THE PHOTO TRUTH
1655 Words
Chapter 10:
*7:44am. 60th Floor. Blackwood Tower.*
Knock. Three times.
“Damien? It’s me. Let me in. Before Vanessa’s people find me first.”
Damien didn’t move. “Elena died. I buried her. I picked the casket.”
My heart hammered. Elena Blackwood. His sister. Died in car crash 3 years ago, same week he rejected me.
Now she was at the door. Alive.
Damien unlocked it.
Girl stood there. 22. Damien’s eyes. Scar down left cheek. Hair shaved one side. Black cargo pants, blood on sleeve. Not hers.
She pulled necklace from under shirt. Blackwood crest. Twisted it open. Tiny photo inside: her, Damien, dad at lake.
Damien grabbed her. Fierce. Desperate. “I buried you.”
“You buried a decoy,” Elena pulled back. “Dad found out Vanessa’s father planned hit on me. To control you. So Dad faked my death. Sent me to Morocco. I wasn’t supposed to come back until you were safe.”
She looked at me. Sharp eyes. “Then you rejected her. Made you anything but safe.”
Damien stepped between us. “She’s my mate, Elena. Don’t.”
Elena’s eyes softened. Just a little. “I know. I watched council feed. You knelt. Stupid, romantic, reckless. Just like Dad.” She pulled USB from pocket. “Original medical file. Vanessa has never been pregnant. The photo is fake. Deepfake + stolen hospital stock image.”
She plugged USB into a tablet. Screen lit.
Ultrasound file. Metadata: Created 2 days ago. Photoshop layers visible.
“She used Damien’s DNA,” Elena said flat. “Stolen from hairbrush 3 years ago, night after funeral. I saw Vanessa’s maid collect it.”
My knees went weak. Damien caught me. Sat me on bed.
“So no baby,” I whispered.
“No baby,” Elena confirmed. “But she has more. Proof someone in Tower leaked your bloodwork after the funeral. Someone with access to med wing.”
Damien’s eyes went silver. Rage. “Who?”
Elena pulled the second photo. Security cam still. 3 years ago. Med wing. Nurse handing vial to woman in shadow. Face covered. But posture familiar.
Kemi zoomed. Enhanced shadow.
Vanessa’s mother. Chief Adebayo’s wife. Dead 2 years ago. “Heart attack”.
Damien went still. “Auntie Morayo. She raised us after Mom died.”
Elena nodded, tears now. “She wasn’t your auntie. She was Chief’s spy. Placed 20 years ago. Dad found out the month before crash. Confronted her. That’s why he died. Car crash wasn’t accident, Damien. She cut brake lines. Then, I faked mine to get me out before she killed me, too.”
The room went silent.
Damien walked to the window. Steel panel. Put the forehead against cold metal. Shoulders shaking. Controlling rage.
“My father. My sister’s face. My mate’s name. All her,” he said quiet. “3 years believing I killed Elena. 3 years believing I was a monster who abandoned mate. All lies.”
I walked to him. Stood close.
“Damien. You didn’t know. You were 22 and grieving. She counted on that.”
He turned. Eyes black, broken. “She counted on me, choosing power over love. And I did. I rejected you because I thought I’d already lost everyone.”
He cupped my face. “I was wrong. Losing you would’ve killed me. Elena being alive means I can take back 3 years.”
Elena cleared throat. “Cute. But Vanessa’s sniper is still up there. Chief has lawyers filing ‘illegal bond reversal’ now. If they rule against you before we expose forgery, they can force separation.”
Damien dropped his hands. Alpha mask down. “Then we end it. Now.”
He turned to Kemi. “Live feed. All pack channels. Press conference in 10 minutes. Roof. Where sniper shot last night.”
Kemi blinked. “Alpha, security risk—”
“Risk is letting her lie spread,” Damien cut her off. “Elena, you show the original file. I’ll show a bite mark. Favour speaks. We end rumors with truth.”
He looked at me. “You don’t have to.”
“I will,” I said. “If someone forged ultrasound to break us, I’m not hiding.”
Damien nodded. Kissed my forehead. “Then let’s burn her story down.”
*8:30am. Rooftop.*
Wind. Lagos below. Cameras rolled. 200 wolves watching live.
Damien stood center. Shirt off. Bite mark glowing silver in sun. Fresh. Obvious.
I stood left. Elena, right. She held a tablet up.
“3 years ago, Damien rejected his mate,” Elena’s voice rang. “Today he corrected the mistake. This is a new bond mark. Witnessed by council. Sealed in blood.”
She played council feed. My teeth. His neck. His words: “Favour Chukwuma. My wife.”
Gasps.
“Now, forgery,” Elena swiped. Ultrasound appeared. Then Photoshop layers. Then metadata. “Vanessa Adebayo created this 48 hours ago. Using stolen DNA and stock image. Damien has never fathered the child but me.”
She held up the original hospital record. Negative test. The date was stamped 3 years ago, and the week after rejection.
Damien stepped forward. Looked into drone camera.
“Vanessa Adebayo attempted murder last night,” he said. “Sniper rifle. Laser dot on my mate. We have ballistics. We have her DNA on rifle. We have motive: control through forced merger.”
He turned to me. Took my hand. Raised it.
“But she failed. Because this bond is older than lies. Older than Chief’s ambition. Older than grief.” He looked at me, not camera. “Favour Chukwuma is my mate. My wife. My Alpha female. I choose her. Publicly. Permanently.”
Silence. Then—
From the crowd below, the chant started. One voice. Then ten. Then 200.
“Alpha. Alpha. Alpha.”
Vanessa’s limo doors burst open. She ran out, red dress, screaming. “IT’S FAKE! SHE’S LYING! HE CHEATED!”
Damien didn’t look at her. Just pulled me closer. Forehead to mine.
“She’s desperate,” he murmured. “Let her scream.”
Security moved. Grabbed Vanessa. She fought, nails out.
“You can’t! I’m Chief’s daughter! I’m—”
“You’re under arrest,” Kemi said, cuffs out. “Attempted murder of Alpha female. Forgery. Treason. National Council has evidence. Your father’s assets frozen.”
Vanessa looked at me. Eyes wild. “You think you won? The Keeper isn’t done. He’s been watching since you were kids. He won’t let you have him!”
Damien’s head snapped up. “Who is The Keeper?”
Vanessa laughed, broken. “Ask Elena. Ask who took a photo at Oak Tree 3 years ago. Ask who’s been collecting Damien’s blood since he was 16. Ask who really cut your father’s brakes, Elena.”
Elena went pale. “What?”
Vanessa was dragged away, still screaming.
*10:12am. 60th Floor.*
Silence. Elena sat on the edge of bed, shaking. Tablet in lap.
Damien stood by the window. Back to us. Bite mark glowing.
“The Keeper,” he said, not turning. “Vanessa mentioned name before. In council hack last night. I thought it was bluff.”
Elena looked up at me. Eyes wet. “I took that photo, Favour. 3 years ago. At oak tree. I was 19. Hiding in bushes because Dad said ‘don’t interrupt mate moments’. I sent it to Auntie Morayo because she asked for pics of us ‘happy’.”
My blood froze.
“Auntie Morayo was The Keeper,” Elena whispered. “She collected photos. Blood. Hair. Built file on you both. Said ‘for family album’. After Dad died, she told me I had to disappear or she’d kill you next, Favour. So I ran.”
Damien turned slowly. Face blank. Hands fisted.
“She’s dead,” he said. “2 years ago. Heart attack.”
Elena shook her head. “No. Death certificate forged. Same doctor who faked my crash. I saw her 6 months ago in Morocco. Older. Scar on hand. She said ‘tell brother I’m watching. Bond will break’.”
Damien closed eyes. When he opened them, silver. Calculation.
“So she’s alive,” he said quietly. “Chief’s wife. My auntie. The woman who raised me. Cut Dad’s brakes. Faked Elena’s death. Stole my DNA. Built file on Favor since we were kids. And now she’s back.”
He knelt in front of me. Not like council. Like man asking.
“Favour,” he said. “3 years ago, I failed to protect you from her lies. Today I won’t. If she wants war, she gets war. But I need you to know: I won’t let her touch you. Not while I breathe.”
I touched his face. Thumb over scar from my bite.
“I believe you,” I said. “But if she’s been watching since we were kids… she knows us better than we know ourselves.”
Damien nodded. Kissed my knuckles.
“Then we learn her,” he said. “Elena, you’re pack now. No more hiding. We find her. We end this.”
Elena stood. Straightened shoulders. Damien’s sister again.
“For Dad,” she said. “For you. For Favour.”
Phone buzzed. All three phones at once.
Unknown number. No text. Just video.
Footage: Blackwood gardens. Night. 3 years ago. Young Damien, 22, standing over casket. Crying. Behind him, woman in shadow. Auntie Morayo. Holding vial of his blood. Smiling.
Caption: I watched you grieve, Alpha. I watched you reject her. I watched you, bury sister. Now watch me take everything else. The Keeper_
New message:
_Bond sealed in blood. Bond breaks in blood. See you at midnight, Mrs. Blackwood. Bring your alpha. -V + K_
Damien looked at me. At Elena. At bite mark glowing between us.
“She’s not done,” he said. “And neither are we.”
_[End Episode 10]_
- Writer
