The night of the Nwosu Mansion party arrived with grandeur. The mansion, which once felt like home to Adaora, was now an enemy's fortress filled with guests who had turned a blind eye to her father's downfall.
Dressed in a stolen maid's uniform, her face hidden beneath a headscarf, Adaora slipped past the mansion gates. The scent of roasted meat and expensive wine filled the air, but her hunger was not for food.
She was here for something else.
A secret. A weakness. A way to destroy Chike Nwosu.
In the Belly of the Beast
Adaora kept her head low, carrying a tray of drinks as she observed everything.
At the center of the room stood Chike Nwosu her uncle. He was laughing, dressed in an expensive agbada, drunk on power.
Beside him was his wife, Ijeoma, wrapped in diamonds. The woman had once treated Adaora with fake kindness. Now, she whispered sweetly to the same man who had betrayed their bloodline.
Adaora's heart burned with hatred. They all thought she was dead. Forgotten. Weak.
She gripped the tray tighter. They would soon learn how wrong they were.
A Shocking Secret
Slipping through the mansion halls, Adaora knew exactly where to go, Chike's private study.
She had spent her childhood running through these halls, listening to her father's conversations. She knew that secrets were always kept in that room.
With a stolen key, she entered. The room smelled of old books and power. Papers were scattered across the mahogany desk. Adaora's heart pounded as she searched through them.
Then, she found it.
A letter. Signed and sealed.
Her fingers trembled as she read the words.
It was a confession. A document proving that Chike had planned her father's downfall with the help of powerful politicians.
Adaora's breath caught. This was it. Proof.
Suddenly footsteps outside the door.
She barely had time to think. Adaora grabbed the document, shoved it into her maid's uniform, and slipped into the shadows.
The door creaked open.
Chike.
He entered, humming to himself, pouring a glass of whiskey. Adaora's pulse raced. If he saw her, she was dead.
As he sat at his desk, flipping through some papers, Adaora pressed her back against the wall, moving silently toward the door.
One step.
Two steps.
She was almost out when
"Who is there?"
Her blood turned to ice.
A Narrow Escape
Chike rose to his feet, eyes scanning the room.
Adaora did not wait. She threw open the door and ran.
Shouts erupted behind her. Guards gave chase. Her heart thundered as she darted through corridors, knocking over trays, dodging hands trying to grab her.
As she reached the kitchen exit, a firm hand caught her wrist.
A guard.
He yanked her back, but Adaora reacted without thinking she grabbed a knife from a table and slashed his arm.
The man screamed, releasing her. Adaora sprinted into the night.
She did not stop running. Not until the lights of the mansion faded behind her. Not until she reached Mama Ife's hideout.
She collapsed, breathless, heart hammering.
Then, slowly, she pulled the stolen document from her uniform and stared at it.
This was only the beginning.
Chike had taken everything from her.
Now, she would take everything from him.
Dangerous Alliance
Adaora sat in the dimly lit room of Mama Ife's hideout, the stolen document trembling in her hands.
"This is it," she whispered to herself. A weapon. A key to her revenge.
But what good was a weapon without someone to wield it?
Chike was not just a man, he was a force, a king in his own right. If she wanted to bring him down, she needed powerful allies.
Seeking the Enemy of My Enemy
There was only one person she could turn to.
Senator Dike.
A man as ruthless as Chike but with one crucial difference he hated Chike with a passion.
Years ago, Dike had been a powerful politician, but Chike's betrayal had cost him everything. Now, he was still influential but bitter, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Mama Ife was hesitant. "Dike is not a man to be trusted."
Adaora's gaze was cold. "I don't need trust. I need power."
A Dangerous Meeting
The meeting was arranged at a private lounge in Lekki, a place where deals were made and lives were ruined over glasses of expensive whiskey.
Dike sat at the head of a mahogany table, his fingers tapping lazily on the wood.
He was older, sharp-eyed, and calculating. The kind of man who smiled while planning your destruction.
"So," Dike said, swirling his drink. "The little princess returns."
Adaora clenched her fists. She was not a princess anymore.
She threw the stolen document onto the table. "I have proof that Chike orchestrated my father's downfall."
Dike's lazy smirk disappeared. He picked up the paper and scanned it.
Silence.
Then a slow, satisfied chuckle.
"Oh, Adaora," he murmured. "You have no idea what you've just started."
Terms of the Deal
Dike leaned forward, his voice low.
"This document is powerful, yes. But Chike is not a fool. He will destroy anyone who threatens him."
Adaora's eyes burned with determination. "That's why I need you."
Dike studied her for a long moment, then smiled.
"I'll help you, little lioness," he said. "But power is never free."
He pushed a gold coin across the table.
"My price?" His voice was smooth, deadly. "Loyalty."
Adaora stared at the coin. She knew what this meant. If she accepted, she was selling her soul to a man just as dangerous as Chike.
But she had no choice.
She picked up the coin.
"Deal."
The War Begins
Dike rose to his feet, his grin sharp as a knife.
"Then let's burn a king off his throne."