CHAPTER EIGHT: “The Footage”
339 Words
CHAPTER EIGHT: “The Footage”
POV: Inspector Tunde Alabi
Alabi stared at the screen in front of him.
The tech guy hit pause. Rewound the CCTV footage. Pressed play again.
Time stamp: 11:26AM.
Camera angle: Hallway outside the bridal suite.
Adanna opened the door. She looked… calm. Lipstick perfect. Dress untouched. She was holding something small in her hand—maybe her phone or a folded note. She looked down the hall, nodded at someone out of frame, then went back inside.
One minute later, Lola walked into frame.
She knocked twice.
Adanna let her in.
The door closed behind her.
Alabi rubbed his chin.
“Fast forward.”
11:54AM.
The door opened again. Lola walked out.
Face blank. Veil in her hand.
She looked straight at the camera… then looked away fast.
“Pause it there,” Alabi said.
Zoomed in.
Was that blood on her thumb?
He couldn’t tell.
But he knew what was missing.
Chuka never showed up on the footage.
The groom never entered that hallway before Adanna was found dead.
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Alabi leaned back in his chair. He’d questioned everyone. Ify. Chuka. The planner. Bridesmaids. Cousins. Even the makeup artist. All their stories lined up just enough to keep suspicion spread thin.
But something was wrong.
Why would Adanna let Lola in alone?
Why did Lola say she barely spoke to Adanna that morning when the camera showed she was in there nearly 30 minutes?
And where was the missing piece—the phone?
Adanna’s personal phone wasn’t found with her body. It wasn’t in the suite. It wasn’t with her things. It had vanished.
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Alabi stood up.
He called out to his team:
“Get Lola back in here. And bring the groom’s bag. I want everything re-checked.”
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Ten minutes later, the bag was on his desk.
A black duffle. Nothing special. But as he emptied it, something fell from inside the lining.
A small white flash drive.
He picked it up. Plugged it into the laptop.
One file.
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