—“You always were dramatic.”
But her voice had changed.
There was calculation in it now.
—“Alright,” she said, sitting back. “Let’s stop pretending this is emotional.”
She looked at the man.
—“If he dies, we all burn.”
Then at Chuka.
—“If he lives… we have a problem.”
Nneka looked between them, her voice breaking.
—“What are you saying?”
Adanna turned to her slowly.
—“I’m saying… this is no longer about marriage. Or family.”
A pause.
Cold.
Final.
—“It’s business.”
Chuka stared at her.
—“You tried to kill me.”
—“Yes.”
—“And now?”
Adanna’s lips curved slightly.
—“Now I’m deciding if you’re worth more alive.”
The man spoke again.
—“We don’t negotiate with liabilities.”
Adanna didn’t look at him.
—“You do today.”
Another silence.
Then—
Chuka did something unexpected.
He picked up the flash drive…
…and slid it across the table.
Toward Adanna.
Nneka’s eyes widened.
—“Chuka, no!”
Adanna looked at it.
Then at him.
Suspicious.
—“What is this?”
—“Insurance,” Chuka said. “For both of us.”
—“Explain.”
He leaned in.
—“We disappear. Both of us. You tell your family I’m dead—for real this time.”
He nodded at the drive.
—“You keep that. Control the damage. Protect your empire.”
Adanna’s eyes narrowed.
—“And you?”
—“I live,” he said simply.
Nneka shook her head in disbelief.
—“After everything… you would trust her?”
Chuka didn’t look at her.
—“I don’t trust her.”
A beat.
—“I understand her.”
Adanna studied him for a long moment.
