Chapter Three - The Meeting

Elena couldn’t concentrate the next day. The note still lay hidden in her handbag, a constant weight pulling at her thoughts. Every phone call, every passing glance from her colleagues seemed suspicious now. When her boss leaned over her desk with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, she almost flinched.

By 5:00 p.m., her nerves were frayed. She told herself she wouldn’t go. She wasn’t reckless—she had grown up in Lagos, a city that taught women to be cautious. Meeting a strange man in a gray coat, alone, sounded like the beginning of a newspaper tragedy.

And yet… she found herself leaving the office, her feet carrying her back to the quiet street where he had spoken to her.

The street was nearly empty, the glow of streetlamps flickering to life as dusk settled in. Her heart thudded so loudly she was sure he would hear it.

Then she saw him.

He was leaning against the wall of a closed shop, coat draped around him like a shadow. When his eyes met hers, something passed between them—relief, tension, and something unspoken that made her throat dry.

“You came,” he said simply.

“Only because I want answers,” she replied, forcing her voice steady. “Why are you following me?”

His expression softened. “Because they’ve marked you. You work at Rixon Finance, yes?”

Elena stiffened. “How do you know where I work?”

“I know more than that,” he said quietly. “Rixon isn’t just a finance company. They launder money for dangerous people—politicians, syndicates, men who don’t forgive mistakes. And you… you stumbled into numbers you weren’t supposed to see.”

Her mind raced back to the files she had reviewed last week—figures that hadn’t added up, transactions hidden under vague labels. She had dismissed them as clerical errors. But now, chills ran down her arms.

“I don’t believe you,” she whispered, though doubt had already taken root.

He reached into his coat, and she tensed. But he only pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it to her. “This is a copy of a ledger your firm keeps off the books. Look at the signatures at the bottom.”

She unfolded it with trembling hands. Her eyes widened. The signatures belonged to senior partners in her company—the same men who shook her hand every morning.

Her mouth went dry. “Why are you showing me this? What do you want from me?”

“I want to protect you,” he said. His voice was firm but gentle, carrying a sincerity that unsettled her more than his warning. “If they realize you’ve noticed these numbers, you won’t be safe.”

Elena swallowed hard. “And why should I trust you?”

For the first time, his mask of calm cracked. His eyes flickered with something raw. “Because I’ve lost someone before. Someone I should have protected. I won’t let it happen again.”

The confession hung between them, heavy with pain. Elena’s chest tightened, not just with fear but with an unexpected pull she couldn’t explain.

Before she could speak, a sudden noise echoed from the far end of the street—footsteps, fast and purposeful. The man’s head snapped up.

“They’ve found us,” he hissed.

He grabbed her hand. His palm was warm, steady.

“Run.”

And without another word, they plunged into the darkness.