The truth had finally come out.
And it was worse than anyone had imagined.
At the hospital—
All the friends gathered around Yvette's bed.
Irin walked in from the ward, her face serious.
"Yvette has been suffering from severe malnutrition," she said quietly. "She will not be able to speak properly for now... and she may need to remain bedridden for up to three months."
Silence filled the room.
Azan took a deep breath. "We will not stay here too long. Once she wakes properly, we are going to Lagos."
Lucas nodded. "She needs a change of environment."
Nicole exhaled deeply. "I am just grateful she is alive... because if she was not, I do not know what I would have become."
Azan's voice hardened. "We will get her justice."
Nicole nodded firmly. "Of course. I will stand for her. You know how many cases I have won in London within three months? They will be sentenced."
Irin looked down. "But... they are still our parents."
Azan's eyes filled with conflict. "I love my mother... but not enough to ignore this. Yvette deserves justice. And what about the other girls they harmed?"
Nicole suddenly checked her phone, her expression changing. "Can you believe this? Quin's father... and our mothers... they are all part of the Red Kite group. The very organisation I have been trying to expose."
Yvette stirred slightly.
"Nicole..." she called weakly.
Nicole turned quickly. "Yes?"
Yvette's voice was soft, fragile. "Red Kite... they killed my parents."
The room went silent.
Azan leaned closer. "You do not need to worry about that now. They will be punished. I promise."
Lucas spoke gently. "Can you forgive them... on our behalf?"
Yvette closed her eyes briefly.
"I already have..."
Nicole swallowed hard. "Yvette... what made you run that night?"
Yvette opened her eyes slowly. "I heard your parents... planning to cut you."
Nicole broke down, hugging her carefully.
Yvette managed a weak smile. "Wait... do I smell? I have not bathed since you left..."
All shook thier heads softly. "No... we cannot smell anything."
Irin spoke gently. "We should leave by road."
Azan nodded. "Yes... it will be an adventure. And we will finally see Lagos together."
Yvette looked at them softly. "Can I take a bath?"
"Take your time," Azan said.
She gave a small, tired smile. "I cannot stand properly... I will need help."
Nicole stepped forward immediately. "I am here."
"Thank you..." Yvette whispered.
"Come," Nicole said gently.
Azan smiled faintly. "Go and bathe, big head."
Yvette managed a weak laugh. "Get a driver, blockhead."
They both smiled.
For the first time in years—
It felt real.
"I already arranged everything," Azan added. "A house and a driver to take us to Lagos."
Irin nodded. "Good. Let's get ready."
Lucas stretched slightly. "Alright."
Azan called out, "Nicole, Yvette—we will be waiting in the car."
"Okay!" Nicole replied.
"Bring clothes and a towel from my bag," she added.
"On it," Irin said.
After Yvette had bathed and dressed, they left the hospital.
Irin shook hands with the doctor in charge.
And together—
They walked out.
Free.
Inside the car, silence lingered again.
Azan spoke first. "It would not be right if we did not go and see our parents in court."
Nicole shook her head. "They are wealthy. They will get good lawyers."
Lucas sighed. "I cannot stand there and watch them being sentenced... what if it is death or life imprisonment?"
Irin's voice hardened. "I am not going. Why should I? My own mother wanted me dead."
Azan looked conflicted. "Still... it does not feel right."
Yvette spoke softly.
"Please... move the car."
Lucas glanced at him. "You can go if you want. If you were a lady, you could have been one of them."
Irin rolled her eyes. "You really are a mummy's boy."
The tension lingered.
No one spoke again.
Then—
The car moved.
Driving them forward.
Away from the past—
And into something uncertain.
But together.
After twelve long hours on the road, the city lights of Lagos finally came into view.
No one spoke at first.
They had imagined this moment for years—freedom, reunion, a new beginning—but now that it was real, it felt almost unreal.
As the car drove through the busy streets and into Lekki, something shifted inside all of them.
They had made it.
Together.
When the car finally pulled into the compound, they stepped out slowly—then all at once, the silence broke.
Laughter.
Relief.
Tears.
They walked into the house not just as friends, but as survivors of something that had nearly destroyed them.
For the first time in five years—
They were home.
Far away, in Paris, Quin's story had taken a very different turn.
She had been arrested for possession and use of hard drugs and was now being held as a prisoner.
Her father—known secretly as Red Kite—had also been exposed. His name had surfaced during the investigation, especially after Mrs Thompson's involvement was revealed.
On the very same day the mothers were charged to court in Nigeria, Quin's father was arrested abroad.
The truth had travelled far.
And justice had followed it.
Both Quin's father and the mothers were sentenced to life imprisonment.
Back in Lagos, the news reached them quietly.
Nicole was the first to see it.
"Guys..." she said slowly, her voice lower than usual. "Our mothers... have been sentenced to life imprisonment."
The room fell silent.
Azan exhaled softly. "Oh..."
Irin turned away, her shoulders trembling as tears slipped down her face. Azan moved closer to her. "It's okay, Irin... you don't have to cry."
Lucas shook his head slowly. "They are paying for what they did."
His voice grew heavier.
"Think about all the people they killed... all the girls they harmed... everything they destroyed. They were part of the Red Kite group."
Yvette, sitting quietly, finally spoke.
"They are still your mothers..."
No one argued.
Because it was true.
Nicole's phone buzzed again.
"A friend sent me something," she said, placing it on the table and turning on the audio.
A familiar voice filled the room.
Mrs Thompson.
"I'm really sorry, Yvette... I killed your parents. I'm sorry for what I did."
The room froze.
All eyes slowly turned to Yvette.
She didn't cry.
She didn't shout.
She simply nodded slightly.
"I know."
Life did not return to normal overnight.
But slowly—
They rebuilt.
Yvette gained admission into a university in Lagos to study heart-related diseases.
Alongside her studies, she began sewing again—her passion never truly lost—and with Azan's support, she opened a big fashion shop.
It grew.
Just like she did.
Years later, she graduated.
Strong.
Whole.
And became a cardiologist.
The five of them—once broken, scattered, and lost—became something powerful.
They became successful.
Not just in their careers—
But in their bond.
Despite everything, they chose not to completely turn their backs on their mothers.
Once every month, they visited them.
It was never easy.
Each visit carried silence, guilt, and pain.
Their mothers had changed.
Regret had softened them.
And every single time Yvette followed them on those visits—
They asked her for forgiveness.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Time passed.
Time passed.
Love grew.
Azan, who had once refused to let go of her memory, finally stood before Yvette—not as a boy in pain, but as a man who had waited.
And he proposed to her.
Lucas found love too—and proposed to Irin.
Nicole, strong and independent, built her own life and future, standing tall in her career and her choices.
Also found her own love
Each of them found happiness.
Not perfect.
But real.
They had lost years.
They had lost people.
They had faced darkness most could never imagine.
But in the end—
They found each other again.
And that was enough.