CHAPTER XLIII
The email came without a subject line.
Just a name.
Dayo Irele.
A Council advisor.Long time political analyst.The man who once shaped public speeches for Elara's father.
And now?
He wanted to talk.
NUMA ran three background checks in less than thirty minutes.
All came back clean.Too clean.
That alone made her suspicious.
Khalid tapped the screen.This guy used to write crisis scripts for the Council.If he is flipping sides now, it means something inside is falling apart.
Elara stared at the message.Five words.
I will speak.In person.
The meeting place was risky.A university lecture hall, shuttered for years.One camera still working in the hallway.No security.Just old wooden chairs and broken chalkboards.
They arrived at midnight.
NUMA stayed outside with signal jammers.
Khalid checked every blind spot.
Elara walked in last.
Dayo Irele sat at the front row, wearing a beige jacket and the look of someone who had not slept in weeks.
He turned slowly as she entered.
You look like your mother.
Elara did not flinch.Do not start with nostalgia.Say what you came to say.
Dayo smiled, but it did not reach his eyes.
Then he pulled a flash drive from his pocket and placed it on the desk.
It contains internal briefings.The last six months of Council damage control.Leaked polls, media payments, planted mental health assessments.There is even a list of operatives hired to follow you.
Elara stepped forward.
Why now?
Dayo's hands trembled.
Because I cannot do this anymore.
He looked at her fully now.
They are not trying to contain the truth.They are trying to erase the memory that truth ever existed.
I helped them shape the lie for years.But watching Aderonke speak?
He paused.
It was like watching the window crack.
I realized the glass was never bulletproof.
Khalid whispered into Elara's earpiece.
Five minutes. In and out.
She nodded once.
What do you want in return?
Dayo laughed.Peace.But I know I do not deserve that.
He stood slowly.
Just make sure people remember.
As they turned to leave, the lights flickered.
NUMA's voice buzzed in the comms.
Movement outside.Three shadows.Armed.
Khalid cursed.It was a trap.
Elara turned back to Dayo.You set us up?
He looked genuinely confused.
No.I came alone.
Then the first shot shattered the window.
Khalid pulled Elara behind a column.NUMA activated the jammer.
Return fire was impossible.
They were boxed in.
Dayo was still standing, exposed.
He did not run.
A second shot hit him in the chest.
He collapsed without a sound.
Elara screamed his name.
Khalid pulled her down.We have to move.
They crawled toward the emergency exit behind the stage.
NUMA blew the door with a pulse charge.
The hallway filled with dust.
They ran.
Outside, the car was already running.
They piled in.
NUMA reversed down the hill without headlights.
Only when they were ten blocks away did Elara speak.
He was telling the truth.
Khalid nodded.
That is why they killed him.
Back at the station, NUMA recovered the flash drive from Elara's jacket.
Still intact.
They opened it.
And what they saw made them all go silent.
It was not just coverup files.
It was something worse.
A voice recording.
From a Council meeting.
They played it.
Chairman Uduak Eyo speaking.
The Ashlist is no longer a concern.The problem now is the girl.If we cannot control the next daughter,We remove her.Quietly.Publicly if we must.Make her a warning.Let the people fear fire again.
Elara closed her eyes.
They are targeting Aderonke.
Fatima stood from her seat.
Then we do not wait anymore.
We bring this fight to their doorstep.
The next morning, Elara sent one message to every channel that aired the fake Council broadcast.
Seven words.
You tried to silence a child again.
Now the daughters are coming.