Paul

The sharp ringtone of a phone cuts through the air but my sleep foggy brain refuses to register the sound. I stretch my legs and use the back of my hand to stop a traitorous yawn. My eyelids flutter open, I pick my polo shirt threatening to fall off the edge of the couch I am seated on and scan the length of my parlour with a bemused frown like I didn't ask the driver to take me home.

Memories come flooding back, my heart grows heavier at the flashes of events. Chi must be worried, I am too, at the same time, I am not ready for the questions that will follow in my current state of mind. Hiding my face in my palms, I let out a sigh, I shouldn't have fallen asleep but the burst of energy that spreads through me makes the nap worth it. I need my strength to figure out my baby's mysterious disappearance.

The phone continues ringing, that annoying voice finally pierces through the fog in my brain and my eyes lower to Ifunaya's phone on the table. I misstep as I get up to pick the phone and my morale takes a big dip when I see the caller. Mr Adams; the Big Boss. I have never gotten a chance to speak to him but the other cooks claim he's nice.

"Hello?" I say into the phone. Mr Adams rapid flow of Igbo is cut short when he realises he is speaking to a different person.

"Who are you?" he asks without formalities and the niceness people always talk about is missing. "Why are you with her phone?"

Clearing my throat and deepening my voice to sound more confident, I introduce myself and offer a reply that leads to more queries. With each new question he fires at me, my patience wears thin and I pull the phone away from my ear to take a deep breath.

"Where is she?" he asks when he observes the silence from my end. "Where is she?"

I don't know if he reiterates the question to grate on my nerves or the accusation in his voice implies I have something to do with her disappearance but it irks me. Tugging on a strand of my beard, I grunt and retrace my steps to the couch. I already explained the situation to him, maybe not completely but I gave him the most important details.

"Ifunaya never goes out without her phone."

"I know that," I snap and heave a sigh. "I have no idea where she is." My shoulders sag, I cross and uncross my legs, wondering if it is in her best interest to inform him of my additional role as her boyfriend which I failed to mention. "But she spent the night at my house." He cuts me off to demand an explanation for that, I sigh again and pinch the bridge of my nose. "I'm her boyfriend."

After that, he says no more and I restart my explanation, making sure to go as far back as the day I asked her out until the moment I found her phone in her handbag. Tapping my fingers on my knee in anticipation of the questions I know will come, nothing, save for his breathing greets me from his end.

"Why don't we meet at Pavilion?" he says. I nod but when I remember he can't see me, I mutter a small yes and he ends the call.

A heaviness settles on my shoulder when my gaze lowers to the mess I made on the floor and my heart hammers in my chest. I miss her. I created a list from her recent call log, dialling the numbers to know if anyone has seen or heard from her and the balls of paper strewn across the parlour increased as my frustrations grew with the number of negative responses I received.

Where can she be?

Kicking a piece of paper on my way out of the house, I send Chi a text to inform her I am on my way back to the hotel and hop onto a bike that slows down in front of me. The ride to the hotel is a blur, I realise we have reached when the bikeman calls my attention and I give him a thousand naira note without waiting to collect change.

Chi is outside the glass doors, arms crossed on her chest like she sensed my coming.

"So?" The question flies out. "Where's she?"

The thought of lying to her floats through my mind. "I don't know." Her eyes bulge, her fingers find their way into her mouth and I quickly go over what I found with her in hopes it will calm her--me down. If anything, she looks ready to faint and my hand goes to the small of her back as I guide her into the hotel. "We will talk inside."

Upon our entrance, we take a seat behind the counter, deep in thoughts while people carry on like everything is fine. But it is not. Ifunaya is not here and the thought hurts.

A man garbed in black Senator walks up to the counter, a closed look on his face as he stares at me and my sister who has her head resting on the desk. His stance reeks of wealth and authority, an aura I am familiar with, thanks to having affluential parents. Looking at him reminds me of Daddy, their staid expression and silent but commanding presence; they will make great friends.

My voice comes out small when I stand to attend to him, "Good day, Sir and welcome to Pavillion hotel." I am never nervous, at least I do a great job at masking it but when his gaze narrows, my confidence wavers. I cough. "H...Hi, how may we help you?"

"I have been calling you," he states.

His directness has an eyebrow rising, then his voice clicks. Mr Adams. I shift my weight to my other foot, mumble an apology and kick Chi's leg under the desk. She mutters something inaudible without raising her head, I clench my fist and nudge her while Mr Adams watches with amusement.

Sleep has always been her best friend, she can fall asleep in a storm but now is not the time. Plus, she owes me an explanation on where she spent the night. She rouses, the frown on her face showing her displeasure at being disturbed. Ignoring the eye gestures I make for her to notice our boss, her hand goes to cover her mouth and I give up on trying to notify her of his presence.

"Udochi," Mr Adams says and her eyes jerk to his face. Her lips morph into a wide grin, I do a double-take as she goes around the counter to engulf the mini giant in a hug.

Okay. What's going on? She flashes me an apologetic grin, I shake my head and a corner of my lips twitch. I always get left in the dark, always the last one to know things.

"Your brother looks surprised," the big boss continues and I grit my teeth. He knows, how the fuck does he know? "He shouldn't be." She nods, her eyes trained on his face.

Good for her, she better keep those eyes on him or I'll drill a hole into her forehead with my glare. Feeling left out of their silent conversation, I let myself think of Ifunaya and the list of things I will do to earn her forgiveness. Her favourite chocolates, I can have them delivered to her, she will get that along with my kisses, affection, devotion and the key to my heart. No more secrets.

"Where's your phone? I called you earlier."

Pulled out of my reverie by his surprisingly calmer voice, I glare at his muscled hand around Chi's shoulders before feeling the front of my pockets for my phone. I hope she remembers Obinna, her boyfriend and fiance. If she doesn't, I am more than willing to help jog her failing memory. I know how. Though Mr Adams looks good, a perfect fit for the role of a sugardaddy with his toned arms, flat stomach, slightly greying hair and towering height, my sister is off-limits.

"Udoka," he says, "your phone."

I bring the phone out, my annoyance barely concealed at the fact he has my number and information I thought privy to us alone. Information that doesn't seem to bother Chi who dares to laugh at his jokes. I changed my SIM card twice, stupid of me to have done that but it was the only way for me to move on. So, how does he have my number? How does he know these things?

Anger morphs into self-disappointment at the sight of the Apple logo staring at me and I let out a frustrated sigh. Today is so not my day. I don't use an iPhone, I use a Samsung.

"Shit," I say to no one in particular. "I left it at home." A disgruntled sound escapes my lips, this is not the time for my brain to go slow on me. What if she finds a way to reach me and I miss all her calls because of my forgetfulness? Ah. "I have to go back."

My feet connect to the ground in purposeful strides as I hurry to the entrance and I stop at the sound of Mr Adams voice, "I will take you." This is the part where he is supposed to ask for my address, instead, he goes on to add, "I came with my driver, he's outside."

Is there anything about me this man doesn't know? My hand lingering on the handle of the glass door falls to my side, I spare Chi a glance and she offers me an unapologetic smile. No matter, I'll put her up on eBay or better still, swap her for a new set of pots, at least they will keep their mouths sealed. What kind of sister betrays her brother like this? Her twin? Her flesh and blood.

Pushing the door open for him, I snap my fingers at Chi when he goes ahead of me. The action doesn't faze her, she only sticks her tongue out at me and I bless her with the sight of my middle finger before jogging after Mr Adams, I can deal with her later.

Mr Adams is standing by the side of a black BMW X6 2018, I let out a low whistle and join him in the backseat without fully admiring the car. He has a great taste, along with the perfect body that will suit a sugardaddy, still, Chi is off-limits. The driver speeds off immediately in the direction of my house and I am taken aback by the route he follows, a shortcut I can swear is known to only the people living in the estate.

Questions fill my eyes, my heart drops to my stomach as I turn to face him, this can only be the work of one person, this is one thing he is good at. By now, I shouldn't be surprised the length he will go to keep me under his radar but this, this is too much.

"Did my dad put you up to this?" I ask, my voice steely. That man cannot get over the fact I moved cities because of him. And her. I would have tried to make amends but he wasn't making it easy. "You know him."

Mr Adams lips curl into a knowing smile like he is aware of a top-class secret and maybe he is. I nod, I should have seen this coming, it is too much of a coincidence.

Why else will Chi wake one morning and decide she wants to move to Calabar days after the quarrel without daddy questioning her? She's his favourite child, daddy's girl. I pinch the bridge of my nose, it makes sense now. I was thinking she was being a good sister by using the excuse of a long term vacation before settling down with Obinna. For fuck sake, she moved here before me, made the transition easier. Is this how far daddy will go rather than apologise? I sigh, I also owe him an apology but I am his son.

"Your father and I go way back," he replies. "You don't know it but you have been under my care since you stepped into Calabar."

"Does Chi know about this?" I have an idea what his answer will be but I still want to hear it. "Is she also under your care?"

He nods and I grimace, of course, she is. "So, yes, I know where you stay and other little things there is to know about you, even your little escapades with Ifunaya." I hear a hint of amusement in his voice but it's gone as soon as it comes and I scoff. To think I was reluctant to mention being her boyfriend and he already knew. "Now let's focus on finding your phone and hopefully her then we can discuss other things later."

The car grows silent, memories spill over me and I sigh. I want to be angry with daddy but I can't, I already spent months doing that and anger leaves me exhausted. A soft moan escapes me, I laughed so hard when Chi first mentioned her new job as a receptionist in some fancy hotel where she claimed to be on vacation. Not only did I laugh, but we also placed a bet she wouldn't last a week on the job and if she did, I would come over to join her. Ah, jokes on me now.

Chi might be a good sister but she doesn't always give the best first impression. Her acting as the initial point of contact for customers who can sometimes be annoying was hard for me to imagine. Then. But now, I know she can handle them and with grace.

"I still don't get it," I start, my head turns to him. "He cut me off, why would he care?"

Daddy had been joyous when I decided to relocate, thankful he didn't have to see his disappointment of a son. In a way, I don't blame him, I am in the wrong, we both are but he should have made more effort, be the bigger person among us. I groan and run my fingers through my hair, he did try, yeah, by giving me a stupid ultimatum.

I am over it now, we are men who want to assert dominance and we said a lot of things to each other out of anger but I can't bring myself to contact him. Let him use the same energy he used to give Mr Adams the order to protect us to reach out to me. He can call.

"You underestimate your father, young man." I stifle the urge to scoff, I am the last person who will underestimate him, he fucking cut me off without thinking twice. "You are his first and only son, he cares about you and wherever you are, he will always have people looking out for you."

My chest deflates, I sigh. Our return from the UK was impromptu, earlier than daddy would have preferred. He tried to keep it a secret but someone leaked it to the press. I scoff at the memory, we couldn't go anywhere without the paparazzi tailing us. The fact that daddy had also declared his intentions to rerun for Governorship was more than enough reason for them. We barely moved out of the house without guards that failed to be discreet and the ever nosy paparazzi hoping to get a scandal. It only stopped when I moved to Calabar to join Chi for what I thought was a vacation.

"Your father is a politician and in Nigeria, politics is a very dirty game. He's just doing what every father would do which is look out for his children." He offers me a smile, the first one directed at me since we met. "In this game, everybody is a pawn but don't worry, no harm will befall any of you."

I guess he's right but it doesn't make me any less surprised. Daddy is rigid, his yes is yes and his no is no. His disappointment in me was palpable, he used every chance he got to rip me apart and all mummy did was keep mute. She was a silent observer.

Some of Mr Adams confidence transfers to me, I almost start to believe him. For his and my sake, I hope he is right. I pray he is. I also hope Ifunaya's disappearance has nothing to do with daddy, I know he has gotten extra cautious when it comes to the women in my life but she's a good one.

The rest of our ride continues in silence, I heave a sigh when the gate of my house comes into view. I don't wait for the driver to park before I open the doors and jump out of the car like my ass is on fire. Shouting for the gateman to open the gate, I make my way into the house and rush for my phone.

I have a message.

The notification light keeps blinking until I unlock the phone to see the message which turns my blood to ice. I blink rapidly, spare the media message another glance and my heart starts pounding. The phone drops thankfully to my feet which cushions the fall before it lands on the tiled floors and I shuffle out of the house to find Mr Adams.

**********

Picture: Niqab.

Okay. Okay. Tell me what you think, is it getting better or it's just getting beettterrr?? 😂😂😂 Alright, on a more serious note though, tell me what you think so I can make corrections for future chapters and maybe for future edits.

Also, if there's any part that confuses you, do let me know so I'll do the explanations in chapters to come. For the next couple of chapters until Pauline gets rescued, we will learn a bit more about Paul and Pauline.

Drop a nice word for me 😚😚😚