«This girl disrespected me! Why is everyone defending her? She’s just a maid!»
That statement shifted the atmosphere in the room instantly. Slowly, Chike lifted his eyes. His voice was soft, but it carried a heavy weight.
«No one in this house is ‘just’ anything.»
Clarissa looked at him, stunned into silence. But he wasn’t finished. «Everyone here has a family. Everyone here has feelings. Everyone here works hard, and every one of them deserves respect.»
Clarissa blinked rapidly, trying to process his words. Suddenly, the front door opened again, and Clarissa’s father, Chief Benson, stepped into the mansion with heavy, hurried footsteps. He was a tall, elderly man with broad shoulders, but his eyes looked tired and haunted. Sweat rolled down his forehead as if he had run all the way there.
His face carried more than just stress; it carried genuine fear. The workers bowed quietly as he entered. Mamatise stepped aside to give him room. Chike stood firm, waiting for an explanation. But Clarissa froze completely.
«Daddy?» she whispered.
Chief Benson didn’t look at his daughter. He looked straight at Chike.
«Sir, I know you don’t want trouble today,» he said, his voice trembling slightly. «But I beg you, we must talk immediately.»
Chike frowned, sensing the gravity of the situation. «What is going on?» he asked.
Chief Benson swallowed hard and finally turned to his daughter. «Clarissa, why didn’t you tell him?»
Clarissa shook her head frantically, stepping backward as if physically retreating from the truth. «Daddy, no. Not here. Not now. Please don’t.»
He ignored her plea. «Why didn’t you tell him the truth?» he asked again, his voice rising.
Everyone stared at Clarissa. Her lips trembled so violently she couldn’t form words. Chike stepped closer to her father. «Tell me what?» he asked calmly.
Chief Benson sighed deeply, the sound of a man who was exhausted from years of hiding. «It’s about her past, sir,» he said.
Clarissa covered her mouth with her hands. «No, no, Daddy, please!» she cried out.
But the words were already rising in his throat, words that threatened to destroy the facade she had built. The workers held their breath. Amaka felt her heart rate increase. Mamatise folded her arms tightly across her chest. Chike’s stare turned icy.
«Chief Benson,» Chike said slowly. «I am listening.»
Clarissa rushed toward her father, grabbing his arm with shaking hands. «Daddy, stop! You promised! You promised you would never say anything!»
Chief Benson’s face twisted with deep sadness. «I only promised because I thought you had changed,» he replied. «But now I see you are hurting people again.»
Clarissa broke down completely. «Daddy, please! If you tell him, everything will be ruined!»
Chief Benson gently but firmly removed her hands from his arm. He faced Chike again. «My daughter is not the woman you think she is.»
Clarissa screamed. «Stop! Please!»
But the truth had already escaped. Chief Benson wiped his forehead and continued. «Sir, years ago, before she met you, Clarissa caused a terrible problem in our town.»
The workers exchanged nervous glances. Chike narrowed his eyes. «What kind of problem?»
Chief Benson swallowed again, forcing the words out. «There was a young girl who worked for us, just like this maid here.» He pointed weakly toward Amaka.
Clarissa shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head over and over in denial. «Daddy, don’t… Daddy, please, I’m begging…»
But he went on. «One day, my daughter accused the girl of stealing her jewelry, just like today. She shouted, she slapped her, and she punished her in front of everyone.»
Chike’s heart dropped. The workers murmured amongst themselves. Mamatise closed her eyes in pain. But that wasn’t the end of the story. Chief Benson’s voice cracked as he delivered the final blow.
«But sir… the girl didn’t survive it.»
The room went dead silent. Clarissa gasped for air as if she had been physically struck.
«No, no, Daddy! You said we should never talk about it!»
Amaka stepped forward without meaning to, shocked. «You mean… the girl died?»
Chief Benson nodded slowly, tears gathering in his aging eyes. «She collapsed while trying to run away from Clarissa’s beating. We rushed her to the hospital, but she didn’t make it.»
Chike’s body went rigid. He stared at Clarissa in total disbelief. «Is this true?» he whispered.
Clarissa opened her mouth to speak, but her voice had deserted her. Her knees buckled under the weight of the revelation. Mamatise looked at her with sorrow. «Clarissa, is this why you fear being corrected?»
Clarissa finally screamed, her voice shrill with desperation. «I was only seventeen! I didn’t mean to hurt her!»
Her father shook his head sadly. «You may not have meant to kill her, but you meant to hurt her. You meant to shame her. You meant to make her feel small.»
Clarissa fell to her knees on the marble floor, tears streaming down her face, ruining her makeup. «I didn’t know she would fall! I didn’t know she would hit her head! I didn’t know!»
The workers stood frozen. Some covered their mouths in horror; others turned their faces away. Amaka felt her own eyes burn with tears. But Chike stood like a statue, staring at the woman he had once loved, the woman he had planned to marry.
«How could you hide this from me?» he asked, his voice shaking.
Clarissa sobbed uncontrollably. «I was scared! If I told you, you would leave me!»
Chike’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. «You should have told me,» he said. «Instead, you kept hurting more people.»
Clarissa crawled to him, grabbing the hem of his trousers. «Chike, I love you! Please, please forgive me! I’m different now!»
But her cry echoed through a room filled with witnesses who knew she wasn’t different. Not yet. Not truly. Chike stepped back, recoiling from her touch. «I need time to think,» he said.
But before he could turn away, Chief Benson suddenly placed a shaking hand on Chike’s shoulder. «There is one more thing you must know.»
Chike turned sharply. «What thing?»
The workers looked at each other in fear. Even Mamatise lifted her head, sensing impending danger. Clarissa shook violently on the floor. «No, Daddy, please… I’m begging you, don’t say it.»
Her father sighed deeply, tears finally spilling over. «Chike, the girl who died… her family never forgave us.»
Chike frowned. «And?»
Chief Benson’s voice dropped to a terrified whisper. «They sent someone to this city last week. Someone who said they will not rest until Clarissa pays for what happened.»
Clarissa froze. «What? What do you mean?»
Chief Benson’s next words sent a cold shiver down everyone’s spine. «Clarissa, someone is looking for you.»
Chike’s heart pounded against his ribs. «Who?» he asked.
Chief Benson looked at him with trembling eyes and whispered, «A brother. The dead girl’s older brother. And he is somewhere in Lagos, right now.»
Clarissa let out a terrified scream. The workers gasped. Chike’s eyes widened. And just then, a loud, thunderous knock hammered against the mansion gate.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Everyone froze. It wasn’t a polite knock; it was the sound of someone demanding entry, someone filled with anger, someone who had finally arrived. The guard ran into the room, shaking visibly.