Chapter - 29
The old warehouse looked worse at night.
Rain hammered the rusted roof.
Every few seconds, thunder rolled over the building.
Nani stood beside Sky at the entrance, staring into the darkness.
"This place really needs better lighting."
Tee looked at him.
"That's your takeaway?"
"I'm nervous."
"Fair."
Sky glanced at Nani.
"You don't have to watch this."
Nani shook his head.
"No."
He tightened his grip on Sky's sleeve.
"If there's something about that night, I want to know."
Sky looked at his hand.
Then at him.
"Then stay beside me."
"I was planning to."
"Good."
Tee cleared his throat.
"Can we have the emotional moment after we survive the creepy warehouse?"
Nani nodded.
"Yeah. Sorry."
"Thank you."
---
They entered.
The old camera sat on a table.
Its tiny red light blinked.
Still recording.
Tee connected it to a monitor.
The screen flickered.
Static.
Then—
8 OCTOBER 2021.
Nani's breathing stopped.
Sky stood behind him.
"Ready?"
"No."
A pause.
"Play it anyway."
Tee pressed the button.
The footage began.
---
The warehouse appeared on screen.
Five years younger.
Cleaner.
Brighter.
Nani's father stood near the center.
Two of Sky's men entered.
Young Sky followed.
Cold.
Expressionless.
Nani stared.
"That's you."
Sky nodded.
"I remember this."
On the screen, Sky walked toward Nani's father.
"We're here for the payment."
Nani's father shouted something.
The audio crackled.
Sky's younger self remained calm.
Then—
The warehouse doors opened.
Niran walked in.
Nani's stomach dropped.
Alisha followed him.
She looked terrified.
Sky's eyes narrowed.
"I don't remember seeing them."
Nani looked at him.
"They were there."
"Yes."
The footage continued.
Niran approached Nani's father.
Their argument was impossible to hear clearly.
Then Niran looked toward the camera.
And smiled.
Nani whispered,
"He knew."
Sky looked at the screen.
"He knew the camera was there."
Tee leaned closer.
"Wait."
He paused the footage.
"Look."
In the corner of the frame—
a man stood beside Niran.
Dark coat.
Silver ring.
Adrian.
Nani's fingers went cold.
"He's the one."
Sky nodded.
"Yes."
The footage resumed.
Adrian whispered something to Niran.
Niran nodded.
Then Niran walked toward Nani's father.
Alisha suddenly stepped between them.
Even through the damaged audio, her voice could be heard.
"Leave him alone."
Niran grabbed her arm.
Alisha fought him.
Sky's younger self looked over.
He seemed irritated.
But he turned back toward Nani's father.
Nani frowned.
"Why didn't you intervene?"
Sky's jaw tightened.
"I thought it was a family argument."
On screen, Nani's father suddenly shoved one of Sky's men.
The man attacked back.
Everything happened fast.
A struggle.
A gunshot.
Someone fell.
Nani covered his mouth.
The footage showed blood spreading across the floor.
His father's terrified face.
Alisha screaming.
Then—
Sky's younger self froze.
He looked at the body.
For the first time, the coldness disappeared from his face.
He looked shocked.
"I didn't know..."
Nani looked at him.
Sky's voice was barely audible.
"I genuinely didn't know."
On screen, Sky immediately ordered his men to stop.
Then he turned toward Nani's father.
"Get medical help."
But before anyone could move—
Niran stepped forward.
Smiling.
He looked almost pleased.
Nani's stomach turned.
Niran whispered something to Nani's father.
The audio crackled.
Tee increased the volume.
"...sign it."
Nani froze.
Sky leaned forward.
"What did he say?"
Tee replayed it.
Again.
This time—
clearer.
"Sign it, or you'll spend the rest of your life in prison."
Nani stared at the screen.
His father looked terrified.
Niran held up a document.
Alisha grabbed Niran's arm.
"Don't do this!"
Niran shoved her away.
Then he looked toward Nani's father.
"Your son is the price."
Nani stopped breathing.
Sky's head snapped toward him.
"What?"
Tee paused the footage.
Nani looked at Sky.
His face had gone completely pale.
"My father..."
His voice cracked.
"He was forced."
Sky stared at the frozen frame.
Then his eyes moved to Niran.
Something inside him broke.
"He used my debt."
Nani looked at him.
"He used your organization to create fear."
Sky's fists clenched.
"And then used that fear against your father."
Alisha whispered,
"Yes."
Silence.
Then Nani noticed something.
"Wait."
He pointed at the screen.
"Look at Adrian."
The footage resumed.
Adrian was standing behind Niran.
Watching everything.
But he wasn't looking at Nani's father.
He was looking at—
Sky.
And smiling.
Nani's eyes widened.
"He knew you."
Sky stared at the screen.
"I've seen that expression before."
"Where?"
"At business meetings."
A pause.
"But I never knew why."
Adrian stepped toward Sky on the footage.
They spoke.
The audio was almost completely destroyed.
Tee enhanced it.
Static.
Then—
Adrian's voice became audible.
"You should leave."
Sky's younger self frowned.
"Why?"
Adrian smiled.
"Because this isn't your debt anymore."
The footage suddenly cut.
Black screen.
Nani stared.
"What the hell does that mean?"
Sky didn't answer.
Then the monitor flickered again.
A second video appeared.
Different camera angle.
Outside the warehouse.
Sky was getting into his car.
He looked back once.
Then drove away.
Nani whispered,
"That's when you left."
"Yes."
The footage continued.
Sky's car disappeared.
And then—
Niran walked out.
Adrian followed.
Alisha came running after them.
But she wasn't alone.
She was carrying something.
A small child-sized coat.
Nani's eyes widened.
His breathing became shallow.
"That's mine."
Alisha froze.
Nani stared at the screen.
"I remember that coat."
A flash hit him.
A hallway.
Niran shouting.
Alisha hiding him.
His father's voice.
A man's silver ring.
Then—
A scream.
Nani staggered backward.
Sky caught him.
"Nani!"
"I remember..."
His hands shook.
"I remember the coat."
Sky held him firmly.
"Look at me."
"I remember her."
Alisha's eyes filled with tears.
"Nani..."
He looked at her.
"You hid me."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Where?"
Alisha swallowed.
"In the office downstairs."
Nani's eyes widened.
"I was there."
Sky looked toward the basement.
"That's where the camera was."
Nani suddenly pulled away.
"Wait."
He looked at the footage.
"Why was the camera recording from that angle?"
Tee froze.
"That's a good question."
Nani stared at the screen.
"The camera wasn't facing the warehouse."
"It was facing the office."
Sky's expression changed.
"Meaning?"
Nani whispered,
"Someone wanted footage of me."
Silence.
Then the monitor suddenly went black.
A message appeared.
YOU'RE REMEMBERING TOO MUCH.
Another line appeared.
COME TO THE HOUSE WHERE IT STARTED.
Then one final message.
ALONE, NANI.
Sky stared at the screen.
"No."
Nani looked at him.
"I know."
Sky stepped closer.
"You're not going."
Nani swallowed.
"I wasn't planning to."
Tee's phone suddenly rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
"Boss."
"What?"
"We just received the location."
Sky took the phone.
His face hardened.
Because the address wasn't an abandoned warehouse.
It was Nani's childhood home.
The place where everything had started.
And underneath the address was one final sentence:
Ask your father what he signed.
Nani stared at the screen.
Then whispered—
Nani's voice shook.
"If someone knows what he signed..."
He looked toward the rain outside.
"...then my father knows the truth."
--------
Rain hammered against the windows of Nani's childhood home.
The house was dark.
Too quiet.
Nani stood in the entrance, staring at the place he had spent most of his childhood.
Something about it felt wrong.
Not unfamiliar.
Worse.
Familiar.
Sky stood beside him.
"Stay close."
Nani glanced at him.
"I know."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Sky looked at him for a moment before nodding.
"Fine."
Tee and Alisha entered behind them with the guards.
Tee looked around.
"I officially hate this house."
Nani whispered,
"You've never even been here."
"Exactly. My instincts are excellent."
Nani almost smiled.
Then his gaze landed on the staircase.
His smile vanished.
"I remember this."
Sky immediately turned toward him.
"What?"
Nani touched the railing.
"I used to run down these stairs."
A flash hit him.
A little boy.
Bare feet.
Someone shouting downstairs.
A woman's trembling voice.
"Nani, don't come out."
Nani pulled his hand away.
Sky caught his shoulder.
"Easy."
"I'm okay."
"You don't look okay."
"I said I'm okay."
Sky didn't argue.
He simply stayed beside him.
---
They searched the ground floor.
Nothing.
No people.
No movement.
Then Alisha stopped outside the study.
Her expression changed.
"This room."
Nani looked at her.
"What?"
"I remember hiding here."
"You?"
Alisha nodded.
"On that night."
Nani slowly opened the door.
Dust covered the furniture.
The desk was still there.
The old bookshelf.
The family photographs.
And one drawer—
slightly open.
Nani walked toward it.
Sky followed.
Inside was a small cassette.
Nani picked it up.
Written across the label were four words.
OCTOBER 8 — 2021.
His fingers trembled.
"That's the date."
Sky's expression hardened.
"Play it."
Tee found an old cassette player.
He inserted the tape.
Static filled the room.
Then—
Nani's father's voice.
Weak.
Frightened.
"If someone finds this... listen carefully."
Nani froze.
His father's voice continued.
"Niran is lying."
Alisha closed her eyes.
Sky's jaw tightened.
Nani whispered,
"About what?"
The recording continued.
"The debt isn't the real reason he's here."
A pause.
"He wants control."
Another pause.
"He wants my son."
Nani's breathing caught.
Sky slowly looked at him.
The recording continued.
"He says he'll leave Nani alone if I sign."