CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Daniel read the message again, hoping he had misunderstood it.
The payment had been made shortly before Samuel's death. According to the investigators, it was connected to a man named Michael Adeyemi, a former business associate of Samuel's.
Aisha stared at the name on Daniel's phone.
"Michael Adeyemi," she repeated. "I've never heard my mother mention him."
"Neither have I," Daniel replied. "But the investigators believe he may know why Samuel kept those records."
Aisha immediately called her mother.
"Mum, did Dad ever work with someone called Michael Adeyemi?"
Grace went silent.
The silence lasted long enough to frighten Aisha.
"Yes," Grace finally answered. "He knew Michael."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I barely knew him myself. Michael was one of Samuel's business contacts. They worked together on a project before you were born."
"Do you know where we can find him?"
"I haven't spoken to him in years, Aisha."
After the call, Daniel contacted the detective handling the case. The detective explained that the payment was being investigated and warned them not to jump to conclusions.
That evening, Aisha and Daniel met at a quiet restaurant.
"What if Michael was involved in what happened to my father?" Aisha asked.
"Then the investigators will find out."
"And if he wasn't?"
"Then we'll stop treating him like a suspect just because his name appeared in a record."
Aisha looked at him thoughtfully.
"You're right. I don't want to accuse an innocent person."
Daniel reached across the table and held her hand.
"We'll follow the evidence."
She squeezed his fingers.
For once, she felt they were approaching the past with patience rather than fear.
Later that night, however, Aisha received a message from an unknown number.
Michael Adeyemi knows what happened before Samuel died. Ask him why he disappeared.
Aisha immediately forwarded it to Daniel and the detective.
Someone was still trying to guide their investigation from the shadows.
And Aisha had a feeling that Michael's story would change everything they thought they knew.