Brotherhood

Chapter Three : The Secret he Buried

Tola sat frozen, his back against the cracked wall, eyes locked on his brother.

“Taye…” he whispered. “What do you mean?”

Taye didn’t speak right away.

He stared at the floor, lips pressed tight, as if the words burned in his mouth.

Then, he finally said it.

> “Dad wasn’t just a businessman.”

Tola blinked. “What?”

Taye looked up, pain flickering in his eyes. “He was part of the Aja’ gang. A high-ranking member.”

Silence.

Tola’s breath caught in his throat. “No… that’s not possible.”

“I didn’t want to believe it either.” Taye leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “But I overheard Uncle years ago—talking to a police officer. They thought I was asleep.”

Tola’s voice cracked. “But why would Dad—?”

“He wanted out.” Taye’s voice turned sharper. “He was trying to leave. To disappear. To protect us.”

Tola sat there, numb. Like the floor had vanished beneath him.

“He knew too much. He had files. Names. Evidence.”

Taye’s jaw tightened. “And that’s why they came for him.”

Tola’s fists clenched. “And Mom? She didn’t know?”

“She begged him to stay quiet, to walk away silently. But he said he needed to clean his past… for our future.”

Tola turned his face away, the weight of the truth pressing down on him.

The murder wasn’t random.

Their parents weren’t victims of chance.

They were hunted.

---

“And there’s more,” Taye said quietly. “I think Uncle knew.”

Tola froze. “What?”

Taye’s eyes darkened. “I think he helped them.”

“No.” Tola’s voice shook.

“I’m not sure if he gave them up… or just kept quiet. But something about him has never felt right.”

Tola felt like screaming. He pressed his hands to his head.

All those years.

All the lies.

The man who raised him might have helped kill the people who gave him life.

---

Then—Taye stood.

“We can’t keep living like this, bro. Hustling, hiding, dreaming small.”

He turned to the window, voice low but heavy.

> “I’m going to find out the truth. I’m going to find the files Dad left behind… and finish what he started.”

Tola looked up at him, heart pounding.

> “And when we find who did this—”

“They’ll pay.”

---

> In that moment, under the gray morning sky, two brothers made a silent vow.

Not just to survive… but to rise.

And bring down the shadows that killed their blood.