Smoke trailed behind Chike and Linda as they descended the back stairwell of Okoye Tower. Sirens blared in the distance fire trucks or Red Ledger reinforcements, it didn’t matter. Chike had only one thought: survive long enough to expose them all.Linda clutched the encrypted briefcase close to her chest. Her face was streaked with ash, her blouse torn, but her eyes remained sharp.“This route leads to the underground garage,” she said breathlessly. “I called in a backup vehicle. Untraceable plates. They won’t find us.”“They already have,” Chike muttered.He tapped his wrist. The System’s interface unfolded like digital origami across his retina.[Warning: Surveillance Compromised. Pursuers Within 500 Meters.][Time Remaining Until Protocol Expiry: 65 Hours 13 Minutes]They burst into the garage just as a low growl echoed off the concrete. A matte black SUV screeched around the corner, headlights off. The door flew open, and Mezie emerged smeared in blood, limping.“Get in!” he shout

The light shattered everything.White.Blinding.Piercing.Chike covered his face with his forearm as the world erupted around him. The glow surged from Adaeze’s body, forcing every Oracle’s corpse to convulse then crumble to ash.The air stilled.And then Silence.The glowing faded slowly, revealing Adaeze floating inches above the ground, arms stretched wide, hair suspended like she was underwater. Her eyes… no longer brown, but a silvery hue, glowing softly like starlight.Her voice echoed with unnatural resonance, layered with ancient tones.“Protocol: Oracle Host Stabilized.Genetic Code: Aligned.Heir of Forgotten Flame: Activated.”Chike’s pulse roared. “Adaeze…”She looked down at him but it wasn’t her. Not completely. The girl he’d raised, loved, and protected had merged with something ancient, something engineered by the original creators of the Red Ledger.And now… she was no longer just human.She was the key.A Sudden CollapseWithout warning, her body dropped.Chike cau

The silence was deafening after Zaria’s voice echoed across the ruins. Chike didn’t move. Not even a twitch. One wrong flinch could signal fear and he couldn’t afford that.Especially not in front of the Crimson Vault’s gate… and the elders.Zaria stepped from the trees, her long dark coat swaying like a scythe through smoke. She held the sniper rifle with casual precision, the kind that came from years of training. But it was her eyes those sharp, calculating hazel eyes that betrayed something deeper.Not hatred. Not vengeance.Pain.“You’re supposed to be dead,” Chike said calmly, shifting one foot slightly behind, gaining better balance on the uneven stones.She scoffed. “You were supposed to rot in obscurity. Yet here you are… wearing your father’s secrets like a crown.”The Crimson Vault behind Chike shimmered with ancient runes, waiting.The elder stepped forward, hand hovering over the pistol beneath his cloak. “Who is she?”“Zaria Okoye,” Chike said, eyes locked on her. “My ex

The boardroom in PrimeTech Holdings felt colder than usual, not from the air conditioning but from the silence that followed Chike’s announcement.“I’ve secured backing for the Crimson Vault initiative. Funding begins tomorrow morning,” he said, his voice smooth yet firm.Around him, the board members blinked in disbelief. These were seasoned investors, sharks in suits, each owning stakes in multiple multinationals. None of them had been told a dime about this plan. And now, the forgotten son in law was calling shots in what used to be their playground.Mr. Basiru, head of legal and the loudest among the detractors, narrowed his eyes. “With all due respect, Mr. Okoye, may we know who this mysterious backer is? Such a massive initiative shouldn’t begin on secrecy and bluster.”Chike didn’t flinch. He merely tapped the red folder in front of him. “I’m under NDA. But let me put your minds at ease this isn’t some offshore scam. This is real. Tangible. And it’s coming with ₦2 billion in se