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Chapter 5 - Shadows and Sparks

The energy inside the safe house is different tonight.

Tense. Wired. The air feels like it's waiting for something to snap.

Ivie senses it the moment she walks in. Sefi's usual laugh is missing. Razor keeps checking his phone. Even Mama Tee has paused her usual humming. Something's wrong—and whatever it is, it started while she was gone.

She sets a crate of supplies down by the wall and scans the room. Rico is leaning against the far post, arms folded, hoodie half-off, a look on his face that doesn't match the quiet storm in his eyes. He's not looking at her. Not yet.

But Zino is.

He sits on a worn-out sofa like he owns the building. No introduction. No permission. Just presence. His suit is dark, clean, and sharp against the grime of the room—no one else could walk into the slums dressed like that and still command respect.

He doesn't belong here.

And yet, no one dares tell him that.

Their eyes meet. Ivie holds the stare, calm and unreadable. She doesn't know him, but she knows his type—power dressed as silence, money disguised as muscle.

"You must be BB," Zino says, his voice rich and slow.

"I am," she replies. "And you are?"

He smirks. "Zino. Friend of the family."

She doesn't know what that means, but something in her chest tightens.

Mama Tee walks in from the hallway, eyes flicking between them. "He's not with us. Just here to talk business."

"What kind of business?" Ivie asks.

Zino doesn't answer. Instead, he turns to Rico. "You should tell her. You were there."

That's when everything shifts.

The room stills. Rico finally looks at her. His jaw tightens.

"What's going on?" Ivie asks, stepping forward.

Rico speaks. "There's a rat in the crew."

She freezes.

"Someone's been feeding info to outside hands," Rico continues. "Details about our routes. The warehouse raid. The orphanage drop from last week. Cops almost showed."

Mama Tee adds, "It's someone close. One of ours."

Sefi whispers, "Who?"

No one answers. Because they all suspect—but no one wants to be the one to say it.

Then Zino leans forward, pulling out a flash drive from his coat. He tosses it on the table. "Surveillance footage. One of your crew selling your location to a private buyer. Guess who shows up?"

Rico doesn't speak. His hands curl into fists.

Ivie steps forward slowly, picks up the drive, and stares at it like it might burn her.

"Play it," she says.

Mama Tee shakes her head. "No need. We already did."

Razor stands up. "It was Tobi."

Sefi gasps. "Tobi? No… no way."

Rico slams his fist on the table. "He sold us out for ₦200,000. That's what your life is worth to him."

Ivie's heart races. Tobi was quiet. Loyal. Or so she thought. It's the first time betrayal touches her since stepping into this world—and it stings deeper than she expects.

Zino stands. "Loyalty is currency, BB. In this world, it's the only one that matters."

He walks toward her, slow, deliberate. "You're hiding something too, aren't you?"

Rico steps forward fast. "Back off."

Zino's brow arches. "You going to fight me for her, BossJag?"

Silence.

The name hangs in the air like a weapon.

Ivie turns sharply. "BossJag?"

Rico flinches. He didn't mean for that to come out yet.

Zino grins. "Oh, he didn't tell you? Thought you two were getting close."

Mama Tee mutters, "Zino, don't start."

But it's too late. The truth has slipped. Ivie's mask cracks just a little.

"Who are you really?" she asks Rico, voice low.

He looks at her. Not as the mysterious stranger from the shadows. But as a man standing naked in the spotlight.

"I came here for answers," he says. "Now I've got more questions than when I started."

Before anyone can say more, Zino turns to leave.

But not before he whispers in Ivie's ear:

"Whatever mask you're wearing… I've seen under it before. Sooner or later, he will too."

And just like that, he vanishes into the night.

Outside, the city breathes like a beast.

Inside, BB stands frozen, her walls shaking.

Everyone's hiding something. And the line between truth and trust just got harder to walk.

She's not sure who the real danger is anymore.

Zino? Rico?

Or the woman she's becoming.

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