Chapter 11- THE NIGHT YOU WERE BORN
1619 Words
Veronica stared at the photograph, realising that whatever happened at the railway station could finally reveal the truth about Daniel, Victor, and the missing money.
But it could also be the trap that the mysterious enemy had been preparing for her all along.
She slowly lowered the phone.
“I’m going.”
Michael immediately shook his head.
“No.”
“I have to.”
“Veronica, think about it. Whoever sent that photograph knows exactly what you are doing. They want you to go there alone.”
“I know.”
“Then why would you go?”
“Because Daniel is there.”
Michael looked at her.
“And Lydia.”
Veronica nodded.
“Exactly.”
Inspector Okafor stepped closer.
“You cannot walk into this without a plan.”
“What do you suggest?”
“We go near the station, but you don't enter until we know what we're dealing with.”
Veronica hesitated.
“The message said alone.”
“That doesn't mean you have to obey it.”
Michael nodded.
“He's right.”
Veronica looked at the photograph again.
Daniel appeared calm, but something about his expression bothered her.
She zoomed in.
His eyes were different.
Fearful.
She stared harder.
“Daniel is trying to tell me something.”
“What?”
“Look at his left hand.”
Michael took the phone.
Daniel's fingers were partially visible.
He was holding something.
A small object.
Michael zoomed in.
“It looks like a key.”
Inspector Okafor looked at the image.
“Or a piece of metal.”
Veronica's heart raced.
“Maybe he wants me to find something.”
“Or maybe the photograph was staged to make you think that,” Okafor warned.
Veronica looked at him.
“Either way, I need to know.”
They left the office together.
Michael drove while Inspector Okafor followed in another vehicle.
Veronica sat quietly in the passenger seat.
As they approached the railway station, she noticed how deserted the area looked.
The old railway tracks were surrounded by weeds.
Abandoned buildings stood nearby.
“This place looks empty,” Michael said.
“That's what worries me,” Veronica replied.
He parked several streets away.
Inspector Okafor stopped behind them.
“We stay here until we know Victor's location.”
Veronica looked at her phone.
No new message.
She waited.
Five minutes passed.
Then another message arrived.
Come alone.
She looked at Michael.
“They know we're here.”
“How?”
“I don't know.”
Another message appeared.
Storage building. Ten minutes.
Veronica swallowed.
“I'm going.”
Michael grabbed her arm gently.
“Don't.”
“I'll be careful.”
“You're not going inside alone.”
She looked into his eyes.
“I appreciate everything you've done for me, Michael. But this is about my husband.”
“I know.”
“And I have to find out why Victor is with him.”
Michael released her arm.
“Then at least keep this.”
He handed her a small device.
“What is it?”
“A tracker.”
“If something happens, press the button.”
Veronica nodded.
Inspector Okafor added,
“Don't confront anyone. If you see something dangerous, leave immediately.”
Veronica walked toward the old storage building.
Every step made her heart beat faster.
The building looked abandoned.
One of its doors was slightly open.
She pushed it.
It creaked loudly.
“Amara?”
No answer.
She stepped inside.
Dust covered the floor.
Old boxes were stacked against the walls.
A weak ray of sunlight entered through a broken window.
“Amara?”
Still nothing.
Then she heard footsteps behind her.
She turned quickly.
Nobody was there.
Veronica's breathing became shallow.
She reached into her bag and held the tracker tightly.
Then she noticed something on the floor.
A small envelope.
Her name was written across it.
She picked it up.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
You are closer than you think.
Beneath those words was an address.
Veronica recognised it immediately.
It was David's address.
Her heart jumped.
Someone had deliberately brought her here to give her the information.
But why?
She turned the paper over.
There was another message.
Ask David what Samuel gave Victor.
Veronica froze.
Samuel.
David.
Victor.
The names were becoming connected.
She put the paper inside her bag.
Then she heard a voice behind her.
“You shouldn't have come.”
Veronica spun around.
Amara stood near the doorway.
“Amara!”
Amara quickly closed the door.
“Keep your voice down.”
“Where have you been?”
“Watching.”
“Watching what?”
“You.”
Veronica stared at her.
“You knew I was being followed.”
“Yes.”
“Who is doing it?”
“I don't know.”
“You said you knew who was moving the money.”
“I know how the money was moved.”
“Then tell me.”
Amara looked frightened.
“Not here.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor isn't the only person involved.”
Veronica stepped closer.
“Who else?”
Amara looked toward the door.
“Someone inside the Umoru family.”
Veronica's heart dropped.
“Who?”
“I can't say.”
“You called me here.”
“Because I wanted to give you this.”
Amara reached inside her handbag and pulled out a small file.
Veronica took it.
“What is this?”
“Copies of old financial records.”
“Where did you get them?”
“From Lydia.”
Veronica's eyes widened.
“She's alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“You were just with her?”
“No. Not now.”
Veronica opened the file.
Several pages contained old account numbers and transaction records.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Victor Umoru.
But beneath it was another name.
Daniel Umoru.
Veronica looked at Amara.
“Why was Daniel's name on these documents?”
“Because someone used his identity.”
“Who?”
Amara shook her head.
“I don't know.”
Veronica continued reading.
Then she saw a transaction dated shortly after Daniel's birth.
Her hands began trembling.
“This is the second account.”
Amara nodded.
“Your father-in-law wasn't the only person who knew about it.”
“Who else knew?”
“Samuel.”
“And Victor?”
“Yes.”
Veronica looked at her.
“Did Victor steal the money?”
Amara hesitated.
“He moved some of it.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“You do know.”
Amara's eyes filled with fear.
“Victor believed Umoru had stolen money from the family.”
Veronica frowned.
“What?”
“He believed the inheritance belonged to him too.”
“But Umoru said Victor wanted everything.”
“That is what Umoru told Daniel.”
Veronica felt confused.
“So what is the truth?”
Amara whispered,
“Victor believed your father-in-law had hidden part of the inheritance.”
“And did he?”
Amara looked at the floor.
“I think so.”
Veronica's mind raced.
Before she could ask another question, a loud sound came from outside.
Both women froze.
Someone had slammed a vehicle door.
Amara grabbed Veronica's arm.
“We have to leave.”
“Who is outside?”
“I don't know.”
They moved toward the back exit.
Then footsteps sounded near the front door.
Someone was entering.
Amara pushed Veronica behind a stack of boxes.
“Stay here.”
The door opened.
A man's voice echoed through the building.
“Veronica.”
She recognized it.
Her heart stopped.
Daniel.
She almost stepped out.
Amara held her back.
“Wait.”
Daniel's voice came again.
“Veronica, if you're here, listen to me.”
Veronica covered her mouth.
Daniel sounded desperate.
“Don't trust Victor.”
A second voice suddenly spoke behind him.
“That's enough, Daniel.”
Victor.
Veronica's heart pounded.
She could hear them arguing.
“You promised you wouldn't hurt her,” Daniel said.
“I never promised that.”
“You said she would be safe.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“She was never supposed to become part of this.”
Veronica's eyes widened.
The same words from the mysterious letter.
She looked at Amara.
Amara's face had gone pale.
Victor continued,
“Your father started this.”
Daniel answered,
“And you continued it.”
Silence.
Then Victor said something that made Veronica's blood run cold.
“You still don't understand, Daniel. Your father didn't steal the money.”
Daniel became silent.
Victor continued.
“He took it to protect you.”
Veronica stared at Amara.
Protect him from what?
Then Victor spoke again.
“The real reason the money disappeared is because of your mother.”
Veronica's eyes widened.
Mama Umoru?
She could barely breathe.
Daniel's voice trembled.
“Leave my mother out of this.”
Victor laughed.
“Ask her where she was the night you were born.”
The footsteps moved closer.
Amara grabbed Veronica's hand.
“Now.”
They slipped through the back exit and ran.
Veronica's mind was spinning.
The second account.
The inheritance.
Victor.
Samuel.
Lydia.
And now Mama Umoru.
There was another secret buried in the night Daniel was born.
A secret that could change everything Veronica believed about the Umoru family.
As they reached the road, Veronica looked back at the old storage building.
She knew one thing now.
The truth wasn't simply about stolen money.
It was about something that happened the night Daniel was born.
And somehow, Mama Umoru knew the truth.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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