The first crack
659 Words
Chapter 10 — The First Crack
“No.”
Amara stood up so quickly the blanket fell to the floor.
“My brother didn’t do anything.”
Dami’s expression remained unreadable, but his silence only made panic rise higher inside her chest.
“You think he leaked those files?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you’re thinking it.”
Dami exhaled slowly and rubbed a hand across his jaw before walking toward the window.
“The board already made their conclusion before I even got there this morning,” he said quietly. “Your brother’s credentials were used to access restricted information at 2:13 a.m.”
Amara shook her head repeatedly.
“There has to be another explanation.”
“There usually is.”
The answer should’ve comforted her.
Instead, it scared her more.
Because Dami sounded careful.
Measured.
Like he was trying not to say the wrong thing.
Amara crossed her arms tightly over her chest. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
Dami turned.
“I’m trying to understand why your brother suddenly disappeared.”
Her stomach dropped.
“He’s not missing,” she said immediately. “He probably just turned off his phone.”
“For twenty hours?”
Amara froze.
Dami watched her carefully.
“I had security track his last location this morning,” he continued. “He left his apartment in a hurry last night.”
Fear crept slowly into Amara’s chest.
Her brother, Chike, was reckless sometimes. Stubborn too. But he would never betray anyone.
Especially not like this.
“He works in IT,” she whispered. “Maybe someone used his system.”
“That’s possible.”
“But?”
Dami’s eyes hardened slightly.
“But whoever did this knew exactly how to bypass internal security.”
The room became painfully quiet.
Amara looked away first.
Because suddenly she remembered something.
Three nights ago.
Chike had called her repeatedly.
She ignored the calls because she was angry at him for missing their mother’s memorial dinner.
Then he sent one final text:
I need to tell you something before it gets bad.
Her blood ran cold.
“Amara.”
She blinked quickly.
Dami had moved closer without her noticing.
“What is it?”
She hesitated.
If she told him about the message, things could get worse for Chike.
But hiding it from Dami felt wrong too.
“I…” She swallowed hard. “My brother texted me a few days ago.”
Dami’s expression sharpened instantly.
“What did he say?”
Amara grabbed her phone from the nightstand with trembling fingers and opened the message.
Dami read it silently.
A dangerous stillness settled over him.
“When did you receive this?”
“Three nights ago.”
“And you didn’t mention it?”
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
Dami stared at the screen for another second before handing the phone back carefully.
Then he looked at her.
Not coldly.
Not angrily.
Worse.
Disappointed.
“I need you to understand something,” he said quietly. “If someone inside my company is selling information, this becomes bigger than family.”
Amara felt her chest tighten painfully.
“You think I’d protect him even if he was guilty?”
“I think you love your brother.”
The answer came too fast.
Too honestly.
Amara looked away immediately.
Dami sighed softly before stepping even closer.
“I’m not your enemy, Amara.”
“Then stop looking at me like I’m connected to this.”
His jaw tightened.
“I’m trying not to.”
That one sentence shattered something between them.
Amara took a small step back as hurt flashed across her face.
Dami noticed instantly.
And regret appeared in his eyes almost immediately after.
But it was too late.
For the first time since they started getting closer…
Amara no longer felt safe in his arms.
- Writer
