The engine screamed as I pushed it harder, the river tearing apart beneath the hull, wind slapped against our faces, cold and sharp, but neither of us flinched but Adanna didn't move away from me.
That almost hurt more than if she had. Her body stayed close, shoulder brushing mine, hands gripping the side rail but the warmth between us was gone, replaced by something brittle, something careful.
Trust, once cracked, didn't shatter loudly.... It went quiet. The drone fell back at last, its hum fading into the early morning air, the city ahead began to wake..... bridges glowing, traffic stirring, people stepping into lives that had no idea how close the dark had come.
I slowed the boat only when the river narrowed, when concrete walls rose high enough to block sightlines. I cut the engine under an old spillway and let momentum carry us in.
Silence fell again and Adanna exhaled slowly.
"I need space," she said.
Not distance.... just space.
I nodded and shifted back, giving her room without letting her feel abandoned. She slid down onto the bench, wrapping her arms around herself. Her eyes were dry, but her jaw was tight like she was holding something back with sheer will.
"You planned it," she said quietly.
I leaned against the console. "No."
"You planned around it," she corrected. "You knew who I was before I married you."
"Yes."
"And you knew who my father was."
"Yes."
Her head tipped back against the metal wall. "Then say it plainly, Darian..... No protecting me..... No soft words."
I swallowed. "Your father built the backbone of Eden Lock. He didn't just write code, he buried failsafes. Human ones..... he trusted very few people."
"Did he trust you?"
The question hit like a punch.
"Yes," I said. "At the end."
Her lips parted slightly. "You knew him."
"I worked for him... against the Syndicate, before they knew what Eden really was."
She laughed once, sharp. "So I didn't marry a stranger."
"No," I said. "You married a man who failed him."
Her eyes snapped to mine. "Explain."
"I was supposed to disappear the night he died," I said. "Take the last key fragment and run but I stayed too long. I tried to clean things up."
"And?"
"And the Syndicate found him."
Her breath caught.
"You're saying...."
"I didn't kill your father," I said immediately. "But my delay made it possible."
The silence after that was enormous.
The river kept moving and the city kept waking.
Adanna stood.....
She paced once..... Twice..... Then stopped in front of me.
"You let me stand in front of his grave," she said, voice shaking now, "and you said nothing."
"I didn't think I deserved to."
Her hand came down against my chest... not hard, but not gentle either.
"You took my choice," she said. "Every time you decided what I could handle."
"I know."
"You loved me," she whispered. ".....and still treated me like a liability."
I reached for her wrist... she didn't pull away.
"I loved you," I said, "and that made me stupid. Fear makes cowards out of men who think they're strong."
Her eyes filled then.... not spilling, just shining dangerously.
Before she could speak again.... a sound echoed down the spillway.
Not mechanical..... but human footsteps. It was measured and unhurried.
I turned instantly, body shifting into place between her and the sound.
Three figures stepped into view at the far end of the concrete path..... not running..... not hiding.
It was confident..... The syndicate. The one in front clapped slowly.
"Well," he said. "That was intimate."
Adanna stiffened behind me.
I didn't look away from him. "You're out of position."
He smiled. "So are you."
Two more shapes emerged behind them, weapons low but ready.
The leader tilted his head. "Ms. Chioma," he said pleasantly. "You've become very… inconvenient."
Adanna's fingers curled into my shirt.
"She doesn't belong to you," I said.
"No," he agreed. "She belongs to the problem."
He stepped closer. "Your father built Eden to disappear... to erase leverage and to make men like us irrelevant."
Adanna's voice came out steady. "Then why kill him?"
"Because....." the man said calmly, "he refused to finish it."
My jaw tightened.....
"He wanted it locked forever," the man continued. "But people don't pay for locked doors. They pay for keys."
Adanna looked at me then..... Not for protection but for truth.
"They need me," she said slowly.
"Yes," the man replied. "Alive and Cooperative. Preferably isolated from sentimental interference."
His gaze flicked to me. "That's you."
I smiled without humor. "You always talk this much?"
"When I've already won."
The click of a weapon cocking echoed behind us and i shifted my stance.
Adanna's hand slipped into mine..... not clinging but choosing.
"If I go with you," she said, "you let him walk."
The man considered. "Tempting."
"No," I said sharply.
She squeezed my hand. "Listen to me."
I turned to her, heart pounding. "This is not your burden."
"It's already mine," she said. "You don't get to decide that anymore."
The Syndicate leader chuckled. "See? Growth."
Adanna stepped forward, still holding my hand.
"But understand this," she said, eyes hard now. "I am not my father and I am not yours."
She let go of me and my every instinct screamed.
"If I walk," she continued, "it's because I choose to and when I'm done, Eden dies with me."
The man's smile faltered... just slightly.
Interesting.
I moved instantly, grabbing her arm. "Adanna....."
She turned back to me, face breaking just a little.
"Trust me," she whispered. "The way I trusted you."
The Syndicate men closed in and the river roared beneath us.
And somewhere deep in the system, Eden Lock pulsed.... waiting for the hand that would either end everything…
Or burn the world clean.
To be continued....