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CHAPTER SEVEN
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2024-10-29 19:42:56About the middle of the eighth month since Chief Mrs. Lucas traveled to London, her husband called her during one of those regular discussions they had every week and told her about his intention to visit her before the baby would be born. No doubt, this alarmed her more than any other problem that had so far arisen concerning the issue of pretending to have her own biological baby. At first, the anxiety this brought her blocked all the possibilities of thinking out a solution. Why should her husband come visiting her at this time when she was expecting that within a short time, her child would be born and sent to her through a young lady she knew was already waiting to carry out that assignment? Was it not a few days before that Dr. Zaki called her to inform her everything was set as Nelly was doing very well, heading towards the day of delivery? Could it be that any of her utterances or phone behaviours had ignited any form of suspicion
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No doubt, the lone car Nelly had seen at their entry into the hospital annex early that morning was a part of an arrangement to convey the baby to a very quiet part of the maternity section of Solace Hospital in Enugu. From there, adequate care was taken by one and all concerned to make sure it was safe, strong and healthy while its travel documents were being prepared. Above all, Dr. Zaki, in order to establish an early rapport between the child and Nunu, had the previous evening, after the birth of the baby, invited the later there that day to introduce her to the baby. So, by the time he got back to Enugu around ten that morning, Nunu was already at the reception waiting for him. Hence, within a very short time, they both were walking towards the private apartment where the baby was kept under the care of another trusted and experienced staff nurse.At their entry into the room, the nurse, Nnenna, was sitting beside a bed where the baby was fast
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Chief Mrs. Lucas did not waste any time to tell her beloved husband that she had finally put to bed under the strict care of her overseas specialist doctor who had for some time now not allowed any visitor around for her own good. No doubt, that was the long story meant to keep her husband from visiting her at a time he would have unfailingly discovered the tricks leveled against him for the past eight to nine months. When Chief Lucas received the news of his wife's delivery, however, his joy knew no bounds. At the same time, in order to avoid a situation where the man would immediately fly down to London, Mrs. Lucas carefully gave him some social assignments to perform.'Darling,' she said to her husband, 'do you not think that as we are coming home almost immediately, it may be worthwhile to organize some of our close friends and business associates to accompany you to the Enugu airport in order to receive our new baby? After all, many people, some fri
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Time picked up diverse events and gathered them into an endless roll of an eternal scroll. Dr. Zaki was faithful in the scholarship he awarded Nelly. And having really secured an admission at the UNN to study Economics three years before, Nelly had just graduated. Her result was so good that she was offered an automatic employment by a powerful oil drilling firm based at Port Harcourt with a zonal administrative headquarter at Enugu. After her youth service corps during which she was engaged in the same firm, she was now undergoing an initial in-service training at Port Harcourt and was going to work in their Enugu office after her three months programme which was gradually drawing to a close.For the past three years before her graduation, however, Nelly had had occasional psychological trauma which she had struggled in vain to overcome. For the same length of time, she had tried to forgive herself over the fact that she had given aw
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Nunu had married immediately after graduation. That was a little after one year she returned from the errand that led her to England and back in less than two weeks. She got married to a handsome young man, Mr. Aloma, a graduate banker with one of the new generation banks which had recently opened shops in some parts of old eastern region, including Enugu . Shortly after their wedding at Christ Church Uwani which drew people from far and near, Mr. Aloma suffered a major set-back. The bank wherein he was working collapsed and so he was instantly thrown back into the labour market. Since it was always very difficult for the victims of a failed bank to get a fresh job in another bank, Mr. Aloma knew he was in for a serious problem.Although Nunu had attracted one other advertising/promotional contract from the firm that first gave her her first fortune, after her contract with Dr. Zaki, she had made it a policy never to tell any suitor about her
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A pure volition backed by good and upright judgment will always create an enabling atmosphere that must engender goodwill, trust and confidence. But an impure volition is like a smoke screen that blurs and distorts good and upright judgment, which makes it difficult for the other person to keep his promises,' said Mr. Aku in response to a proposal by Dr. Zaki during the meeting between himself, Chief Mrs. Lucas, Nelly, Nunu and Mrs. Aku. 'When a mistake is made during the process of decision making, the inevitable consequences are that all those who must act in response to that decision may have to put extra efforts in order to act aright because, the error inherent in the mistake must favour more errors down the line. If a man is traveling to a particular destination, if for any reason while on his way he gets to a junction where he becomes confused about which way to follow, he would be wise to get a reasonable and reliable guidance before continuin
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Chief Lawrence Alanso made sure he sat together with the Lucas the following day in order to discuss some vital aspects of the case he was now handling. For as soon as he came back from the court that afternoon, he called Chief Lucas and told him about the need for three of them to hold a meeting in his office the following evening. So, at the moment, having just arrived at his office along Asata Street, they were in his office, chatting away on the issue at hand.'Am happy both of you are here together. It will help us to look more critically at one of the very important aspects of this case. That is the aspect of your reputation as a couple, your reputation as a business executive and your reputation as an educationist and a school proprietress. As a knowing one, I am constantly conscious of certain basic laws that govern so much that swing and sway around us. For example, when it is said that a man's reputation is his greates
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Once upon a time, there lived a great king. His name was Adino. Although the king was such a famous man, there were two things that bothered him always. In his kingdom, the land of Mayomi, there was a terrible serpent that preyed the lives of the people. The serpent was said to have seven heads. It was so powerful that it could withstand any number of men that ever attempted to kill it. Many great men had in the past given their lives to fight and kill the terrible serpent. But none of them really succeeded. No one went to the serpent and returned alive. As for the king, he had already promised a great reward for any person or group of persons that would succeed in killing the serpent.However, once in a long while, the serpent would appear to someone in the land of Mayomi in a dream with the following message: 'I am the great serpent that owns this land. I command the king to build for me a temple and
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THE WISE MAN AND THE RINGOsdara was really touched by the way the king felt concerning the problem of his people. But what he was going to do to help him, he did not know. When it appeared as if there was no hope and no solution to be found, he left king Adino and his wise men. Some of them thought it was all over. But soon after, he returned with a little ornamental box. The body of the box was decorated with lines of silver and gold. Taking his seat, Osdara opened the little box in the presence of the king and poured its contents on the floor. There was scarcely any type of treasure one could not fine there, all beautiful ornaments.'But why on the floor?' one of the king's wise men asked. 'You would have used a table to save yourself the trouble of bending down.''Oh, you're right,' he said smiling and leaning down over the treasures, apparently looking for something. 'Treasures like these ornaments
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The news was immediately sent to the king. And without waiting for the slightest moment, he had personally left the palace with some guards, all on horses' back. That was exactly how they came to be there. And when the king saw his son staggering away without even recognizing his presence, he almost did not know how he alighted from his horse as he rushed to his aid. When he picked him up and saw his body full of blood, he raised his voice and cried bitterly. The prince would have liked to tell him not to worry since he felt he was alright, but he could scarcely open his mouth to speak. So, waving his hands for the guards to clear, he pointed at the dead snakes some yards away and said:'The serpent is dead. I killed it. Seven snakes, one serpent,' - and collapsed into his father's arms.King Adino almost could not believe it. How he held and embraced his beloved son, how he wept with joy! For at
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Meanwhile, however, the river having now settled considerably, the young men had already slipped into the water, quietly swimming about in search of the ring. The prince was in fact also with them. But for the next forty-five minutes, they moved about inside the river, going down, deep and almost across to the other bank in the serious search. But there was nothing like the ring to be found. So, at the end, they came out of the water completely exhausted. It was the saddest day in the prince's live. For since he grew up, that was the first time he saw his sister weeping so bitterly. It was with the greatest art of persuasion that the princess was made to accept leaving the river bank. She said it would be better to die in the river than go home without the ring. She could not help imagining what was really going to happen to the people of Mayomi now the ring was lost. As for her own fate, she knew she was simp
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There was silence inside the room. The brother and sister looked at each other as if they had never met before. None of them knew what next to say. The princess had however already decided on what to do. She loved her brother more than she had been able to express.As she had already said, she could not afford to lose him or her fiancé. So she must stop them from continuing with that plan. To stop them, however, she must do something she would never have liked to do. Scarcely did her brother leave her room than she found herself in her father's bedroom.'You look terribly flushed, Mara,' her father said, 'what is the matter?’'Nothing,' she said, smiling. 'I've only come to make a request.’'Oh, go on my daughter. But don't ask for what you don't deserve.’'Is there anything I won't get from you just for the asking?’'Well, well, well. Of
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