Jayden leaned forward, lips parting like he was finally ready to talk. The café seemed to fall silent around them. All eyes — or at least the hidden ones behind earpieces and cameras — waited for his next words.
> "You sure you want the truth?" he whispered.
Lynn didn't flinch. "I'm begging for it."
But before Jayden could say another word—
> "That's enough."
A new voice cut through the air.
Everyone froze.
Michael turned his head sharply. Lynn's heart skipped a beat. Even Jayden paled.
A man in a charcoal grey suit approached the table with deliberate calm. Broad-shouldered, older, and radiating power. He didn't rush. He didn't need to.
Zee muttered under her breath, eyes wide: "That's Mr. Mokoena."
Lynn's stomach twisted.
> No… it can't be.
Mr. Mokoena. CEO. Philanthropist. A ghost in politics. And according to whispers from Lynn's old life — one of the biggest silent funders behind several dirty operations in the city.
He pulled out a chair and sat down like he owned the place.
> "I told you to keep her quiet," he said to Jayden. Calmly. Disappointed.
Jayden looked like a child caught red-handed. "I-I tried. But she—"
> "Failed." Mokoena's eyes turned to Lynn. "Ms. Nare. I was hoping we wouldn't meet like this."
Lynn clenched her fists. "So it was you. Pulling strings. Funding the leaks. Why?"
> "Because power doesn't belong to the reformed," he said simply. "You walked away, and I respected that. But coming back? Building a platform? That threatens everything."
Michael's hand slid under the table, toward his concealed weapon. Lynn gave him a subtle shake of her head.
> "You don't get to decide who rises," she said. "I earned my second chance."
Mokoena tilted his head. "And yet here you are, back in the dirt. Meeting in shady cafés. Using old contacts. You're no better than the rest of us."
Jayden added, "Told you, Lynn. This world doesn't forgive."
> "Then I'll burn the whole world and build a new one," Lynn snapped.
A slow smirk touched Mokoena's lips. "We'll see."
He stood up. Looked around the café like it was nothing.
> "Tell your people to stand down, Ms. Nare. I've already erased the cameras. I own more than you think."
And with that, he walked away.
No rush. No fear.
Jayden stood too, hesitated, then followed.
Lynn sat there, trembling — not with fear, but fury.
Michael leaned closer.
> "You okay?"
She stared straight ahead.
> "No," she said. "Now it's war."