After my meeting with Nse, I feel like I've been pulled under the surface and then dragged back up, gasping for air.
She's not just a reminder of past mistakes she's a complicated piece of this puzzle. Someone who knows the enemy and maybe even the battlefield better than I do.
Back at my apartment, I stare at the photo of Kola and me on the mantle. Our smiles look like a lie now. I should have known it was a lie, I felt something was off about him from his name being similar to Ada's husband, to none of the recommendations contacts going through.
I want to scream. To break something. To burn the memory of him from my skin.
Instead, I breathe.
I have a company to save. A life to protect. And a future I never expected.
My phone buzzes. Gloria.
> The audit uncovered three large transfers out of the company's main account in the past two weeks. All to unknown entities.
My stomach twists. This was more than just a personal betrayal. It's financial sabotage, a plot to sink me and everything I held dear.
I pull out my laptop and open the accounts.
There they are three transfers totaling hundreds of millions, vanishing into thin air.
I close my eyes, heart racing.
I'm staring down a ruin designed by the man I married, a man that showed me within such a short time what it meant to be loved and be truly seen and heard.
And the clock is ticking fast.
I call Gloria.
"Freeze all outgoing transfers. Put a hold on any vendor payments until further notice. I want daily reports."
"Already done, ma'am."
"Good."
That's Gloria style and I love how she is capable of handling things, no matter how hard the task may be, without me having to police her.
Then I call Nse.
I want to meet again. This time with your proof of everything you told me.
She agrees without hesitation.
We're stepping into a dangerous game, but I'm ready.
The queen never folds.
I stare out the window, Lagos glowing beneath me like a million promises and threats.
Tomorrow, I fight back, I take back my Crown.