September, 2019, The No1 Nigerian Blogger.

Video circulating social media arouses renewed public interest and suspicion about the death of infamous Nigerian Senator Abayomi. Two nights ago, a video posted from an anonymous twitter account dissected Vice President, Remilekun Phillips's condolence message posted the morning of the senator's death and exposed that in fact the video was posted a day before the senator's death.

The video included a side by side comparison of Abuja a day before the senator's death, where it rained for almost the whole day, in the Vice President's condolence video, one can hear the distinct sound of water running, too obviously to be anything other than the rain.

The question on every Nigerian's lips is how the vice knew of the senator's death before it happened. Others have taken to the conclusion that Remilekun Phillips had the senator murdered, despite all the times when both have spoken publicly about the mutual respect for each other.

The video is currently the top trend worldwide on Twitter amassing over fourteen million views across all social media platforms, while the anonymous poster's account has been deleted as of this morning.

There is yet to be a statement released by the Vice President as of now, but one thing is certain, Remilekun Phillips has a lot to answer for.

***

DRONE DATA COLLECTED:

TODAY, GOOGLE SEARCH, 7AM: HOW TO MAKE EGUSI SOUP?
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***

The whole campus was on fire. Metaphorical fire though, not even the scandal of a lecturer from the faculty of science who was exposed for having sex with a student could top this, Grace bet that the poor man was thanking Remilekun Phillips wherever he was holed up in. There was no sin greater than murder, that was the way things were in Nigeria and Remilekun Phillips was tangled in its grasps.

Grace settled down on a free seat in the middle of the lecture hall, there was a silly fear beating a drum into her chest, two days ago, with her help, Kendrick had outed The ORION Project with an anonymous account, it had only taken a day for it to go viral and somehow Grace expected someone to march up to her and declare her the proprietor of the sudden disaster as if it was written guiltily on her forehead.

If she hadn't wanted to be far away Sanmi more, she wouldn't have stepped a foot into school today.

She tapped her pen on the table, leaning back and then leaning forward as Tope stepped into the hall, glossy red smile in place as she stopped to greet their course mates already seated, her best friend was put together as usual, wearing a shimmery purple top over black palazzo trousers and red flat shoes that matched the shade of her lips.

Across the hall, Grace caught Tope's eyes and turned away quickly, her chest tightened. She was considering avoiding Tope too even though she wasn't her stupid boyfriend, she was more afraid of Sanmi getting through Tope to make her forgive him.

When Grace had returned home after spending the night at Kendrick's, she had received a tongue lashing from Raymond Ilori and for once, his hateful words hadn't pierced through her skin and when he had threatened to kick her outside, she had dared him to. She could still remember how his mouth had dropped open before proceeding to carry out his threat.

It had taken the intervention of their neighbours for him to let her back in and Grace had been pissed and frowning, the look she had shot Sanmi when he tried to talk to her had sent him scurrying back.

Now none of that anger was present, it was fear that she would forgive him that now bloomed in her chest, Tope could make her see reason and she didn't want to.

"Sanmi told me you disappeared." Tope said, jolting Grace from her thoughts, defeated, she shifted so Tope could sit.

She resumed her tapping, jaw tightening.

"I don't want to talk about it." Grace said.

Tope set her bag down on the table and shifted so she was staring at Grace.

"So when are you going to gloat?" Tope asked instead. Grace ceased her tapping.

"Gloat about what?"

Tope waved her arms around the hall, gesturing at their mates chatting loudly, their phones in hand.

"About how you were right about Joshua Phillips and his family?"

Grace barely held in her flinch. "Oh." She said stupidly.

Tope's eyes glittered, she reached to pick at the chipping table paint with manicured fingers.

"Oh, I wonder who did it?" Tope said. "The exposing I mean."

Grace couldn't help the self righteousness that welled up in her.

"Of course, that's what all of you are wondering about, you don't care that your so called vice president had someone killed, or maybe he did it himself." Grace said a little too loud, drawing the attention of the chatting students behind them, and soon enough, a new discussion began, with Tope included.

Grace sighed, wishing she wasn't so jumpy, and wondering where the hell the ORION bastard were, Kendrick had texted her a few minutes ago on her new phone — an ancient looking Nokia phone that Ewatomi had once used — that Amina was absent during a lecture, it was safe to say that they were thinking ways to do damage control.

Except, she wasn't sure there wasn't any damage control they could do, she had already heard a few people mention Joshua's name in passing, mockingly, soon his haters would come out in droves, The ORION Project's reputation would soon be in shambles, when Kendrick had explained it to her, she had felt the slightest bit afraid of him.

Kendrick Yong wasn't soft and sunshine, Kendrick Yong was quietly ruthless.

Now while they fixed their problems, Kendrick said it would be the perfect time to strike, to dig deeper while all eyes were off them. The ORION Project would be too busy to think of Project Eden.

For the first time, Project destroy ORION was something more than dreamy revenge, it was a plan put into motion, then why did Grace still feel like the other shoe was about to drop?

Grace stood at the same time Joshua Phillips entered the hall, and at the same time, the hall quietened, so quickly that a hysterical giggle escaped her lips. If Joshua had come looking for consolation, then he would be disappointed, there was no kind stares for him, no adoring gazes, there was only cold hostile stares as if he was the murderer. Grace felt the oddest pity for him, these were people who had been looking for reasons to declare that Joshua Phillips was overrated, that he was a spoilt brat — and he had handed him a reason on a platter of gold.

But Joshua's eyes weren't on them, he wasn't deterred by hostile stares, didn't flinch when the murmurs arose, neither did he lose his temper when Bakare, the class clown stuck out his tongue and began to loudly sing the chorus to Kizz Daniel's Park and go.

He just moved calmly, suit hugging him snugly, like someone who knew what he wanted and was determined to get it. Grace's heart sank when he headed directly for her, the murmurs grew until they were a cacophony of shouts, or maybe they were, Grace couldn't tell over the beating of her heart.

Tope jutted up from her seat as Joshua reached them, there was something feral in her snarl as her eyes challenged Phillips, something Grace had never seen before. She suddenly felt like a child in the middle of a custody battle between two resentful parents.

Even Joshua paused, taking in her mama bear stance, at first, Grace thought he was intimidated, but then a slow smirk spread on his lips, it was wicked and there was a wildness in it. To her credit Tope did not back.

"Go back to your hole." She spat.

"Claiming something that isn't even yours to claim, Rebekah," He tutted, his casual use of Tope's first name startled Grace, only people close to Tope knew it. "Why don't you try holding on to your addict of a boyfriend? Oh, wait, it didn't work so well the first time either."

Tope pointed a shaky finger at him. "Let's not act like I'm the only one who can't hold on to love, frankly she is too good for scum like you."

The crowd shouted a collected 'burn' that had Joshua clenching his jaw. Grace was still reeling, Tope knew Joshua, more than she had let on. Already a small crowd had already gathered outside the hall, some of them with phones in hands, Grace fought the urge to hide her face, no doubt her greatest fear was coming to life; ending up as a meme on the internet.

"Stay away from Grace." Tope spat.

"Afraid I can't, your word means nothing to me, she's coming with me. Now."

Joshua glanced down at his Rolex and looked back at Tope casually, like they were two old friends catching, when he caught Grace's gaping look, he gave her a conspiratorial wink.

Grace flinched.

"She's coming with me," Joshua repeated, a smile fixed on his lips, he leaned closer, as if he was about share a secret, an outsider would look and see nothing but playfulness in Joshua's gesture but Grace saw the dead seriousness in the stiffness of his shoulders. "And you know why."

***

"I can bet my girlfriend that Arsenal will lose that match with Chelsea." Nonso said, his booming voice carrying above the other voices of the other students in the quad, a disgruntled lecturer stuck his head out the window to shout a warning for the third time, and Nonso's girlfriend; Hannah reached out to hit her empty plastic bottle on his bald head.

Everybody knew Nonso loved his girlfriend as much as he loved Chelsea Football Club, but sometimes he let his love for the latter shine more than the former, like now, his female friends found it adorable, Sanmi usually found it irritating especially he mentioned it while out with his male friends.

Today, he couldn't focus enough to care, even if Nonso's words were a direct jab at him. Nonso favoured Chelsea, Sanmi preferred Arsenal, even though they were losers like Nonso claimed.

"Arsenal cannot even win against a team of area children." Nonso repeated, now he was laying it on thick, clearly to get a rise out of Sanmi. The other boys seated under the broad shade of the tree they sat in waited, expecting Sanmi to speak a jab of his own.

"Guys, I have to go." Sanmi announced suddenly, he stood from the concrete seat he had been sitting on.

The bewildered gazes of seven boys turned to him.

"Guy na, I can't even remember the last time you hung out with us." Dike, Nonso's twin said. "You always have to be somewhere."

"Dr. Felix's my supervisor, he asked me to meet him in his office in like thirty minutes time." Sanmi lied, it was partly true, his final year project supervisor had asked to see him and they agreed to meet tomorrow but with everything that had happened in the past week, Sanmi was in no mood for company and even worse, he had emptied his drawer of the drugs he took, once again he was battling his selfishness with what he needed to do — protect his sister.

"Stay small," Hannah pleaded, batting her fixed lashes at Sanmi. He didn't usually have female friends, well, for the most obvious reasons but Hannah was probably one of the few girls that didn't want to sleep with him.

"I really have to. . ." Sanmi's words trailed off as the sound of an motor engine being cut off echoed through the quad, and sure enough when he looked, Firepemi Kingston was hopping off his monster of a bike.

Motorbikes were banned from entering the university's grounds, but Firepemi's privilege shone through. Sanmi thought that for a bunch of spoilt rich kids who boasted of their secret organization, they sure did let their privilege shine through.

Sanmi groaned and Firepemi approached, nodding greeting at his friends. The boys were quick to offer their fists in greeting, and Hannah was smiling at the football captain. Nonso began to ask Firepemi's opinion about upcoming Premier League match when Fire cut him off gently.

"I came to see Sanmi." Fire told Nonso, the other boy deflated before perking up when Fire added; "I think Chelsea will smash."

It was an offhanded comment that even Sanmi could have predicted but everyone on campus treated Firepemi as some sort of football god, granted he was good but they treated his word as law.

"You want to do this here?" Fire asked Sanmi, chin raised and eyes serious. Sanmi sighed, thinking that if Fire offered some stupid warning like the last time he would really punch his perfect face.

"What now?" Sanmi asked when they walked to the ATM stand where Firepemi had left his bike.

He eyed the football captain as they stopped near the bike, he looked like he had come right from the sports center, he was wearing a Barcelona kit — the new teal coloured one, and it didn't look like the copycat version people wore around campus, it was the real deal.

"I really should punch your stupid face." Firepemi's snapped, the sudden outburst made Sanmi narrow his eyes.

"I don't remember going after anything of yours, guy, I don't even talk to you. I should be talking about punching your stupid face instead." Sanmi said easily but his fists were clenched inside his jean pockets.

"You are the most careless person I know." Firepemi hissed. "If you want to mess with The ORION Project then you should at least have the common sense to be careful about it."

"I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about." Sanmi said. Although he could think of a thousand things he could have done, like keeping more than half of the money he made from dealing ORION'S last batch for himself. His motto now was to go down defiant.

"Two words; Toluwanimi Kingston."

A shiver ran down Sanmi's spine, too late he schooled his look of surprise.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He repeated.

Fire huffed. "At least you know how to lie, too bad it doesn't matter now."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" It was Sanmi's turn to be suspicious.

"Toluwanimi Kingston is my mother's brother, my uncle and we've known for a long time when he switched alliances to The ARTEMIS Project and now you're playing spy for him so I assume you know the truth concerning your sister."

Your cousin, Sanmi wanted to add, instead he ran a hand through his hair.

"Joshua texted me a few minutes ago, he's got Grace and he's flying her to Abuja as we speak, they are going to tell her the truth."

Grace already knew, he thought bitterly. But Firepemi didn't know she did, Sanmi didn't want to tell him because he wasn't sure what side Fire played for.

"Why?" Sanmi asked instead. "Isn't there some sort of law against that?"

"Technically, we aren't allowed to tell outsiders about our business, but Grace is legacy, her parents signed it before she was born, like my parents did too." Fire said. "So if she knew the truth, they can tell her how much they want to."

"But that isn't that why they're telling her." Fire added. "You've heard of the scandal with Joshua's father."

"Bullshit, don't talk like he's innocent." Sanmi cut in.

Fire gave a wry smile. "Fair point, but he's going to use the return of the long thought dead heir to the Kingston and Afolabi estate to take off the bad press, and he's going to take credit for her return — the press have always known of the 'friendship' between the Kingstons and the Phillips."

"He'll be forcing my uncle out of his hiatus, at least he'll have to — if he wants to protect his daughter."

"He'll be killing two birds with one stone, and when I mean kill, I mean kill, he's done it before, nothing is stopping him now."