Chapter 8 — The Envelope
For a moment, Adanna was motionless.
Her hand hovered above the envelope, the air in the room was heavy and stale. The faint red light from the old power socket blinked steadily, like a heartbeat counting down time.
Her heart pounded. Whoever had written her name knew she would come. They had anticipated every move she would make
She reached out and picked up the envelope. It was light, too light. Not papers, maybe a photo or a small note. She sat on the edge of the old desk, brushed off the dust, and opened it carefully.
Inside were two photographs and a folded piece of paper.
The first photo was of her, taken from a distance, standing outside the Federal Press Club, a few hours earlier. She recognised her coat, her bag, the way she had turned to check if anyone was watching.
The second photo froze her completely.
It was Kene, but not the one she remembered. His face was older, colder, his eyes distant. He stood beside Senator Udo, both shaking hands in front of a black SUV. The date printed at the bottom read February 2008, barely two weeks ago.
Adanna's hand shook
That meant the photo was recent. And someone wanted her to see it.
She unfolded the note.
The handwriting was neat, almost formal.
"You can't save him, Adanna. He made his choice long ago. But you can still save yourself. Walk away before Room 17 closes."
The phrase wasn't metaphorical, it was literal.
A soft mechanical sound echoed behind her.
The door clicked shut.
She froze. The red light blinked once, twice then went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Her phone was in her pocket. She pulled it out, turned on the flashlight, and aimed it at the door.
Locked.
There was a person inside. She could feel it. The room wasn't big, it had two desks, old cabinets, and broken chairs. But there was a faint sound, breathing. Slow. Controlled.
"Who's there?" she called, voice shaking slightly.
No answer. Only that quiet, steady sound, somewhere near the old shelf.
She took a step forward, the light trembling in her hand. "I said, who's there?"
A shadow moved.
A person in a dark coat, partially concealed behind a stack of newspapers, attracted her attention as she turned the corner.
"Kene?" she whispered before she could stop herself.
The figure stepped out slowly.
It wasn't Kene.
It was a woman tall, slim, with sharp features and calm eyes. She was wearing a black jacket with a small symbol on the sleeve the same strange rune pattern from the paper Adanna had discovered earlier.
The woman spoke softly. "You shouldn't have come alone."
Adanna gripped her phone tighter. "Who are you?"
"I'm what's left of the press club," the woman said. "And if you want to stay alive, we need to leave. Right Now."
Adanna hesitated. "You sent the note?"
"No. I came to stop you from reading it."
Before Adanna could respond, the red light blinked again, not steady this time, but flashing rapidly. The woman cursed under her breath. "They're tracing the power line."
"Who?"
"Project Void," the woman snapped. "They planted a tracker here. We have less than a minute."
She moved to the window, kicked the broken frame, and motioned for Adanna to follow. "Are you looking for answers? Then trust me."
Adanna hesitated only a second before climbing through. The air outside was thick with dust and the faint hum of the city. The woman helped her down, and they crouched behind the old compound wall.
"Who are you really?" Adanna whispered.
The woman looked at her for a long moment, then said, "My name's Tara. I used to work with Kene. Before he changed sides."
The words hit like a blow. "Changed sides? What do you mean?"
Tara's expression was unreadable. "You still think he's your saviour, don't you? You think he's protecting you. But he's the reason Chidi disappeared. The reason your file was deleted. Project Void was initiated by him."
Adanna felt her chest tighten, her breath catching. "That's not true."
Tara sighed. "You'll find out soon enough. Just don't trust him when he reaches out again. Every move he makes is part of something bigger, something you can't yet see."
They heard engines in the distance. Two vehicles, coming fast.
Tara grabbed Adanna's wrist. "Move."
They slipped through a side gate and ran toward the road. Adanna didn't know where they were going she only knew that nothing in her world made sense anymore.
As they turned into a narrow street, Tara slowed down. "There's an old cyber café ahead. We can stay low for a bit. I need to show you some proof."
"Proof of what?"
"That Kene isn't who you think he is."
Later that night, inside the café, Tara opened a laptop and pulled out a flash drive. She inserted it and turned the screen toward Adanna.
Dozens of files appeared: images, scanned documents, and coded messages marked VOID_PERSONNEL.
Tara clicked one open. A personnel record appeared.
Name: Kenechukwu Okafor.
Alias: Rune.
Role: Project Coordinator.
Status: Active.
Adanna stared at the screen.
Her voice was barely a whisper. "This… can't be real."
Tara's tone softened. "I wish it wasn't. He was good once. Until he wasn't."
The words sank deep, heavy like stone. Adanna looked at the photo of Kene, who wasn't the man she loved, but someone sharper, harder, wearing a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Tara reached out, touching her arm lightly. "You don't have to face this alone, Adanna. There's still a network of us, journalists who survived Void. We can fight back."
Adanna looked up at her. Her voice was quiet but firm. "Then show me everything. No more half-truths."
Tara nodded slowly. "Then you'd better be ready to die for it."
The words hung in the air, final and cold.