Chapter 113 CHAPTER 113

Chapter 113 CHAPTER 113
The Café Meeting
Chloe stepped out of the hotel, the sky was bruised with the last shadows of night, the streetlamps still burning with a faint, dying light. She wore a long beige trench coat that brushed her calves and a pair of sunglasses far too dark for the hour. Her heart was beating so fast as she walked, she slowed down, calm and unhurried.
She already knew where she was going.
The café was ten minutes away by car, maybe fifteen on foot. She preferred to walk.
She replayed Ayisha’s voice in her mind, every word, every tremor. “Come to Deez Café right now. Don’t tell anyone. Just come.”
Chloe smiled faintly. It was almost funny how easy it had been. One call, one panicked message, and now everyone was moving exactly where she wanted them to be.
She hailed a taxi when she reached the main road, slipped inside, and gave the driver the address.
“Deez Café,” she said, her voice low.
The driver nodded, pulling into the empty street. Chloe turned her gaze to the window, watching the city roll by, billboards flickering, the faint glow of bakeries just opening, a few early joggers, a stray dog darting into an alley.
Her phone buzzed in her hand. Unknown number.
She didn’t answer.
Chloe exhaled slowly and slipped the phone back into her coat pocket.
Her reflection in the glass was calm, too calm. That was always her strength. No matter what chaos burned behind her eyes, no one could ever see it.

At that same time, Ayisha was speeding down the expressway, her fingers clenching the steering wheel hard enough to hurt. Her car cut through the early traffic, headlights slicing through fog and exhaust fumes.
Her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
She hadn’t slept. Every few seconds she glanced at her phone, checking the location she’d sent Tessa, terrified that Ethan might somehow intercept her before she got there.
She had tipped the police. She knew that meant she was as good as dead once Ethan found out but she couldn’t let him do it. She couldn’t watch another massacre.
Her voice shook as she replayed her last voicemail. “Tessa, please. Come to Deez Café. It’s safer. We need to talk.”
But there was no reply.
She bit her lip. “Please, just come…” she whispered, her voice breaking.
A car honked behind her, snapping her back to reality. She accelerated, eyes burning from the wind and fear.
She was almost at the café.

Miles away, Ethan was standing beside his car in the abandoned district, the dawn light painting cold shadows on his face. His men were gone, he had sent them away hours ago. He didn’t trust anyone now.
He had one phone in his hand, the other lying smashed at his feet.
His knuckles were scraped raw.
“Fucking Ayisha,” he muttered. “She thinks she can play me?”
He turned the phone over again, scrolled through the call history. One missed call. One faint digital trail, her last signal pinged near Deez Café.
He stared at the screen, the name burning like a curse.
“Deez Café,” he repeated under his breath.
A cruel smile curved his lips.
He walked to the trunk, opened it, and stared down at the black duffel bag inside. His reflection shimmered in the metal of the handgun as he picked it up.
“No more games,” he whispered.
He loaded the gun, slid it into the inside of his jacket, and climbed into the car.
The engine roared to life.
He drove like a man possessed.

Back at the café, Chloe was the first to arrive.
The place sat quietly at the corner of a cobblestone street, its glass walls fogged from the warmth inside. The neon sign flickered faintly: Deez Café – Coffee. Breakfast. Pastries.
She stepped inside, letting the door close softly behind her. The smell of roasted beans and fresh bread filled the air.
Only two customers sat by the window, an old man reading a newspaper and a young woman typing on her laptop.
Chloe took a seat in the far corner, back to the wall, facing the door. She removed her sunglasses and set them beside her cup after ordering a black coffee.
Then she waited.
Every few seconds, she checked her reflection in the glass, her expression perfectly neutral, her heartbeat slow.
When the waitress brought her coffee, Chloe smiled politely. “Thank you.”
Her phone buzzed again. She ignored it.
Instead, she opened the gallery app and zoomed in on a picture. Tessa asleep on the hotel bed, moonlight across her face.
Chloe traced the image with her fingertip, then locked the phone and slipped it away.

Ayisha’s car screeched to a stop a block away from the café. She killed the engine, her hands trembling.
Through the windshield, she could see the café sign glowing faintly.
She took a deep breath, fixed her hair in the rearview mirror, and reached for her phone. No new messages.
Her stomach tightened.
She opened the car door and stepped out, her heels clicking on the pavement. Every sound felt too loud, every shadow suspicious.
She pulled her coat tighter around her and walked quickly toward the café.
In her mind, she rehearsed what she would say to Tessa, how to explain, how to tell her that Ethan won’t give up.
She reached the door, her reflection staring back at her through the glass. She saw the faint movement inside, a woman sitting in the corner, her head slightly turned toward the window.

The sound of an engine echoed in the distance, a low, guttural growl slicing through the early traffic.
Ethan’s car turned the corner fast, tires screeching. His face was hard, pale, eyes hollow from exhaustion and rage.
He saw the café sign ahead, glowing faintly through the morning fog.
“Deez Café,” he muttered again, almost to himself.
He parked across the street, engine still running. His hand brushed the inside of his jacket, feeling the cold metal of the gun.
Every thought in his mind burned red.
He would end it all here.
He opened the door and stepped out. The wind caught his jacket, the first light of dawn glinting off the steel in his hand.