The night was heavy with the scent of rain. Dombi sat on the edge of her small bed, the papers clutched tightly in her hands. She had read them over and over and over again, but still the reality refused to sink in head. Her parents weren't gone by accident—they had been murdered. And worse, someone she knew had been involved.
She glanced at Gugu, who was sitting at the table pretending to read a magazine, though Dombi could feel the tension in her posture. Every creak of the floor, every shuffle of papers felt louder than normal.
"I need answers," Dombi whispered to herself.
The next morning, she woke up early and prepared herself and left the apartment early, under the disguise of going to work. Her mind raced as she made her way to a small internet café across the street.
The computers were old and very slow, and flickering, but it didn't matter. She needed information—and she needed it fast.
Searching "Ntuli Enterprises" returned hundreds of hits—business articles, news clippings, photos of her parents smiling at ribbon-cuttings and charity events. They were giants in the business world, and she had… nothing.
Nothing but a childhood in poverty, nothing but a foster family who had lied.
Her eyes caught a photo that made her stomach drop. It was taken at her fifth birthday party. In the background, among the smiling guests, was Gugu—her foster mother—standing close to two unfamiliar men, laughing in a way that didn't reach her eyes.
Dombi's hands shake. She closed the computer,and hid the evidence from the owner's curious eyes. She had to be careful.
Back in the apartment, she found Gugu in the kitchen, humming softly. "Dombi, did you eat? You're pale as a ghost," she said.
"I… I'm fine," Dombi replied, keeping her voice steady. But inside, a storm was brewing.
Over the next few days, Dombi started asking questions discreetly—visiting the old family lawyer, speaking to employees of Ntuli Enterprises, piecing together scraps of information. Every conversation seemed to reveal a little more: her parents had enemies, inside and outside the family, and their deaths had been sudden, deliberate.
Then came the first real threat. She returned home one evening to find her apartment door slightly open. Heart pounding, she stepped inside. The living room was empty—but on the floor, near her mattress, lay the same envelope from the night before, now ripped open. A single note rested on top:
"Stop digging, or you'll end up like them."
Dombi's pulse raced. She realized two terrifying truths: the people who had killed her parents were still watching, and she was already on their radar.
She sat down, fists clenched, mind racing. Her life of simplicity was gone forever. Dombi Ntuli—heir to a powerful empire, daughter of murdered parents—was awakening. And nothing would ever be the same.
She looked at Gugu again, and a cold suspicion settled in her chest. For the first time, Dombi wondered if the woman who had raised her was her enemy too.
The storm outside began to pour, drumming against the windows like a warning. And Dombi knew, deep in her bones, that the hunt for the truth had just begun....