Chapter 43: Aftermath Blame
Lagos University Teaching Hospital – Room 407
Thursday Morning, 9:12 AM
The room smelled of antiseptic and fading roses.
Imani sat on the edge of the narrow bed, one hand wrapped around her mother's thin fingers. The monitors beeped steady but slow. Her mother's eyes were open—cloudy, but seeing.
"You look tired, my love," her mother whispered.
Voice like dry leaves.
Imani forced a smile.
"The party ran late. Nothing I couldn't handle."
Five seconds.
Her mother studied her face the way only mothers can.
What happened,are you sure you are okay
She questioned
She stared and then ask what she has been meaning to ask her
"You fainted, didn't you?"
Imani's breath caught.
"How did you—"
"News travels, even here."
And you Anuty told me
She said that someone told her
A weak squeeze of fingers.
"Tell me the truth, Imani. Is this world swallowing you?"
The question hung.
Imani looked down at their joined hands.
Tears burned.
She didn't answer immediately.
When she finally spoke, her voice cracked.
"I'm trying to be strong enough."
Her mother's eyes filled.
"You were always strong enough for our world. This one… it's not yours to carry alone."
A single tear slipped down Imani's cheek.
She wiped it fast.
"I won't let them break me, Mama."
Cross-cut – Anderson Estate – Private Dining Room
Same Time, 9:17 AM
Temi stood at the head of the long mahogany table, morning light slicing across her face like accusation.
Imani had just walked in—still in yesterday's clothes, eyes red from the hospital.
Temi didn't wait.
"She can't handle our world," Temi said, voice sharp enough to cut crystal.
"Look at last night. Fainting like some fragile little thing in front of the entire board. The blogs are calling her a pauper bride who cracked under pressure. Do you know what that does to our name?"
Imani stood very still.
The small pressure from yesterday's dizziness returned—now heavier, laced with shame.
Damian stepped between them.
His voice was quiet.
Dangerous.
"Mother. Stop."
Enough "
Temi's eyes flashed.
"Stop? Your fiancée embarrassed us all. She's not built for this life. She never was.and she can't be"
Damian's jaw locked.
Five seconds.
Then—
"She was drugged."
The word dropped like a stone into still water.
Temi blinked.
Damian continued, voice rising for the first time in front of his mother.
"Someone spiked her drink. And instead of asking who, you're blaming the victim. My fiancée."
Temi laughed—short, bitter.
"Drugged? Or overwhelmed? There's a difference, Damian."
"No," Damian said.
He took one step closer.
"There isn't. And if you ever speak about her like that again, I will choose her over this family in a heartbeat."
The room went silent.
Temi's face paled.
First real crack between mother and son.
Imani felt it in her chest—gratitude and terror braided together.
Cross-cut – East Wing Sunroom
9:31 AM
Ivy sat on the white chaise, legs crossed, scrolling her phone as if yesterday had been a garden party.
Imani pushed the door open.
No knock.
Ivy looked up.
Smiled.
"Feeling better, sister?"
Imani stopped three feet away.
Voice low.
"You put something in my drink."
Ivy tilted her head.
Five seconds.
Then—
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
She looked away to avoid meeting her eye,
Imani stepped closer.
"I tasted elderflower. The same cordial you brought to the kitchen yesterday,
The doctor said it was
And exact Three drops. Colorless.
Which only point to you!!
And now my mother's hospital room is being watched. Don't lie to me, Ivy."
Ivy's smile never wavered.
But her fingers tightened on the phone.
"Careful, Imani. Accusations like that can end engagements."
Imani's laugh was hollow.
"Engagements built on poison already feel ended."
Cross-cut – Same Sunroom, Moments Later
9:36 AM
Andrea burst in.
Eyes blazing.
She didn't look at Imani.
She looked straight at Ivy.
"You did it."
Ivy stood slowly.
"Excuse me?"
Andrea's voice shook with quiet fury.
"I saw you at the cocktail station. The vial. I didn't want to believe it, but after last night… you wanted her humiliated.you planned this
You wanted Damian to carry her out like some broken child, so the blogs would tear her apart.why are you doing this,
Why can't you take a no for an answer and stay away from her"
Ivy's expression cooled.
Five seconds.
Then—
"Jealousy makes people see things that aren't there, Andrea.and why are you people accusing me of something I didn't do
You saw me there ,yes!!! Because I was getting a drink for myself
Did you see me put anything in her drink no. So where is this coming from"
Andrea stepped forward.
"No. Love makes people protect what's theirs. And yes I might not have seen you red handed putting something in her drink. But am hell sure it was you,and for your information miss ivy!!! Imani is mine now. Touch her again and I will burn everything you care about."
The air thickened.
Ivy was shocked,she was thinking,
Did he just said Imani is his??
I thought??
Oooooh?
This is about to be good
She smirked""
Ivy's eyes flicked to the hidden camera in the corner—brief, almost imperceptible.
Cross-cut – Surveillance Sub-Level
9:41 AM
Victor Adeyemi watched every feed at once.
Temi's rage.
Damian's defense.
Imani's confrontation.
Andrea's threat.
He didn't smile this time.
He simply pressed one key.
The red timer—still running from the party—jumped forward.
00:02:19
He typed a single message to an unsaved number.
They're fracturing faster than expected.
Release the hospital footage to the blogs in thirty minutes.
Caption: "Pauper Bride's Mother Hospitalized After Engagement Nightmare."
Send.
Then he stood.
Adjusted his black onyx cufflinks.
And whispered to the dark room:
"Small pressures were only the beginning."
Back to East Wing Sunroom
9:44 AM
Imani's phone buzzed.
She glanced down.
Live feed notification.
Room 407.
Her mother—now awake, looking straight at the camera someone had placed in the ceiling vent.
A shadow moved behind the curtain again.
Same silhouette.
Black onyx catching light for half a second.
Then the feed cut.
New message appeared.
She asked for you again.
Next time she won't wake up.
Leave the Andersons tonight.
Or I finish what Ivy started.
Imani's blood turned to ice.
She looked up at Ivy.
At Andrea.
At the empty doorway where Damian had just appeared—drawn by the raised voices.
His eyes met hers.
Question in them.
She didn't answer.
Because the invisible villain had just spoken directly to her.
And the countdown on her mother's life had already begun.