₦airaland Forum

TheBlessedMAN:
Hey readers, how do you want the episodes?

Long? Short? Or moderate?

Let me use this Yoruba answer for you 😁😁

Tobasewu ehn😁😁

TheBlessedMAN:
Hey readers, how do you want the episodes?

Long? Short? Or moderate?

Extraordinarily Loooonnnnng!

TheBlessedMAN:
Hey readers, how do you want the episodes?

Long? Short? Or moderate?

Satisfyingly loooooooooooooog🤣🤣🤣🤣 good and blessed morning to you all and big bear hug to @tbm🤗🤗

TheBlessedMAN:
Hey readers, how do you want the episodes?

Long? Short? Or moderate?

Make it longer than Longinus Preeekk

Episode 38 — Before The World Stopped.

There’s something about a good shower that resets a human being’s entire system. I don’t know the bandit… sorry, I mean the science behind it. All I know is that once water touches your skin, even your problems will calm down and behave — the way Barcelona behaved when they entered Stamford Bridge in 2025.

After the bath, I wrapped a towel around my waist and dropped onto the bed.
That was when the entire day started replaying itself in HD inside my head.

This my “excellent memory,” as in my talent ehn… sometimes it’s a blessing, sometimes it’s a curse, and sometimes it’s a bully. My whole body was begging for sleep, but my brain said, “Relax, alaye. We haven’t finished reviewing today’s episode.”

Most nights, it’s a battle — brain versus body. Sometimes my body wins, sometimes my brain forces my body to surrender. But tonight? My body carried the trophy, because before I knew it, I slept off right in the middle of replaying Aristotle’s ‘punishment assignment’ in my head — the one where I’m supposed to figure out what I deserve for everything that happened in that mansion.

I don’t know how long I was gone, but I woke up when something tapped my thigh.

I mumbled one useless word and opened my eyes — only to see Toyosi sitting beside me on the bed.

She was wearing her usual tissue-paper nightwear. The one she only wears when it’s just the two of us in the house. A soft smile appeared on her face the moment our eyes met. Even her nipples were greeting me through the cloth.

I sat up immediately, confused for a second.

“What is it?” I asked.

She didn’t answer. She only pointed at my waist.

“You might want to keep that dagger away…” she said, almost laughing.

I looked down.
The towel had shifted.
My penis was outside like it came for roll call.

I adjusted myself quickly, feeling somehow embarrassed about the whole thing.

“What are you doing here?” I asked again.

She smiled — that small but annoyingly beautiful smile.

“Now I understand why you’re the talk of the town…”

I frowned slightly.
“What do you mean by that?”

She didn’t answer. The smile just grew a little more… seductive this time.
That was my cue to stand up. I went straight to my box — the one I had already packed — dragged out a pair of shorts, and rushed into the bathroom.

By the time I stepped out, she was lying on her back on the floor.

“Are you high?” I asked, but she didn’t respond.

“Toy, what are you doing here na?”

She still ignored me like I was one spam email she didn’t subscribe to.

My head was already running through a lot of thoughts.
The dream from last night came back first — the one where Tiffany stabbed her, and she died. Then I remembered how Tiffany stormed out earlier.

What if she came back and saw her friend dressed like this inside my room?
Let’s not lie — that alone is enough to start a war without any explanation needed.

I was still battling all that when her voice cut into my thoughts again.

“You know this life, there’s always a first time for everything. Like when a team suddenly loses their winning streak. Or when a girl loses her virginity. All those things.”

Then she propped herself up, resting her head on one palm with her elbow on the floor.

“Before today, Aristotle has never lost that game he played with you.”

My mouth opened on its own.

Before my brain even arranged how she knew Aristotle’s name — talk less of knowing the exact sex game that maniac forced me to have with Cynthia — she continued like she didn’t just drop the atomic bomb inside my brain’s Hiroshima.

“Now after seeing that dagger you call a penis, I think I finally understand why…”

My whole head just scattered.
It was honestly one of the most confusing moments of my life. I was lost. Completely lost. My brain was just beeping like a small computer that needed more information before it could understand the command Toyosi just dropped. She adjusted the straps of her cloth and continued.

“You know… in this life, there are things we think we know… there are things we don’t know… and there are things we don’t even know we don’t know.”

I froze.

Again, my brain, with its annoying sharpness, dragged me straight into flashback mode.
I remembered where I had heard those exact words.

It was from Chuka.

My knees became weak instantly, like someone unplugged the bones.
I dropped onto the bed because standing wasn’t working again. I kept staring at her on the floor, trying to read her face, trying to connect something — anything at all — but her eyes and actions weren’t giving me anything.

“Darous,” she said quietly, but didn’t wait for a response before continuing.
“What I’m about to tell you… it must never leave this room. It must stay between us until we stop breathing.”

I couldn’t talk, even though I wanted to. I’m not sure if it was shock or the stress of the whole day, but my voice just refused to come out.

Then the god of thunder whispered:
“Don’t worry, son. I’ve muted you from this end. At this point, you don’t need to talk. Just listen.”

Toyosi sat up slowly, brushing her hair back like she needed to steady herself. She pulled her knees close, rested her elbows on them, and stared at the marble floor as if she was dragging out a memory she wasn’t proud of. Then she lifted her head and locked eyes with me.

“Darous… eight years ago, my ex-boyfriend and I were sentenced to jail.”

My heart skipped. The mute button life put on me instantly turned itself off.

“Wha— jail? As in… pri— prison?” I managed to say.

She raised her hand immediately.
“Please… Darous, please, don’t interrupt me. Let me finish.”

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and nodded.

She took a slow breath.

“Back then… we were into robbery.”
Her voice was steady, but her eyes looked far away. “Not small-small stealing. We had a gang. All of us were eighteen years old. We called it Eighteen Gang. Clark — my ex — founded it, but I was the one behind all our successful operations.”

My face went blank. I honestly didn’t know what expression to wear to this occasion of her confession.

“We didn’t kill. We didn’t rape,” she continued. “Those were our rules. Every mission was planned with precision by me. We robbed banks, strong rooms, private facilities… just anywhere money was a tenant.”

She gave a small, sad smile.
“And we made a lot. Darous, a lot of ego… enough kudi to live life like we owned the biggest company in the country.”

She shifted slightly, adjusting her legs, and as she moved, I noticed her panties peeking between her thighs — but my brain didn’t even process it properly. Her words were heavier than anything romantic at that moment.

“Our last job…” she said quietly. “That was where everything scattered. We weren’t supposed to touch a bullion van. I was totally against it. I warned them. The risk was too high. Too open. Too exposed. But everybody wanted one final operation — one big job that would settle all of us for life.”

Her fingers tightened slowly against her palms.

“They begged me to tag along. I refused. We were on it for more than two weeks; each day that passed reduced the window of opportunity. But after much pestering and begging from my boyfriend — who even threatened to break up with me — and me being young and foolish and naïve, I finally agreed. I set a plan and the plan worked. Perfectly. We got the van. We got the bags. We were already leaving. No shootout, no alarm, nothing. Everything went exactly the way I designed it.”

She paused… then her voice dropped.

“Until one trigger-happy policeman decided to act like Rambo.”

She shook her head regretfully.

“He fired. He shot one of us. Killed him instantly. And that was it. The rest of the gang broke the rule. They fired back. The police fired back. It turned into a big mess.”

She swallowed, her voice thinning.

“They caught us that day — all of us, including the dead ones. Took us to court and sentenced us. I was given thirty-five years… my boyfriend got life… because he killed a policeman…”

Her eyes met mine again — this time with a kind of tiredness I’d never seen in her eyes.

“And that… is how my life went from being the smartest girl in the room… to being a beautiful prisoner.”

She kept her eyes on the floor for a moment, like she needed strength to open the next chapter of her story.

“I had resigned to fate,” she said quietly. “Prison was my home now. I wasn’t fighting it. But two years into my sentence… someone approached me.”

She looked up at me with eyes filled with nothing but regret and sadness.

“He said they could make my sentence disappear. Completely. Wipe it clean. But only if I agreed to work for them.”

My eyebrow jumped on its own at that revelation.

“And you agreed?” I asked before I could even stop myself.

She shot me a warning look — another look I’d never seen on her face before.

“What did I say about interrupting me?”

“Oh… I’m sorry… continue please… please… no vex.”

She rubbed her nose gently and nodded slowly. “I agreed immediately to the offer. Who wouldn’t? I was going to be fifty-four by the time I finished my sentence… I didn’t want that for myself. And to even make the offer more tempting, they promised to help release my boyfriend once I accepted.”

“Same boyfriend that got life?”

I was expecting a response from her, but instead, what I got surprised me.

Nice episode anticipating more boss

Let me guess
That her boyfriend might be chuka or the limping man 😀😀😀

Abdulreheem:
Let me guess
That her boyfriend might be chuka or the limping man 😀😀😀

you are in for a long one bro... 😂😂😂😂

yungbanks:
Nice episode anticipating more boss

thanks boss man

I saw this coming 🤭🤭🤭🤭,I know Toy was a dirty girl,I pray she's not fooling Tiffany for the dairy 😔and whatever happens, Darous should control his dagger oooo🤣🤣🤣🤣 cos that girl has no code,she ho chop Darous clean mouth🤔and it can be trouble in future 🤕🤕🤕 the circle is really a big connected gang😰

Theblessedman man,I abeg no starve me of better updates 🙏🙏🙏🙏 I dey follow you hammer to nail 💯🔥💪

Very nice update, please we need more

Waiting earnestly for the next episode.

Been long, am surprised to see this trend
Been 6 years or so

TheBlessedMAN:
Episode 38 — Before The World Stopped.

There’s something about a good shower that resets a human being’s entire system. I don’t know the bandit… sorry, I mean the science behind it. All I know is that once water touches your skin, even your problems will calm down and behave — the way Barcelona behaved when they entered Stamford Bridge in 2025.

After the bath, I wrapped a towel around my waist and dropped onto the bed.
That was when the entire day started replaying itself in HD inside my head.

This my “excellent memory,” as in my talent ehn… sometimes it’s a blessing, sometimes it’s a curse, and sometimes it’s a bully. My whole body was begging for sleep, but my brain said, “Relax, alaye. We haven’t finished reviewing today’s episode.”

Most nights, it’s a battle — brain versus body. Sometimes my body wins, sometimes my brain forces my body to surrender. But tonight? My body carried the trophy, because before I knew it, I slept off right in the middle of replaying Aristotle’s ‘punishment assignment’ in my head — the one where I’m supposed to figure out what I deserve for everything that happened in that mansion.

I don’t know how long I was gone, but I woke up when something tapped my thigh.

I mumbled one useless word and opened my eyes — only to see Toyosi sitting beside me on the bed.

She was wearing her usual tissue-paper nightwear. The one she only wears when it’s just the two of us in the house. A soft smile appeared on her face the moment our eyes met. Even her nipples were greeting me through the cloth.

I sat up immediately, confused for a second.

“What is it?” I asked.

She didn’t answer. She only pointed at my waist.

“You might want to keep that dagger away…” she said, almost laughing.

I looked down.
The towel had shifted.
My penis was outside like it came for roll call.

I adjusted myself quickly, feeling somehow embarrassed about the whole thing.

“What are you doing here?” I asked again.

She smiled — that small but annoyingly beautiful smile.

“Now I understand why you’re the talk of the town…”

I frowned slightly.
“What do you mean by that?”

She didn’t answer. The smile just grew a little more… seductive this time.
That was my cue to stand up. I went straight to my box — the one I had already packed — dragged out a pair of shorts, and rushed into the bathroom.

By the time I stepped out, she was lying on her back on the floor.

“Are you high?” I asked, but she didn’t respond.

“Toy, what are you doing here na?”

She still ignored me like I was one spam email she didn’t subscribe to.

My head was already running through a lot of thoughts.
The dream from last night came back first — the one where Tiffany stabbed her, and she died. Then I remembered how Tiffany stormed out earlier.

What if she came back and saw her friend dressed like this inside my room?
Let’s not lie — that alone is enough to start a war without any explanation needed.

I was still battling all that when her voice cut into my thoughts again.

“You know this life, there’s always a first time for everything. Like when a team suddenly loses their winning streak. Or when a girl loses her virginity. All those things.”

Then she propped herself up, resting her head on one palm with her elbow on the floor.

“Before today, Aristotle has never lost that game he played with you.”

My mouth opened on its own.

Before my brain even arranged how she knew Aristotle’s name — talk less of knowing the exact sex game that maniac forced me to have with Cynthia — she continued like she didn’t just drop the atomic bomb inside my brain’s Hiroshima.

“Now after seeing that dagger you call a penis, I think I finally understand why…”

My whole head just scattered.
It was honestly one of the most confusing moments of my life. I was lost. Completely lost. My brain was just beeping like a small computer that needed more information before it could understand the command Toyosi just dropped. She adjusted the straps of her cloth and continued.

“You know… in this life, there are things we think we know… there are things we don’t know… and there are things we don’t even know we don’t know.”

I froze.

Again, my brain, with its annoying sharpness, dragged me straight into flashback mode.
I remembered where I had heard those exact words.

It was from Chuka.

My knees became weak instantly, like someone unplugged the bones.
I dropped onto the bed because standing wasn’t working again. I kept staring at her on the floor, trying to read her face, trying to connect something — anything at all — but her eyes and actions weren’t giving me anything.

“Darous,” she said quietly, but didn’t wait for a response before continuing.
“What I’m about to tell you… it must never leave this room. It must stay between us until we stop breathing.”

I couldn’t talk, even though I wanted to. I’m not sure if it was shock or the stress of the whole day, but my voice just refused to come out.

Then the god of thunder whispered:
“Don’t worry, son. I’ve muted you from this end. At this point, you don’t need to talk. Just listen.”

Toyosi sat up slowly, brushing her hair back like she needed to steady herself. She pulled her knees close, rested her elbows on them, and stared at the marble floor as if she was dragging out a memory she wasn’t proud of. Then she lifted her head and locked eyes with me.

“Darous… eight years ago, my ex-boyfriend and I were sentenced to jail.”

My heart skipped. The mute button life put on me instantly turned itself off.

“Wha— jail? As in… pri— prison?” I managed to say.

She raised her hand immediately.
“Please… Darous, please, don’t interrupt me. Let me finish.”

I swallowed the lump forming in my throat and nodded.

She took a slow breath.

“Back then… we were into robbery.”
Her voice was steady, but her eyes looked far away. “Not small-small stealing. We had a gang. All of us were eighteen years old. We called it Eighteen Gang. Clark — my ex — founded it, but I was the one behind all our successful operations.”

My face went blank. I honestly didn’t know what expression to wear to this occasion of her confession.

“We didn’t kill. We didn’t rape,” she continued. “Those were our rules. Every mission was planned with precision by me. We robbed banks, strong rooms, private facilities… just anywhere money was a tenant.”

She gave a small, sad smile.
“And we made a lot. Darous, a lot of ego… enough kudi to live life like we owned the biggest company in the country.”

She shifted slightly, adjusting her legs, and as she moved, I noticed her panties peeking between her thighs — but my brain didn’t even process it properly. Her words were heavier than anything romantic at that moment.

“Our last job…” she said quietly. “That was where everything scattered. We weren’t supposed to touch a bullion van. I was totally against it. I warned them. The risk was too high. Too open. Too exposed. But everybody wanted one final operation — one big job that would settle all of us for life.”

Her fingers tightened slowly against her palms.

“They begged me to tag along. I refused. We were on it for more than two weeks; each day that passed reduced the window of opportunity. But after much pestering and begging from my boyfriend — who even threatened to break up with me — and me being young and foolish and naïve, I finally agreed. I set a plan and the plan worked. Perfectly. We got the van. We got the bags. We were already leaving. No shootout, no alarm, nothing. Everything went exactly the way I designed it.”

She paused… then her voice dropped.

“Until one trigger-happy policeman decided to act like Rambo.”

She shook her head regretfully.

“He fired. He shot one of us. Killed him instantly. And that was it. The rest of the gang broke the rule. They fired back. The police fired back. It turned into a big mess.”

She swallowed, her voice thinning.

“They caught us that day — all of us, including the dead ones. Took us to court and sentenced us. I was given thirty-five years… my boyfriend got life… because he killed a policeman…”

Her eyes met mine again — this time with a kind of tiredness I’d never seen in her eyes.

“And that… is how my life went from being the smartest girl in the room… to being a beautiful prisoner.”

She kept her eyes on the floor for a moment, like she needed strength to open the next chapter of her story.

“I had resigned to fate,” she said quietly. “Prison was my home now. I wasn’t fighting it. But two years into my sentence… someone approached me.”

She looked up at me with eyes filled with nothing but regret and sadness.

“He said they could make my sentence disappear. Completely. Wipe it clean. But only if I agreed to work for them.”

My eyebrow jumped on its own at that revelation.

“And you agreed?” I asked before I could even stop myself.

She shot me a warning look — another look I’d never seen on her face before.

“What did I say about interrupting me?”

“Oh… I’m sorry… continue please… please… no vex.”

She rubbed her nose gently and nodded slowly. “I agreed immediately to the offer. Who wouldn’t? I was going to be fifty-four by the time I finished my sentence… I didn’t want that for myself. And to even make the offer more tempting, they promised to help release my boyfriend once I accepted.”

“Same boyfriend that got life?”

I was expecting a response from her, but instead, what I got surprised me.

Remaining parts dropping soon. Keep the reaction s coming. This week has been nothing but hectic. But we survived...

Shebi I talk am say toyosi na member…
Me wey sabi plot of stories

ghettochild:
Shebi I talk am say toyosi na member…
Me wey sabi plot of stories

you try 😂😂😂

Hmmm, I still anticipate Kenny becoming a real foe at some point, as a member of the Cycle.

EPISODE 39 – Before The World Stopped (Part II)

I watched her stand up, hiss under her breath, and start walking toward the door.
I just stood there, confused and blinking like someone who walked into the wrong meeting room.
Then it hit me — she told me not to interrupt her.

The realization rushed through me like cold water on a bald head.
Immediately, I jumped up, hurried after her, and gently held her hand before she could reach the handle.

“I’m sorry… I’m really sorry,” I said, tightening my grip slightly.
I leaned against the door, blocking it so she couldn’t pull it open.
Her eyes met mine, steady… unblinking… and we stayed locked in that strange silence that stretched longer than it should have.

Then from nowhere, she said, “Kiss me.”

I blinked.
Kiss you? Now? Out of everything happening in the world?

“Kiss me right now,” she repeated, “or get out of my way.”

Her tone didn’t just sound serious. It sounded like a command.

I paused and started searching for loopholes in her command like a man reviewing a contract.
She said I should kiss her — but she didn’t mention the location.

It may be forehead? Hand? Shoulder?
And if she insists on a more deeper one, I'll go for the neck. That's still reasonable because I really need to get to the bottom of all these.

So I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“Done,” I said with a small smile.

The expression she gave me was enough to tell me she wasn't satisfied.

“If I want a platonic kiss,” she said calmly, “I’ll go to my father or my brother.”

“But… but you didn’t—”

Before I could finish the sentence, she grabbed the back of my neck, pulled me closer in one swift move, and kissed me on the lips — firm, warm, and unquestionably intentional.

I tried to resist, but immediately the god of thunder appeared in my mind, pointing a lightning bolt at my forehead and warning me that if I dared to resist, he would personally make sure I suffered for nine hundred years in his kingdom and that no woman would ever look in my direction again.

With that threat from above, I stopped fighting and allowed myself to flow with the moment.

It went on for a few minutes, and the whole thing was beginning to escalate into an empty land I knew I wasn’t ready to build anything on. So I decided to end it before things crossed a line that would come back to haunt both of us.
I was just about to gently pull away when she beat me to it — she stepped back suddenly, her face unreadable, and let out one dry, humorless laugh.

“Of course… the one that got life,” she said.

Just like you right now, the sentence didn’t land at first.
Not until she continued.

“It sounded too perfect. Too sweet to be true. But a few days later, there I was… walking out of the prison yard. And my boyfriend was released the same day. You can imagine the kind of joy I felt at that moment.”

She walked back to the bed and sat down slowly, as if the weight of her memories was trying to settle on her shoulders.

“A car was waiting for me at the gate. That was when I met a guy.”

I moved closer and sat beside her, focusing entirely on her voice.

“A guy named Chuka picked me up…”

My heart didn’t just stop — it took a short vacation.
My back straightened, my breathing dissolved into fragments, and my eyes expanded before I even realized it.

Chuka?

But she continued talking calmly, unaware of the earthquake she had triggered inside me.

“He introduced me to the network. He started giving me tasks — simple and well calculated assignments. Because of my ability to plan things with precision… I became valuable.”

Right there, something inside me simply switched off.

The fear… the questions… the shock… everything just slowed down into one heavy silence.

The Circle.
Aristotle.
Chuka.
And Toyosi — soft-spoken, innocent-looking Toyosi — was saying all of this like she was listing groceries?

I dragged my hand over my head and looked at her again, trying to understand how she was the same person sitting in front of me.

She kept speaking.

“I completed every mission… election planning, predicting political outcomes, preventing situations from exploding in public. They paid me more money than I’d ever seen, but I was never free.”

I believed her.
My own experience with them was enough proof.

“Then one day,” she continued, “after my first set of missions, I was introduced to Aristotle. And he gave me the same sex game you had today.”

Her eyes dimmed slightly. She rubbed her arms like she had suddenly become cold.

“He brought out a man. Someone due for punishment. And he told me to have sex with him… until his skull breaks open.”

She said it like she was announcing the weather.

“The man didn’t even last one minute,” she added. “I gave him the kind of sex his body wasn’t designed to survive.”

My mouth parted slowly.
Not because of the sex — please, we are adults.
But because this meant the sex game madness had been happening long before me. Before Cynthia.

I swallowed hard.
“So… what happened to him?”

She looked at me with a calmness that didn’t match the story.

“Chuka shot him. Point blank.”

The moment she said that, an image flashed in my mind. Assuming I'd failed the sex game today… I could imagine my body being packed into a leather bag somewhere behind Aristotle’s mansion.

She continued.

“After that, Aristotle told me I had earned my chance. A chance for one final test. If I completed it successfully… I would be free forever.”

I leaned forward slowly.

“And what kind of test was that?”

She didn’t answer immediately.
Her eyes drifted — from me… to the floor… to the wall… back to me.
The room became painfully quiet, like the world was waiting for the truth to drop.

Finally, she exhaled.

“Tiffany.”

My heart forgot it had a job.

“Sorry… who…?”
Even though I heard it clearly.

“Tiffany,” she repeated. “Tiffany was the mission.”

I sat back slowly, my mind losing balance.
If confusion had a hospital, they would have rolled a bed into the ICU for me without asking questions.

She wasn’t finished.

“They told me the real reason they released me from prison. It wasn’t because I was smart or beautiful.
It was primarily because of my childhood relationship with Tiffany.”

A cold wave slid across my back.

“They said Tiff has something they’ve been searching for. A ledger her father gave her before he died. A ledger they need.
I was ordered to retrieve it… at all costs.”

My eyes widened slowly.

Tiffany?
My very own Tiffany?

And just like that… something shifted, and I realized I wasn’t in control of anything anymore.

To be continued...

Drop your reactions immediately. It's important. Reactions are like fuel for the next episode... I'm telling you

What a captivating story

Very interesting story, please continue

Oh no! Not another sudden pause... This one is the shortest update ever on planet Earth...

I'll send lightening to someone just now...

Tiffany, Toyosi... the plot gets more confusing by the day.

TheBlessedMAN:
EPISODE 39 – Before The World Stopped (Part II)
“They told me the real reason they released me from prison. It wasn’t because I was smart or beautiful.
It was primarily because of my childhood relationship with Tiffany.”

A cold wave slid across my back.

“They said Tiff has something they’ve been searching for. A ledger her father gave her before he died. A ledger they need.
I was ordered to retrieve it… at all costs

Ghen-ghen...

😎 me bad guy🧐 something Darous father ie blue film loving God of ⚡ thunder had told me since😎😎😎😎😎 thank God, Darous didn't use his dagger 🤭now it's gonna be a team work,with in house enemies against the dreadful "circle"😳
Kinda like the combination of their talents,the one who see all details,a master planner/strategist,a computer wizard and finally the vengeful cop🧐Kai the circle is in one big mess,and they don't know yet🤣🤣🤣

@tbm walahi,this is not time for short updates oooo,cos the bottles and axes wey go dey fly everywhere no go be here oo🤔 though am prepared for the intrigues and twists🤗na 🔥 fire for 🔥 fire remain🤕
More grace and inspiration to you my lovely blessed man💯💪

As a token of appreciation... I'll be sending you a little token for this masterpiece TBM. Kindly drop your account details. Please...... You are indeed an amazing writer... Wow... This story is the best on nairaland...

Who could have envisaged this twist? Some said they do? But not hundred percent 😂😂😂

SmartestPopQUEEN:
As a token of appreciation... I'll be sending you a little token for this masterpiece TBM. Kindly drop your account details. Please...... You are indeed an amazing writer... Wow... This story is the best on nairaland...

Who could have envisaged this twist? Some said they do? But not hundred percent 😂😂😂

wow... My sister... This is ... I don't even know what to say oooo... Thanks in a million.. 🙏🙏🙏🙏

SmartestPopQUEEN:
As a token of appreciation... I'll be sending you a little token for this masterpiece TBM. Kindly drop your account details. Please...... You are indeed an amazing writer... Wow... This story is the best on nairaland...

Who could have envisaged this twist? Some said they do? But not hundred percent 😂😂😂

Thanks for this kind gesture,it will go along way to motivate the writer, deeply supported 💯

How ready are you guys for the next episode?

On a scale of 1 - 10.

TheBlessedMAN:
How ready are you guys for the next episode?

On a scale of 1 - 10.

200%

10

We are earnestly anticipating the next episode. Staying glued to our phone's screen is what we do now and it is inevitable.

Episode 40 – Blueprint of a Trap

Tiffany was her mission?

For a few seconds I didn’t even know the correct reaction to pick.
Sadness?
Shock?
Anger?
Or that confused “God abeg, wetin be all this?” face you make when life is just dealing with you left, right, centre?

Toyosi looked away like even her own words were slapping her.

“But before you start throwing stones,” she said quietly, “you know how these people work. They don’t give you choices. And… on… on the bright side… everything I have today — the money I used to set myself up, the one I used to help Tiffany, even this house— all came from them. They just needed her to trust me. They wanted her close enough so I could finally find where the ledger was.”

My heart tightened the way you do when you realize life is about to collect its balance from you.

This world is truly… very… very… I don’t even have the vocabulary again. Let’s just leave it like that.

Tiffany trusted this girl with her full chest.
Loved her like sister, friend, adviser— all in one.
They laughed, shared secrets, did all the girly things girls like to do.

Meanwhile… Toyosi was on assignment.
A full mission.
With mission directive and mission benefits.

The memories rushed back — the first day I saw her. How she and Tiffany entered Mrs Adeoye’s party like they owned the place. Collecting attention from everyone fortunate to see them like free souvenirs.

And as I stood there, my brain finally clocked in to work and started connecting dots it should’ve connected since. Every unanswered question suddenly had one destination.

Since the day I met Toyosi, nothing about me was hidden from the Circle.

They knew the exact minute I was discharged.
They knew I met the detective that morning.
They even somehow knew I wanted to tell Tiffany everything that night.

So… it’s Toyosi.
She’s the one feeding them.
Wow.
No need to ask her. The evidence was dancing in front of me.

No wonder she said she was scared last night.

How do I even remove myself from this nonsense?

That question was still hanging in my head when her voice cut in again.

“I’ve tried to get the ledger from her more than a hundred times,” she muttered. “Every trick failed. Even her uncle that I tried to use couldn’t convince her. Tiffany is too stubborn. Anything concerning that ledger — she just doesn't want to hear it at all.”

Her face softened, something close to guilt. My mind flashed back to that night at their dining table — my first night in their house after leaving the hospital. The way Tiffany flared up when Toyosi told her to give her Uncle the ledger. That reaction felt strange back then… but now it makes sense.

“Chuka told me the Circle is getting impatient,” she continued. “They gave me just one more month — only one. But time is running. If I fail… I’m going back to prison. And this time the sentence will be doubled.”

As she said that, something told me my connection to the Circle might not be the simple thing I’ve been assuming. Something told me I was deeper in this than I even know.

I opened my mouth to ask her, but she beat me to it — like she was reading my mind.

“You must be… erm… wondering how it links back to you.” Her voice cracked. “None of this is supposed to leave my mouth. But what else do I do? You’re the only person I have left.”

Then she shifted closer, eyes red, shoulders tired.

“But before I tell you anything,” she said, “you must promise me something.”

I folded my arms.
“What’s that?”

“Promise me you’ll help me get the ledger from Tiffany.”

I almost laughed like a madman.

“Toyosi, how? Somebody that hates me with passion right now —”

“Use your sweet mouth,” she cut in. “I know Tiffany still loves you. She might be angry but she loves you more than you think. The things she’s done for you should tell you that. Just find one sharp way to win her back. You can do it.”

I stared at her like: is this girl okay at all?

She moved closer again, voice shaking.
“Please, Darous. I can’t go back to prison. I won’t survive it. You must help me. I’m finished if you don’t.”

I dragged a long breath, looked at the wall, ceiling… then after long, painful thinking, I nodded.

“Fine. I’ll help you. But tell me first — what’s in the ledger?”

“I don’t know,” she answered fast.

“What of Tiffany? Does she know?”

“She doesn’t. I guess that’s why the Circle wants it away from her before she figures out whatever is inside it.”

“But how is she keeping something she doesn’t even understand?” I asked.

Toyosi squinted. “All she told me is that her father warned her never to open it until the time is right.”

“Time is right? Which time?”

She lifted her hands. “I don’t know. Look, that’s not the point. The point is to get it from her… please.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll help you — but I’ll do it my own way.”

Even though the whole thing smelled like trouble mixed with conspiracy stew.
But if I want to take these demons down in the three months detective Kalu gave me, I need every information. I might even use the ledger for myself in this pursuit of bringing them down.

The moment I agreed, she didn’t waste a second.
She walked to the sitting room, grabbed a glass, poured cold water, took one long, stressful sip.

We sat on the cushions opposite each other and then she started talking.

“They warned us — no touching Tiffany, no rough play, nothing. Handle her gently like an egg. The instructions were simple.”

She paused to confirm I was still with her. I gave her a small nod.

“They didn’t want a repeat of what happened with her father. They believe Tiffany is even more stubborn.”

She shifted again.

“The moment they noticed I might fail, they brought someone else in. A therapist. Someone that will study Tiffany from inside without giving room for any suspicion.”

I just watched her as more continue to unfold.

“I was asked to convince Tiffany to see the therapist by any means. So when she broke up with her ex, I used it. She was weak that period, so I pushed it. That’s how she finally agreed to visit the therapist.”

I sighed deeply. This people and tactics.

She continued:
“The therapist reported back. She told the Circle the exact type of man Tiffany could ever trust and love. That’s when they brought in a profiler. Her name is Bola.”

The moment she said that name, my spirit sat up.

“Bola?” I whispered. “You know Bola too?”

She nodded.

"Eeeweeeeee. See my life for outside..." That was all I could mutter as shock spread across my mind.

“She’s the profiler hired to find the perfect guy for Tiffany. Someone that matched the therapist’s report.”

She wasn’t done.

“Initially, they didn’t need you because of your gift — seeing things, hearing things — whatever.”
She waved her hand like my ability was pure nonsense.

"Then what do they need me for?"

“Like I said earlier, everything I’m saying now is against the rules, but you’re the only one that can help me."

" And?"

" No. They don't need your abilities at first. They got more people for that already, they only needed you as a pawn. Someone they could slide into Tiffany’s life and use later incase I failed."

“No,” I cut in quietly. “ I've been swallowing everything you've been saying since morning but this is where I'll draw the line. I know what I'm saying. I approached Tiffany myself. We met on our own. No one introduced us to eachother at all." I said, nearly shouting as memories of how I met Tiffany stood at the center of my brain.

She hissed. “Okay. Dey play o Mr approacher. You think it was coincidence that you met her, oh you think you are the first guy to ever ask her out after her break up? Guy, it was planned by me and Bola.”

“How?....like how is that even possible” I asked in total confusion.

She leaned back.
“Listen well, because I won’t repeat myself.”

I nodded.

“Bola was your friend for six months. Six solid months. Studying you. Studying you and your guys. She even heard all of you talk about the type of girl you’d love to date — and you yourself told her more than once that Tiffany’s type was exactly your weakness.”

I didn’t blink cos what she was saying is the truth.

“And according to the therapist, you also fit the exact kind of man Tiffany would naturally fall for — hardworking, intelligent, and that your stupid funny words you use to charm people.”

She swallowed.

“But it was like icing on the cake when Bola told them you have this ability to notice tiny details, so that made the whole thing easier. Let’s be realistic — you can’t afford that resort where you met Tiffany if the Circle didn’t pay you for the ‘task’ they gave you. Those tasks were just to make you feel like they needed you only for your abilities. ”

I felt something shift in my stomach.

“Bola also said you mentioned that if you ever touched your first one million, you’d go to that resort. So once the money dropped in your account, I found a way to make Tiffany go there with me. And lucky me, you came the same day.”

She pointed at herself.

“I was sitting with her when you walked into that resort that day. Bola already sent me your picture. The moment I saw you, I excused myself and gave space. And that small assignment — setting you and Tiffany up — that was what bought me another month with the Circle.”

“Hmmm.”
That was all I could say as my whole body went still.
Everything lined up in my head — every single thing from the last seven to eight months of my life.

For the first time…

I realised I wasn’t dragged into their network because of my abilities. I was wrong all along.

I was selected.
Handpicked.
Purposely positioned.

A pawn in a game I didn’t even know I was playing.

To be continued.

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Jesus,what a talent,u are really gifted,one of my best story in this forum,

Omo seems we’re getting to the finish line already