6 Hours.
543 Words
The penthouse went silent.
Mrs. Adewale’s words hung in the air like smoke.
_Watch him die slowly, and know it’s your fault._
Amara’s phone burned in her palm.
The text from the unknown number was still there.
_Your father’s next dialysis bill won’t get paid. Choose wisely._
Her father.
The reason she’d agreed to this marriage in the first place.
If she walked away now, he died. If she stayed, Mrs. Adewale would make sure she regretted it.
Damien saw her face change.
“What did she say to you?”
Amara couldn’t answer.
Because if she told him about the blackmail, he’d go to war with his own mother.
And she couldn’t be the reason the Adewale family tore itself apart.
Mrs. Adewale smiled, seeing the war on Amara’s face.
“Good girl. You’re learning.” She turned to Damien. “I’ll be in touch. Don’t make me come back.”
She walked out the same way she came in.
Heels clicking. Leaving damage behind her.
The door shut.
Amara exhaled for the first time in ten minutes.
Her legs gave out. She sank onto the edge of the couch, staring at the floor.
Damien knelt in front of her.
“Talk to me. Now.”
She looked up at him.
He wasn’t the cold CEO anymore. He looked scared.
For her.
“Your mother just threatened my father’s life,” Amara said quietly. “And someone else is backing her up. They said if I stay with you, he stops getting treatment.”
Damien went still.
Rage flickered behind his eyes, fast and dangerous.
“Tell me the number.”
“No,” Amara said. “If you go after them, they’ll hurt him faster. I need time. I need to think.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know.” She swallowed hard. “Damien, what if I’m making this worse by staying?”
Damien took her hands. His grip was firm. Grounding.
“You’re not making it worse. You’re the only reason I’m not burning this city down right now.”
Amara’s throat tightened.
“You don’t have to say things like that.”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean,” he said. “Amara, look at me.”
She did.
“If you walk away, I’ll find another way to save your father. If you stay, I’ll protect you from both of them. But you don’t have to choose alone.”
A knock at the door cut through the moment.
Security’s voice came through the intercom.
“Sir, it’s Mr. Bamidele from the board. He says it’s urgent. About the press conference.”
Damien stood up slowly, his expression hardening back into the CEO mask.
“Keep your phone on you,” he told Amara. “Don’t answer unknown numbers. I’ll handle this.”
He left.
Amara sat alone, her phone buzzing again.
Unknown:_Tick tock, Mrs. Adewale. 6 hours until his next session. What’s it going to be?_
Outside, Lagos was waking up to the news.
#AdewaleScandal was trending at 3.7M posts.
Inside, Amara had 6 hours to decide if she’d betray Damien to save her father.
And for the first time, she wasn’t sure which choice would destroy her more.
[To Be Continued…]
- Writer
