Final Episode: The Price of the Living
The man did not hurry.
He walked toward them with the calm certainty of someone who had never failed.
Every step echoed.
Once.
Twice.
Closer.
Nneka’s fingers dug into the table.
—“Chuka… we have to go,” she whispered.
But Chuka didn’t move.
His eyes stayed locked on the man.
—“No,” he said quietly. “I’ve been running for two years. I’m done.”
The man stopped at their table.
Up close, he looked ordinary.
That was the terrifying part.
—“You’re hard to kill,” he said to Chuka.
His voice was flat. Empty.
—“You should have drowned.”
Adanna watched silently, her face unreadable.
—“Finish it,” she said.
Nneka turned to her in horror.
—“Adanna! He is your husband!”
Adanna didn’t flinch.
—“He was.”
The man reached into his jacket.
Nneka gasped.
But before he could pull anything out—
Chuka spoke.
—“If I die, everything goes public.”
The man paused.
Just slightly.
—“You’re bluffing.”
Chuka shook his head.
—“No. I planned for this. If my heart stops, files get released automatically.”
A lie?
Nneka couldn’t tell.
But Adanna could.
And for the first time—
She hesitated.
—“What files?” the man asked.
Chuka tapped the flash drive on the table.
—“Not just accounts. Names. Politicians. Police. Businessmen. Your employers.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
The man slowly removed his hand from his jacket.
—“You think that protects you?” he said.
Chuka leaned forward.
—“I think it makes me expensive.”
Adanna let out a soft laugh.
