Her Son Asked Why Daddy Slept in Another Woman’s Room — Then She Discovered Her Husband and Her Helper Were Plotting to Take Her Home

Chapter 2

That night, once Chuka had fallen into an easy, untroubled sleep beside her, Ijeoma slipped quietly from the bed and made her way down the darkened hallway toward the small room near the kitchen where Blessing slept. She pressed her ear to the door and heard, unmistakably, the low murmur of Blessing’s voice speaking softly to someone, punctuated by soft laughter that made Ijeoma’s stomach twist with dread even before she understood what she was hearing.

She eased the door open just enough to see Blessing sitting cross-legged on her mattress, a phone pressed to her ear, moonlight spilling faintly across the small room. “He believes everything, my love,” Blessing was murmuring, unaware of the door easing open behind her. “Soon this whole house will belong to us.” A floorboard creaked beneath Ijeoma’s foot, and Blessing spun around, ending the call in an instant and stuffing the phone beneath her pillow.

“Aunty!” Blessing stammered, arranging her face into wide-eyed innocence. “I was only speaking with my mother in the village, she’s unwell and needed help with medicine.” Ijeoma studied her carefully, noting the flicker of calculation that had crossed the younger woman’s face before the practiced tears arrived. “At one in the morning,” Ijeoma said flatly, and though every part of her wanted to drag the girl out of the house immediately, some older, more careful instinct told her to wait, to gather proof before acting, understanding that acting too soon would only hand Chuka the chance to defend Blessing and paint his own wife as unreasonable instead.