Growing Pains

Chapter 8: The number should be dead

*Chapter 8: The Number That Should Be Dead*

The text sat on Ada’s phone like a ghost.

_“You did good, Ada. Proud of you. -Dad”_

From: +234 803 XXX 0147

Her father’s number.

A number that had been disconnected, buried, and mourned for 2 years.

She stared at it until the screen went black.

“Who sent this?” she whispered.

The rain under the mango tree kept falling.

*Day 1 After*

The house was chaos again.

Inspector Dike came with 3 officers. They took her phone.

“We’ll trace it,” he said. “But Ada... that number was deactivated 2 years ago. The SIM is probably cloned. Or it’s coming from an app.”

“But it was his voicemail,” Chike said. He was clinging to Mama’s leg. “I heard it.”

Dike’s face was grim. “Voicemails can be faked too.”

Uncle Emeka was pacing. “This is Obiora’s people. Trying to mess with us. To get us to slip.”

Councilman Obiora Nwosu was in EFCC custody. But his lawyers were already talking about bail.

Ada didn’t believe it was fake. She _felt_ her father in that message.

That night she couldn’t sleep. She kept dialing the number. It always went to voicemail.

At 3:13am, she got another text.

_“Don’t trust the police. Meet me. Alone. Old church. 2am. Come for answers.”_

Her blood ran cold.

She showed Mama. Mama burned the phone. “No. You’re not going anywhere.”

But Ada had already memorized the address. St. Paul’s Church. Nsukka.

*Day 2*

School was still closed for her and Chike. Police escort everywhere.

Ada acted normal. Ate. Did WAEC past questions. Laughed at Nneka’s jokes.

At 1:30am, she climbed out the bathroom window. Again.

The police outside were watching the front gate. Not the back.

She took a bike to the motor park. Then a bus to Nsukka. No phone. She’d left it home.

The church was dark. No light. The gate was open.

Her heart was in her throat.

“Hello?” she called.

Footsteps. From inside.

A man stepped out. Backlit by a candle. Tall. Cap.

Her breath caught. It was the silhouette from the video. The ‘Boss.’

But when he stepped forward, it wasn’t Obiora.

It was Uncle Emeka.

Ada stumbled back. “You?”

Emeka’s face was tired. Old. “Shh. Come inside. We don’t have long.”

Inside the church, the air smelled like wax and old wood. The box where her father kept the flash drive was still open.

“Sit,” Emeka said.

Ada sat on a pew, far from him. “Did you send the text?”

“Yes.”

“With Dad’s number?”

“I cloned the SIM 2 years ago. Before... before it happened. He gave it to me. Said ‘if anything happens, use this to talk to Ada when she’s ready.’”

Ada’s eyes filled. “Why? Why act like this? Why lie?”

“Because they’re watching us, Ada. Obiora has people in the police. In EFCC. The moment I told Dike the truth, they’d know. This is the only way to keep you safe.”

“What truth?”

Emeka pulled out an envelope. Old. Yellowed.

“Your father didn’t just find out about the oil. He found out Obiora wasn’t working alone. There’s a bigger man. A senator. From Abuja. He owns half of Enugu. Obiora was just his errand boy.”

Ada’s hands shook as she took the envelope. Inside: photos. Obiora meeting a man in agbada at a hotel. Bank transfers. And a recording device. Small.

“The senator’s name is Danladi. Senator Danladi Bello. If this gets out, he’ll kill everyone. Starting with you and Chike.”

“So why tell me now?”

“Because they’re coming for the church tonight. They think I have the real flash drive. I don’t. Your father gave it to someone else. Someone safe.”

“Who?”

“I don’t know. He never told me. Only said ‘Ada will know when to look.’”

Outside, car engines. Far, but coming.

Emeka stood. “You need to run. Now. Through the back. To the school. Hide there till morning.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll stay. Draw them here.”

“No!”

“Ada. Go.”

She ran. Through the back door, into the graveyard behind the church. Jumping over graves, her heart pounding.

Behind her, shouts. “Emeka! Where is it?”

A gunshot.

Ada froze.

Another.

Then silence.

She didn’t stop running.

*Day 3*

News: _“Fire at St. Paul’s Church Nsukka. One man found dead. Identity unknown.”_

It was Uncle Emeka.

Mama collapsed. Chike wouldn’t talk for 2 days.

The funeral was small. Police everywhere.

Ada stood at the grave and didn’t cry. She couldn’t.

That night, she went through Emeka’s things. In his bag, she found a key. Small. And a note in his handwriting: _“For Ada. When you’re ready. -E”_

The key had a tag: _“Union Bank. Locker 14.”_

*Day 4*

Ada told no one.

She took a bus to Enugu with Nneka. Told the police she was going to the library.

Union Bank. Ogbete Branch.

Locker 14.

The key fit.

Inside: a small box. And a letter.

_“My Ada,

If Emeka gave you this, then I’m gone and he’s gone too. I’m sorry.

The real video is not a video. It’s me. Talking. Naming names. Senator Danladi. 3 commissioners. 2 police DPOs.

It’s on a cloud drive. Password is your birthday + the name of our dog. Remember Bruno?

Don’t upload it. Don’t send it. Take it to the press. SaharaReporters. They’ll know what to do.

And Ada... I’m not dead. Not really. Not while you remember me.

I love you.

Dad”_

Ada read it 5 times.

_I’m not dead._

Her hands shook as she logged in on a library computer. Cloud drive.

Password: 1508Bruno

It opened.

One file. 4 minutes 12 seconds.

Her father. Tired, scared, but alive on camera.

“...If you’re watching this, Danladi Bello is the man behind it all. He ordered my death. He owns Obiora. He owns the police in Enugu. Don’t go to them. Go to the press. Go to the people...”

Ada downloaded it to a flash drive. Hid it in her b*a.

As she left the bank, 2 men in black SUV were parked across the street. Watching.

*Day 5*

She couldn’t go home.

She called Nneka. “I need to stay at your place. Don’t tell anyone.”

Nneka didn’t ask questions.

That night, Ada’s old phone buzzed. New SIM.

Text from unknown: _“We know you have it. Give it to us, and we let your brother live.”_

Photo attached. Chike. Sleeping in his bed. Taken an hour ago.

Ada threw up.

She called Mama. “Mama, where’s Chike?”

“He’s here. With police. Why?”

“Send me a video. Now. Of him awake.”

30 seconds later. Video. Chike, rubbing his eyes. “Ada? Where are you?”

She exhaled. It was an old photo.

But they were watching.

*Day 6*

Ada made a decision.

She couldn’t trust police. Couldn’t trust anyone.

She contacted SaharaReporters through their anonymous tip line. From a cybercafe. Used a fake email.

Uploaded the video.

Title: _“Senator Danladi Bello ordered murder of Tunde Adebayo over oil land - evidence”_

She hit send.

Then she deleted everything and ran.

*Day 7*

It broke.

By 9am, the video was everywhere. Twitter. f*******:. w******p. TV.

#JusticeForTunde was trending.

By noon, Senator Danladi released a statement: “Fake news. Political attack.”

By 3pm, EFCC raided his house.

By 6pm, 4 policemen in Enugu were suspended.

By 9pm, Ada’s phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

_“You did it. I’m proud. -Dad”_

Same number.

Ada called it.

It rang.

Voicemail. Her father’s voice.

Then a beep. And a new message. Not voicemail. A real voice message.

“...Ada. If you hear this, it means you’re strong. I’m not there. But I’m with you. Always. Check the Bible. The last page. -D”

The line cut.

*Day 8*

Ada went home. Police everywhere.

She went to her room. Opened the Bible. Psalm 23.

At the very last page, taped, was a small piece of paper.

Coordinates. And words: _“Come when it’s safe. I’ll be waiting. -D”_

Coordinates in Nsukka. In the forest.

Ada showed Dike.

He looked at her for a long time. “We’ll go. Together. But if this is a trap...”

“It’s not,” Ada said. She knew.

*Day 9. The Forest.*

They drove 2 hours. Into the bush.

An old cabin.

Smoke from the chimney.

Dike signaled his men to surround it.

Ada walked to the door alone. Knocked.

It opened.

A man. Older. Beard. Tired eyes.

Her father.

Ada didn’t scream. She didn’t run. She just stared.

“Tunde?” Dike said behind her.

The man smiled. Sad. “Hello, Ada.”

She collapsed into his arms.

He was alive. Thin. Scarred. But alive.

“How?” she sobbed.

“They tried to kill me. Emeka helped me fake it. We’ve been hiding. Watching. Waiting for you to be strong enough to finish it.”

Emeka’s death... it was real. But he died buying them time.

For 3 hours, her father told her everything. The hiding. The fear. The plan.

“I couldn’t come back until Danladi was down. Now he is.”

*Day 10*

The news: _“Tunde Adebayo found alive. Senator Danladi charged with murder.”_

Nigeria exploded.

Protests. Prayers.

Ada stood with her father on TV. Holding his hand.

Chike wouldn’t leave his side.

That night, in their real home, all 4 of them ate together.

For the first time in 2 years.

After dinner, Ada went outside.

Her phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

_“The growing pains are over, Ada. Now the growing begins. -Dad”_

She smiled and looked up at the stars.

Somewhere, a door closed. But this time, it was the door to the past.

---

*End of Chapter 8*