, he didn’t hide it.

*“I have Ada. And I’m not losing her. Not to you. Not to anyone.”*

Ada’s breath caught.

He didn’t say _my wife_.

He said _Ada_.

Like she was a person, not a contract.

Victor’s face twisted with rage. *“Fine.”* He pocketed his phone. *“You win this round, Kene. But this isn’t over.”*

He turned to leave, then stopped and looked back at Ada. *“You. I don’t know who you are or what spell you’ve put on my nephew. But stay out of my way. Next time, I won’t miss.”*

With that, Victor and his guards walked out of the lobby, the elevator doors closing behind them with a final _clang_.

The lobby was silent again.

Only this time, it was the silence of relief.

Kene exhaled slowly, like he’d been holding his breath for an hour. He turned to Ada and reached out, cupping her face gently in his hands.

*“Are you okay?”* he asked softly.

Ada nodded, tears threatening to fall. *“Is… is my mother safe?”*

*“She’s safe,”* Kene promised. *“I already called the head doctor. He’s moving your mother to the private wing right now. 24-hour armed security. No one gets in without my fingerprint.”*

Ada let out a shaky breath and collapsed against Kene’s chest.

The adrenaline was wearing off now, and her legs could barely hold her up.

Kene wrapped his arms around her immediately, holding her like she might disappear.

*“I’ve got you,”* he whispered into her hair. *“I’ve got you, Ada.”*

Madam Ngozi watched them for a moment, then smiled faintly and turned away to give them privacy.

Ada stayed in Kene’s arms for a long time, listening to his heartbeat. It was fast. Uneven.

Just like hers.

*“Thank you,”* Ada whispered. *“For not choosing the company.”*

Kene pulled back slightly and looked down at her. *“There was never a choice, Ada.”* He paused. *“You’re more important to me than Udoka Holdings. Than money. Than everything.”*

Ada stared up at him, her heart racing.

That wasn’t contract language. That wasn’t business talk.

That was something else entirely.

*“Kene…”* Ada started, but she didn’t know how to finish the sentence.

Kene seemed to realize what he’d just said. His eyes widened slightly, like he’d said too much. He quickly dropped his hands from Ada’s face and stepped back.

*“We should get you back to the hospital,”* he said quickly, his voice back to being professional. Cold. *“Your mother needs you.”*

Ada nodded, but the moment had already shifted.

The wall was back up.

As they walked toward the car, Ada couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed between them tonight.

Something irreversible.

*Victor was right about one thing:* this wasn’t over.

But it wasn’t just the war with Victor anymore.

It was the war between Ada’s heart and the contract she’d signed.

And Ada wasn’t sure she could keep fighting it much longer.