CHAPTER 6: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
2020 Words
The next morning felt different.
The air in the mansion no longer pressed down on Adanna like a weight. It wasn’t freedom, not really, but it was the closest thing she’d felt to it since she’d been dragged into Xavier Olanrewaju’s world.
She was no longer a prisoner—at least, not in the way she had been before.
But the new terms of her stay came with a price. A heavy one.
Adanna sat at the breakfast table, staring at the untouched plate of food in front of her. Her appetite was gone, buried under the growing weight of what she had agreed to the night before.
Across from her, Xavier sipped his coffee, pretending to read a file but watching her from the corner of his eye.
“You’re quiet this morning,” he said casually.
Adanna gave a bitter smile. “Forgive me if I don’t know how to act after agreeing to be your puppet.”
Xavier’s brow arched slightly. “You’re no one’s puppet.”
“Then what am I?”
He closed the file and leaned back in his chair, his gaze sharp and assessing. “You’re a player now, Adanna. And players don’t survive this game by doubting themselves.”
Her stomach tightened at his words.
A player.
She hadn’t asked for this.
But she had stepped into the arena, and now she would have to play.
A Dangerous Education
By midday, Xavier summoned her to his private wing—a place she hadn’t been allowed to enter until now.
The corridor leading to his office was sleek and quiet, walls adorned with expensive art and framed photographs. She paused briefly at one picture—a black and white image of a younger Xavier, smiling with a woman who looked like his mother.
He had been human once.
The door to his office was slightly ajar. She pushed it open and found him standing by a large wall screen, displaying maps, charts, and images of faces she didn’t recognize.
“Come in,” he said without looking at her.
Adanna stepped inside, her heart pounding.
“This is your first lesson,” Xavier said, pointing to the screen. “You wanted to help me? Then you need to understand who we’re up against.”
He clicked a remote, and the screen shifted to display the photo of a man in his fifties—sharp suit, cold eyes.
“Chief Leonard Okeke,” Xavier said. “The man who bought your name.”
Adanna’s blood ran cold.
“That’s him?”
“One of them,” Xavier replied. “He’s not the only one. But he’s the one who ordered your abduction.”
She swallowed hard. “Why?”
Xavier glanced at her, his expression unreadable. “That’s what we need to find out.”
For the next two hours, he walked her through names, locations, connections—all of it woven into a web of corruption and violence that stretched farther than she could have imagined.
The more she learned, the heavier the weight on her chest grew.
These people weren’t just criminals.
They were monsters.
And she was now tangled in their world.
The Rules of the Game
That evening, Xavier handed her a slim black folder.
“Read this,” he said. “Memorize everything inside. It’s the rules of survival.”
Adanna flipped the folder open, scanning the contents.
It wasn’t just information about the trafficking network—it was rules of behavior, manipulation tactics, escape routes, fake identities, coded language.
“This is insane,” she muttered.
Xavier’s lips quirked. “Welcome to my world.”
As she read, a cold realization settled over her.
Xavier hadn’t brought her into his life because he wanted to. He had done it because he knew she was already marked. And the only way she would survive was if she became like him—sharp, calculated, ruthless.
A Sliver of Humanity
That night, long after everyone else had gone to bed, Adanna wandered down the hallway, unable to shake the things she had learned.
She found herself outside the library—a massive room filled with old books and soft leather chairs. To her surprise, Xavier was there, seated by the window, a drink in his hand.
For once, he didn’t look like the powerful, dangerous man she had come to know.
He looked tired.
Worn.
Broken.
Without thinking, Adanna walked in and sat across from him.
He glanced up but didn’t speak.
For a long time, they sat in silence.
Then she asked quietly, “Why did you start doing this?”
Xavier’s gaze dropped to the glass in his hand.
“Because no one else would,” he said simply. “And because I lost someone I couldn’t save.”
The answer settled between them like a heavy blanket.
Adanna didn’t push him for more.
She just sat there, in the quiet, sharing the weight of his scars.
The Game Begins
The next morning, Xavier’s men delivered her a package—new clothes, a sleek phone, and an envelope containing a fake ID with her photo and a new name.
“You’re officially part of the operation now,” Xavier said when she entered the dining hall. “Your first task is simple. Tomorrow, you’re going into the city.”
Adanna’s heart skipped. “Why?”
“To meet the man who wants you dead.”
Her blood turned to ice.
Xavier leaned forward, his gaze dark and dangerous.
“This is the part where you stop being a pawn,” he said softly. “And become the devil’s player.”
Adanna barely slept that night.
The weight of Xavier’s words clung to her like a second skin—You’re going to meet the man who wants you dead.
She replayed the files, the names, the pictures he had shown her over and over in her mind until her eyes burned. Each face was burned into her memory now, especially Chief Leonard Okeke’s. A man she had never met, yet who had decided her life was worth nothing more than a pawn in a dangerous game.
At dawn, she stood by the window of her room, staring at the garden below as the sky shifted from deep blue to grey.
There was no turning back.
A soft knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts.
It was Miriam—the only female staff in Xavier’s mansion, and the only one who occasionally treated Adanna like she wasn’t a fragile object on display.
“You have to get ready,” Miriam said gently. “Boss said you’re leaving by eight.”
Adanna nodded, swallowing the knot in her throat. “Where exactly are we going?”
Miriam hesitated, then whispered, “A private auction.”
Adanna’s stomach dropped.
“What kind of auction?”
But Miriam didn’t answer. Instead, she handed Adanna a sleek black dress wrapped in silk and a pair of stilettos.
“Boss wants you to look expensive,” she said quietly. “That’s the only way you’ll get in.”
The Performance
By the time Adanna stood in front of the grand mirror in Xavier’s hallway, she barely recognized herself.
Her natural curls were tamed into an elegant bun. Her skin shimmered slightly under the glow of light makeup. The black dress hugged her body in all the right places, simple but undeniably expensive.
Xavier appeared behind her, dressed in a black tailored suit that matched her dress like it had been planned.
“Perfect,” he said, voice low.
Adanna met his gaze in the mirror. “You’re dressing me up like bait.”
“You’re not bait,” he replied. “You’re the threat.”
They drove to the city in silence, the tension in the car so thick it was suffocating. Adanna kept her eyes on the window, watching as Lagos came alive outside—the busy streets, the honking cars, the sea of people who had no idea about the dark underworld moving beneath their feet.
“You don’t have to do this,” Xavier said suddenly, breaking the silence. “If you change your mind, I’ll pull you out now.”
Adanna shook her head. “No. I want to see the face of the man who put a price on my life.”
The Auction
The venue was a private club in Ikoyi, hidden behind high gates and tighter security. Inside, the air smelled of money, perfume, and something darker.
The crowd was dangerous—men and women in designer clothes, their smiles sharp, their eyes cold. They didn’t notice Adanna as she walked in on Xavier’s arm, but she felt their energy—the casual evil of people who thought the world belonged to them.
The auction itself was subtle. No one shouted. No one waved paddles. Everything was done quietly, with nods, phone calls, whispers passed between servers.
But what was being auctioned wasn’t art or property.
It was people.
Adanna’s stomach turned as she realized what she was witnessing.
Young girls and boys, dressed up like her, paraded subtly in front of the wealthy monsters who were bidding on them behind closed doors.
“Breathe,” Xavier murmured beside her, sensing the tension in her shoulders. “Keep your face neutral.”
“How can you stand this?” she whispered.
“I don’t,” he replied darkly. “That’s why I’m going to burn it all down.”
The Enemy’s Face
At exactly 10 p.m., Xavier’s phone buzzed.
“He’s here,” he said, his voice dropping an octave.
Adanna followed his gaze to the entrance as Chief Leonard Okeke walked in—tall, well-dressed, oozing arrogance.
He moved through the crowd like he owned the room.
Adanna’s heart pounded as Xavier leaned toward her ear.
“Time to play your part.”
Before she could question him, he let go of her arm and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.
Panic surged in her chest until a man approached her—a server she had never seen before.
“Miss, Chief Leonard would like to meet you.”
Adanna straightened her shoulders, pasting a polite, detached smile on her lips.
“Lead the way.”
They brought her to a private lounge at the back of the club. Chief Leonard was already there, seated on a leather chair, a glass of brandy in hand. He looked up when she entered, eyes scanning her slowly, deliberately.
“Ah,” he said, voice smooth like oil. “You’re even more beautiful up close.”
Adanna forced herself to meet his gaze without flinching.
“You wanted to see me?”
Leonard smiled, dark and calculating.
“I’ve been hearing things about you, my dear,” he said. “You’ve become quite the pet of Mr. Olanrewaju.”
Adanna’s hands clenched at her sides. “I’m no one’s pet.”
He chuckled, leaning back in his chair.
“No. You’re something far more valuable.”
She held his gaze, masking the fear twisting in her gut.
“What do you want from me?”
Leonard’s smile disappeared.
“I want you to deliver a message to Xavier,” he said quietly. “Tell him he’s playing a dangerous game. And the next piece I take off the board won’t be one of his pawns. It’ll be his queen.”
Adanna’s breath caught.
Before she could respond, Leonard stood, brushed past her like she was nothing, and disappeared into the shadows.
The Devil’s Game
When she returned to Xavier, he already knew.
“You met him,” he said simply.
Adanna nodded, her throat tight.
“He threatened you.”
Xavier’s jaw clenched, his eyes turning dark and unreadable.
“Good,” he said quietly. “That’s exactly what I wanted.”
Adanna stared at him, her mind spinning.
“This is a game to you?”
He met her gaze, something dangerous simmering beneath the surface.
“No, Adanna,” he said softly. “This is war.”
And now, she was in the middle of it.
- Writer
