The café seemed to shrink.
—“No…” Nneka whispered, turning to her daughter-in-law. “Tell me that is a lie.”
Adanna didn’t deny it.
—“My father built an empire,” she said coolly. “Not everything needs to be… clean.”
—“It was more than ‘not clean,’” Chuka cut in. “It was laundering. Fraud. And worse.”
He leaned closer.
—“I told you I was going to report it.”
Adanna’s expression darkened.
—“Yes,” she said. “That was your mistake.”
Nneka’s voice broke.
—“You tried to kill your husband… over money?”
Adanna’s eyes flashed.
—“Don’t reduce it to that,” she snapped. “Do you know what happens to families like mine when one man decides to grow a conscience?”
She leaned in, her voice dropping.
—“Everything burns.”
Chuka shook his head.
—“So you pushed me into the sea.”
—“No,” Adanna said quietly.
A pause.
—“I had help.”
Nneka felt dizzy.
—“Who?”
Adanna smiled faintly.
—“You really think something like that is done alone?”
