Chapter Seventeen: More Than an Employee

Neither Adrian nor Zara spoke for a long moment after the call ended.

The noise from the hotel restaurant faded into the background.

People were laughing at nearby tables, waiters moved from one guest to another, soft piano music played somewhere in the corner... but none of it reached Zara.

Her apartment.

Someone had broken into her apartment.

And they hadn't taken a single thing.

Adrian slowly placed his phone on the table.

"We're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"What about the meeting with the investors?"

"It ended today."

"I mean the dinner tomorrow."

"I'll cancel it."

She shook her head immediately.

"No."

He looked at her.

"You've worked for this deal for weeks."

"I'll survive."

"But your company—"

"My company can survive one cancelled dinner."

His answer came so quickly that it surprised her.

For the first time, Zara realized he wasn't thinking like a CEO.

He was thinking about her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You've been dragged into all this because of me."

Adrian frowned.

"Don't apologize."

"But if I hadn't spilled coffee on you that day..."

"You'd still be struggling to pay your rent."

She looked down.

He wasn't wrong.

"But you'd also be safe."

He leaned back in his chair.

"You don't know that."

She looked up.

"You think this would've happened anyway?"

"I think whoever is behind this would've found another way."

His voice was quiet.

"This isn't about coffee anymore."

Before she could answer, a waiter arrived with their food.

Neither of them had much of an appetite.

---

Later that night, Zara couldn't sleep.

She stood on the small balcony outside her hotel room, looking at the lights of Abuja.

The city was beautiful.

Peaceful.

Nothing like the storm in her head.

A light breeze brushed against her face.

"You'll catch a cold."

She turned.

Adrian was standing on the balcony next to hers.

The two balconies were separated by a low divider.

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted.

"Neither could I."

For a while, they simply stood there.

No awkward silence.

Just... quiet.

"You know," Zara said eventually, "I thought rich people slept better."

He gave a small laugh.

"I wish."

"I always imagined once you had money, life became easier."

"It solves some problems."

"And creates others."

She nodded slowly.

"I guess everyone's fighting something."

He looked at her.

"You've changed."

She frowned.

"I have?"

"The first day we met, you barely looked me in the eye."

"I thought you were going to fire me before I even started."

"And now?"

She smiled.

"Now I think you're just grumpy."

He laughed.

A real laugh.

Not the short polite ones she'd heard before.

This one lasted a few seconds.

"You know," he said, "Evelyn told me you talk too much."

Zara gasped dramatically.

"I do not."

"You do."

"I simply communicate."

"There's a difference?"

"There is."

He shook his head, still smiling.

For a moment...

Neither of them noticed how close they had moved to the divider.

Their conversation slowed.

Their eyes met.

Zara quickly looked away.

"So..."

She cleared her throat.

"I should probably sleep."

"You should."

Neither of them moved.

Finally, Adrian stepped back.

"Goodnight, Zara."

"Goodnight... Adrian."

The name slipped out before she could stop herself.

She froze.

"I mean, Mr. Knight."

He looked at her for a second.

Then smiled.

"I think Adrian is fine."

She watched him walk back into his room.

Her heart refused to calm down for a long time afterward.

---

The following morning, they landed in Lagos just after ten.

Detective Adebayo was already waiting at the airport.

"You came straight here."

"There wasn't time to waste," Adrian replied.

The detective nodded.

"I've sealed off Miss Daniels' apartment."

Zara swallowed.

"Can I see it?"

"You should prepare yourself."

---

The apartment looked nothing like she had left it.

Her mattress had been ripped open.

Clothes were scattered across the floor.

Kitchen cupboards hung open.

Even the tiny bags of rice and beans she'd bought the week before had been emptied onto the tiles.

She stood in the doorway, unable to move.

"This..."

Her voice broke.

"This was my home."

Adrian looked around silently.

The detective crouched beside an overturned drawer.

"They searched everywhere."

"But they didn't steal my laptop."

"They didn't take my television."

"They even left the little cash I hid in my wardrobe."

Adrian suddenly walked toward the bookshelf.

"There aren't many books."

She gave a weak smile.

"I borrow most of them."

He picked up one lying on the floor.

Then another.

His eyes narrowed.

"Zara."

She looked up.

"Did you leave this here?"

He held up a cream-colored envelope.

She frowned.

"I've never seen that before."

The room became silent.

Detective Adebayo immediately put on gloves.

"Don't touch it."

He carefully opened the envelope.

Inside...

There was only one photograph.

It was old.

Faded around the edges.

The picture showed four men standing outside what looked like the original Knight Technologies headquarters.

One of them was a much younger Adrian's father.

Another was Richard Harrington.

The third man had his face crossed out with black ink.

But it was the fourth person that made Adrian's expression change completely.

He whispered the name before he could stop himself.

"...Ethan."

Zara stared at him.

"What?"

Adrian looked up slowly.

"That's Ethan Cole."

She frowned.

"But..."

"The photo is over twenty years old."

She looked back at the picture.

The man looked almost exactly the same.

Maybe a little younger.

But not twenty years younger.

Detective Adebayo took the photograph from Adrian.

His face grew serious.

"This..."

He looked at both of them.

"...changes everything."

Before anyone could ask why, his phone rang.

He answered.

The color drained from his face.

"What?"

A long pause.

"I'll be there."

He ended the call and looked at Adrian.

"We've found Mr. Lawson."

"Is he alive?"

The detective nodded once.

"Yes."

"But he keeps repeating the same sentence over and over."

"What sentence?"

The detective took a slow breath.

"He says..."

'Don't let Ethan see the basement.'

The room fell deathly quiet.