Chapter 73 — Fear Of Normalcy
Rihannat barely slept that night.
Every sound inside the Collins mansion felt amplified.
The ticking clock.
The rustling curtains.
Footsteps passing distant corridors.
Even the silence itself no longer felt safe.
She kept remembering Mustopha's words over and over again.
"…that boy is in Rihannat's school. He is Vale's illegitimate son. He won over all the board member without showing appearance. A monster in human form."
The sentences refused to leave her head.
What frightened her most was not knowing who.
Anyone could now become suspicious.
Any smile.
Any accidental bump.
Any classmate staring too long.
Any teacher calling her name.
Her chest tightened.
By dawn, exhaustion had settled beneath her eyes.
Still—
Morning arrived regardless.
The world outside continued normally.
Birds chirped.
Cars moved.
Students prepared for lectures in the campus.
As though evil had not quietly inserted itself into their lives.
Inside the dining room downstairs in the Collins mansion, nobody truly ate.
Everyone slept over in the next building meant for visitors. They didn't leave last night. They couldn't.
Now at the dinning, the silence was so suffocating.
Mrs. Collins looked pale.
Mr. Collins remained disturbingly quiet.
Faridat kept glancing nervously toward Rihannat every few seconds.
Even Rayyan looked unusually serious.
Only Folakemi attempted pretending things were normal.
And she was failing terribly.
"What if she doesn't go today?" she suddenly blurted.
The room became silent immediately.
Rihannat looked down slowly.
She had been asking herself that same question since Fajr.
Mr. Collins finally spoke.
"She has to."
Mrs. Collins turned sharply.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
His voice remained calm.
Too calm.
"If she suddenly stops attending school now, whoever is watching may realize we know something."
Nobody argued because deep down—
They all knew he was right.
Mrs. Collins looked devastated.
"You want to send her back into that place after everything we heard yesterday?"
Mr. Collins exhaled heavily.
"You think I want this?"
Silence.
A painful silence.
Then quietly—
"We cannot expose awareness yet."
Rihannat's stomach twisted.
The idea of returning there suddenly felt terrifying.
Every hallway now felt dangerous before she had even stepped inside it.
Rayyan leaned forward slightly.
"She won't be alone."
Everyone looked at her.
"I'll personally handle security around her school." Basit and Qazeem said at the same time. Affirming to Rayyan words.
The two looked at eachother and smiled. They both understand eachother really well.
Mr. Collins frowned.
"That could attract attention."
"It already has," Rayyan replied calmly.
"And if someone dangerous truly exists inside that school, then keeping her exposed without protection becomes stupidity."
Nobody disagreed.
Even Mustopha, seated quietly near the far end, nodded once.
"She's already being monitored."
Those words chilled the room instantly like ice.
Rihannat's fingers tightened around the cup in her hand.
Monitored.
The word felt suffocating.
Like she had unknowingly been living inside someone else's trap this entire time.
Then suddenly—
Farouq spoke.
Very softly.
"What if the person isn't a student?"
Everyone turned toward him.
The boy swallowed nervously under the sudden attention.
"I mean…" he continued carefully, "what if it's someone working there?"
The room fell silent again.
Because that possibility somehow felt worse.
A teacher.
A staff member.
Security personnel.
Anybody.
Mustopha slowly rubbed his forehead.
"That school has over four thousand students and hundreds of staff."
He looked exhausted.
"If Vale truly planted someone there…"
His jaw tightened.
"…then they were positioned carefully, either student or teacher doesn't matter.."
"How do we start?..., investigating everyone around her or all her class mates?"
Mrs. Collins looked near tears again.
"Ya Allah…"
Before anybody could speak further—
A phone vibrated sharply against the table.
Everyone startled slightly.
Mr. Collins picked it up immediately.
His expression changed within seconds.
Darkened.
"What happened?" Mrs. Collins asked anxiously.
Mr. Collins lowered the phone slowly.
"Its seifullah. There was an incident near the school this morning."
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Rihannat froze.
"What kind of incident?"
Mr. Collins looked toward Mustopha first before answering.
"A student collapsed. A girl..., your class mate."
Nobody understood initially.
Then—
"He was found unconscious behind one of the science buildings."
Silence.
"A note was discovered beside her."
Mrs. Collins covered her mouth instantly.
Faridat whispered nervously,
"What note?"
Mr. Collins' eyes slowly moved toward Rihannat.
Then he spoke.
"The note contained only one sentence."
The room became deathly still.
He read it quietly.
"Curiosity kills faster than poison."
Nobody breathed.
Rihannat felt cold spread violently through her body.
Not fear anymore.
Terror.
Because —
The message did not feel random.
It felt...
Personal.
Deliberate.
Like someone had heard every conversation from last night.
Like someone was already responding.
Mustopha stood abruptly.
"That's impossible."
But even he no longer sounded certain.
Rayyan's expression hardened instantly.
"We have a leak."
"No…" Mustopha muttered slowly.
His face looked genuinely disturbed now.
"…we have someone very close."
Outside the mansion gates—
A black vehicle remained parked several streets away.
Hidden beneath shade.
Silent.
Inside the backseat, Segun sat comfortably while staring at pictures displayed across a tablet screen on his lap.
Pictures of the school.
Pictures of students.
Pictures of teachers.
And finally—
A live image of Rihannat leaving the mansion gate that very moment.
Segun smiled faintly.
"Still going to school despite fear?"
He leaned back slowly.
"Good girl."
The man seated in front remained silent.
Segun's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued watching the screen.
Then softly—
"Fear is most beautiful when people pretend they are not afraid."
His thumb tapped lightly against the tablet as if caressing Rihannat face, then tap it.
Another picture appeared.
A young man chained to a chair inside a dark room.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Unconscious.
Kolawole's heir.
Segun stared quietly for several seconds.
Expression unreadable.
Until finally—
His smile returned.
Cold.
Empty.
"Maybe today," he murmured softly.
"…he'll finally scream out all my answers, don't you think Rex?" he asked the driver who did a night over with him in the car.
One of his boys had suggested he left yesterday while they do the night over but he rejected the idea immediately.
He wants to do the work himself, know every little details about Rihannat himself. Unless he's unavailable no one is allowed to interfere. It gives him a different kind of happiness.... , joy or something he couldn't name.
****
Now who is this Kolawole's heir?? Guess o...
@OlukoyaZainab