Zayden stood in front of a rusted metal door, deep inside the Phantom Crew's hideout. The air smelled like sweat, gun oil, and burnt rubber. His head pounded with conflict.
He wasn't built for mercy.
But he also wasn't built to hurt the innocent.
And Mariella… she didn't belong in this war.
---
Flashback — 7 Years Ago
Jayden and Zayden sat on a torn mattress, eating eba and egusi with their bare hands. Their father had just been arrested. Their mother… long gone.
Jayden had smiled through it all.
> "No matter what happens, I got you," he said.
"Even if the world turns cold — I'll burn for you."
Zayden promised himself he'd return that fire one day.
Now he had the chance.
But revenge was starting to look like betrayal.
---
Present — Phantom Crew Meeting
Drex slammed a blueprint on the table.
> "Oreka's warehouse in Festac is moving product. We hit it Friday. While we distract 'em, you take out the girl."
"She's just a kid," Zayden muttered.
"She's his blood!" Drex snapped. "No loose ends!"
Zayden didn't argue. But deep down, something was changing.
Not fear…
Conscience.
---
Later That Night — Mariella's House
He watched her from across the street, hood up, heart heavy.
She stood on the balcony, talking to her aunt. Laughing.
Living.
> If only she knew she was living on borrowed time.
His phone buzzed again:
> "Clock's ticking. Don't get soft, Zay." — Drex
But what happened next… changed everything.
A black SUV pulled up beside Mariella's compound. Two men stepped out, dressed in sharp suits. Not Phantom Crew. Not street boys.
Oreka's men.
They handed her aunt a sealed envelope.
---
Zayden moved closer through the shadows, ears sharp.
> "This letter ends the deal," one man said. "Tell her she's not needed anymore. Oreka has a new family now."
Mariella's aunt cried.
> "She's his daughter—"
"She's his mistake," the man hissed.
Zayden froze.
> Oreka had disowned her?
Mariella wasn't protected. She was cut off.
Just like him. Just like Jayden.
Used… then abandoned.
---
Zayden's mind went blank. Then crystal clear.
> "Drex wants me to kill her…
But Oreka already did."
---
He turned his back to the house and whispered into his phone.
> "New plan," he said.
"We don't take out the girl.
We use her to destroy her father" .
---
End of Chapter 3
➡️ Next Chapter Preview:
Zayden reveals the truth to Mariella… and she has a secret of her own.