The Prodigal Daughter – Episode 47 & 48

The Prodigal Daughter – Episode 47

Episode 47: The Calm Before the Storm

The air in the alley was thick with tension, the world around them still and cold. The faint hum of the city streets echoed in the distance, but it felt like an entirely different world. Sandra’s heart was still pounding in her chest, the weight of everything that had happened bearing down on her.

Tunde leaned heavily against the wall, his breathing shallow but steady. His shirt was soaked with blood, but he was alive. That was all that mattered.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Sandra asked, her voice trembling despite her attempt to sound calm. She could still feel the fear crawling up her spine, the image of the gunshot ringing in her ears.

Tunde gave her a crooked smile. “I’ll live. But we don’t have much time. They’ll be looking for us.”

“We need to find somewhere safe,” Lanre said, scanning their surroundings. “A place where we can regroup and figure out our next move.”

Sandra nodded. She wasn’t sure how much longer they could stay on the run, but she knew they couldn’t go back to the city. Not now. They needed to disappear, to get as far away from Mr. Leke’s men as possible.

“There’s an old warehouse on the outskirts,” Tunde said, wincing as he straightened up. “It should be abandoned, but it’s hidden. We can lay low there for a while.”

Sandra didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go.”

With Tunde leaning on her and Lanre watching their backs, they set off through the winding back streets of the city. Sandra’s mind raced with everything that had happened. They had barely escaped, but their lives were still in danger.

The memory of the gunshot, the explosion, and the men chasing them replayed in her mind over and over. And Mr. Leke’s words echoed in her ears: “You think you can just walk away from me?”

That man would never stop coming after them.

“We have to figure out how to end this,” Sandra muttered, more to herself than to the others. “This has to end. One way or another.”

Lanre glanced at her, his expression unreadable. “You’re right. But how do we take him down? He’s always ten steps ahead of us.”

Tunde, who had been quiet until now, spoke up. “We don’t have to beat him at his own game. We just need to find his weakness.”

Sandra frowned. “His weakness? How do we even begin to find that?”

“Leave that to me,” Tunde said, his voice more confident now. “I have a few old contacts who might know something. We’ll track him down. Get him where it hurts.”

Sandra was hesitant, but she nodded. “I trust you.”

They kept walking, the cold night air biting at their skin. The weight of the situation was heavy on her shoulders. She didn’t know how much longer they could keep running.

Finally, they reached the warehouse. It was a large, rusted building, the windows broken and the doors creaking as they pushed them open. Inside, it was dark and musty, but it was the perfect place to hide for now.

Tunde collapsed onto a stack of crates, his body exhausted but determined. “We rest here for now. Tomorrow, we find out everything.”

Sandra took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing mind. Tomorrow. It was a word that felt like both a promise and a threat.

As she sat down beside Tunde, her mind went back to that moment on the rooftop, when everything had seemed to be falling apart. She had barely escaped with her life, but there was still one thing she knew for sure. Mr. Leke would never stop.

They could run for now, but the real battle had only just begun.

To be continued…

The Prodigal Daughter – Episode 48

Episode 48: The Final Play

Sandra paced the dimly lit room, her thoughts racing. She could feel the weight of every decision, every move they’d made to get this far. The sound of the rain pattering against the window only added to the tension in the air. The storm outside mirrored the one inside her mind—chaotic, unpredictable, and powerful. She had thought she was prepared for anything, but as the days passed, she realized just how much she had yet to face.

Tunde was leaning against the wall, his face tight with pain, but his eyes were focused and sharp. “We need to move quickly,” he said, breaking the silence. “We can’t keep hiding. Sooner or later, Mr. Leke will find us. We need a plan that ends this for good.”

Lanre, who had been quietly watching Sandra, finally spoke up. “But what’s the plan, Sandra? We’ve been on the run for weeks. We’ve seen Leke’s power firsthand. How do we even begin to take him down?”

Sandra turned to face them. She had always been a step ahead of them—thinking, strategizing, but now, she felt the pressure mounting. She could feel the anxiety twisting in her gut. She had to get this right. They had to win.

“I’ve been thinking,” she started, her voice steady, though her hands betrayed her nerves. “Leke’s empire is built on secrecy. His real strength is the people he controls, the ones we don’t even know about. But his weakness? It’s his pride. He’s too cocky. He’s underestimated us from the beginning.”

Tunde raised an eyebrow. “That’s your plan? Pride?”

Sandra nodded. “It’s more than that. His pride has made him reckless. And I know exactly how to use it against him.”

Lanre still looked doubtful. “How?”

Sandra took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing with determination. “We expose him. We make him so desperate that he’ll make mistakes. His own people will turn on him, just like they did with me. If we play our cards right, we can make them all come to him, demanding answers. They’ll break his empire from the inside.”

Tunde let out a low whistle. “You’re saying we turn his own people against him?”

Sandra’s gaze hardened. “Exactly. I’ve been keeping tabs on one of his key men—someone close to him. His name is Jide. He’s the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, and he’s just as greedy as Leke. If we can get to Jide, we can force him to turn on Leke. Once we have him, Leke’s empire will crumble.”

Lanre nodded slowly, a flicker of hope in his eyes. “So, we focus on Jide. We get him to talk, and then we bring Leke down.”

Tunde’s lips curled into a grin. “I like it. Let’s do it.”

Sandra stood, her heart pounding in her chest. This was it. This was the moment they had all been waiting for. The last piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. But as she stared at her team, her mind flashed back to her mother’s words.

“You can’t run forever, Sandra. One day, you’ll have to face the consequences of your actions. But know this: You’re stronger than you think.”

Sandra closed her eyes for a moment, letting those words sink in. She had been running from her past for too long. But now, she wasn’t just running from Leke. She was running toward something greater: justice.

“We need to move fast,” Sandra said, her voice filled with resolve. “Jide won’t be easy to find, but we can’t afford to waste time. Tomorrow, we take the fight to him.”

As the group gathered their things and prepared for the dangerous road ahead, Sandra couldn’t shake the feeling that they were on the edge of something monumental. The endgame was coming.

But with every step, she also felt the weight of the consequences. Taking down Mr. Leke wasn’t just about surviving anymore. It was about confronting everything she had done, everything she had been—and finally taking control of her own story.

The battle for her future was about to begin.

To be continued…