1st MARCH, 2017.

ABUJA, NIGERIA.

She landed on the floor with a thud. The blurriness in her eyes cleared a bit and that's when the pain reigned on her. She didn't bother to hold in the groan that escaped past her lips. She was simply in too much pain to care about letting them see what they're putting her through.

"Don't tell me you're giving up already" Mocked the woman that punched her in the guts. The woman crouched in front of the eighteen-year-old, towering over her slim petite figure with her big one. She stretched her hand out, roughly taking a hold of Rabia's jaw making her look at her. "Get up and fight me" She said through gritted teeth.

Rabia closed her eyes, the pain from her abdomen where she had just been hit and the blinding lights only added to her pain. It has only been fifteen minutes since she was let out of the black room where she spent five days with no ounce of light or life.

The black room is basically a small room where some of the inmates are kept in for punishment, especially when they do something to harm a fellow inmate. They are kept in the room alone for three or more days with only bits of food and water to keep them alive but no source of light into the room.

The small room is exactly one that'll give you nightmares.

Rabia however was there because she was framed for harming one of the white skinned people there. The jail officers didn't care to see whether she's guilty or not, they just threw her right in there.

Each day she sat on the cold floor of the dark room, knees brought up to her chest as she counts as far as she can. That was the only thing that kept her sane. If not for that, she would've slowly lost her sanity. After spending five days with no source of light, the exposure to it is simply blinding to her.

And if that isn't enough, once she's in the confines of the cell she shares with some of the inmates, one is already beating her up for simply talking back.

"It doesn't seem like she has the energy to fight back" One of her cellmates said, leaning back on her bunk bed. She made no move to stop the fight. She couldn't care less if they live in peace or kill each other as long as she wouldn't get dragged in.

"Well, she should've known that before talking back" Said the woman that loomed over Rabia's small figure. The woman had to be around her mid-twenties or early thirties. "Fight back!" She half yelled, placing her hands on Rabia's neck and tightening her hold on it.

The three other cellmates watched the scene, not making a move to stop it.

Rabia squirmed with the little energy she has, trying to push away the hands of the woman constricting her airflow. She ran her untrimmed fingers on the woman's arm, dragging out blood in them but it didn't help. If anything, it only made the woman tighten her hold.

"If you don't let go now, she'll die" Said the woman from earlier, lazily laying back on her bed.

"Then let her die" the woman said through gritted teeth, her eyes narrowed in slits.

"Okay...But if she does then you'll might never get out" Sang the woman on her bed, chuckling lightly for no reason at all. "We call all rot in here together" That seemed like a good option to her. After all, she's there sentenced for life, she simply has a hundred percent assurance of never getting out. Having company seems like an option she wouldn't mid holding on to.

Rabia's eyes rolled back slowly as she felt the air leave her lungs. She didn't have the energy in her anymore. Just as she thought her life came to an end, the woman let go of her. Roughly slamming her head on the floor she stood up and marched out of the cell.

"Careful!" Called out the woman on her bed, though the other woman was out already by then, "the girl might kill you in her sleep. She's a murderer after all"

Rabia wheezed, greedily inhaling as much air her lungs could take in as possible as she coughed loudly. She laid on her back, hand caressing the tender skin of her neck as she thought about her close to death she just was. Blind spots covered her vision just as she mutters, "I'm going to die in here"

Rahma wiped the tears that unknowingly slipped out of her eyes as she stared out through the window. She had to mutter words of assurance to herself that she isn't there anymore. That she will not die in that place no matter what she had to do. "Never again" She mutters, her hand unconsciously reaching out to rub her neck, scared she'd feel the pain again.

With a loud sigh, she turned around and looked at Attorney Zarah who sat quietly watching her, "So, what's the plan?"

Zarah ignored her question, her brows drew in out of worry, "Are you okay?"

"No" Rahma said without batting an eyelid, "I am not okay and I never will be until I am a free woman"

Zarah nodded. She has never been in the same situation but she in a way, understands what Rahma felt. She couldn't imagine the things the girl experienced back in prison. "Well, being back here must've reminded you of your life here right?"

Rahma sighed, making her way over to the couch opposite Zarah, "Only snippets from here and there" She muttered, but Zarah heard her, "Some things are hard to forget"

"Perhaps you'd want to visit your village? Maybe that might trigger—"

"No. No! Just no" Rahma cut her off midway before she could finish her sentence. She has her finger pointed at Zarah as her eyes widened slowly out of anger. The mere thought of going to that place irks her to no end. "I am never going back to that place"

Zarah wanted to say more, but the look on Rahma's face had her keeping her mouth shut. "Okay" She said, dismissing the topic for now. "How was your encounter yesterday with Maria? Does she seem to suspect you in the slightest way?"

Rahma lifted her legs from the marbled floor, bringing it close to her torso. She closed her eyes, sighing loudly as she shook her head, "No" She rubbed her hand over her face, "Can you believe that woman dared to ask me to consider her a mother?" She scoffed, opening her eyes and resting them on Zarah. "If I didn't know any better then I'd say she was being genuine"

"But she wasn't"

"Of course" Rahma rolled her eyes as her fists unintentionally clenches, "She's good at manipulating people for her sake"

Zarah didn't say anything for a while as her brows drew in, finger lightly caressing her knuckles—something she does when she's thinking, "There we have it then"

Rahma who had slowly zoned out of the conversation due to the silence, snapped her eyes from the wall she was staring at to the attorney, "What?"

"Maria" Zarah muttered tapping her fingers on the table in front of her, "She's our main suspect. All these while we had been trying to get close to her just to see if you can remember anything that'll help fight the murderer but, it's so obvious"

"She moved away, changed her identity and somehow found a way to remove every bit of information on her. The only person to do such things would be someone who did something" Rahma said, slowly catching up on Zarah's theory. It might not be right but it's the best thing they have at the moment.

"Exactly. Maria might be the murderer. We just have to figure out how"

Rahma opened her mouth, about to say something when her phone pinged. Both hers and Zarah's eyes snapped to the direction of the phone. Rahma picked it up, swiping the screen and opening the messaging app when she saw a message pop up notification. Her mouth hung open slightly when she read the words from the private number.

"What is it?" Zarah could barely hide the curiosity in her tone. Rahma's expression didn't sit right with her.

"It's a message from a private number" Rahma looked up. The wheels in her head turned as she pondered over who the person that sent her the message is. The only person that has her number is Zarah and Maria, no one else. The sender couldn't be the former for obvious reasons, the latter though...

"An anonymous message. What does it say?"

"Don't be blind"

~*~

"Take care of yourself" Lami muttered, pulling her daughter in for another hug. For some reason, she didn't want to let the girl go afraid that if she does, she'll lose her. Maybe that's just her paranoia speaking, as she had been really paranoid since yesterday's breakdown that she had in front of the girl.

"I will. I promise. You should too" Ameerah muttered, hugging her mother back. She hesitantly pulled back, she had enough hugs from her mother for one day. Not that she minds it but if she does stay in the embrace for much longer, she might miss her flight. She offered her mother's hands a small last squeeze before she turned around to look at her step mother, the first wife.

The woman smiled warmly, pulling the girl into her arms, "Allah kaiku lafiya kinji? Call us as soon as you land there safely"

Ameerah nodded, hugging her back, "In shaa Allah I will. In the meantime, you should take care. We never know what could happen"

The woman pulled back, nodding with her smile intact when she sees the smile on the girl's face. "In shaa Allah, we'll return back home safely too. Don't worry about us. You know I won't let anything happen to your mother"

Ameerah nodded again, her smile stretching into a grin, "I know. Thank you so much for that"

"Don't mention it"

Ameerah took a step back away from the woman, she glanced at the two women before she waved, "I'm going now"

"Toh Allah kiyaye hanya"

"Take care"

She turned around and got into the car that was waiting for her. It's instances like this that she is thankful for how her father's business thrived in those years. He still is not the richest, but he's rich enough to take care of his family.

The two watched as the car drove out of the house. Smiling, the first wife turned to Lami, "Let's go back in, I made this zobo, I'm sure you'd love it. You have to taste it"

Lami grinned, nodding as the two made their way inside the house, "I'm sure I will. Let me just get my phone from the room"

The woman watched as Lami left to her room before she made a dash to the kitchen. She locked the door, then pulled out the leather she tucked in between the upper folds of her wrapper. She opened it, sprinkling a handful of it into the cup of zobo she made for Lami. She stirred it with a spoon and waited till it dispersed into the drink before she picked it up, along with her own up and made her way out.

While Lami on the other hand reached her room, she spotted her phone resting on the bed. She made her way towards it, picking up the phone and lightly tapping the screen to turn it on. Her brows drew in confusion when she noticed the message that came in about half an hour ago, that was around the time they were helping Ameerah bring out her bags.

She swiped the screen open, logging into the messaging app to check the message. Another thing that added to her confusion was when she noticed the message came from a private number. It was just one sentence, nothing more, nothing less. "Trust no one" She mutters, reading the message for the second time.

Just as her thoughts drifted off, wondering what the message meant and who it's from, the sound of footsteps had her snapping her head towards the door. Her co-wife walked in, holding two cups of the hibiscus drink—this made a smile appear on her face.

"Here's my infamous zobo" The first wife said, chuckling slightly when she saw the smile on Lami's face. She handed a cup over to Lami, to which the woman gladly accepted without a hint of hesitation.

"It smells delightful as always" Lami said, quickly disregarding the message she got as a prank from someone who lacked job to do.

"It tastes even better"

"I believe that" Lami chuckled, before bringing up the cup to her lips, her eyes resting on her co-wife as she took a sip from it. She then hummed, "It tastes good Masha Allah"

The woman grinned, "I'm glad you like it" She took a sip from hers as she watched Lami slowly sip the drink away.

~*~

"I don't know man, you know Noah, he's probably busy with work" Tahir said, taking a bottle from the wine cellar and popping it open. He reached out and picked up a tumbler, placing three ice cubes in it, he tilted the now open bottle and let the drink pour on the ice.

"That's not alcohol, is it?" Mubarak asked from the couch he sat on, tilting his head up he shot a warning look at his friend.

Tahir scoffed, tilting the bottle back once he poured the amount he wants. "No, it's non-alcoholic. I told you, I'm sober. Trust me. None of the drinks here are alcoholic"

"Good" Mubarak seemed convinced by Tahir's words. "We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened back then. It's actually a good thing you regret it"

Tahir hummed, making his way over to the couch opposite Mubarak. Something about the way he hummed made Mubarak believe there's more to his words than he's letting out—and Tahir knew that. However, he didn't bother to explain himself. Mubarak watched as Tahir brought the drink to his lips, taking a sip from it.

"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Mubarak inquired, keeping his phone aside.

Tahir shrugged, "Since when do you have to ask permission from me?" He chuckled, looking at his friend whose expression mirrored his.

"Don't you ever feel like one of your victims might come after you?"

Tahir tutted, "I don't like the term, victims. It sounds...I didn't know, wrong?" He shook his head, wanting to disregard the word. He might not bother to explain but he won't let his friend paint him with such image.

Mubarak raised his hands up slightly, "Alright. Don't you feel like any of the people might come after you?"

Tahir scoffed, almost choking on his drink. "Oh please. I can get out of any trouble. Have you forgotten who I am?" He hid the real emotion he feels with a smile. He didn't feel like telling Mubarak his side of the story. Why bother when everyone already painted him the way they like? He doubts Mubarak, as his friend would understand.

"How can I forget. You got out of all cases you were accused in"

Tahir nodded, "Because I'm innocent" He raised his tumbler up to point at Mubarak, "And that my friend" He smirked, "Is why no one can ever bring me down"

Mubarak smirked, mirroring Tahir's facial expression. He reached his hand out to the table between them and picked up his tumbler, which is filled with Fanta. "Cheers" He tilted it slightly towards his friend, careful to avoid spillage.

"Cheers"

After a few minutes of silence, Mubarak tapped the edge of his tumbler with his finger; wordlessly gaining Tahir's attention, "I'd advise you stay away from anything that might taint your image. You know you'll need a clean slate if you want to run for Senator in the election"

Tahir nodded, "Don't worry. At any cost, I'll make sure I stay out of any case. I want this too much to lose it for any reason at all" His phone pinged at the moment. He gulped the drink in his mouth before using his other hand to pull out his phone that's in his pocket. He unlocked it using his thumbprint, the message being the first thing that his eyes rested on. "What type of stupid prank is this?" He asked, after a couple of seconds.

"What is it?" Mubarak raised a brow, keeping his tumbler aside.

"This" Tahir said turning his phone towards Mubarak so he could see the message written on it. "I'm coming for you" He read the words out.

"It's a private number" Mubarak noted, collecting the phone from Tahir. "It's probably just some prank"

Tahir shook his head as he tutted, "I don't want to take any chances. I want you to trace that message for me, find out who it belongs to"

"Why don't you have someone else do it?" Mubarak asked, handing the phone back to Tahir.

Tahir shook his head again, his pointer finger slowly tapping the top of his tumbler, "Because I don't trust anyone else. This is one of the times I'm glad to have a detective as a friend. So do me a favor and look it up for me. Something about it doesn't sit right with me"

"Alright man. I got your back"

~*~

Good news! I finished writing this book yesterday! 😭💃💃💃

Ignore the chapter typos please.

Who is this anonymous person again?

Thoughts on the book so far?

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Love, Jannah ❤️