Category: FREE READERS

8 The first stop was the office of the Commissioner for Justice. The air was thick with the scent of old paper and expensive cologne. When they walked in, the Commissioner stood up immediately, his face lighting up with a mixture of respect and wary submission. “Chief! You didn’t tell us you were bringing...

7 The balcony was a sanctuary of cool air and expensive shadows, but the moment the glass door slid shut, the atmosphere became claustrophobic. Mathew stood at the railing, looking out over the flickering lights of Port Harcourt like a king surveying a conquered territory. “Odion is a typical policeman,” Mathew began, his voice...

6 Osas sat on the edge of the hotel bed, the emerald dress discarded like a heavy skin she was glad to be rid of. The silence of the room was broken by the sharp vibration of her phone. It was Bayo. “I survived,” she said, her voice sounding older than it had that...

5 The hotel room was quiet, save for the muffled sound of her mother in the bathroom, humming a hymn as she steamed her dress for the next day’s dinner with Odion. The sound, once comforting, now felt like the ticking of a clock counting down to Osas’s total surrender. Osas sat on the...

4 The adrenaline that had sustained Osas through the phone call evaporated the moment the taxi door clicked shut. By the time she reached her hotel room, the world was tilting. She fumbled with the key card, her hands shaking so violently it took three tries to trigger the green light. Once inside, she...

3 Later that evening, Osas had a call from an unsaved number. After a brief hesitation, she takes it and the person on the other end went, “Hello, Osas.” It was Bayo’s voice. Osas hit END CALL instantly. The phone rang again almost the second the line with Bayo went dead. Osas stared at...

2 The next day, Osas spent three hours on her hair and makeup. She put on the one “power suit” she had kept from her graduation, a sharp, forest-green blazer that made her skin glow. She looked exactly like the “Kelly Rowland” Esther had described, but inside, she was a ball of raw nerves....