Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the DoorDubem moved first.

He grabbed a wooden chair and approached the back door.

“Who is there?”

No answer.

He opened it.

The yard was empty.

Only wet leaves moved in the wind.

Mr. Nwosu stepped outside and examined the ground.

“There are footprints.”

“How many?” Chioma asked.

“Two sets.”

“Two?”

Mr. Nwosu pointed.

“One person came from the road.”

Then he pointed toward the wall.

“And another person was already inside the compound.”

Chioma's stomach tightened.

“Someone was hiding here?”

“Yes.”

Ebere sank into a chair.

“God help us.”

Chioma turned toward her.

“No.”

She stepped closer.

“You're going to help me.”

Ebere covered her face.

“Chioma, stop.”

“Where is Emeka?”

“I cannot tell you.”

“You know.”

“I made a mistake.”

“What mistake?”

Ebere began crying.

“I thought I was protecting you.”

“By taking Donald's money?”

“Yes.”

“By helping him get rid of Emeka?”

“No!”

The denial came too quickly.

Dubem stared at her.

“Then what did you do?”

Ebere looked at him.

“I asked Emeka to leave.”

Chioma felt weak.

“Why?”

“Because Donald was already planning to marry you.”

“And?”

“He told me Emeka would destroy everything.”

“So you chose Donald.”

“I chose your future.”

“No,” Chioma whispered. “You chose money.”

Ebere said nothing.

Then she finally revealed the truth.

Donald had first approached her through an intermediary.

He wanted Chioma.

He knew Chioma was in love with Emeka.

He told Ebere that Emeka was poor, ambitious, and dangerous.

He promised that if Ebere helped separate them, he would make sure Chioma never suffered financially.

“What did you do?” Chioma asked.

Ebere looked at the floor.

“I lied.”

“To me?”

“To both of you.”

She told Emeka that Chioma had agreed to leave him.

Then she told Chioma that Emeka had taken another woman and abandoned her.

“Why didn't Emeka come back?”

“He did.”

Chioma's eyes widened.

“When?”

“The night before your wedding.”

“What happened?”

Ebere's lips trembled.

“I begged him to leave.”

“Did he?”

“No.”

“What did Donald do?”

Ebere looked toward the window.

“He threatened him.”

Chioma's breathing became shallow.

“What kind of threat?”

“Donald said if Emeka stayed, someone would die.”

“Who?”

“I don't know.”

“Then why didn't Emeka tell me?”

“Because Donald had people following him.”

Chioma stared at her mother in disbelief.

“All these years…”

Ebere nodded.

“I thought he left because he hated you.”

“Where is he?”

“I don't know.”

Suddenly, the front gate slammed.

Everyone jumped.

A motorcycle engine roared outside.

Dubem rushed to the gate.

The rider was already gone.

Something small had been thrown onto the ground.

Dubem picked it up.

A phone.

Chioma recognized it immediately.

It was Emeka's old phone.

Her hands began shaking.

“How?”

Mr. Nwosu examined it.

The battery was dead.

“Charge it.”

Dubem plugged it in.

Minutes later, the screen lit up.

There was one unread message.

The sender was unknown.

I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK FOR HIM.

Chioma looked at Ebere.

“Mama?”

Ebere shook her head.

“That wasn't me.”

Another message appeared.

HE IS ALIVE.

Chioma's heart stopped.

Then another.

BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEE HIM, YOU MUST FIRST FIND THE HOUSE WITH NO NUMBER.

The screen went black.

Dubem stared.

“What house?”

Mr. Nwosu looked at Ebere.

She was trembling.

“I know where it is.”

Chioma stood.

“Where?”

Ebere shook her head.

“No.”

“Tell me.”

“No.”

“Tell me!”

Ebere whispered:

“It is the house where Donald used to keep things he never wanted anyone to see.”

Chioma felt cold.

“What things?”

Ebere looked directly at her.

“People.”

That night, Chioma could not sleep.

At 2:13 a.m., someone knocked softly on her window.

She opened her eyes.

Then she heard a whisper from outside.

“Chioma.”

Her heart slammed against her ribs.

She approached the curtain.

The voice came again.

“Don't scream.”

Chioma pulled the curtain aside.

A man stood in the darkness.

Scarred face.

Thin beard.

Deep tired eyes.

She recognized him immediately.

Her knees nearly gave way.

“Emeka?”

He pressed one finger against his lips.

Then he whispered:

May you like

My Family Inherited Millions and Left Me a Ruined House. Four Months Lat...

The lawyer’s office fell silent as my grandmother’s will was read, and I watched my family inherit millions while I received nothi...

A Desperate Mother Begged a Billionaire for a Job to Feed Her Two Childr...

I was stranded on a lonely Arizona highway with two starving children, a pair of ruined suitcases, and no way to reach our destina...

I Saved the Mafia Boss’s Baby from a Dumpster, but He Threw Me in Jail f...

The first thing I noticed when I opened the dumpster behind the Valente mansion was a tiny blue hand sticking out from beneath a f...

“Your mother is not the person you should be afraid of.”

Behind Chioma, the bedroom door slowly began to open.