The soft, romantic melody of the hired live band played continuously. The music blended perfectly with the lively, drunken conversations of the hundreds of happy guests. The professional waiters moved discreetly and efficiently around the room. They were serving massive trays of delicious appetizers, crispy fried savory snacks, a dangerously spicy pepper dip, and massive, beautiful plates of fresh, pink shrimp elegantly decorated with herbs.
I sharply noticed that Namdi politely took only a very small, safe snack. He then very carefully, deliberately pushed the large shrimp plate extremely far away from his place setting. I immediately frowned in confusion and asked him in a very low, gentle voice, “Don’t you like this food, my sweet love?”
The little boy aggressively shook his head. He purposefully looked far away from the table, looking exactly as if he were actively hiding a dark secret from me. I desperately wanted to softly interrogate him more, but a loud, close relative suddenly interrupted us.
“Oh, and little Namdi is behaving so incredibly well today, Mama Kunle! Just look at how big and handsome he’s gotten,” the relative slurred cheerfully.
I politely smiled back and replied smoothly, “Yes, he’s growing into a very smart little man now.”
But deep inside my racing mind, I absolutely couldn’t help but fiercely worry. Namdi had never, ever actively refused food in such a highly strange, suspicious way before. In the far distance across the room, I clearly saw Shade’s sharp, predatory gaze suddenly turn directly toward our specific table.
The fake, wide smile heavily plastered on her painted lips seemed to violently tighten into a sneer for just a split second. It was just fast enough for absolutely no one else to notice it, before she quickly spun around to continue loudly toasting with another wealthy guest.
I desperately tried to mentally dismiss my growing, sickening uneasiness. I kept actively telling myself I was simply overthinking things, being a paranoid, jealous old mother. But then, absolutely everything in my entire world changed in one single, terrifying instant.
Namdi, who was still quietly playing with his red toy car on the tablecloth, accidentally pushed it way too hard. The plastic toy quickly rolled off the edge and fell loudly onto the hard floor. The boy quickly crouched down under the table to retrieve it. But I clearly saw his entire little body violently freeze stiff. His wide, terrified eyes became totally fixed in absolute horror on something hiding in the dark under the table.
I quickly leaned over, about to ask him exactly what was wrong, when Namdi slowly pulled his hand back up. He was clutching a very small piece of paper, folded neatly in four. His small hands were trembling violently, and his little face had turned completely, shockingly pale.
He immediately lunged up and clung desperately to my hand. He whispered urgently, his voice cracking with pure terror, “Grandma, let’s go. Please, let’s go right now.”
My old heart started pounding incredibly fast. It felt exactly as if it desperately wanted to violently jump right out of my chest cavity. “What’s wrong, my sweet boy?” I asked, trying incredibly hard to stay visibly calm. But Namdi’s raw, panicked look completely prevented me from doing so.
Trembling uncontrollably, he repeated that highly specific, terrifying question that instantly chilled my blood to absolute ice. “You didn’t look under the table, did you?”
His terrified words were exactly like a cold, jagged knife that entirely paralyzed my body. I slowly crouched down, lifted the heavy white tablecloth, and my wide eyes frantically scanned the dark, shadowy space under the table. The little paper was lying completely innocently next to his chair. It was a seemingly harmless, tiny object, but it was practically vibrating with pure, lethal menace.
I quickly snatched it up with violently trembling hands. I felt the entire massive room violently shrink aggressively around me. Suddenly, the only things existing in the universe were Namdi, me, and that damned, folded piece of paper. I slowly unfolded the creased edges.
The dim, romantic candlelight illuminating the table was just barely enough to clearly read the hastily scribbled words. “Table eight, add shrimp to the child’s serving.” Those few, simple words were exactly like a massive electric shock that violently ran through my entire frail body. I subconsciously crumpled the paper aggressively in my tightly clenched fist. The loud music, the joyful laughter, absolutely everything happening around me seemed to rapidly sink into a dark, silent abyss from which I absolutely couldn’t escape.
Shade, looking like a glowing angel in her dazzling, expensive wedding dress, continued to laugh uproariously in a far corner of the massive event hall. She was casually raising her crystal glass to toast happily with a guest, looking exactly as if absolutely nothing in the entire world could possibly worry her.
Kunle was incredibly busy taking dozens of posed photos with his grinning corporate co-workers. He wore a massive, radiant smile that seemed to loudly confirm to the world that this was genuinely the absolute happiest day of his entire life. But for me, sitting in horror at table eight, absolutely everything in that luxurious event hall was a sickening, twisted farce. It was a beautiful, expensive curtain that poorly hid the incredibly terrible, lethal truth I had just uncovered.
I aggressively squeezed the crumpled paper so tightly in my fist, I could practically feel the hateful words physically burning my skin. Namdi, the precious grandson I deeply loved far more than my own life, had almost unknowingly become the tragic victim of a highly evil, calculated murder plot. And it was orchestrated right here, right out in the open, on his own father’s wedding day.
I quickly turned my panicked gaze to Chioma, my adopted daughter, who was sitting directly next to a terrified Namdi. Her warm eyes instantly filled completely with deep, protective concern the exact second she saw my horrified expression.
“Please, Chioma, take good care of Namdi right now,” I ordered her. I tried my absolute best to stay calm, although I knew I absolutely couldn’t hide the heavy, terrified tremor in my voice.
Chioma immediately nodded her head. She forcefully pulled a shaking Namdi much closer to her side, fiercely hugging him incredibly tightly against her body. She looked exactly like an impenetrable, human protective shield.
“Where are you going, Mama?” she asked me in a very low, rushed whisper, her voice full of genuine, raw anguish.
I just aggressively shook my head without answering her question. The terrifying truth was, I didn’t even know exactly what I was going to do next. I just knew I had to act. I quickly stood up and marched straight out into the grand hallway. My old legs felt incredibly heavy, exactly as if they were made of solid lead. But my furiously pounding heart was loudly urging me to act, giving me a sudden burst of adrenaline.
Near the busy bar area, I clearly saw a small group of waiters casually chatting together. Their carefree, joyful laughter sounded exactly like a highly painful, insulting contrast to the violent, fiery storm of rage that was currently raging out of control inside me. I instantly recognized Segun. He was the specific, young man who had repeatedly brought the various food trays directly to our table several times that evening.
He had a very kind, open face and a genuinely friendly smile. But at that specific moment, I absolutely couldn’t afford to care about his feelings. I marched directly up to him, completely invading his personal space. I aggressively shoved the crumpled piece of paper right into his startled face.
I asked him in an incredibly loud, firm voice that demanded answers, “Do you know exactly who sent this specific paper to the kitchen?”
Segun looked down at the scribbled note, and his entire face changed instantly. His carefree, easy smile immediately vanished, quickly turning into an expression of absolute, undeniable panic.
“My God, this is my paper,” he stammered nervously. His hands were trembling violently, reaching out exactly as if he desperately wanted to violently snatch the damning evidence away from me. “A woman aggressively shoved it at me, and I must have accidentally dropped it when I was rushing to carry the heavy tray to your table.”