Chapter Eight: The Old Family House
979 Words
At exactly 9:17 p.m., Daniel stood outside the old Adeyemi family house.
The building looked smaller than he remembered.
As a child, he had believed it was enormous. Its high walls, wide veranda, and dark corridors had seemed like the perfect setting for adventure. Now, standing outside the rusted gate as an adult, he saw something different.
Abandonment.
The compound was covered in weeds. The windows were dusty, and part of the roof had collapsed during the years nobody had lived there.
Daniel switched off his car engine.
Zara remained beside him.
"You know," she said, "your uncle specifically told you to come alone."
Daniel glanced at her.
"And you specifically ignored him."
"Correct."
He smiled.
Then his expression became serious.
"Stay close."
They stepped through the gate.
The front door opened with a long, painful creak.
Inside, the smell of dust and damp wood filled the air.
Daniel switched on his flashlight.
Old furniture remained exactly where his family had left it.
The dining table.
His mother's piano.
His father's bookshelf.
Daniel stopped when he saw the piano.
He remembered sitting beside his mother while she played.
She had always played the same song whenever she was worried.
"She loved this place," he said.
Zara looked at him.
"Do you miss them?"
Daniel took a moment before answering.
"Every day."
A sound came from upstairs.
Both froze.
Daniel raised his flashlight.
"Michael?"
No answer.
Another sound.
A door closing.
Daniel moved toward the staircase.
Zara followed.
They reached the upper floor.
A long hallway stretched before them.
At the end was his father's study.
Daniel pushed the door open.
The room was surprisingly untouched.
Books remained on the shelves. An old desk stood near the window. Papers were scattered across the floor.
Daniel walked toward the desk.
"This is where my father worked."
He ran his fingers across the dusty surface.
Then he noticed something.
A small keyhole.
He took the key Michael had given him.
It fit.
Daniel turned it.
A section of the desk opened.
Inside was a cassette recorder.
And beneath it, a handwritten note.
Daniel picked it up.
If you're reading this, you finally came back.
His heart raced.
He pressed the recorder's play button.
Static filled the room.
Then his father's voice.
"Daniel."
He closed his eyes.
For ten years, he had dreamed of hearing that voice again.
"I don't know how old you will be when you hear this. But if you're listening, then the truth has already begun to surface."
The recording continued.
"There are things I could never tell you while I was alive."
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"I had a brother."
He looked at Zara.
"Michael."
His father's voice continued.
"Michael and I were close until we both fell in love with the same woman."
Daniel stopped breathing.
"Her name was Grace."
His mother's name.
Zara's eyes widened.
"But this was never a simple love triangle. Grace knew something about our family that neither Michael nor I understood."
The recording crackled.
"She discovered that our grandfather had hidden money and documents connected to a government contract. Michael wanted to expose it. I wanted to protect the family."
Daniel whispered, "Why?"
The recording answered him.
"Because the people behind the contract were powerful. They threatened to kill Grace if we spoke."
Daniel's hands trembled.
"I made a terrible decision. I asked Michael to leave the country. I married Grace. I thought distance would keep him safe."
A long pause followed.
"It didn't."
The recording suddenly became distorted.
Then Samuel's voice returned.
"Daniel, there is one thing you must understand."
The voice became quieter.
"Michael is not the man you think he is."
The recorder stopped.
Silence.
Daniel stared at it.
"What does that mean?"
Zara shook her head.
"I don't know."
Suddenly, the front door slammed downstairs.
Daniel reached for his phone.
No signal.
Zara checked hers.
"Nothing."
Footsteps moved through the hallway below.
Someone was inside.
Daniel switched off the flashlight.
They stood silently in darkness.
The footsteps climbed the stairs.
One step.
Then another.
Daniel whispered, "Stay behind me."
The footsteps stopped outside the study.
The door handle slowly turned.
Daniel tightened his grip around the flashlight.
The door opened.
A figure stepped into the room.
Daniel raised the flashlight.
It was Michael.
"You're not supposed to be here," Michael whispered.
Daniel stared at him.
"You said you would come alone."
"I changed my mind."
Michael's eyes moved toward Zara.
"That was a mistake."
Daniel stepped forward.
"Who are you really?"
Michael sighed.
"I was hoping Samuel would tell you himself."
"He did."
Michael's expression changed.
"You heard the recording?"
"Yes."
For several seconds, the older man said nothing.
Then he sat down.
"Your father was afraid of me."
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"Why?"
"Because he knew what I had done."
"What did you do?"
Michael looked at him.
"I killed a man."
Zara stepped backward.
Daniel remained still.
"Who?"
Michael lowered his head.
"Chief Emmanuel Durojaiye."
Daniel's eyes widened.
"That's impossible. He died in a car accident."
"It wasn't an accident."
Michael's voice shook.
"I killed him."
Before Daniel could respond, a gunshot exploded through the window.
The glass shattered.
Michael collapsed.
"Michael!"
Daniel rushed toward him.
Zara dropped to the floor.
Another shot struck the wall.
Daniel pulled Michael behind the desk.
"He's been shot!"
Blood spread across Michael's shirt.
He grabbed Daniel's wrist.
"Listen to me."
His breathing became weak.
"The man who ordered your father's disappearance..."
Daniel leaned closer.
"Who?"
Michael's lips moved.
"Your..."
A third gunshot shattered the ceiling.
Michael's eyes closed.
Daniel shook him.
"Michael!"
No response.
Outside, a car engine roared to life.
Zara rushed to the window.
"They're escaping!"
Daniel looked down at Michael.
Then toward the disappearing vehicle.
He knew one thing now.
The past wasn't finished with him.
It had only been waiting for him to come home.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD