Not long after the confession began, the atmosphere inside the compound changed.
The excitement and curiosity that had accompanied the divination had disappeared. No one whispered anymore. No one moved unnecessarily. Every eye was fixed on the young man kneeling before Okemmiri.
Ego stood several paces away, her body trembling.
She could barely breathe.
The man she had loved, trusted, slept beside, and entrusted with everything she possessed was slowly becoming a stranger before her eyes.
Yet there was more.
Much more.
Okemmiri stared at Ndubisi.
"Where are the members of your gang now?"
"They are no more," Ndubisi replied.
A wicked smile briefly appeared at the corner of his lips.
"I dissolved the gang."
"What did you do?"
Ndubisi took a slow breath.
"After Nnanna's death, my place among them became secure. They trusted me. I began going out with them on their operations. For a long time, everything went well."
He paused.
"Until one evening."
The compound remained silent.
"We had just returned from another successful operation. We were drinking and talking about previous jobs when someone mentioned the killing of a wealthy trader and his wife."
He swallowed.
"That conversation changed everything."
Okemmiri leaned forward.
"What did you discover?"
Ndubisi's eyes dropped to the ground.
"I discovered that the men I had been living with were the same men my uncle had hired to assassinate my parents."
A murmur swept through the crowd.
"They said it was one of their easiest jobs. They had been given the information, the location, and the description of their targets. They simply followed the instructions, killed them, and collected their payment."
His voice became heavier.
"They didn't even know the names of the people they killed. They didn't know my father's name. They didn't know my mother's name. To them, my parents were nothing more than two targets."
He paused.
"But to me, they were my whole world."
His jaw tightened.
"From that day, I began planning my revenge."
He looked up.
"I didn't care that those men had taken me in when the whole world rejected me. I didn't care that they had fed me, sheltered me, and treated me as one of their own."
His eyes hardened.
"They had taken my parents from me. They had destroyed my life. They had to pay."
"Did they?" Okemmiri asked.
"They did."
Ndubisi smiled faintly.
"Not long afterward, an opportunity came."
He continued.
"We were contracted to rob a wealthy trader. The client provided everything—the layout of the compound, the location of the valuables, where we were to enter, and where we were to escape. The operation was scheduled for five nights later."
He paused.
"Two nights before the robbery, I went into the village."
Ego's heart began beating faster.
"I entered the trader's compound through the same route we had planned to use. I found him sleeping beside one of his wives. I covered his mouth before he could scream."
Ndubisi looked at Ego.
"I told him everything."
"You told him about the robbery?" Okemmiri asked.
"Yes. I told him a gang of armed men would come in two nights. I told him exactly where they would enter. I told him to prepare himself and make sure none of them left alive."
He shrugged.
"I reminded him that if one of them escaped, they would return with more men and become even more ruthless."
"What happened?"
"On the appointed night, we went there."
His smile returned.
"I was stationed outside as a lookout. When the others entered through the planned entrance, I walked away."
A few people gasped.
"They all died."
He looked almost pleased with himself.
"Justice had been served."
"And your uncle?" Okemmiri asked.
Ndubisi's smile disappeared.
"After that, I returned to the forest. I began living off the things we had stolen. I ate what I could and sold what I couldn't."
He paused.
"Some market weeks later, I decided to return to my village."
His face hardened.
"I stayed hidden and watched my uncle enjoy my father's wealth. My stepmother was beside him. They were happy."
His fingers tightened into fists.
"How could they be happy?"
His voice cracked.
"They had murdered my parents, destroyed my life, and taken everything that belonged to me. Yet there they were, living comfortably."
He shook his head.
"I decided they would die too."
The crowd became restless.
"The plan was simple. I would enter their room at night and kill them both."
He took a deep breath.
"When midnight came, I climbed down from the tree where I had been watching them. I entered through the backyard and quietly made my way to their bedroom."
His eyes became distant, as though he were watching the scene again.
"My stepmother was asleep."
He paused.
"I raised my machete."
Another pause.
"But for some reason, I couldn't strike her."
Ego stared at him.
"Then she woke up."
His voice became quieter.
"She saw me and screamed."
"Her husband came running."
Ndubisi's eyes narrowed.
"I struck him."
"With the machete?"
"Yes."
"I don't remember where it landed. I didn't care."
His stepmother screamed even louder.
"People began rushing toward the room. I knew I had to leave."
He continued.
"As I ran, I collided with my uncle's first son. We both fell. He recognized me."
His lips curled.
"He started shouting my name and calling for help."
Ndubisi looked around the compound.
"They chased me for days."
"And you escaped?"
"I reached the evil forest."
He paused.
"That was where I saw Ego."
Ego's knees almost gave way.
She remembered.
The fever.
The hut.
The old woman.
The dog.
The strange forest.
And then Ndubisi.
Okemmiri spoke.
"You saw her from the treetop?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
Ndubisi inhaled deeply.
"I climbed down and went toward the shallow grave. I found Ego lying inside it."
Ego closed her eyes.
"She had a terrible fever. I knew immediately that she was the woman I had seen outside that hut while I was being chased."
He continued.
"I made a stretcher and carried her back here."
His voice lowered.
"I prepared herbs and gave them to her."
Then he stopped.
Okemmiri stared at him.
"You have carried enough darkness inside you to fill this entire forest," he said. "An unconscious woman placed in your care is like giving a goat yam and asking it not to eat."
The crowd remained silent.
"What did you do to her?"
Ndubisi looked at Ego.
For the first time, there was no smile on his face.
"I fought myself."
He swallowed.
"I kept telling myself that I would not touch her. She had done nothing to me."
His eyes fell.
"But that night…"
He hesitated.
"I lost control."
Ego's face went pale.
"I had been without a woman for many years. She was beautiful. She was unconscious. She couldn't defend herself."
His voice became barely audible.
"I raped her."
A collective gasp escaped the crowd.
"Twice."
The compound erupted.
People shouted.
Some cursed him.
Others called him names.
Akidi shook his head in disgust.
But Ego heard none of them.
Everything around her seemed to disappear.
The moon.
The people.
Okemmiri.
The compound.
All of it faded.
Only one thought remained.
Nnanna.
The man she had loved.
The man whose death had nearly destroyed her.
The man she had mourned for years.
The man whose place she believed Ndubisi had somehow been destined to fill.
And now she knew.
The man sleeping beside her every night was the man who had killed him.
Her stomach churned.
Her legs trembled.
She could barely remain standing.
"How?"
The word escaped her lips.
She looked at Ndubisi as though she were seeing him for the first time.
"How could I have been sleeping beside the man who killed my husband?"
Her voice broke.
"You murdered Nnanna."
She stepped toward him.
"You killed my husband!"
Ndubisi remained on his knees.
"You lied to me."
Her tears began flowing freely.
"You lied about everything."
She reached him and grabbed him by the neck.
"You killed him!"
She squeezed harder.
"You killed my husband in cold blood!"
People rushed forward, but Okemmiri raised a hand.
"Leave them."
Ego's fingers tightened around Ndubisi's throat.
"You killed Nnanna, and that wasn't enough?"
Her voice became a scream.
"You destroyed my Nwaza too!"
She began sobbing.
"You have finished me!"
She shook him violently.
"You took my husband. You took my happiness. You took my source of wealth. You lied to me from the very beginning!"
Ndubisi said nothing.
Tears streamed down Ego's face.
"How am I supposed to tell Osundu that his father was a murderer?"
She released his neck for a moment and staggered backward.
"And the child in my womb?"
Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach.
"How am I supposed to tell that child that his father was a thief, a murderer, and a rapist?"
She looked toward the heavens.
"What have I done to deserve all this?"
Her voice became smaller.
"Why?"
She turned back to Ndubisi.
"Why did you lie to me?"
He looked at her.
For a moment, the hardened man disappeared.
What remained was the broken young man she had once found in the forest.
"I told you the truth about one thing."
Ego stared at him.
"What?"
"That I love you."
She shook her head.
"Don't say that."
"That I would do anything to put a smile on your face."
"Stop."
"That you were beautiful."
"Stop!"
"That you brought out the best in me."
Her tears fell faster.
"You believed in me when the whole world had abandoned me."
He swallowed.
"You gave me a reason to wake up every morning."
His voice trembled.
"These years with you were the best years of my life."
Ego stared at him.
"I know I don't deserve you."
He lowered his head.
"But I love you."
He never finished the sentence.
His body suddenly jerked.
Ego stepped backward.
Ndubisi's hands flew toward his stomach.
He began convulsing violently.
"Ndubisi!"
White foam suddenly poured from his mouth.
Someone screamed.
His body twisted again.
The foam changed color.
It became red.
His eyes rolled upward until only the whites remained.
Ego stood frozen.
"Okemmiri!"
The Dibia rushed toward him.
Ndubisi's body jerked one final time.
Then—
Nothing.
His body fell sideways.
Silence descended upon the compound.
His pupils slowly returned to their normal position.
He took one final breath.
And stopped.
Ego stared at him.
The man who had saved her life.
The man who had loved her.
The man who had deceived her.
The man who had raped her.
The man who had murdered her husband.
The father of her children.
All of him lay motionless before her.
Okemmiri approached cautiously.
He placed two fingers against Ndubisi's neck.
He waited.
Then slowly withdrew his hand.
"He is gone."
Nobody spoke.
Ego sank to her knees.
She stared at Ndubisi's lifeless body, unable to cry.
Above them, thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.
The wind moved through the compound.
And for a brief moment, every flame from the surrounding torches bent in the same direction.
Toward Ndubisi's body.
No one dared speak.
For in that moment, nobody knew whether a man had simply died—
or whether the gods had finally passed judgment.