Chapter 7: The Chase

The footsteps echoed through the abandoned Music Hall.

Thud... Thud... Thud...

Adaeze's heart pounded so loudly she feared the men outside could hear it.

Michael gently closed the metal box and whispered,

"We have to leave. Now."

"But they're at the entrance," Adaeze replied.

Michael scanned the dark hall with his phone torch, keeping the light dim.

"There has to be another way out."

The voices grew closer.

"Split up!"

"Search upstairs!"

"Check behind the stage!"

The beam of a flashlight swept across the dusty floor.

Michael grabbed Adaeze's hand.

"This way."

They slipped behind the stage curtains and discovered a narrow wooden staircase leading underground.

The steps creaked beneath their weight.

At the bottom was a long passageway, damp and smelling of old concrete.

Adaeze whispered,

"I never knew this place existed."

Michael replied,

"Neither did I."

The tunnel stretched for several minutes before ending at a rusted metal door.

Michael pushed it with all his strength.

It refused to move.

Adaeze joined him.

Together...

Bang!

The door finally opened.

Fresh air rushed in.

They found themselves behind the old Faculty of Arts building.

"We made it," Adaeze said, breathing heavily.

Michael smiled.

"For now."

They hurried to a quiet café just outside the campus.

Only then did they open the metal box again.

Inside were several photographs they hadn't looked at properly.

One picture caught Adaeze's attention.

Grace was standing beside Daniel...

But they weren't alone.

Standing behind them was Professor Adebayo.

And beside him...

A young man wearing a university security uniform.

On the back of the photograph was a handwritten note:

"Never trust Victor."

Michael frowned.

"Victor?"

Adaeze searched through the remaining papers.

She found an old newspaper cutting.

The headline read:

University Security Officer Resigns After Internal Investigation.

The name beneath the headline made both of them freeze.

Victor Ekanem.

"Could he be connected to Grace's disappearance?" Adaeze asked.

Michael nodded slowly.

"If Grace warned people not to trust him..."

"...then he probably knows what happened."

Before they could say another word...

Michael's phone vibrated.

An unknown number.

He hesitated before answering.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other end was weak.

Very weak.

"Michael..."

His eyes widened.

"Grandpa?"

"I don't have much time."

The old professor sounded frightened.

"They're keeping me..."

Static interrupted the call.

"Grandpa! Where are you?"

A few broken words came through.

"...old... warehouse..."

"...river..."

"...don't..."

The line went dead.

Michael stared at the phone.

Adaeze looked at him anxiously.

"What did he say?"

"He mentioned an old warehouse near a river."

Before either of them could think further...

A black motorcycle slowed to a stop across the street.

The rider wore a black helmet.

Without removing it, he tossed a small envelope onto their table and sped away.

Michael quickly picked it up.

Inside was another note.

This one contained only one sentence.

"You're looking in the wrong direction."

Adaeze turned the envelope over.

Tucked inside was a faded photograph.

She gasped.

It showed Grace...

Holding a baby.