In the luxurious hall of a grand villa, the atmosphere was thick with tension. An elderly man, clearly the patriarch of the household, sat sternly on the main seat of the hall. His back was straight, his expression thunderous, and his eyes burned with restrained fury. In front of him stood a middle-aged man with his head bowed low, shoulders stiffened under the weight of sha. Around them, several n and won stood silently, maintaining a careful distance from the confrontation.
The old man suddenly erupted, his voice booming through the hall.
"How did you raise such a bastard? Tell ! Didn’t you know what kind of son you were bringing up? Did you ever do your duty as a parent? Look at this ss!" His voice cracked near the end, and the fury seed to overwhelm him... his chest heaved, and he started coughing violently.
A middle-aged woman rushed to his side in alarm. "Dad, please calm down," she said softly, handing him a glass of water. He took a few sips, and gradually, the coughing subsided.
Trying to bring so control to the situation, she continued, "We’re all doing our best to find the woman who attacked Luke. She was clever enough to disable all the CCTV caras in the area before the incident. But we’ve compiled a list of all the won who could’ve possibly held a grudge against him. Eyewitnesses gave us a partial description. We’re narrowing it down... we’ll find her soon."
The old man slamd his fist on the armrest, his eyes now bloodshot with fury. "You’re missing the point! There are over a hundred nas on that list. One hundred! Do you hear ?" His voice broke with disgust. "How could our family raise such a beast? A monster! Honestly, I wouldn’t bla that woman if she ca back and took his other leg too."
He broke into another coughing fit, this one harsher than before. This ti, a trace of blood stained the handkerchief he brought to his mouth. Panic erupted in the room as family mbers rushed to support him, their faces painted with fear and disbelief.
***
anwhile, in a serene courtyard surrounded by flourishing greenery and fragrant flowers, a scholarly-looking man in his fifties sat in a garden chair. Dressed neatly in a traditional robe, he calmly sipped his morning tea while listening to his secretary, who stood before him, reciting a detailed report.
After the reporting ended, the man slowly set his teacup down and asked in a composed voice, "You’re certain the patriarch of the Baxter family is in the ICU?"
"Yes, sir," the secretary replied. "I confird it personally. One of my friends works at the hospital. The old man collapsed after learning the truth about his grandson."
"Good," the man said, nodding with quiet satisfaction. "Our ti has finally co. Arrange a press conference for those three won... today. But each must speak at a different ti and location. I want the headlines filled with only one na... Luke Baxter. From dawn to dusk."
"Understood, Boss," the secretary replied without hesitation.
The man narrowed his eyes. "Tell , were any of those three won’s nas included in the list of suspects the police made?"
"Two of them were," the secretary confird. "The third wasn’t."
"Perfect," the man said, the edge of a smirk touching his lips. "Leak the list to the dia. Fra it as an internal docunt from the police departnt... make it look official. Say these were the won Luke Baxter assaulted and that his family silenced them. Let them burn in their own lies."
"Yes, Boss. I’ll handle it imdiately," the secretary replied before leaving the courtyard.
Now alone, the man looked around the peaceful garden as if absorbing strength from the nature surrounding him. He adjusted his glasses and tilted his head toward the sky.
"Emily... forgive your father," he whispered softly. "I failed to protect you. I let you wander into the world without teaching you about the animals disguised as n. I should’ve warned you... not every smile is kind, not every hand is safe. I thought I was giving you freedom... but I sent you unard into a battlefield you didn’t even know existed."
His voice cracked, but he continued, "I should’ve asked more questions, looked deeper into your eyes, held you tighter, longer. But I promise you, my child... your dad will avenge you. Tell your mother I’ll join her soon... but only after I bring down the Baxter family. And even if the gods try to stop , I will defy the gods."
His voice dropped to a soothing tone, as though he were lulling a child to sleep. "Just rember... your dad always loved you."
A few silent tears escaped his eyes. He gently removed his glasses, dabbed his cheeks with a handkerchief, and then, with deliberate calm, resud sipping his tea as though nothing had happened.
***
By office ti, the dia had exploded.
News of the so-called "Hundred Rape Case" had hit the public like a storm. Until the morning, people had been split in opinion... so were shocked by the brutality of the mysterious woman in black who severed Luke Baxter’s leg, while others questioned whether the act had been justified. But the revelation that Luke had allegedly violated over a hundred won turned the tide entirely.
At first, one little known online news portal nad this situation "Hundred Rape Case" to attract more traffic. But this phrase caught the eyes of so internet celebrities. Soon, the na swept across the internet.
Enraged citizens flooded social dia with demands for justice. Comnts, hashtags, and reposts surged by the minute. People no longer saw Luke as a victim, but as the predator he had long hidden behind wealth and privilege.
News stations began rolling out special segnts. Talk shows cancelled other topics just to discuss the scandal. Netizens resurrected an old article by a law professor written years ago... an exposé on how convicted rapists were being granted parole far too easily over ti, despite life sentences being the norm. The article, almost forgotten, now trended on every platform.
One user posted the article link under a viral news thread, saying, "This is why monsters like Luke Baxter walk free. Enough is enough! Reform the justice system."
Soon, the professor himself... once a little-known academic, was thrust into the national spotlight. Reporters lined up at his doorstep. TV studios offered him live interviews. Within hours, he beca a public figure, a reluctant voice for justice.
Online polls popped up everywhere: "Should parole be abolished for rapists?" "Should the Baxter family be tied for obstruction of justice?" "Should the mystery woman be hailed a hero?"
Leaders of won’s rights organizations seized the mont. Using their dia connections, they appeared in studios, shared stories of countless survivors, and condemned the judicial loopholes that let Luke continue his atrocities for so long.
The dia frenzy only intensified.
What began as a brutal street incident had transford into a national reckoning... a societal outcry against everything wrong with the justice system.
***
Amid this whirlwind of outrage and awakening, the person who had unknowingly lit the match to this firestorm was sound asleep in her soft bed, undisturbed by the chaos unravelling across the kingdom.
With no Freya around to prepare her morning routine, she woke up late... just past eight. Stretching lazily, she yawned and casually checked the ti before calling her team.
She quickly dressed and made her way to the airport, where her shadow team awaited her. Without delay, she boarded her private Gulfstream G650. After completing the necessary formalities, the engines roared to life, and the aircraft took to the skies, bound for Nigeria.
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