27/08/2026
CHAPTER SEVEN : SHE CAME BACK
The taxi moved through the dark streets of Lagos.
Kian kept looking through the rear window.
The black SUV was still behind them.
It maintained the same distance.
Not too close.
Not too far.
Just close enough to remind them that whoever was following them wasn't giving up.
“Who are they?” Kian asked.
Zara didn't answer.
“Zara.”
“Not here.”
“You said you would tell me everything.”
“I will.”
“When?”
“When we're somewhere safe.”
Kian laughed bitterly.
“Does somewhere safe even exist anymore?”
Zara looked at him.
“Not for us.”
The words sent a chill through him.
The taxi turned towards an older part of the city.
Kian recognised the neighbourhood.
“Where are we going?”
“My place.”
“You have a place?”
“I've had many places.”
“For seven years?”
“Yes.”
“Who helped you?”
“People who knew what happened.”
“Who?”
“People I trusted.”
Kian stared at her.
“You trusted people?”
She gave him a tired smile.
“Not everyone betrayed me.”
The taxi stopped in front of a small apartment building.
Zara paid the driver.
Kian stepped out.
He looked behind them.
The black SUV was gone.
For the first time that night, he could breathe.
Zara opened the gate.
“Come.”
---
The apartment was modest.
A small sitting room.
A kitchen.
Two bedrooms.
Nothing about it suggested that someone had been hiding from dangerous people for seven years.
Zara locked the door.
Then checked it again.
She closed the curtains.
Checked the windows.
Only when she was satisfied did she sit down.
Kian remained standing.
He couldn't take his eyes off her.
For seven years, he had believed she was dead.
Yet she was sitting three metres away from him.
Alive.
Older.
Scarred.
But unmistakably Zara.
His wife's twin sister.
The woman from the photograph.
The woman whose voice had haunted him for days.
The woman who had accused him of betraying her.
He finally sat opposite her.
“Start from the beginning.”
Zara looked down.
“The beginning was your father's company.”
“The fraud.”
“Yes.”
“You discovered millions were being stolen.”
“More than millions.”
Kian frowned.
“How much?”
“Enough to destroy the company.”
She leaned back.
“I found the first suspicious payment in 2016. At first, I thought it was an accounting error.”
“You told my father?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
“He told me to stop investigating.”
“Why?”
“Because he was afraid.”
“Of who?”
“The people behind it.”
Kian's jaw tightened.
“Who were they?”
Zara looked at him.
“People close to your father.”
“Executives?”
“Some.”
“Business partners?”
“Some.”
“Family?”
She didn't answer.
Kian understood.
“You suspected someone in my family.”
“I didn't just suspect them.”
She reached for a folder.
“I found evidence.”
She placed several documents on the table.
Kian opened them.
Bank transfers.
Company records.
Property purchases.
Names.
Dates.
Accounts.
Everything was connected.
“These people were stealing money from my father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because they were preparing to take control of the company.”
Kian looked up.
“How?”
“By making it appear financially unstable.”
“What would happen then?”
“They would force your father out.”
“And who would take over?”
Zara looked at him.
“People who already had access to everything.”
Kian studied the documents.
Then he looked at her.
“Why did you trust me?”
Zara's expression softened.
“I didn't.”
Kian frowned.
“You didn't?”
“Not at first.”
“Then why was I in that photograph with you?”
She smiled sadly.
“Because I was trying to decide whether I could trust you.”
“Why me?”
“Because your father trusted you.”
“And?”
“And you were the only person in the family who didn't benefit from the fraud.”
Kian stared at her.
“What did we talk about?”
“That night?”
“Yes.”
Zara looked away.
“You don't remember?”
“No.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
She closed her eyes.
“That night changed everything.”
Kian leaned forward.
“What happened?”
“You came to the warehouse.”
“Yes.”
“My father told you to meet me.”
“Yes.”
“You were angry.”
“Why?”
“Because you thought I was accusing your father.”
Kian frowned.
“I did?”
“Yes.”
“You didn't?”
“I was accusing him.”
Kian stared.
“Was my father involved?”
Zara hesitated.
“He knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That money was being stolen.”
“Did he participate?”
“No.”
“Then why did you say he knew?”
“Because he was trying to protect someone.”
“Who?”
Zara looked at him.
“That was the question I never managed to answer.”
Kian's heart pounded.
“Then what happened at the warehouse?”
Zara's eyes darkened.
“You came with me.”
“Yes.”
“We found the box.”
Kian's breathing stopped.
“The box?”
“The one you found.”
“So I was there.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“We found the evidence.”
“And then?”
“You received a phone call.”
“From who?”
“Your father.”
“What did he say?”
“He told you to leave immediately.”
Kian frowned.
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“What did I do?”
“You argued with him.”
“And then?”
“You left.”
Zara paused.
“I stayed behind.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted to copy the evidence.”
“Then?”
“Someone came.”
Kian leaned forward.
“Who?”
“I never saw his face.”
“What happened?”
“He attacked me.”
Kian looked at the scars on her face.
“You were badly injured.”
“Yes.”
“Then how did you survive?”
“Someone found me.”
“Who?”
“A driver.”
“Where did he take you?”
“To the clinic.”
“The doctor.”
Zara nodded.
“She saved my life.”
“Why didn't you go home?”
“Because the man who attacked me wasn't alone.”
Kian's expression changed.
“There were others?”
“Yes.”
“And they were looking for you?”
“They were looking for the evidence.”
“Did they know you survived?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why hide for seven years?”
“Because every time I tried to come out…”
She touched the scar on her cheek.
“…someone found me.”
Kian was silent.
“Who helped you?”
“A few people.”
“Why didn't you contact Zuri?”
“I did.”
“I know.”
“She begged me to come home.”
“But you refused.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Zara looked at him.
“Because I knew they'd use her to get to me.”
Kian remembered Zuri's confession.
The threat against Naya.
His face changed.
“You knew about the pregnancy.”
“Yes.”
“You knew someone threatened my unborn child.”
“Yes.”
“That's why you told Zuri to stay away.”
“Yes.”
Kian shook his head.
“You should have told me.”
“I couldn't.”
“Why?”
“Because you were being watched too.”
He stared at her.
“By whom?”
Zara's eyes filled with sadness.
“Your own people.”
---
Kian sat back.
There it was again.
The same warning.
His own family.
His own people.
He looked at Zara.
“Who?”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I need to know something first.”
“What?”
“Can I trust you?”
Kian almost laughed.
“After everything?”
“I need an answer.”
“Yes.”
“You don't remember what happened.”
“No.”
“You don't remember what you did.”
“I don't.”
“And yet you still want to know the truth.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Kian thought about it.
Then answered honestly.
“Because I'm tired of living inside a lie.”
Zara looked at him for a long moment.
Then she smiled.
For the first time, it was a genuine smile.
“I knew you were still in there.”
Kian frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“You're still the same.”
“Did you know me before?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
Zara looked away.
“Well enough to know that you would come looking for me.”
Kian's heart skipped.
“Did we…”
He stopped.
Zara looked at him.
“Were we ever together?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Kian looked surprised.
“But the photograph…”
“You and I were never lovers.”
“Then why did someone write, ‘You married the wrong sister’?”
Zara sighed.
“Because they wanted you to believe that.”
“Why?”
“To destroy your marriage.”
Kian stared at her.
“You don't want me?”
Zara laughed softly.
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
Kian blinked.
“Why?”
“Because whatever happened between us belongs to the past.”
She looked directly at him.
“Zuri is my sister.”
Kian said nothing.
“And you are her husband.”
She paused.
“I would never take you from her.”
Kian's eyes softened.
“Then what was between us?”
“Trust.”
“What?”
“I trusted you once.”
She looked down.
“And you were the last person I believed could save me.”
Kian swallowed.
“Could I?”
“No.”
Her voice was quiet.
“You couldn't even save yourself.”
Kian's heart sank.
“What happened to me?”
Zara hesitated.
“That's the part you need to remember.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
“Then who does?”
“Someone who was there that night.”
“Who?”
Zara opened her mouth.
A loud crack split the air.
"BANG!"
The window behind Kian exploded.
He dropped to the floor.
Zara screamed.
Another shot tore through the wall.
“Get down!”
Kian crawled behind the sofa.
Zara grabbed a bag from beneath the table.
“Move!”
“Where?”
“Back door!”
Another bullet struck the wall.
Kian crawled towards the kitchen.
Zara kicked open the back door.
They ran.
Another shot.
Then another.
They raced down the narrow passage behind the building.
Kian grabbed Zara's arm.
“Are you hurt?”
“No!”
They kept running.
A car engine roared somewhere nearby.
Zara pulled him behind a concrete wall.
They crouched there, breathing heavily.
Kian looked back.
“Who is shooting at us?”
Zara's face was pale.
“They found us.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“You said you would tell me!”
“I will!”
“When?”
“When we're alive!”
Kian looked at her.
Despite everything, despite the danger, despite the chaos…
he almost laughed.
Almost.
Zara looked at him.
“What?”
“You're still stubborn.”
“So are you.”
She smiled.
For one brief second, the fear disappeared.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“Zara!”
Her smile vanished.
Kian looked towards the road.
A man stood near the entrance.
He was holding a gun.
Zara grabbed Kian.
“Run.”
They sprinted.
The man fired again.
A bullet struck the wall beside Kian's head.
They reached the main road.
A taxi approached.
Kian stepped into the road.
“Stop!”
The taxi swerved.
The driver slammed on the brakes.
Kian opened the door.
“Drive!”
They jumped inside.
The taxi sped away.
Kian looked through the rear window.
The man was still standing there.
Watching them.
He didn't chase.
He simply watched.
As if he already knew where they were going.
---
They drove for almost twenty minutes before Zara finally spoke.
“We need somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“I know a place.”
Kian looked at her.
“Before we go anywhere, you're telling me who is behind this.”
“I don't know the whole truth.”
“You know enough.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me.”
Zara hesitated.
“The person behind the fraud…”
Kian leaned closer.
“Who?”
She looked directly at him.
“It was someone you trusted.”
Kian's heart pounded.
“Who?”
Zara opened her mouth.
Then stopped.
Her eyes suddenly moved towards the back window.
Kian turned.
A black SUV was behind them.
Again.
The same one.
Zara's face went pale.
“No.”
“What?”
“They found us again.”
Kian looked at the driver.
“Can you lose that car?”
The driver looked nervous.
“I'll try.”
The taxi accelerated.
The SUV followed.
They turned left.
The SUV turned left.
Right.
The SUV followed.
Kian looked at Zara.
“Who are they?”
“I don't know.”
“You said you knew.”
“I know who is behind the fraud.”
“Then tell me!”
Zara looked at him.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because the moment I say the name, there's no going back.”
Kian's voice hardened.
“There is no going back already.”
Zara stared at him.
Then she reached into her bag.
She pulled out a small envelope.
“I've kept this for seven years.”
“What is it?”
“Proof.”
Kian reached for it.
Before he could open it—
"BANG!"
The rear window shattered.
The driver screamed.
The taxi swerved violently.
Kian grabbed Zara.
The car mounted the kerb.
The driver regained control.
“Hold on!”
The taxi sped through the streets.
Zara clutched the envelope.
Kian looked at her.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded.
Then she looked at him with an expression he had never seen before.
Absolute fear.
Not because of the shooting.
Not because of the men following them.
Because of something else.
“What?”
She shook her head.
“Kian…”
“Yes?”
“I thought I had more time.”
“For what?”
“To prepare you.”
“For what?”
Zara looked at him.
Then whispered:
“They know I found you.”
Kian stared at her.
“What does that mean?”
Zara looked through the shattered rear window.
The black SUV was still following them.
“They've spent seven years looking for me.”
She turned back to Kian.
“And now that I've come back…”
Her voice trembled.
“…they're going to make sure neither of us survives the truth.”
Kian looked at the envelope in her hand.
“What is inside?”
Zara held it tightly.
“The proof that will destroy them.”
“Then let's open it.”
She shook her head.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because there's something you need to know first.”
“What?”
Zara looked him straight in the eyes.
“The person who betrayed me that night knew you would come looking for me one day.”
Kian's blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Zara's lips parted.
But before she could answer, her phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Her face drained of colour.
Kian leaned closer.
“Who is it?”
Zara turned the screen towards him.
It was a video message.
The thumbnail showed their taxi.
Filmed from behind.
Someone had been recording them.
A message appeared beneath it:
"YOU TWO SHOULD HAVE STAYED APART."
Kian looked at Zara.
She slowly lowered the phone.
And whispered:
“They know I found you.”
----
Watch out for chapter 8 ✍️
----
