Chapter 3 - The Broken VaultBack at the Victoria Island mansion, the celebration was short-lived.
Kelechi sat at the massive mahogany desk in his private study, ignoring the paperwork piled high before him. His mind kept flashing back to the moment Amara looked him in the eye and whispered:
“Before you decide who I am, ask yourself who benefits if I disappear.”
It was a strange thing for a terrified thief to say. A thief caught red-handed with stolen diamonds usually wept, begged for mercy, or screamed about framing. Amara hadn't shed a single tear. Her dark eyes had burned with an eerie, terrifying calm.
Kelechi pushed his chair back, stood up, and walked over to the open safe where his mother claimed the diamond bracelet had been recovered from beneath Amara’s mattress.
He pulled out the physical security logbooks for the mansion, cross-referencing staff access codes.
His cousin Chike strolled casually into the study, holding a glass of scotch. “Relax, cousin,” Chike laughed, taking a sip. “The village girl is gone. Mother is right—we can't have thieves wandering around the house. Besides, Vanessa is throwing an engagement dinner next week, and you need to look like a happy groom.”
Kelechi didn't look up from the logbook. His sharp eyes scanned the entry timestamps for the safe room keycard.
The primary physical keycard to the safe was locked in his desk drawer. Only two people on earth had unrestricted biometric and keycard clearance to that vault: Kelechi himself... and Chike.
“Chike,” Kelechi’s voice dropped dangerously low, cutting through the room like a frozen blade. “When did you last access this safe?”
Chike froze, his glass of scotch hovering near his lips. A flicker of panic crossed his eyes before he plastered on a bright, defensive smile. “Me? Bro, are you crazy? You think I stole Mother’s bracelet? I have an allowance of twenty million naira a month—why would I steal trinkets?”
“You wouldn't,” Kelechi replied slowly, walking around the desk to stand directly in front of his cousin. “Unless your gambling debts in Lekki had finally caught up with you, and you needed quick liquidity.”
Chike’s face turned pale. “You’re losing your mind, Kelechi. Maybe that maid put something in your coffee.”
“Get out of my study,” Kelechi whispered, his fists clenching at his sides.
May you like
As Chike scurried out of the room, Kelechi picked up his phone, dialed his head of corporate security, and said four words that would change everything:
“Audit the Okafor Group subsidiaries immediately.”
