Chapter 3

Victoria woke to sunlight burning through her eyelids and the disorienting sensation of not knowing where she was. Her bed felt wrong as it was too soft, the pillow cradling her head was not the regular cotton she has in her room.

She opened her eyes and found herself staring at a ceiling that wasn't hers. Slate gray, modern track lighting, floor-to-ceiling windows revealing Lagos's skyline bathed in early morning gold.

King's penthouse.

Memory crashed through her like a wave. Her father,the rally. The phone call that shattered everything,coming home to chaos and grief and her brother's hollow eyes. And then…

King must have brought her here. She had no memory of leaving the compound,after sitting with Uche in the dark until their mother came to check on them both.

Victoria sat up, her body aching like she'd been in a fight. She was wearing one of King's T-shirts, soft gray cotton that fell to her thighs.Apparently King had removed her dress, shoes, jewelry and taken care of her when she couldn't take care of herself.

The bedroom door opened, and King appeared carrying a tray. He'd changed from his suit into black joggers and a fitted white T-shirt that showed off arms sculpted from early morning workouts. His eyes found hers immediately, assessing, determining her emotional state with the precision of a man who'd made billions reading people.

"You're awake," he said, crossing to the bed. "I was about to wake you. It's almost ten."

Ten? Victoria never slept past seven. "My phone?I need to call Mom"

"Already handled." King set the tray on the table stand. coffee, toast, fruit, everything arranged with care. "I spoke with your mother an hour ago. She's resting. Your aunt arrived from Abuja to help with arrangements. Uche is still in his room, but he let Amanda in,she's sitting with him."

Amanda, Victoria's best friend, the investigative journalist who never gives up on a friend. Of course she'd come as early as 6am.

"How did I get here?" Victoria asked, accepting the coffee King handed her. Black with two sugars, exactly how she likes it.

"After you left Uche’s room,you fell asleep in the sitting room.At about 3AM, I carried you to the car." King sat on the edge of the bed, his weight shifting the mattress. "You need rest, Victoria,real rest. And that house is full of people who mean well but won't give you space to breathe."

He was right. The compound would be chaotic with relatives arriving, political allies paying respects, reporters trying to get statements, party officials demanding decisions about the campaign.

The campaign. Eight weeks until election day, and the candidate was dead.

"They'll want Uche to run" Victoria said quietly, staring into her coffee. "The party leadership,they'll expect him to take Dad's place."

King's jaw tightened. "Can he?"

Victoria thought of her brother's shattered expression, the way he'd looked at her like he was drowning. "No. Not now. Maybe not ever."

"Then they'll have to find someone else." King's hand found her knee through the blanket. "It's not your problem to solve today baby. Today you just need to survive."

But it was her problem,her father's legacy, her family's reputation, the constituents who'd believed in Donald Okereke's vision of a corruption-free Azura,all of it hung in the balance.

Victoria's phone buzzed all through the night. King handed it to her, her expression darkening as she looked at the screen.

Forty-three missed calls,sixty-seven text messages,hundreds of mentions on her social media notifications row. The first text was from Party Chairman Dubem; “Victoria, we need to talk today,the campaign can't wait.”

Vultures.Her father had been dead less than twelve hours, and they were already circling.

"Ignore them," King said, reading her expression. "Or let me handle them. I'm very good at telling politicians to go to hell. "Victoria felt her lips twitch. "You can't threaten the Party Chairman."

"Watch me." King took the phone from her hands and set it aside. "Eat something,then shower. I laid out clothes for you,Amanda brought a bag from your apartment earlier. After that, if you want to deal with the vultures, fine! But not before you're ready."

Victoria looked at him in astonishment. A man who'd proposed three times,been patient for three years,and dropped everything last night to be her anchor. "Why are you so good to me?"

King's expression softened. He leaned in, his hand cupping her face, his thumb brushing her cheekbone. "Because you're mine, Victoria. You've been mine since the night we met and I protect what's mine."

There it was again,that possessive edge that should have scared her but instead,made her feel safe,claimed,cherished in a way that went beyond simple love into something deeper.

"The proposal…" Victoria started, but King shook his head.

"It's still waiting,his dark eyes held hers. "I'm not going anywhere, my love. Take all the time you need. I'll always be here."

He kissed her forehead, soft and reverent, then stood. "Eat and shower. I'll be in my office making calls,if you need me I'm thirty seconds away."

He left, closing the door behind him with a quiet click that somehow felt like a promise.

Victoria sat in the enormous bed, surrounded by luxury, holding coffee made by a billionaire who loved her obsessively, and letting herself feel the full weight of what had happened.

Her father was gone and someone might have killed him. The thought crystallized like ice in her chest. Uche's words from last night; “He looked like someone had done this to him.”

Victoria set down her coffee and reached for her phone again. Scrolled past every other message and found Amanda's name.

Are you really at the compound with Uche?

The reply came immediately. “Yes, he's talking slowly. Victoria, we need to discuss something not over text. Can you come here?or can I come to you?”

Victoria's fingers hovered over the keyboard. Amanda's journalist instincts had kicked in,she'd found something.

“King's penthouse. Come now,use the private entrance,he'll tell security to let you up.”

On my way. Twenty minutes.

Victoria forced herself to eat the toast, and function like a normal human even though everything felt surreal. Then she headed to the bathroom;a marble paradise with a rainfall shower and a tub big enough for four people. she let hot water wash away the previous night's horror.

Amanda had already arrived, by the time she was done bathing.

Her best friend sat in King's living room, looking tiny on the massive leather couch. Amanda Okoro was petite, naturally beautiful in a way that required zero effort, with very intelligent eyes.She wore jeans and a hoodie, her hair in a simple ponytail, and she looked exhausted.

"Hey," Amanda said, standing when Victoria appeared wearing King’s rope. They hugged tightly, both fighting tears.

"I learnt you were with Uche this morning,how is he?" Victoria asked when they separated.

"Yeah,but your aunt made me leave around eight so he'd sleep." Amanda's expression was grim. "Victoria, he's not okay. Like, really not okay. He keeps saying it's his fault, that he should have noticed something was wrong sooner,he'd have acted faster…"

"It's not his fault." Victoria sat on the couch, pulling Amanda down beside her. "Whatever happened, it's not Uche's fault."

"We both know that,but he doesn't believe it." Amanda pulled out her phone, her journalist mode activating. "But that's not what I needed to talk to you about. Victoria, I made some calls last night. I called the coroner's office,the hospital,and people who owe me favors."

Victoria's heart rate kicked up. "And?"

"The autopsy is being delayed. The medical examiner is asking unusual questions and there's a rumor.Unconfirmed, but from a reliable source that they found something in your father's blood work." Amanda's voice dropped. "Something that shouldn't be there."

The room tilted. "What kind of something?"

"I don't know yet. They're being very quiet about it, which tells me it's serious. But Victoria…" Amanda gripped her hand. "If your father was murdered, if someone poisoned him or induced a heart attack somehow, you all need to be careful. Because whoever did this might not be done."

The words hung in the air, terrible and true.

Behind them, a door opened. King emerged from his office, his phone in his hand, his expression dangerous.

"Amanda's right," he said without preamble. "I just got off the phone with my security team. They've been monitoring chatter since last night. Senator Mbanefo’s people are celebrating your father's death,you know they had a lot to lose if he won that election. They are looking for every means to silence his death"

Victoria looked between them and thought…her father hadn't just died.He'd been

murdered and she was going to find out who did it.