CHINYERE LOOKED AT the phone on the table and ran to it without a second thought. She turned on the phone and fortunately for her, there was no password. She unlocked the phone by swiping upwards and clicked on the phone call app.The phone was only nine percent and she knew she had to hurry. Mom's number or Amanda's number? Chinyere asked herself. "Chinyere, open the door," Mr. Oko said from behind the door. His voice snapped her back to reality and she knew she didn't have all the time in the world. Eight percent. She punched in her mother's phone number and brought the phone to her ear. Her mother immediately answered the phone. It was as though she had already been waiting for a phone call. "Hello?" her mom said. "Chọtala ya? Please tell me you have found my daughter. Sh–""Mommy," Chinyere interrupted her mother. She wanted to cry at the sound of her mother's voice and po

CHINYERE DID NOT know what to say after what Tina had told her. She wondered why Amanda was after her family and claimed that it was her father who had killed her mother when Mr. Oko had killed her himself. Chinyere opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Just then, Nnena, one of the maids, entered the kitchen. Nnena greeted them by bowing her head and then she spoke up, "Mr. Oko said that you should start preparing dinner.""Okay, thank you," Tina said and Nnena walked out of the kitchen. "Isn't Esther around?" Chinyere asked. Esther was normally the one who started preparing dinner and Chinyere had realised that Esther had not stepped into the kitchen after breakfast was made. "I don't know, but when I came this morning she was sick," Tina said. "I know that she's had a week immune system from the time I started living here."Chinyere nodded, "What are we going to cook?""

ADIMCHIMPKA WAS EXHAUSTED. He had dark circles and large bags under his eyes and he had only slept for a total of four hours in the past two days. He was literally a walking dead. He remembered how Chioma had rushed into his room on Sunday night to tell him that Chinyere had called. He had made a trip to the police station early the next morning and reported to them that they had received a phone call from Chinyere. He washed his face and dried it with a towel before making it to the kitchen. His wives were in the kitchen preparing breakfast. "Ututu oma m, di m," his first wife, Adaiba, greeted him. "Good morning," he responded. His two other wives greeted him as well and he nodded in response. "Have the police found anything?" Adaiba asked. Adimchimpka shook his head, "No. Not yet. I just want to know how she found herself in Ebonyi state.""I also wonde

ESCAPING THROUGH THE gate seemed to be a problem for them as it was locked and they didn't have the remote.They contemplated climbing over the gate but how was that possible with a two month old child?"Where do you think the remote could be?" Chinyere whispered."I don't know," Tina whisper yelled. "This is one thing that we didn't think about."The gate could only be opened and closed with the remote control.The gateman was sleeping on a bench that was just a few feet away from the gate.His snores were so loud that he could be mistaken for a pig.The gateman changed his sleeping position and a jingling sound filled Chinyere's and Tina's ears.Chinyere turned to the sleeping gateman and looked at the shiny object that was wrapped around his index finger.It was a band of keys."Of course," Tina said. "Only the g

CHINYERE NOW KNEW how it felt to be so close and yet so far.They were so close to escaping and yet so far from escaping as Mr. Oko and Amadi had already caught up to them."Get over here!" Amadi yelled.She could not explain how she was feeling. Her heart was beating irregularly and as fast as a race car. It was as though it wanted to jump out of her chest. She had never been so scared in her entire life."What do we do now?" she asked Tina.Tina took a deep breath before answering, "I guess we listen to them and follow them.""Biko, don't waste our time," Mr. Oko said."Is that it?" Chinyere asked. "We came this far only to end up back with them?""When we get out of the bus, I will run and I want you to run in the opposite direction and find help," Tina said. "Don't forget to run only after I do, that will cause a distraction.