Chapter 6 — The Girl In The Photograph
1269 Words
“What do you mean she’s missing?”
Damien’s voice turned dangerously quiet.
The kind of quiet that came before destruction.
Adaeze stood frozen beside him, trying to read his expression, but his face had become unreadable again.
Cold.
Controlled.
Terrifying.
“Yes,” the voice on the phone continued faintly.
Damien’s jaw tightened.
“When was the last confirmed sighting?”
A pause.
Then suddenly—
“No. Lock down the penthouse.”
Adaeze’s stomach twisted instantly.
Penthouse?
Who was missing?
Damien ended the call slowly.
The silence afterward felt heavier than before.
“Damien.”
His eyes lifted to hers.
And for the first time since she met him—
She saw something close to panic hiding underneath his control.
Tiny.
Buried deeply.
But there.
“Who’s missing?” she asked quietly.
Damien looked away briefly before answering.
“My sister.”
Adaeze blinked in surprise.
He had a sister?
The man barely seemed human enough to have family.
“What happened?”
“She disappeared this evening.”
Fear crawled slowly into his expression now.
Not loud fear.
The dangerous kind powerful men carried silently.
Damien grabbed his suit jacket abruptly. “We’re leaving.”
Adaeze frowned. “Wait—”
“Now.”
The sharpness in his voice silenced everything.
Within minutes, they were inside the black Rolls Royce speeding through Lagos at night.
The atmosphere inside the car felt suffocating.
Damien sat beside her, silent.
His phone buzzed constantly.
Messages.
Calls.
Updates.
Each one making his expression darker.
Adaeze watched him carefully.
This was the first crack she’d seen in him.
The first moment he looked less like an untouchable billionaire and more like a man carrying something heavy.
“She’s younger than me,” he said suddenly.
Adaeze blinked.
The words seemed random until she realized—
He was talking about his sister.
“She studies in London most of the year.” His voice remained calm, but his fingers tightened slightly around his phone. “She flew into Lagos yesterday.”
“What’s her name?”
A pause.
“Serena.”
The name sounded softer than she expected.
Warmer.
Nothing about Damien felt soft.
“She disappeared from the penthouse?” Adaeze asked carefully.
“Yes.”
“Could she have left voluntarily?”
Damien looked at her then.
And the expression in his eyes made her regret the question instantly.
“No.”
The single word carried something sharp underneath it.
Something personal.
Something terrifying.
The car finally stopped outside a massive building overlooking the ocean.
Not an apartment.
A fortress disguised as luxury.
Security surrounded the entrance.
Men in black suits stood everywhere.
Adaeze stepped out slowly, immediately feeling the tension in the air.
Everybody looked afraid.
Not for Serena.
Of Damien.
The second he entered the penthouse, the atmosphere changed instantly.
“Sir—”
“Show me the footage.”
“Yes, sir.”
People moved quickly around him like soldiers responding to a commander.
Adaeze followed carefully behind.
The penthouse itself looked unreal.
Dark marble floors.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
Luxury so expensive it almost looked cold.
But none of that mattered.
Because Damien had become someone else entirely now.
Focused.
Deadly.
A man hunting.
One of the guards approached nervously. “We checked every exit—”
“And?”
“No forced entry.”
Damien’s eyes darkened dangerously.
“Then somebody let them in.”
Silence exploded across the room.
Nobody dared speak.
Adaeze swallowed slowly.
She’d never seen this level of power before.
Real power.
The kind that made grown men terrified of disappointing one person.
A large screen lit up across the room.
Security footage.
Damien walked closer immediately.
Adaeze hesitated before following.
The footage showed Serena entering the penthouse earlier that evening.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Young.
She looked nothing like Damien except for the eyes.
Those same sharp gray eyes.
The timestamp moved forward.
Serena walked through the living room while talking on her phone.
Laughing.
Relaxed.
Then suddenly—
The video glitched.
The screen flickered black for three seconds.
When it returned—
Serena was gone.
Adaeze frowned instantly.
“That’s impossible.”
Damien’s expression became lethal.
“Exactly.”
One of the tech men spoke nervously. “The system was hacked.”
“By who?”
“We’re still tracing it.”
Damien’s silence became more dangerous than shouting.
Then his phone buzzed again.
He looked down.
And something changed in his face.
Slowly—
Very slowly—
He turned toward Adaeze.
“What?” she asked quietly.
He walked toward her.
Not fast.
Controlled.
But something terrifying simmered underneath every step.
“Tell me something.”
Her heartbeat quickened.
“What?”
“Did you tell anyone you were with me tonight?”
Confusion flashed across her face.
“No.”
“Not even your friend?”
“Amara? No.”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“What about Richard?”
Adaeze’s stomach dropped instantly.
“What are you implying?”
“I’m asking a question.”
“You think this has something to do with me?”
Damien stared at her silently.
And the silence itself hurt.
Because for one horrible second—
She realized he was actually considering it.
Anger flared instantly inside her chest.
“You think I helped kidnap your sister?”
“I think coincidence is dangerous.”
Adaeze stepped back sharply.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“And you’re connected to dangerous people.”
“That is not my fault!”
The room went silent instantly.
Everyone heard that.
Damien’s expression shifted slightly.
Tiny regret again.
But not enough.
Adaeze laughed bitterly.
“You know what? Forget it.”
She turned away angrily.
But Damien grabbed her wrist before she could walk off.
The touch burned instantly.
“Let go.”
“No.”
“I said let go.”
His voice lowered dangerously.
“And I said no.”
Every guard in the room suddenly avoided looking at them.
Because nobody spoke to Damien Black like this.
Nobody.
Adaeze yanked against his grip angrily.
“You don’t get to treat me like a suspect every time something goes wrong!”
“You walked into my life and suddenly everything is chaos.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
Pain flashed across her face before she could hide it.
Damien noticed immediately.
Again.
Always noticing.
Then suddenly—
One of the guards rushed forward.
“Sir.”
Damien turned sharply. “What?”
The guard looked nervous.
“We found something.”
He handed Damien a photograph.
Adaeze frowned slightly.
But the moment Damien looked at it—
His entire body went still.
Completely still.
Fear crept slowly into her chest.
“What is it?”
Damien didn’t answer.
His jaw tightened violently.
Finally, he handed her the photograph.
And Adaeze stopped breathing.
It was Serena.
Bound to a chair.
Terrified.
But that wasn’t the worst part.
The worst part was the message written across the bottom in black ink.
“You stole something that belonged to us.”
Adaeze’s blood ran cold.
Because beneath the message—
Was a second line.
Smaller.
Personal.
And somehow worse.
“Return Adaeze… or your sister dies.”
The room fell silent.
Dead silent.
Adaeze’s hands started trembling instantly.
“No…”
Slowly—
Very slowly—
She lifted her eyes to Damien.
And the way he was looking at her now—
Cold.
Dark.
Possessive.
Terrified.
Made her realize one horrifying truth.
This was never random.
Someone had been watching her long before Damien Black entered her life.
And now—
People were willing to kill for her.
- Writer
