Chapter 72 — The Shadow That Listened
The room remained frozen long after Mustopha's final words.
"…that boy is in Rihannat's school."
Nobody moved.
Nobody even knew what to say anymore.
The revelation sat heavily inside the room like poison slowly spreading through the air.
Rihannat could hear her own heartbeat.
Slow.
Loud.
Uneasy.
Her mind replayed everything differently now.
The strange stares.
The unknown messages.
The feeling of being watched whenever she walked across campus.
The unsettling instinct she always ignored.
Ya Allah…
What if it was never paranoia?
What if someone truly had been watching her all along?
Then quietly—
"SubhanAllah…" Mrs. Collins whispered weakly.
Her hands trembled in her lap.
Mr. Collins remained standing, but he looked deeply disturbed.
Everyone was terrified.
Then suddenly—
Mr Collins spoke again.
"There is something else we are missing."
The atmosphere tightened immediately.
His expression darkened.
"Omotara is not dead, so why not find her."
The room snapped toward him.
"We can still get some informations from her."
"She's truly alive or just faked information?" Folakemi whispered.
Mustopha nodded slowly.
"She was silenced."
Nobody understood.
"She discovered too much," he continued quietly. "Vale confined her for an entire week after discovering she had seen those documents."
Mrs. Collins looked horrified.
"A whole week?" she whispered.
Mustopha nodded again.
"But Omotara was useful to him."
His gaze lowered briefly.
"She was one of the most efficient secretaries Vale ever had."
"One of the smartest."
"One of the most loyal."
"Likely that he had interest in her too, I'm not sure but there were whispers about it then."
His jaw tightened.
"So instead of eliminating her…"
He paused.
"…Vale gave her a condition."
The room became still again.
"A one-way ticket to Australia."
Silence.
"She signed an agreement stating she would never return or contact anyone connected to the company if she wanted her family to remain safe."
Rihannat's chest tightened painfully.
"So she left," Mustopha finished quietly. "Immediately after confinement."
Nobody spoke.
The reality was horrifying.
A living person…
Forced to erase herself from existence.
Just to survive.
Mrs. Collins slowly covered her mouth.
"Ya Allah…"
Even Mr. Collins looked shaken.
"Do you know where she is?" Rayyan asked carefully.
"No, I only know it was Australia through some means. I don't know more than that." Mustopha answered honestly. "And it is better that way. She might not be safe, even her family believe she's dead."
The room fell silent once more.
But unlike before—
This silence felt heavier.
Darker.
Like something dangerous had already entered the room without them noticing.
Outside the massive Collins estate…
A shadow moved silently behind one of the marble pillars.
Hidden perfectly within darkness.
Watching.
Listening.
The figure stood motionless for several seconds before slowly stepping back.
Not a single guard noticed.
Not a single camera captured him clearly.
Only the faint sound of shoes brushing against stone echoed briefly before disappearing again.
Then— he appeared beside segun outside. It was one of his secret trained agents. None of his family knows about them.
He is the only one who commands them.
A low chuckle.
Segun leaned lazily against the corridor wall outside the estate grounds, one hand tucked into his pocket.
A dangerous glint danced inside his eyes.
Not anger.
Not panic.
Amusement.
Dark amusement.
"So…" he murmured softly.
"You finally figured out a little, dear friend, finally...."
His lips curved slowly.
"But only because I allowed it., you know fox." he turned toward the man beside him.
His gaze lifted toward the glowing mansion windows the next moment.
Cold.
Calculating.
Dangerously entertained.
"That will be the last information you receive, Mustopha." he repeated for the umpteenth time.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"What I fed you is already enough."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Don't bite more than you can chew."
His smile widened.
"You won't survive digesting the truth, I'm telling you." he chuckled.
The night breeze swept past him quietly.
For a moment—
His expression lost all traces of humor.
Only darkness remained.
Then footsteps approached from behind.
A man dressed entirely in black stopped several feet away.
"Sir."
Segun did not turn.
"Well?"
"The school has been secured."
"And the girl?"
A brief pause followed.
"She suspects nothing."
Segun smiled faintly.
"Good."
"And kolawole's heir?"
At that—
Something dangerous flickered across Segun's face.
"He's still silent."
The man behind him hesitated.
"He's not ready to talk."
Segun finally turned slowly.
The moonlight revealed only half his face.
Sharp jaw.
Calm eyes.
A terrifying level of composure.
"No," Segun said softly.
"What makes him dangerous? that you can't make him answer you even before you start question him?…"
His smile disappeared completely.
"…is it that he enjoys the silence? Why not make him beg for mercy, make him plead, just to allow him speak up." his voice calm as if talking about the weather but the words he uttered are chilling to the bone.
The two men already accustomed to his ways of doing things looked calm on the surface but they trembled inwardly. "The devil reincarnate" they thought.
Far away inside the mansion—
Rihannat suddenly felt cold.
Her fingers tightened unconsciously around her sleeves.
Like instinct itself was warning her.
Someone was nearby.
Watching.
Waiting.
And somewhere within the same school she walked through every day—
A ghost was already hiding among them.
Can she still go to school? If she stopped going, will they notice something?
@OlukoyaZainab