Celestine came to the dining table, surprised to find it empty but with food laid out. He quickly sauntered to the kitchen, calling out for his sister. "Mariah!" His voice returned without a reply, and Celestine sighed softly, going back to the dining table. He settled on the chair, and noticed that she had made breakfast for four people. "Oh, shit!" He exclaimed, suddenly remembering that he had a guest in the house. He buried his hand into his breast pocket to bring out his phone. Just then, Fred walked in, looking disheveled like he had just woken from sleep."You're already dressed? To where?" He asked, settling down on the seat across him."To the Palace of the young Prince Bullock. Wake your brain too." Celestine quipped. "I've been awake for two hours now, practicing my kenjitsu. I didn't miss a single step so my brain is awake too..." A moment of silence passed between them, each person brimming with words.Finally, Fred spoke out, his voice calm as usual, "How sure are y

Celestine barged into the house, red in the face, murderous in the eye. Fred and Mariah exchanged worried glances, their gazes flickering from Celestine's furious face to Mercy’s indifferent expression.“Let me guess, it was a mistake?” Fred quipped. Mariah turned towards him, shaking her in disapproval. “Stop it, Fred.”“No, let him be… he was right, and I made a fool of myself trusting you.” Celestine fumed.“Celestine, what really happened?” Mariah asked calmly, gazing at him with curious eyes.“I don’t want to talk about it,” he fumed, storming past the living room, leaving Fred and Mariah looking at Mercy with suspicious eyes. The room held its breath as Mercy sought the words to explain the situation. Yet the more she thought about it, she realized if she said anything, they would misunderstand her.Unable to withstand their piercing gaze any longer, she cleared her throat softly. “I’ll be in my room,” she said, backing away. As soon as she disappeared into the hallway, Mariah

While Celestine’s heart raced as he opened the text message containing the link to the footage, Mercy stood by the window of the hotel room she temporarily occupied, staring at her phone screen as if she was expecting a call. She chewed her nails nervously, watching the time displayed on her screen move from pm to am. She was devastated.For the first time in her life, Mercy sought to explain herself. She understood how believable everything sounded but it was true that she only wanted to help. Not particularly to belong to a community like Fred suggested, but who didn’t like to feel safe and protected?“Celestine please,” she muttered, “Please, please, believe me…” It was almost 6 am, and her phone had not rang once, the person she thought would be her helper sent her away without even looking back.Mercy heaved a heavy sigh, rising from the window side, her skin had developed chills from the morning cold, and her sad eyes were now heavy with fatigue.Sluggishly, she sauntered acro

Fred glanced at Mercy with confusion settled on his face. In truth, he was more perplexed than confused. Mercy was never one to work for free, most times she rejected job offers because the ‘pay was not worth her service’. He could clearly remember their last job together, they had been employed by a faceless client to dig into the corporation his wife worked for, that job ended their partnership, in a way he had never expected. While he remained loyal to the faceless client, Mercy became a spy for his wife. He hated to admit that Mercy made a wise decision by joining the client’s wife because her switching up on him made him hurt so badly.When the faceless client had discovered her treachery, she saved herself without thinking twice, and left him for dead.While Celestine returned to his room, to make the call for a recent week’s footage and the visitors list, Mariah was busy with dishes in the kitchen, leaving them in absolute silence. While not absolute- Mercy was neck deep into

As soon as the call with Celestine ended, Mercy didn't hesitate to call off the charade they'd been playing all day. Quick on her feet with a newfound resolve, Mariah noticed the unspoken change of plans before she announced it."Girls, a buzz we gotta go," "Why?" Beatrice asked, "You can't leave me alone with two bottles of d'Ambonnay.""I'm sorry, Bea, but it's urgent. How about this, Diane and the girls can stay, but I'll have to go with Mariah.""That works," She replied, "Except you girls would rather go, I don't wanna pressure anyone,"Mercy turned to Diane, her eyes communicating the approval on her skeptical face. "Sure," she answered with uncertainty, "Who wanna pass on these bottles?""Huh, thank you," Mercy mouthed, "Have fun," she said, waving goodbye with Mariah.As soon as they were on the road, Mariah let out a heavy breath. "What's going on?"Mercy shot her a quick glance before answering, "It's Celestine, he found something on the footage."Mariah's eyes widened, th