All Chapters of Beneath Lagos Rain: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

No one spoke.Damian pressed the speaker button on the old telephone and placed the receiver gently on the table.If Ibrahim Bako wanted to tell his story, everyone would hear it.The old man's breathing remained steady.He wasn't hurried.He wasn't afraid.He sounded like someone who had been waiting years for this conversation."I know Father Michael is there," he said calmly.A pause."And Grace."Another pause."Good."Father Michael exchanged a glance with Sister Grace but said nothing."I also know my granddaughter is there."Everyone stiffened.Amara frowned."Your granddaughter?"A quiet chuckle came through the speaker."I apologize.""I've become so accustomed to thinking of young people as my grandchildren that I forget they belong to someone else."The tension eased slightly, but only for a moment.Damian folded his arms."You said Samuel's journal tells only one side of the story.""It does.""Then tell us yours."There was a long silence.When Ibrahim finally spoke, his

No one moved.The hidden passage fell silent again.Then the voice returned."Come."It was calm.Measured.Undeniably real.Amara's eyes filled with tears."Grandpa..."The word escaped before she could stop it.Damian looked from the tunnel to the armed men advancing down the basement stairs.He had seconds to choose.One path led toward the attackers.The other led toward the man they had spent months searching for.He made his decision."Everyone into the passage."Father Michael went first, followed by Tobe and Sister Grace.Amara hesitated only long enough to look back once.The laser sights were moving closer.Chukwuemeka fired two more shots, forcing the attackers to take cover."Go!" he shouted.Damian pulled the hidden bookshelf shut behind them.A loud metallic click echoed through the passage.The attackers reached the wall seconds later.One of them slammed a shoulder against the bookshelf.It didn't move.The passage was narrow and damp.Small lights embedded in the wall

The silence after the message was suffocating.Amara stared at the dark device lying on the stone floor.Twenty-four hours.Come alone.Or Damian dies.She closed her hand around the brass key until the edges dug into her palm."No."The word escaped almost as a whisper.Damian looked at her."No?""I'm not doing it."Samuel's eyes narrowed."You can't dismiss the threat."Amara turned to him."I'm not dismissing it."Her voice grew stronger."I'm rejecting the choice."She pointed toward the device."This is exactly what he wants.""The Architect doesn't force people."Samuel spoke quietly."He creates situations where they believe they have only one option."Damian nodded."He's controlling the board.""And I'm done being a chess piece."Amara's voice was firm."If I go alone, he wins.""If I refuse, he still wins."She looked around the room."So I'm choosing a third option."Tobe blinked."There's a third option?"Amara looked at Damian."We go to him."A pause."Together."Samuel

No one spoke.The news alert remained on Damian's phone.Chief Ibrahim Bako.Critical condition.Possible assassination attempt.For years, he had been untouchable.Protected by power.Protected by influence.Protected by fear.Now, someone had reached him inside his own home.Samuel broke the silence."It wasn't an assassination."Everyone looked at him."What?" Amara asked.Samuel's expression was grim."It was an execution."The distinction chilled the room."An assassination can fail."He looked at the news report."An execution is a message."Father Michael folded his arms."You think Ibrahim is already dead?"Samuel nodded slowly."Whether his heart is still beating isn't the point.""The man we knew is gone."Damian's phone buzzed again.Another breaking update.Chief Ibrahim Bako has regained consciousness briefly and requested to speak to only one person before undergoing emergency surgery.The room leaned closer.The report continued.Authorities have not released the identi

Forty minutes later.The convoy stopped two streets away from the hospital.No sirens.No shouting.Yet the atmosphere was tense.Every entrance was surrounded by police vehicles.News vans crowded the main gate.Journalists shouted questions from behind barricades.A helicopter circled overhead.Chief Ibrahim Bako's condition had become national news.Damian surveyed the scene."This is worse than I expected."Samuel shook his head."No."He pointed toward the emergency entrance."It's exactly what The Architect wanted."Amara followed his gaze."The media?""The distraction."Samuel replied quietly."When everyone watches the front door..."He looked toward the rear of the hospital."...they stop watching the important ones."The group split naturally.Father Michael and Sister Grace would blend in with visitors.Damian, Amara, and Chukwuemeka would enter through the staff wing using the forged hospital credentials.Samuel would stay outside.Amara immediately objected."No."Samuel