“I’ll throw you into this well, and your mother will not know about it.” Adaeze said, spitefully looking at the four-month-old baby in her hands, the child that belonged to her best friend.

—

CHAPTER 2

When Adaeze reached Amara’s home that night, Amara was shocked to see that she had returned without her baby.

“Where’s my child, Adaeze?” she asked immediately.

Adaeze instantly burst into loud cries, wailing on the cold tiled floor. Amara stood there in confusion, watching her best friend roll on the floor in tears.

“What is the matter, Adaeze? Why are you crying? Where’s my child?” Amara asked for the umpteenth time, her heart racing uncontrollably.

“Amara, some kidnappers accosted us on the way o. They tried to take your baby away from me. I fought them with all my might and strength, but all to no avail. They even cut me with a kn!fe…” she said, showing Amara a w0und on her tummy. Unknown to Amara, Adaeze had used a kn!fe to cut a small part of her own stomach so that blo0d would gush out and make her story believable.

“But I still failed. They took your child away from me…” she cried, wailing on the floor so much that anyone would have believed her.

Amara could not believe her ears at that moment. What she had just heard pierced her heart like thorns.

She immediately broke down in tears, crying and asking God why such a thing had happened to her.

Instantly, she became another version of herself. It felt as though her entire world had come crashing down.

That night, Amara cried herself to sleep, but each time she woke up, she had several nightmares and dreams of her baby being in serious danger.

“I’m very, very sorry, Amara. I shouldn’t have taken her out in the first place. This is all my fault. I’m so sorry, my friend,” Adaeze cried out while consoling her.

“I pray nothing happens to my baby. How will I break this news to Stanley? How? My baby… God, why?” Amara kept lamenting and crying non-stop.

…

That night, after Amara had finally gone to sleep, Adaeze picked up her phone, sneaked outside, and immediately dialed Stanley’s number.

“Hello, Stanley,” she said into the phone.

“Yes, Adaeze. This one you’re calling me by this time, hope there’s no problem? How is my wife?” Stanley asked.

“Hmm… Stanley, there’s fire on the mountain o,” Adaeze said.

“What do you mean by there’s fire on the mountain?” Stanley asked.

“Hmm… Stanley, it’s your baby o. Your baby is missing. She was kidnapped,” Adaeze said.

“What? Where? When? How?” Stanley asked, already worked up.

“It’s Amara o. Amara went to the nightclub and left your child all alone at home. That is how she was kidnapped,” she said.

“What? Amara went to a nightclub? But Amara has never been that type of person. What changed?” Stanley asked in confusion.

“Ehn? You say wetin? She has always been like that o. She only mellowed down because of you so that you could marry her. She told me that it had been long since she went out to enjoy herself in the club and also rub body with another man because you’re not always around. I even advised her o. I told her not to do this thing—that you don’t deserve this because you’re a very good man. But she insisted that she must go, and that was how the baby got missing. Before she came back from the nightclub, the baby was gone,” she explained.

“You mean Amara went to a nightclub, leaving my child all alone at home, and my child was kidnapped?” Stanley asked again, already flaring up in anger and doubt.

“Yes o. She didn’t even want me to tell you that the child is missing. If you do not believe me, you can call her and ask her yourself about your child,” she said.

“I’ll do just that. Thank you very much, Adaeze. God bless you for telling me all these things,” he said.

“My dear, what can I do? That is my best friend we’re talking about here. If I see her going on the wrong path, I have to caution her regardless. You’re welcome, my dear. Bye-bye,” she said and finally ended the call.

Immediately she ended the call, she burst into a loud round of evil laughter.

…

To be continued…