e had squeezed herself into two danfo buses and half-ran part of the way. H

wdered face and harsh words haunt

ome. You were never

idestepping puddles and avoiding okadas zooming past, that single s

eatened another burst of rain. Her aunty, Mama Peace, was sitting in her wr

ing?" she barked before A

e with her scarf. "I

tired to argue. "Go fetch water before NEPA

letter from her mother, and stared at it again. She knew what she had to

owledge her privately

That N

the ceiling fan blades didn't spin because there was n

book, and tore a clean page from the back.

ion: B

t, she

will listen. Make them sp

felt childish on paper

tell her story and shake the grou

nny - bold, fast-talking, alway

would know

t Day a

Ikoyi?" Zinny whispered so sharply he

tree near the staffroom, whe

Grace. She called me a mist

h twisted. "

ve me?" Ad

t photo? That letter from your mum?

e documents sat. She hadn't even dared show it to Mama Peace

ine who can help me

uy runs a blog. HotGistNaija. It's not Linda Ikeji lev

thumped. "Can y

et him to post it. But you need to be sure, ba

rea

g the

n Surulere. The blogger - a lean guy named Martins with a goatee and a phone th

ire's secret daughter?"

bandoned," Adanna corr

ot fire. I like that. But the streets don't care about pity

hen they scroll," she said. "

e letter. The pho

he old photo, then checked the da

're talking major traction. Like ten-t

st it,"

spect. "Alright. But don't co

on't

The Intern

07 PM, the po

to Be Billionaire Chief Eze Ik

m the world by Nigeria's oil tycoon and his wife, Grace Ikenna. She brings a

her phone began buzzing

call

nstagram. Twitter is going mad. People

phone's browser and click

her in her school uniform, the image of the old

Not from fear, bu

. The world was

phone didn't

The second from a board member at his company.

l said the

to fix t

hrough floor-length glass at the lights of Lagos Island. His face was hard. Dark. Not even

en on the wall. A news alert was f

OON FACES SCANDAL AS G

FROM SLUM CLAIMS TO BE

R FIRE AS INTERNET

mote and threw it

eaked open

ly, heels clicking ag

said coldly. "I told

turn. "You told

was. I paid your precious mistress w

ly. "And she was the only person wh

bones. What matters now is the girl. She's drag

orse. You humiliated her. She was a child looking f

go away?" Grace snapped. "You're naïve. Th

end it. Whatever it takes - shut this down.

urled. "Consid

.. Back in

oke up t

d around someone's phone, pointing and murmurin

thief! She be my niece! Leav

her hair in front of the cracked mirror when

ding in three count

ha

arted picking it up! They're calling y

ared. "Rejected Heiress? Is that supp

ve become a symbol. People are calling you bo

mile faded

You're poor. The world a

a bottle of Sprite. "Brace yourself.

zzed again. Anoth

gnore

in the

dress - AdannaTruth@gmail.com - to handle the floo

undreds of

lusive interview. A message from a PR firm offering to

efore you

g with people

the gutter y

the screen. "You

e anyone to

hav

weakly. "That'

w. She bolted upright three times before finally clutching her mother's let

e in t

Zinny rushed into their b

ith the gate man," she said,

iously. Inside was an ol

his line is safe. Some

with Zinny. Then she

conds, it lit

ming

, hand shaki

el

her end was female,

t know me, but I

oze. "Who

ssistant for four years. I know the secrets. I know wha

caught. "Why are

e betrayed

ear. She wasn't sure if the heat rush

he repeated, her voice

bi was a light. Soft-spoken, but not weak. She l

ssing behind her eyes

funeral. But Grace... she forced him to bury it all. She had too much

ieve me?" A

ve you," Onari sai

t skipped. "P

. Then Onari's vo

cal records. All showing how Grace manipulated your father

she sat down slowly on the

even know w

oing to send you something. An address. Come alone. Tell

cy?" Adanna as

helping you, I won't be

p-Off a

call. She knew her friend meant well, but she needed to play this smart.

school gatekeeper knock

nted. "Someone drop

sealed, with her name sc

was in the girl's toi

flash drive an

op. Not at home. Not in school.

gers tr

a strange look. "You okay? You

e," Adan

pening - and for the first time, she

the Fla

as noisy, hot, and smelled of fried groundnut oil - but it h

minutes and sat at

gged in

wo audio files, three PDFs, and one labe

cked th

, dark-skinned, sharp-eyed, wearing a navy blue

st you. What I'm giving you is dangerous. Powerful. And if use

n. And I couldn't stop it. But I swore that if her daugh

. She pressed play o

's voice - Chief Eze's -

I claim that girl, she'd leave and ta

past is dead. But Adaobi's letter

ed her mouth

ing evidence. Her fath

one her mother had died in - listing Chief Eze as the emergency contact. One was

wasn't

the truth i

Inside the Ik

e, eyes scanning her tablet. Her te

t dying down - it was

a, thanks to a retweet from a South African celebrity w

face t

rumors, crushed business rivals, and even buried

girl was

oof. She had a name peopl

Adanna

losed h

" she wh

e and dialed a number

she meets with anyone nam

ger in

another message on the secret ph

ode Thomas, back gate. Knock t

and the streets were slippery. The gate was paint

knoc

Pause

with braids o

she said, st

building stood in the back, where she led Adanna t

g," Onari explained. "But I wa

nna

d. "Why not go to

I signed NDAs. I kept quiet. But my silence didn't sav

at her. "Wha

small envelop

When the ti

r birth certificate - the original one, b

t her ches

hered in

o expose them," Onar

room, the wind whistling through torn mosquito netting.

d proo

ad a

ad a

as no lon

them