Chapter 49
The night air was thick with humidity as I stepped off the bus at Elelenwo. The streetlights flickered—some buzzing like they were about to die. The warehouse loomed ahead, a hulking silhouette against the dark sky, windows boarded up, metal doors scarred with rust and years of neglect.
Every nerve in my body screamed at me to turn around, to run, to hide. But I didn’t. The child inside me needed me to be strong. To fight.
I clutched the small recorder in my hand, the pendant with the hidden SIM burning against my skin like a lifeline. I had told Lana and Chen my plan: keep the line open, listen for my signal, and be ready.
The door was padlocked, but Chen had tipped me off about a side entrance—an old service door slightly ajar behind a stack of discarded crates. I slipped
