Not every enemy comes from the outside.

Not every enemy comes from the outside.

Not every enemy comes from the outside.
Sometimes the knife that cuts deepest is hidden in your own shadow.
That was the day I learned—even in prison, Evelyn had eyes.

EPISODE NINE — “The Betrayer Within”

The scandal had spread like wildfire. Newspapers, radio stations, even street preachers spoke about the Cole fraud. Evelyn Cole’s name was no longer spotless; it was dripping with suspicion. But Evelyn was no ordinary enemy. She did not fight in the open. She planted seeds in the dark.

And one of those seeds was planted inside the prison with me.

---

It began with Sergeant Bala, the warder who once smuggled me the insurance document. Everyone believed he had been “transferred.” But whispers started to circulate—whispers that he had not been moved at all, but silenced. Someone had delivered him to Evelyn’s men.

One night, as I lay awake on the cold concrete floor, a voice drifted from the next cell. “Sara,” it whispered.

It was Ngozi “Mama Gun” Okafor, the ex-gunrunner. Her tone was low, cautious.

“There’s a traitor among us. One of the inmates is feeding Evelyn everything. How else do you think she knew Amarachi was carrying the book?”

My heart froze. “Who?”

Mama Gun’s eyes glittered in the dark. “Find out before they finish what they started.”

---

The next day, I watched closely. Prisoners laughed, shared food, whispered stories. But I noticed one detail: Titi, the woman who had stood by me since my first night, suddenly avoided my eyes. She grew restless whenever I mentioned Amarachi.

That afternoon, during food distribution, I saw her slip something small to a warder—a folded paper, hidden in her sleeve. My chest tightened. Betrayal.

I confronted her that night. “Titi, what did you give him?”

Her face was unreadable. “Bread.”

“You’re lying.” My voice trembled. “You’re working with Evelyn.”

She sighed, then leaned closer. “Sara, you don’t understand. Evelyn isn’t just a woman—she’s a system. You fight her, you die. I was only trying to survive.”

I felt my heart shatter. “By selling me?”

Her eyes softened with guilt. “By protecting myself. And maybe, if you stop fighting, she’ll let you live too.”

---

The betrayal cut deeper than chains. I had trusted Titi with my secrets, my tears, even my plans. Now I realized Evelyn’s hands reached farther than I imagined—straight into the walls I thought kept me safe.

That night, I made a vow:
If Evelyn wanted spies, I would give her shadows.
If she wanted betrayal, I would give her fire.

---

Two days later, during court, the magistrate announced something unexpected: Evelyn’s lawyers had petitioned for my transfer to Kirikiri Maximum Prison.

The courtroom gasped. Kirikiri was a graveyard for hope. Women who went there didn’t return alive.

Evelyn sat in her usual green lace, her lips curving into the faintest smile. It was her final checkmate.

But as I stood in the dock, chains clinking, I remembered Mama Gun’s words: “Secrets are stronger than money.”

I looked at Amarachi, sitting in the gallery, her small hand clutching Papa’s. Her eyes begged me not to give up.

So I raised my voice.

“Before you transfer me, I have evidence to present. And if this court refuses to hear it, then Lagos will hear it outside these walls. My voice cannot be buried in Kirikiri!”

The courtroom erupted. Reporters scribbled, cameras flashed. Evelyn’s face tightened—the first sign of panic I had ever seen on her.

And in that moment, I knew:
The war wasn’t over.
The betrayer within had broken me, yes. But sometimes broken things cut deepest.

---

To be continued…

If you were Sara, would you expose the betrayer Titi publicly and risk her wrath inside prison—or keep quiet and focus on Evelyn, knowing you were surrounded by spies? 💔🔥⚖️