Chapter 18— Don’t Trust Damien Black
972 Words
DON’T TRUST DAMIEN BLACK.
Adaeze stared at the words.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Her heart pounded violently inside her chest.
The photograph trembled slightly in her hands.
Someone had taken the picture less than an hour ago.
Someone close.
Someone watching.
And now they were warning her about Damien.
Or trying to manipulate her.
She couldn’t tell which.
Slowly, she lifted her eyes.
Damien was already watching her.
Of course he was.
His sharp gray eyes moved from the photograph to her face.
“What does it say?”
The question came quietly.
Adaeze hesitated.
Just for a second.
But Damien noticed.
He always noticed.
“Adaeze.”
She handed him the photograph.
The moment he read the message, his expression became unreadable.
Dangerously unreadable.
Tunde stepped closer.
“What is it?”
Damien handed him the photo.
Tunde cursed immediately.
“Interesting.”
Damien’s gaze darkened.
“Explain.”
Tunde looked toward Adaeze.
“There are only two possibilities.”
Nobody spoke.
“The first is that it’s a trap.”
“And the second?” Adaeze asked.
Tunde’s jaw tightened.
“The second is that somebody inside The Circle is trying to help you.”
Silence.
Cold silence.
Adaeze looked at Damien again.
He looked completely calm.
Too calm.
Then suddenly she remembered something.
Something Elena said in the video.
“I’ve known about you for years, Damien.”
Years.
How?
The question had been bothering her ever since she heard it.
And now…
Combined with the warning…
It felt heavier.
More important.
Damien noticed the shift in her expression immediately.
“What?”
She swallowed.
“How did Elena know you?”
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Tunde looked uncomfortable.
The guards exchanged glances.
And for the first time—
Damien didn’t answer immediately.
A chill ran down Adaeze’s spine.
“Damien.”
His jaw tightened.
“I’ve crossed paths with The Circle before.”
The confession stunned her.
“What?”
Tunde laughed bitterly.
“That’s one way of putting it.”
Damien shot him a warning look.
But Tunde ignored it.
“Tell her the truth.”
The silence stretched.
Then finally—
Damien exhaled slowly.
“My father was part of The Circle.”
Everything stopped.
Adaeze stared at him.
No.
That wasn’t possible.
“What?”
“My father helped build it.”
The words landed like a bomb.
Even the rain outside seemed quieter.
Adaeze’s stomach dropped.
“You never told me that.”
His expression hardened.
“You never asked.”
The answer made her angry instantly.
“Seriously?”
Damien stepped closer.
“My father died because of that organization.”
His voice remained calm.
But she could hear the hatred underneath.
Raw.
Violent.
Personal.
“He tried to leave.”
A pause.
“They killed him.”
The garage fell silent.
And suddenly everything clicked.
Damien’s obsession with destroying powerful enemies.
His distrust.
His need for control.
The darkness inside him.
It wasn’t random.
It was built from loss.
Pain.
Revenge.
“You’ve been hunting them.”
His eyes locked onto hers.
“For years.”
The realization hit hard.
Because Damien hadn’t entered this war because of her.
He was already fighting it.
Long before she appeared.
Long before Lagos.
Long before that job interview.
Then another thought struck her.
A horrible thought.
“You knew who I was.”
Silence.
Damien didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
Shock exploded through her chest.
“No.”
Tunde looked away.
Oh God.
“No.”
Damien’s expression remained still.
“Adaeze—”
“You knew.”
Her voice cracked.
“You knew exactly who I was before you hired me.”
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The truth sat heavily between them.
Then Damien finally said—
“Yes.”
The word shattered something inside her.
All those months.
The interview.
The contract.
The expensive clothes.
The dinners.
The protection.
None of it happened by chance.
He chose her.
Specifically.
On purpose.
Exactly as the warning suggested.
“Why?” she whispered.
Damien stared at her for a long moment.
Then quietly—
“Because I needed to find the drive.”
Pain flashed across her face instantly.
Damien saw it.
Regretted it immediately.
But the damage was done.
“So I was a mission.”
“No.”
“Then what was I?”
His silence hurt worse than any answer.
Because suddenly Adaeze didn’t know what was real anymore.
Was any of it real?
The concern?
The protection?
The way he looked at her?
The way he took a bullet for her?
Her chest tightened painfully.
Then Damien stepped forward.
“Adaeze.”
“No.”
His jaw clenched.
“You deserve the full truth.”
“Finally.”
The bitterness in her voice surprised even herself.
Damien looked away briefly.
Something he rarely did.
Something he only seemed to do when she affected him.
Then quietly—
“At first, yes.”
The words hit hard.
“At first, you were a lead.”
Silence.
“But then I met you.”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
Damien’s gaze returned to hers.
Intense.
Unavoidable.
Dangerously honest.
“And everything became complicated.”
The confession hung heavily between them.
Before anyone could speak—
A phone suddenly rang.
One of the guards answered.
His face immediately turned pale.
“Sir.”
Damien looked up sharply.
“What now?”
The guard swallowed hard.
“We found Elena.”
Hope exploded across Adaeze’s chest.
“Where is she?”
The guard looked terrified.
“Dead.”
The word crushed the room.
“No,” Adaeze whispered.
The guard continued shakily.
“There was a message.”
Fear crawled through her body.
“What message?”
The guard looked directly at Adaeze.
Then quietly said—
“She died protecting the weapon.”
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