She took off the dress, put it in the wardrobe, and put on trousers and a sweatshirt. Her hands were shaking, but her intellect was as sharp as a knife.
She made a call to her dad.
He picked up on the first ring.
“Princess? Why are you calling on the night of your wedding?”
“Please help me, Daddy,” she said quietly. In the morning. She was at the notary’s office.
Be quiet.
Dangerous silence.
“What did that kid do?”
“Nothing yet,” she said. “But I won’t let him.”
Her father let out a quick breath.
“Send me the address by text.”
Next, she phoned Sila, her best friend and a lawyer who is known in Atlanta courts as The Red-haired Reaper.
Sila’s eyes lit up with rage when she heard the tapes.
“Girl, this is a planned scam. And you know what? You’re going to kill them. This will be done legally. In a beautiful way.
“We’re not done,” Abeni said as she took a deep breath. “I want them to feel bad about choosing me.”
Sila’s smile changed into a wolf’s.
“Oh, we’re going to make them cough.”
CHAPTER 2—THE GOOD HUSBAND ACT
Abeni grinned and kissed Omari softly when he got home, even though he was acting anxious, loving, and everything else.
She had never acted better.
She made pancakes in the microwave and coffee the next morning.
Omari looked upset.
“These taste strange.”
“It’s a healthy recipe,” she said with a smile.
Her phone caught everything that happened behind the spice rack.
Especially when he asked without thinking:
“Hey, you might want to put my name on the condo paperwork.” This is important because I manage the house.
“Oh? Are you?” She requested in a charming voice.
“Well, yes—traditionally.”
“Let’s talk later.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.
And her phone recorded every drip of entitlement.
CHAPTER 3—GETTING AMMO
In less than 48 hours:
all of her accounts were relocated.
every property has been moved..
notarized her part of her father’s business
every conversation written down
every falsehood kept
Sila put the evidence together like a work of art.
“You have enough to kill him,” she said. “But we’re not going to strike yet.”
“No.” Abeni’s smile got sharper. “We hit when it hurts.”
CHAPTER 4: A DINNER FROM HELL
Three days later, Zola came over for dinner.
Great.
Abeni produced the worst lunch Atlanta had ever seen: gluey rice, spicy broth, a mayonnaise mess she dubbed “country salad,” and a cake composed of butter-sugar cement.
Zola almost threw up.
Then they acted hurt.
Great.
Abeni watched from the car window as Zola screamed at Omari in the driveway like a devil who had just realized she had fallen into a trap.
Also great.
CHAPTER 5—THE BIG NIGHT
It was Friday night.
Abeni asked everyone to come:
Zola
Omari
Malik, the stupid friend who drinks too much
Malik’s wife is really loud.
Sila
A few more people saw it.
The table looked excellent.
The food was catered.
Abeni looked beautiful.
Zola smiled, pleased.
“This is the standard I was talking about,” she said with pride.
The meal began.
Abeni held up a glass.
“To honesty.”
She then pushed play on her phone.
The speakers blasted Zola’s voice:
“We claim the condo… she’s an orphan… a bird in a cage…”
Quiet.
The forks hung silently in the air.
Zola’s face fell apart.
Omari turned as pale as a ghost.
“That’s… not real,” Zola said, stuttering.
“Oh? Abeni grinned in a frigid way. “Then this must be fake too.”
She played the tape of Omari gloating to Malik:
“I bought the condo, so I’m keeping it when we get a divorce.”
Malik choked on the booze.
His wife got up and hit him.
Things got crazy.
Then—
The door opened.
SILA came in.
She entered with a file in hand.
She exuded a smile that was capable of shattering even the hardest steel.
She said, “Good evening.” ” I’m Sila Brooks, a lawyer. You are hereby notified, Zola Ramos. —
“That’s enough!” Zola shrieked.
“No,” Abeni said with a voice that sounded like glass. “It’s not.”
She put the papers on the table.
bank transfers that showed the money was hers
tax returns that show her father wasn’t “a broke engineer” but the director of a division that designs defense systems
The property records are official documents.
A notary has signed ownership transfers.
“Omari,” she whispered softly, “your whole plan falls apart if you try to fight any of this.”
He swallowed.
“Please, let’s talk—”
“Get your stuff ready. You’re going tonight.
“Abeni—”
“You made your choice.”
CHAPTER 6—AFTERMATH
The divorce was quiet and neat.
Omari didn’t take anything.
Zola was no longer in Atlanta.
Abeni rebuilt her life without any anger, gently and deliberately.
One day, Gelani, a tall engineer with warm eyes, sat down at her table at a quiet café because all the other seats were taken.
He grinned.
She grinned back.
Sometimes fate starts where treachery ends.
CHAPTER 7: THE WOLF COMES BACK
Two years later, Abeni found herself engaged to Gelani, excelling in her engineering career, and enjoying a fulfilling life.
Until she met Zola.
Not in a lovely store.
Not at a fancy hotel.
But at a store.
Zola was busy packing items into bags.
Zola looked weak.
Tired.
Life has beaten me.
She looked at Abeni’s engagement ring and then spoke in a low voice:
“Are you happy?””
Abeni said, “Yes,” honestly.
“Good,” Zola said softly, her voice breaking. “Because I ruined everything I had. My son won’t talk to me. My sister and I live together. I—
Abeni lifted a hand to tell her to remain quiet.
“I’ll never forget what you did.” But I won’t despise you either. “Life has already punished you.”
Zola cried.
Her shoulders shook as she let out a soft, nasty wail.
Abeni left.
Some wins don’t need to be cheered.
CHAPTER 8: A CRIME NEVER DIES
Three years later.
Abeni was married to Gelani, and they had two kids.
Things were calm.
Until the news of the law broke on TV:
“Attorney Zola Ramos has won a significant fraud case, ensuring the safety of an elderly woman from a real estate scam.”
Abeni couldn’t believe what she saw on the TV.
Zola.
Reinvented.
Saved.
She found herself fighting for the women she had once hunted down.
She said, “How ironic.”
But for some reason, she felt proud.
She was determined not to let go.
Not forgetting.
I am simply expressing my gratitude.
Redemption came in unusual ways.
CHAPTER 9—THE LAST SHADOW
Years went by.
Abeni got a call from a hospital one night.
“Mrs. Kayode, Zola Ramos would like to see you.”
When she got there, Zola was emaciated, weak, and gray.
Cancer.
End.
Zola said in a low voice:
“I just wanted to say thank you.” “Even when I didn’t deserve it.”
“For what?””
“For showing me what a real woman is.”
Abeni sat still.
Zola gave her a letter.
“For you.” The letter was addressed to her when I was not present.
Abeni stayed until Omari got there.
She softly left the mother and son alone.
A week later, Zola died.]
Abeni eventually opened the mail at home.
“Dear Abeni,
You were the only person I was afraid of and looked up to.
I attempted to hurt you.
But you turned into the woman I wanted to be.
You taught me how to be strong without being mean.
smartness without trickery,
and forgiveness without becoming weak.
If your kids want to know about your prior marriage,
Be honest with them.
Tell them that even on the darkest night,
You can still go into the light.
— Zola.”
Abeni folded the letter with tears in her eyes.
This was not due to any physical discomfort.
From the end.
CHAPTER 11—BELOW THE BED
Years later, on a family excursion, her youngest daughter asked,
“Mom, is it true that you once hid beneath a bed?”
Abeni laughed.
“Yes,” she said. “And it kept me alive.”
“Why would anyone want to hide under a bed?”
Abeni smiled at the sea.
“Because fate can sometimes hide where you least expect it.”
Her husband put his arm around her waist.
“And sometimes,” he said, kissing her temple, “your guardian angel is hiding under a mahogany bed in a torn wedding dress.”
She leaned against him.
The past was over.
But the lesson stayed.
Don’t be afraid of the truth.
Don’t ever ignore the signs.
And don’t let betrayal shape your future.
Abeni saw her family smiling on the beach.
She had won.
Completely.
Totally.
It unfolded beautifully.
And it had all begun.
in the quiet, dark, and dusty
underneath a bed
on the night of her wedding.