Fractured: Chapter 9 - 1:00 AM Monday (The Darkest Hour)

Kemi’s heart raced as Akin presented her with an impossible choice: kill him and risk losing her daughter forever, or let him walk free and continue his reign of terror. She was paralyzed, unsure of what was real, what was a lie, and whether she could trust her own instincts. Everything she thought she knew was shattered, and now she was left standing at the edge of a cliff, unsure whether to jump or retreat.

Time was running out, and with it, her hope of saving the only family she had left.

The room felt like it was closing in on her. The walls, once familiar, now seemed to pulse with the weight of Akin’s manipulations. She glanced down at the gun in her trembling hands, the cold metal sending a jolt of reality through her. Akin remained across from her, eerily calm, as though he knew she couldn’t pull the trigger. His eyes bore into her, filled with the twisted satisfaction of a man who believed he had already won.

“You won’t do it,” Akin said, his voice a taunting whisper. “You can’t. You need me, Kemi. Without me, you’ll never find her.”

Kemi’s mind whirled, flashes of the past 24 hours mixing with fragmented memories of her life before. She had tried to piece everything together, hoping for clarity, but all she had found was a web of deceit spun by the man she once loved. Could she really trust anything he said? Was her daughter even alive? Or was this just another one of his cruel games?

“You don’t have it in you,” Akin continued, stepping closer, his presence suffocating. “You never did. That’s why you’re here, playing this game—because you’re weak.”

The words stung, but they also ignited something deep within her. Kemi looked up, her eyes locking onto his. She wasn’t weak. She had survived everything he had thrown at her. She had “killed” five people, destroyed lives, all in the hope of saving her family. But now, with the clock ticking down and Akin standing in front of her, she realized something.

The real monster wasn’t the targets she had eliminated, it was him. The man standing before her.

With each step he took, Kemi felt the weight of the decision pressing down on her chest. The gun in her hand felt heavier with every second. She wanted to scream, to shout at the universe for placing her in this twisted nightmare, but instead, she swallowed her fear.

“Akin,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He stopped, waiting for her to break. “Yes?”

“You’re wrong.”

His brow furrowed, but before he could respond, Kemi made her decision. She raised the gun, pointing it directly at his chest, her hands steady for the first time since this nightmare had begun.

“You took everything from me,” she said, her voice growing stronger. “You used me, lied to me, turned me into a killer. But you’re right about one thing—I do need you.”

Akin’s smile began to return, but Kemi wasn’t finished.

“I need you to rot in prison for the rest of your life.”

Before Akin could react, a loud crash echoed through the room as the police burst in, guns drawn and ready. In the chaos, Akin’s smug smile faltered as he realized he had underestimated her. He had played his final card, and Kemi had outsmarted him.

“You set me up,” Akin hissed, his voice trembling with rage as the officers pinned him to the ground.

Kemi lowered the gun, her chest heaving as the weight of the moment sank in. She hadn’t killed him, but she had won. The game was over, and for the first time, she felt a sense of clarity. She turned to the officer standing beside her, her voice filled with both relief and pain.

“Find my daughter.”

As Akin was dragged away, his face twisted in fury, Kemi knew the real fight wasn’t over. She still had to find her daughter and figure out how to live with the things she had done. But in this moment, she had won a small victory—against him, against herself, and against the darkness that had threatened to consume her.