The city hadn't stopped talking for a week.
Zaria had become a household name across Nigeria. Headlines hailed her as "The Heiress Who Brought Down the Empire", while others called her "The Lioness of Lagos."
For the first time in her life, Zaria wasn't just surviving—she was leading. Investors reached out from across Africa, inviting her to speak at conferences. Universities asked her to guest lecture on financial ethics. NGOs wanted her to front campaigns for women in business.
Yet, in the middle of this new success, Zaria craved something quiet.
She stayed home more, reading books aloud to her unborn child, filling the nursery with soft colour and sunlight. Darius was more attentive than ever—massaging her ankles when they swelled, placing gentle kisses on her forehead, speaking to her belly like it could already understand him.
But peace never lasted long in Zaria's world.
Not now.
One Saturday morning, she answered a knock at the door—and froze.
Standing before her was a woman she hadn't seen in almost a decade.
Her father's wife.
Kemi Okonkwo.
The woman who had turned her back on Zaria and her mother. Who'd denied her very existence. Who'd stood by while Samuel cast Nnenna out.
Yet here she was, elegant as ever in a cream-colored iro and buba, dark glasses hiding her expression.
Zaria did not open the gate wide.
"Kemi."
"Zaria," she replied quietly. "You look… like her. So much."
Zaria folded her arms. "What do you want?"
Kemi took off her glasses. Her eyes, lined with age and something deeper—regret—searched Zaria's face.
"I came to say I'm sorry."
Zaria blinked.
"I know it doesn't fix anything," Kemi said quickly. "I know I watched what your mother went through and said nothing. I hated her, because… because your father loved her more than he ever loved me."
Zaria inhaled slowly, unsure if she wanted to scream or cry.
"But I was wrong to take it out on you. You were just a child. An innocent child. And now, you've done what none of us could do. You stood up to him. To all of them."
Zaria opened the gate slowly.
Kemi stepped inside. Not as a conqueror. But as a widow. As a woman broken by the weight of her silence.
"I brought you something," Kemi said, reaching into her handbag and pulling out an old envelope.
Inside were documents: Samuel's original will.
The one that named Zaria as his heir—before Ayo and the family lawyers "revised" it.
Zaria stared at the papers. The date was clear. The signature real. The seal untouched.
"You were always meant to inherit. He just didn't have the courage to stand by it."
Zaria's hands trembled.
This changed everything.
Not just public opinion. But her legal position. Her legacy.
Her child's future.
Later that night, Zaria sat on the balcony with Darius, watching the stars in silence.
She finally told him everything—about Kemi's visit, the will, the apology.
"I don't know how to feel," she admitted. "It's like the past is folding in on itself. I'm still angry. But I'm also… tired."
Darius held her close. "You don't have to forgive her. Not yet. Maybe not ever. But you've taken control of your story, Zaria. And that's more powerful than revenge."
Zaria nodded, resting her head on his chest.
Then she whispered, "Do you think I'll be a good mother?"
Darius kissed her forehead. "You already are."
And for the first time in weeks, Zaria allowed herself to cry.
Not from grief.
But from release.