Chapter 5 - The Husband Who Wasn't FinishedChioma spun around.

The bedroom door moved another inch.

“Dubem?” she whispered.

No answer.

The door opened wider.

Mr. Nwosu stood there.

His face was serious.

“Why are you awake?”

Chioma looked back toward the window.

Emeka was gone.

Only the curtain moved.

Mr. Nwosu entered.

“What happened?”

“Someone was outside.”

“Who?”

Chioma hesitated.

Then she lied.

“No one.”

Mr. Nwosu stared at her for several seconds.

He knew.

But he did not press.

Instead, he said, “Get dressed.”

“Why?”

“Because we have to leave.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the house with no number.”

Chioma's heart raced.

“You know where it is?”

Mr. Nwosu nodded.

“Your mother told me years ago.”

“She knows about it.”

“Yes.”

“Why was Emeka hiding there?”

“I don't know.”

“But you know Donald used it.”

Mr. Nwosu looked away.

“That house belonged to a company connected to Donald.”

Chioma dressed quickly.

They left through the back gate.

The village was silent.

The road seemed endless.

After forty minutes, they reached a narrow dirt path leading into thick vegetation.

An old concrete house stood behind a rusted gate.

There was no number.

No sign.

No light.

Chioma swallowed.

“This place looks abandoned.”

“It is supposed to.”

Mr. Nwosu unlocked the gate.

They entered.

Inside, the air smelled damp.

Dust covered the furniture.

A corridor stretched into darkness.

Then they found the basement.

The door was chained.

Mr. Nwosu cut the chain.

Chioma stepped down the stairs.

A single bulb flickered.

There were shelves.

Boxes.

Old files.

And photographs.

She walked closer.

Her stomach turned.

The photographs showed Donald with politicians, businessmen, police officers, and strangers.

Then she saw Emeka.

Several pictures.

Different years.

Different locations.

Always watching.

Always standing near men connected to Donald.

“What is this?” Chioma whispered.

Mr. Nwosu said nothing.

A voice came from behind them.

“It's evidence.”

Chioma spun around.

Emeka stood at the bottom of the stairs.

This time he did not disappear.

Chioma stared.

“You're alive.”

“I am.”

Tears filled her eyes.

“You left me.”

“I was forced to.”

“Why didn't you contact me?”

“Because every time I tried, someone close to you stopped me.”

Chioma looked at Mr. Nwosu.

He lowered his head.

“Who?”

Emeka pointed toward the files.

“Donald.”

Chioma stepped closer.

“Why?”

“Because I discovered where his money was coming from.”

She froze.

“What?”

“He isn't only a businessman.”

“What did you discover?”

“He runs a network that moves stolen money through legitimate companies.”

Chioma stared at the photographs.

“You knew?”

“I found out after you left me.”

“Then why stay quiet?”

“Because I was trying to stay alive.”

Emeka pulled out a folder.

“This is why Donald married you.”

Chioma's hands trembled.

“What?”

“You weren't just a woman he wanted.”

He opened the file.

Inside was a photograph of Chioma's father.

Another photograph showed a set of property documents.

And beneath them was a name.

NWOSU FAMILY TRUST.

Chioma blinked.

“My father?”

Emeka nodded.

“Your father left behind land.”

“But that land was worth almost nothing.”

“It was worth nothing twenty years ago.”

“And now?”

Emeka looked at her.

“Now it sits on top of the largest undeveloped industrial corridor in the state.”

Chioma's mouth went dry.

“Donald knew?”

“Yes.”

“Then…”

“He didn't marry you for love.”

Emeka's voice hardened.

“He married you because your father left something that belonged to your family.”

Chioma looked down.

“Why would my mother help him?”

Emeka hesitated.

Then he said:

“Because Donald promised her a fortune.”

Chioma closed her eyes.

The truth was finally falling into place.

Her mother had traded her future.

Donald had purchased her marriage.

And she had believed the entire thing was love.

Then Emeka said something that changed everything.

“But there is one thing Donald never knew.”

Chioma looked up.

“What?”

“The land is no longer in your father's name.”

“Whose name is it in?”

Emeka slowly placed a document into her hand.

Chioma read the name.

Her blood turned cold.

It was hers.

Chioma Ebere Nwosu.

Before she could speak, the basement lights went out.

A gunshot exploded above them.

Mr. Nwosu shouted.

“DOWN!”

Another gunshot.

Then a man's voice echoed from the corridor.

“Chioma!”

She recognized it.

Donald.

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And his next words were worse.

“You should have stayed in that village.”