The Untainted
Chapter 92 – The Beginning of the Game
Finally, examination season arrived.
The weeks had slipped away before anyone realized it. The once lively corridors of the university had fallen eerily quiet. Classrooms that were usually filled with laughter and chatter were now occupied by anxious students bent over answer booklets or buried deep in revision.
The atmosphere was especially tense among the final-year students.
Although it was only the first semester, no one dared take it lightly.
The university's newly enforced academic policy had spread fear across campus. The era of receiving unearned grades was over. No special treatment. No influence. No preferential marks.
Whether one was the child of a governor, a billionaire, or a prominent politician made no difference anymore.
Even the most spoiled heirs who once relied on family names had finally realized they would have to earn their results themselves.
For once, everyone was studying.
During one of the final examination days, Rihannat walked out of the examination hall after submitting her last paper for the day.
Exhausted, she unzipped her backpack to return her jotter.
A folded piece of paper slipped onto the notebook.
She frowned.
"Meet me at the parking lot in ten minutes."
— Segun.
Rihannat stared at it for barely two seconds before scoffing.
"What a nuisance."
Without another glance, she crumpled the note and tossed it into the nearby trash bin.
She wasn't entertaining any foolishness.
Ever since examinations began, her old phone had remained at home. She wanted absolutely no distractions.
The new phone with her was bought by seifullah some days before exam.
Besides...
The number of rich heirs pestering her had somehow doubled.
It was almost amusing.
Months ago they had all been saying,
"Be my girlfriend."
Now it had upgraded to,
"Marry me."
Ridiculous.
She had rejected them when she possessed nothing but her faith and dignity.
Now that she had discovered her real family and no longer needed anyone's wealth or connections...
Why would she suddenly accept them?
Never.
No deen.
No morals.
Different religions.
Different values.
Nothing meaningful to build a life upon.
What exactly would they even talk about?
Besides...
She already had a fiancé.
Closing her backpack, she walked away without sparing another thought for whoever this "Segun" believed he was.
Outside the examination building, Basit's car was parked nearby.
He stood beside it, repeatedly running a hand through his hair in frustration.
Rihannat approached.
"What happened?"
Basit sighed.
"My tyre is completely flat."
She blinked.
"But it was perfectly fine this morning."
"Exactly."
He rubbed his forehead.
"I don't understand it either."
"Let's wait for everyone else," Rihannat suggested. "Then we'll order an Uber together."
Basit nodded.
A few minutes later, the rest of the group arrived.
Together, they headed toward the school gate.
Then...
Everything started going wrong.
"I don't have network."
"Neither do I."
"My data isn't working."
"I can't even make a call."
Everyone stopped walking.
Folakemi frowned at her phone.
"Seriously?"
No signal.
No internet.
No Uber.
Just then, another car pulled up.
Seifullah stepped out wearing a smile on his usually cold face.
"I figured everyone deserves a little break today after exam, so I rushed over."
His cheerful expression disappeared some moments later.
After greeting them, he returned to his vehicle. Only to get stunned.
The engine refused to start.
Again?! Nothing.
He tried once more.
Silence.
"What in heaven is going on today?" Folakemi exclaimed in her dramatic way.
She looked around suspiciously.
"First, basit tyres.
"No network."
"No Uber."
"And now Seifullah's car refuses to start."
She folded her arms.
"Are we haunted?"
Everyone chuckled.
Everyone except Rihannat, who merely rolled her eyes.
Basit became thoughtful.
"Perhaps Allah is protecting us."
The others turned toward him.
"Maybe there's a reason we aren't meant to leave yet."
He smiled faintly.
"It could be Allah keeping us away from some unseen misfortune."
"So..."
He shrugged.
"Let's just order takeout."
Folakemi raised an eyebrow.
"With what phone?"
Seifullah smiled as he reached into his pocket.
"My network still works."
Everyone immediately crowded around him.
One after another, they selected meals from the restaurant menu displayed on his phone.
With nothing else to do, the group settled inside the nearly empty cafeteria.
Compared to the usual noisy afternoons before exam time, today felt peaceful.
Only a handful of students were there.
None of them realized...
Someone was watching.
Elsewhere...
"Boss."
The young man sitting beside Segun lowered his headset.
"It's done."
Segun didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed on the laptop screen displaying Rihannat.
His expression was dark.
Almost...
Childishly offended.
How dare she?
She actually tore the note...
...and threw it away.
Just like that.
The man beside him sighed.
"But, Boss..."
He hesitated.
"...you really do have beautiful handwriting."
Segun slowly turned his head.
The glare he gave him could freeze fire.
The poor man immediately regretted speaking.
At the front passenger seat, Bayo pinched the bridge of his nose.
Idiot.
He silently gestured.
Keep your mouth shut before he buries you alive.
The man instantly lowered his head.
Segun might never admit it...
But everyone inside the vehicle could tell.
Their boss was sulking.
Bayo simply closed his eyes.
He had no intention of involving himself.
Since morning they've been monitoring. And immediately after exam, they had remained inside the surveillance van.
Earlier, under Segun's instructions, Lanre had secretly slipped the note into Rihannat's bag.
Everything afterward had unfolded exactly as planned...
Or so they thought.
Tiny hidden cameras had captured every expression on Rihannat's face.
The exact moment she unfolded the note.
The instant she frowned.
The second she threw it away.
Every reaction had been transmitted directly onto the laptop in front of Segun.
Not only that...
Miniature listening devices ensured every conversation among the group reached them with perfect clarity.
Meanwhile...
None of Rihannat's friends had the slightest idea they were being monitored.
They thought it just happened. Maybe predestined.
Their phones?
Intercepted.
No calls.
No internet.
No ride-hailing services.
Basit's flat tyre?
Not an accident.
They had deliberately deflated it.
Seifullah's car?
Also their doing.
One member of Segun's team, Lanre —a quiet young programmer whose skills were reserved only for high-level operations—sitted beside him, had remotely infiltrated the vehicle's electronic control system and temporarily disabled it.
He stared at the monitor with a tired sigh.
Years of becoming an elite hacker...
...only to end up sabotaging tyres and cars because my boss got rejected.
Life was truly unpredictable.
Back inside the cafeteria...
The friends laughed together as they enjoyed their meals.
Completely unbothered.
Accepting the unexpected delay as though it were nothing more than fate.
Inside the surveillance van...
Bayo stared helplessly at the screen.
His stomach growled loudly.
Boss...
I'm starving.
Can we leave now?
He swallowed the complaint.
The lady already rejected you.
I don't even understand why you invited yourself into her life.
Of course...
He valued his life too much to say any of that aloud.
The suffocating silence continued for several more minutes.
Finally—
"Drive."
Segun's calm voice broke the silence.
The driver immediately started the vehicle.
Collective relief swept through the van.
Finally freedom.
As the vehicle pulled away, Segun leaned back against his seat.
His face returned to its usual unreadable expression.
Cold.
Controlled.
Stoic.
Yet Bayo, ever observant of his buddy and boss, caught it.
The faintest curve...
A subtle smirk resting at the corner of Segun's lips.
It wasn't happiness.
It wasn't satisfaction.
It looked more like...
A man who had finally spotted a wonderful playmate.
Bayo slowly looked out the window.
"Rihannat..." he thought.
"I'm sorry..."
"But I have a feeling..."
"You're about to become a check mate to my boss game of chess.
@OlukoyaZainab.