THE NDA

THE NDABOOK 5CHAPTER 5: THE WITNESS

THE NDA

BOOK 5

CHAPTER 5: THE WITNESS

I was not pregnant.

The text said I was. My body said nothing.

But the panic in my chest was real.

Damian was still holding my hand in the hospital room. Crying like the CEO of a billion-dollar company was allowed to break.

"L," he whispered. "Say something."

"I’m Zara," I said. The name felt new in my mouth. "And I remember."

He flinched. "All of it?"

"The car. The files. The marriage." I squeezed his hand back. "You."

He closed his eyes like he’d been holding his breath for three years. "Thank God."

My phone was on the nightstand. The text still there.

Clause 9 is now active. You have 9 months.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

Damian looked at the phone. His jaw went tight. "It means nothing. The board is bluffing."

"They said the baby belongs to Cole Group."

"There is no baby," he said. Too fast. "We’ll run tests. Today."

A nurse came in. Took blood. Took a urine sample.

"Results in 2 hours," she said.

Damian didn’t let go of my hand for 2 hours.

At 11AM the doctor came back. "Negative," she said. "No pregnancy."

I exhaled. Damian exhaled.

But the text still said 9 months.

"Who sent this?" I asked, showing him the phone.

He looked at it. "I don’t know. But I’ll find out."

He kissed my forehead. "Stay here. Rest. I need to go deal with the board."

"Damian—"

"I’ll be back in 4 hours," he said. "Promise."

He left.

I was alone for 17 minutes before Layo walked in.

She didn’t look surprised to see me awake.

"You took the blue," she said.

"How did you know?"

"Because you’re here," she said. "And because you look like her again."

"Like who?"

"Like me," she said. "Before they made me forget."

She pulled up a chair. Sat.

"I’m not here to hurt you," she said. "I’m here to warn you."

"About what?"

"About him," she said. "About the board. About what happens next."

She pulled out her phone. Showed me a photo.

Damian. In a room with 6 men in suits.

Caption: Board Meeting. Asset Layo - Termination Protocol.

"That was 3 years ago," Layo said. "The day of the accident. They voted to kill both of us."

"But we lived."

"Because he traded," Layo said. "He gave them you. Wiped. Renamed. Contracted. In exchange for your life."

"And you?"

"I refused," she said. "So they made me watch."

The room was cold.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"I want you to run," she said. "With me. Tonight. We have a plane. We have money. We have new names."

"And Damian?"

"He comes with us, or he doesn’t," she said. "But he can’t protect you anymore. The board knows you remember. Clause 9 wasn’t about a baby. It was about leverage."

"Leverage for what?"

"For the AI," she said. "The one you built. The one that runs Cole Group. It only works when you’re emotional. When you’re in love. When you’re scared. They need you pregnant, unstable, and tied to Damian to keep it running."

I stood. "That’s insane."

"Is it?" she said. "Why do you think he keeps you close? Why do you think he paid your debt? Why do you think he sent that email firing you, then un-firing you?"

"To protect me."

"To farm you," she said.

The door opened.

Damian.

He looked at Layo. At me. At the phone in her hand.

"Get out," he said to Layo. Quiet. Deadly.

"Make me," she said.

He didn’t. He just walked to me. "Are you okay?"

"No," I said. "Am I a battery for your AI?"

He didn’t answer right away. That was the answer.

"Layo’s lying," he said finally. "Partially."

"Partially?"

"The AI does work better when you’re stable," he said. "And you are stable when you’re with me. That’s why I kept you close. Not to hurt you. To keep you safe."

"By lying to me for 3 years?"

"By giving you 3 years," he said. "Without them killing you."

Layo laughed. "You hear yourself?"

"Get. Out," Damian said again.

Layo stood. "Fine. But she’s coming with me."

"No she’s not," Damian said.

"Watch me," Layo said.

She grabbed my wrist.

Damian grabbed the other.

And for one second we were in a tug of war over my body.

"Stop," I said. Both of them let go.

"I’m not going anywhere with either of you until I get answers," I said. "Real answers."

"Then come to the basement," Layo said. "Archives. Room B12. Everything is there. The original contract. The AI code. The board minutes."

"Why there?"

"Because it’s the only place without cameras," she said. "Because it’s where they keep the other versions."

"What other versions?" Damian asked.

Layo looked at me. "Show him."

We went down. 38 floors. To the basement.

Room B12 was locked. Layo had a key.

Inside: files. Dozens.

All with my face.

Zara Okoye v1. Deceased. 2019.

Zara Okoye v2. Terminated. 2021.

Zara Okoye v3. Active. 2023.

"Version 3.0," Layo said. "That’s you."

Damian went pale. "What is this?"

"The project," Layo said. "Project ENEU. Emotional Neural Exploitation Unit. They’ve been making versions of me for 5 years. To see which one you’d fall in love with. To see which one would build the perfect AI."

I picked up v2’s file. Cause of death: Suicide.

v1: Car accident.

"They keep killing us," I said. "Until they get one that works."

"And you worked," Layo said to me. "You loved him. You built the AI. You made them billions."

Damian was shaking. "I didn’t know."

"You didn’t want to know," Layo said. "It was easier to pretend you were saving me."

I looked at him. "Is that true?"

He couldn’t meet my eyes. "I met v2," he said quietly. "I didn’t know what she was. I fell for her. Then she died. Then they gave me v3. You. And told me not to get attached."

"But you did."

"I did," he said. "God help me, I did."

The lights flickered.

A voice came over the intercom. "Asset Zara. Report to floor 1. Immediately."

Layo grabbed my hand. "That’s the board. They know you’re here. We have to go. Now."

Damian blocked the door. "You’re not taking her."

"I’m not asking," Layo said.

"Then we do this the hard way," Damian said.

He pulled a gun from his jacket.

"You have a gun?" I asked.

"Rule one," he said. "I’m never alone with you. Rule two: I’m always armed when I am."

The door banged.

"Open up," a voice said. "Board security."

Layo looked at me. "Decision time. Him, or me. Life, or death."

Damian looked at me too. "I can get us out. But you have to trust me."

The door banged again.

I had 3 seconds.

I grabbed Layo’s hand. "Run."

We ran. Through the basement. Through a service tunnel. Out into the rain.

Behind us, gunshots.

We didn’t stop until we were 4 blocks away, in an alley, soaked and breathing hard.

Layo let go of me. "You chose me."

"I chose to live," I said.

"Good," she said. "Because he’s going to come for us. And when he does, you need to be ready to kill him."

"What?"

"That’s the only way this ends," she said. "One of you has to die. For the other to be free."

My phone buzzed. Damian.

You chose wrong.

Come home.

Before I have to make you.

I deleted it.

Layo handed me a bag. Clothes. Money. A passport. Name: Layo Okoye.

"Your new life starts now," she said. "Airport in 2 hours."

We walked.

At 1AM we were at the airport. Private terminal.

A jet on the tarmac.

And standing in front of it: Damian.

Alone. Hands up. No gun.

"I’m not here to stop you," he said. "I’m here to ask you one thing."

"What?" I said.

"Take me with you," he said. "Or leave me to die."

Layo raised her gun. "Don’t."

Damian looked at me. "Zara. Please. I know what I did. I know what I am. But I love you. And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it right. If you let me."

The jet engines started.

Layo c****d the gun. "Last chance. Get on the plane, or I shoot him."

I looked at Damian. Broken. Bleeding. Waiting.

I looked at Layo. Hard. Tired. Right.

And I made the choice.

I stepped forward.

And shot the gun out of Layo’s hand.

"Layo," I said. "It’s over."

Security swarmed.

They took Layo away in cuffs.

Damian came to me. "You chose me."

"I chose neither of you," I said. "I chose me."

He flinched. "What does that mean?"

"It means I’m going to the police," I said. "With the files. With the USB. With everything. And I’m going to burn Cole Group to the ground."

"Zara—"

"And you’re coming with me," I said. "As a witness. Or as a defendant. Your choice."

He stared at me. Then he nodded. "Okay."

We got in the car.

At 3AM we were at the police station.

I handed over the files.

The officer looked at me. "Miss Okoye. Are you sure you want to press charges against Cole Group?"

"Yes," I said.

"And against Mr. Cole?"

I looked at Damian.

He nodded once.

"Yes," I said. "Accessory. Fraud. Conspiracy."

They took him in.

At 5AM I walked out of the station alone.

My phone buzzed. Unknown number.

Good girl.

Phase 1 complete.

Phase 2 begins now.

- The Board

And attached: a photo of my mother. In her house. Sleeping.

A red dot on her forehead.

The text under it: You have 24 hours to get her back.