The family was seated in the living room, in silence when Modupe's phone rang.

When she heard her sister's phone ring, it triggered something in Tamilore and she burst into tears again. Bisola, who was sitting beside her held her and attempted to pacify her.

"Leave me!" Tamilore suddenly shouted. "Who do I know took my baby? As far as I'm concerned, none of you can be trusted."

Bisola wanted to be offended by her sister's words but she couldn't. She understood her pain. How could one's baby suddenly disappear over the night, despite the fact that everybody in the house was family?

But, Bisola thought, looking round the room and at everybody, How did Hameed just disappear like that? Which one of us is the culprit?

* * *

Immediately her phone rang, Modupe felt hot all over as all eyes turned to her. She cursed herself for not having put it on silence as she got up abruptly and started walking towards the dining room.

"Don't take phone inside the kitchen oh!" Daddy Dami warned.

"That's not where I'm going," Modupe grumbled.

When she got there, she looked at the caller ID. It was her husband, Tunde.

"Hello?" She whisper-shouted.

"Hello? Modupe, how are you?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "You nko?"

He ignored her question. "What are you still doing there? Wasn't the naming ceremony two days ago? Are you the mother of the baby?"

Modupe stayed silent. She wondered if she should narrate to him the situation at hand, but then she thought of the ridiculousness of it and decided against it.

"Can't you answer me?" Tunde said angrily again, when his wife didn't answer. "I know you love babies. I know you're very obsessed with babies, but it's getting too much now. Don't you have a job to resume back to? Or you think you're on a holiday? What about your monthly gynaecologist visits? Do you not want a baby anymore? Have you become so in love with your sister's baby that you don't want yours anymore? What about me? What about your wifely duties?"

"Tunde, I..."

"Save it. Save it! I want you back home before the end of today, or...something you'll regret will happen."

* * *

"Look aunty Tamilore, I...I have something to say," Tiwa suddenly spoke up.

Tamilore's bloodshot eyes shot up, and every other person paid attention to Tiwa.

"I...I just wanted to say," Tiwa's voice broke, "It's not me. I didn't take your baby. There's nothing I want a baby for, I'm just a student. And I've already missed three test papers...there's absolutely no reason for me to...It's not me." Tiwa was already crying now, shaking her head vehemently.

Tamilore just stared into the distance.

* * *

Meanwhile, aunty Ariyo was feeling perplexed. How did it all go so wrong? And...who took her nephew?

More importantly, she was angry that she would miss Asalatu today. For a while now, aunty Ariyo had been very dedicated to her religion. She didn't like missing Jumat service or Asalatu. How could she even afford to, when she was still begging God for forgiveness over her actions in the past?

She guessed if she demanded to be let free so that she could go, she would look suspicious.

Besides...it had been official. The police by themselves were the ones that locked the house up. Any breaching of their arrangement would be illegal. How could she go to jail at her age?

But this woman. If it weren't for the situation at hand, she would be heaping a huge sandcastle of "I told you so!" On her brother. She knew he shouldn't have married her, and she told him, yet he didn't answer. Now look what her bad luck had brought him.

She snapped her fingers. Her thoughts were becoming sinful. She whispered a silent astagafurullah.

* * *

Bisola was a seven months pregnant woman, and she knew she couldn't afford to starve, no matter what the situation was.

She took her phone and checked the time, feeling angry that her husband didn't care enough or think about her to advise her to eat. He only cared about his daughter, abi? Unknowingly, she let out a hiss.

Modupe, her sister looked at her concernedly. "Mummy Dami, are you feeling okay?"

"Yes," Bisola answered. She turned to the whole family, "You guys, I'm going to make food for myself. I'm an Iya Ibeji, I can't not eat. So, I'm going to tell Titi to put rice on fire for me...if anybody is interested, signify," she said and got up.

Itunu looked like she wanted to talk, but Dipo spoke up first, "She's right."

"Exactly," Daddy Dami said, "Hunger is not the answer. Cook for all of us."

His wife nodded. "Oya, Titi, come."

* * *

Minutes later, food was ready and Bisola took it upon herself to serve everybody despite how heavy she was. With the help of Titi and Bode, she brought the plates of food to the living room where everybody was at.

"Tiwa, what are you doing on seat, when your pregnant sister is cooking food?" Daddy Dami asked his sister-in-law.

Tiwa grumbled like a spoilt child, "Ahan now. S-see Itunu too. She's younger than me na."

The hunger was taking its toll on Daddy Dami, so he continued to bicker with a girl many years younger than him, "I'm sending you something, you're sending another person. Does that make sense?"

"Don't fight," aunty Ariyo said, dragging out the "fight".

When the noise simmered down, Bisola was trying to persuade Tamilore to eat her food, but her efforts were proving abortive.

"Nobody can beg me to eat abi?" Dipo, Tamilore's husband said.

Despite the situation, Bisola managed to smile, "At your big age."

Dipo simply scoffed.

"Please...please...who took my baby?" Tamilore whispered painfully. "I promise...I won't have you arrested. You're all family and I love you. Just please...return my baby. This is getting out of hand. I want my baby. I want..." She couldn't complete the rest, instead she started sobbing.

Modupe's eyes welled with tears. Despite the fact that she loved babies, she could not imagine finally giving birth to a baby only to have him disappear into thin air.

"It will be okay..." her sister, Bisola tried to pacify her.

"Aunty Tamilore, please eat. If...if the unfortunate fellow between us doesn't want to confess, the police will definitely get to the bottom of this," Tiwa convinced her sister confidently.

Tamilore nodded.

"Oya now," Tiwa said again. "Try and eat. The stew is very delicious."

"How can I eat?"

"Like this." Tiwa rose up from her seat and walked towards her sister. She sat beside her and began urging her to eat. After much persuasion, ate a few spoons of the rice. Tiwa smiled to herself mischievously. She was able to do yet another thing Bisola couldn't do, among other things.

* * *

In the night, all of them except Dami, Bisola's daughter were sitting in the living room. In fact, they had hardly moved since afternoon. Dami had long fallen asleep so her mother carried her into the room her family slept in, making sure to lock the door and hold the key. She remembered the police officer's words and decided to make sure her child would be safe. She couldn't afford to lose her own child like her sister did.

Her thoughts about her sister were insensitive, but she wasn't remorseful.

In the living room, Modupe spoke up. "Bode? Come," she said.

Bode, who was sitting on the floor with Titi, stood up and went forward. He stood in front of Modupe.

"Are you feeling okay?" She asked him. Then she turned to the rest of them, "Can you remember he was sick before Alhaja went home? Alhaja. We haven't even called her...or told her what happened."

Bisola spoke up, "He doesn't seem sick again. I don't think so."

"Ngbo?" Daddy Dami asked him. "Are you still sick?"

Bode was caught in between two decisions. He wanted to continue being 'sick', but all eyes were on him now and he felt like he had been caught in his lie.

"I...I still have headache and my body is still hot. Also my stomach hurts a little but...I'll be fine," he said instead. Inside, his heart was beating really fast.

Dipo kissed his teeth. "As you can see, the police have locked the gate. There's no way you can go to a hospital...or anywhere."