The small church in Surulere was nothing like the grand cathedrals i had seen in pictures. It sat quietly at the corner of a dusty street, walls faded from sun and rain, a wooden cross standing stubbornly at the top.
Chinedu and I entered, the sound of our footsteps echoing in the almost empty hall. A man in his late sixties, with silver hair and a calm but piercing gaze looked up from the pulpit. His eyes lingered on me as though he had been expecting this moment all his life.
"You are Tomiwa," he said.
I froze.
"Yes," I whispered, my voice thin.
He came closer, studying my face. You have her eyes, Chika's eyes.
My heart slammed against my ribs. "You knew her?"
I did, he said softly. More than you can imagine. I promised her I would keep the truth safe until the day you came looking.
I held up Chika's letter, my fingers trembling, She told me you had the answers.
He nodded, motioning for us to sit. The air felt heavy, like the walls themselves carried secrets.
Michael loved your mother, Pastor Obasi began, his voice steady but laced with sorrow but life and loyalty tore them apart. There were people powerful people who wanted her silenced. Chika had to vanish, to protect you so Michael did what he thought was right. He placed you with a woman he trusted a woman who raised you as her own.
Something inside me shifted, a cold wave spreading through my chest.
I swallowed hard. "You mean the woman I call mother?"
His eyes darkened with pity. Yes. She is not your mother by blood she was a guardian nothing more.
The ground seemed to tilt beneath me. All those years of scrubbing floors, all the scoldings, all the tears I shed for a woman I thought was mine
A lie.
Why didn't anyone tell me? I whispered, my voice cracking.
Because the truth was dangerous, Pastor Obasi replied. "Even now, it still is. Chika had enemies who would destroy anyone connected to her but you were always meant to know, one day. That day is now."
I shook my head slowly, fighting the hot sting of betrayal in my eyes. "So my whole life everything I believed it was never real?"
Chinedu reached for my hand, but I couldn't feel it. My chest was too tight, my thoughts spiraling.
"There is more you must hear," Pastor Obasi said, his voice lower now. What happened between Michael and Chika why Mrs. Odu hunts you, why your true mother disappeared but you must be strong, Tomiwa. The truth will break you before it sets you free."
I stared at him, my throat dry, my heart pounding like a drum of war.
"Tell me everything," I said.
Pastor Obasi looked at me long and hard, then bowed his head.
"Then it is time you know the secret your parents died to protect."