Chapter 14 — The Circle
1205 Words
“And they’ve wanted you dead for years.”
The words settled over the hotel suite like smoke after an explosion.
Adaeze stared at Tunde in disbelief.
“No.”
Tunde’s expression didn’t change.
“Yes.”
Damien stepped forward slowly.
Dangerously slowly.
“You have five seconds to explain yourself before I throw you out that window.”
Tunde looked completely unimpressed by the threat.
“That’s exactly why The Circle is terrified of you.”
Damien’s eyes darkened instantly.
“Four.”
Adaeze quickly stepped between them before this turned violent.
“Wait.”
Damien’s jaw tightened.
“Adaeze, move.”
“No.”
Both men looked at her.
Tunde sighed softly. “Still stubborn. Good.”
“Stop talking like you know me,” Adaeze snapped.
Something flickered across his face then.
Guilt.
Gone quickly.
But she saw it.
“You deserve the truth,” Tunde said quietly.
“Then start talking.”
The hotel suite fell silent again.
Rain hit the massive windows behind them while London glowed coldly beneath the dark sky.
Tunde loosened his tie slowly.
“The Circle isn’t just some criminal group,” he began. “They’re a network.”
Damien remained still beside Adaeze.
Watching.
Calculating.
“Politicians. Billionaires. Judges. Government officials.” Tunde’s expression hardened. “People powerful enough to erase entire lives.”
A chill moved through Adaeze’s body.
“And Richard worked for them?”
“Yes.”
Her stomach twisted painfully.
“All this time…”
Tunde looked directly at her.
“You thought Richard was dangerous?” He laughed bitterly. “Richard was just a dog on a leash.”
The words made her feel sick.
Damien finally spoke.
“What does this have to do with Adaeze?”
Tunde’s gaze darkened slightly.
“Years ago, one of The Circle’s financial operations got exposed internally.”
Damien folded his arms.
“And?”
“They discovered someone inside the organization planned to leak everything.”
Adaeze frowned slightly.
“The drive.”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched.
Then Tunde continued quietly.
“The drive contains names. Accounts. Crimes.” He looked toward Adaeze carefully. “Enough information to destroy some of the most powerful people in the world.”
Fear crawled slowly up her spine.
“But I didn’t even know what I took.”
“I know.”
Damien’s eyes narrowed instantly.
“You sound very sympathetic for someone connected to all this.”
Tunde looked away briefly.
Then finally admitted—
“Because I tried to help her leave.”
Adaeze froze.
“What?”
Damien’s expression became lethal again.
Tunde exhaled slowly.
“The night she escaped Richard… I was the one who told her to run.”
The room went silent.
Adaeze’s heartbeat quickened painfully.
“No.”
“Yes.”
Fragments of memory suddenly flashed through her mind.
A phone call.
Tunde yelling, Leave now!
Her crying in the rain.
The train station.
She stumbled slightly backward.
“You knew.”
Tunde nodded once.
“I knew Richard would eventually kill you.”
Pain twisted through her chest sharply.
“Then why didn’t you help me sooner?!”
His jaw tightened.
“You think I don’t ask myself that every day?”
The anger in his voice surprised her.
Real anger.
At himself.
Damien noticed it too.
Interesting.
But Damien still didn’t trust him.
Adaeze could feel it beside her.
“If you cared so much,” Damien said coldly, “why is she still being hunted?”
Tunde looked directly at him.
“Because someone betrayed us.”
Silence.
Then slowly—
Tunde’s eyes moved toward Adaeze again.
“It wasn’t an accident that Richard found you in Lagos.”
Her stomach dropped.
“No…”
“You trusted the wrong person.”
Amara.
The name hit Adaeze instantly like ice water.
Her best friend.
The woman who held her while she cried after London.
The woman who knew every address she ever lived in.
“No.” Adaeze shook her head quickly. “Amara wouldn’t do that.”
Tunde’s face filled with pity.
“She works for The Circle.”
Everything inside Adaeze shattered.
“No.”
“She’s been feeding them information for years.”
Adaeze staggered backward.
Damien immediately caught her before she lost balance.
Strong hands gripping her waist.
Steadying her instantly.
“She lied to me,” Adaeze whispered brokenly.
Damien’s jaw tightened sharply at the pain in her voice.
“She used me.”
Tunde nodded once.
“She was assigned to stay close to you until the drive resurfaced.”
Tears burned painfully behind Adaeze’s eyes.
Every memory with Amara suddenly felt fake.
Every comforting word.
Every hug.
Every “I’m here for you.”
A lie.
Damien’s hands remained on her waist.
Grounding her.
Dangerously comforting.
Then Tunde spoke again.
“There’s more.”
Damien’s expression darkened immediately.
“Careful.”
Tunde ignored him.
“The Circle knows about Damien now.”
Silence crashed across the suite.
Adaeze looked up instantly.
“What?”
Tunde’s gaze shifted toward Damien.
“They think he’s emotionally compromised.”
Damien laughed softly.
Coldly.
“That’s cute.”
“I’m serious.” Tunde’s voice sharpened. “You became unpredictable after she entered your life.”
Adaeze’s pulse quickened.
Damien remained unreadable.
But Tunde kept going anyway.
“They’ve been watching you both.”
A chill ran through the room.
“Watching?” Adaeze whispered.
Tunde pulled a folder from his jacket slowly.
Then tossed it onto the glass table.
Damien grabbed it first.
His entire body went still after opening it.
Fear immediately crawled into Adaeze’s chest.
“What is it?”
Damien said nothing.
Slowly—
He handed her the photographs.
And her blood froze.
Pictures.
Dozens of them.
Her entering Blackthorn Holdings.
Damien touching her waist at the dinner.
Them standing close together inside the penthouse.
Even—
Her fingers trembling against Damien’s injured wrist.
Someone had photographed everything.
The most terrifying part?
Each picture had handwritten notes beneath it.
“Weakness confirmed.”
“Emotional attachment increasing.”
“Damien Black becoming unstable around target.”
Adaeze’s breathing became uneven.
“Oh my God.”
Tunde’s expression darkened.
“The Circle doesn’t fear Damien because he’s powerful.” A pause. “They fear him because powerful men become dangerous when they fall in love.”
The room went silent.
Completely silent.
Adaeze slowly looked up at Damien.
And the second their eyes met—
Everything changed.
Because Damien didn’t deny it.
Didn’t laugh.
Didn’t correct him.
He just stared at her with that same dark, consuming look.
Like she had already become something vital to him.
Something he couldn’t escape.
Something he would destroy the world to keep safe.
Her heartbeat became painfully loud.
Then suddenly—
A loud explosion shook the entire hotel floor.
The windows rattled violently.
Alarms exploded everywhere.
Adaeze screamed instinctively.
Damien moved instantly.
Pulling her against his chest protectively.
Security voices shouted through the hallway outside.
“MOVE!”
“EVERYBODY DOWN!”
Another explosion thundered through the building.
Smoke started pouring beneath the hotel suite door.
And Damien’s voice dropped into something terrifyingly calm against her ear.
“They found us.”
- Writer
