Chapter 4 Lucy's survival; A throwback

It was a night of sorrow. The weeping of the bereaved family echoed through the narrow streets, punctuated by the distant hum of city traffic.

In the little house, Titi crouched on the cold earth, arms wrapped around her. Rocking back and forth, the agony of losing her aunt, a mother figure to her, ripped through her like a blade.

She had lost so much as it was. Her parents died in a ghastly motor accident when she was ten. Raised under the strict vigil of her father's elder brother, she fought for every moment of survival.

And here she stood once more. Alone.

She had not seen the nurse at all.

Red lights flashed out there, illuminating the small house in a red glow. Paramedics hurried in, speaking in hushed, urgent tones, moving in a rush.

The baby.

Lucy had been struggling to breathe. Her tiny body, weak, had begun convulsing in her sleep.

But Titi was too lost in her grief to see it.

The nurse, a woman with sharp eyes and steady hands, acted fast. She lifted the baby from the cot, pressing her fingers against Lucy's tiny chest. Her heartbeat was faint. Too faint.

"She's not going to make it here," the nurse muttered. Then, louder, to the paramedics: "We're moving her now!"

The team stormed out of the house, carrying Lucy away under the heavy weight of the night.

Before she was able to free herself from the suffocating clasp of grief, they had departed with the baby.

Lucy lay in the intensive care unit, surrounded by the machines that beeped in a steady, fragile rhythm. Her tiny chest rose and fell weakly.

The nurse who had saved her watched from the glass window outside.

She had done everything she could. The baby had a fighting chance now, but fate was cruel, unpredictable.

Months Later...

After the burial, Robinson went to join a more powerful gang, 'the fwangs'.

Accepting the disappearance of his baby sister, whom he could not even see. He fled to the underworld, planning to ally with a dreaded gang just so that he, in his mind, could look for his sister and retrieve her from whoever kidnapped her.

He also planned to get back at the police, not being satisfied with the police investigation, which has often been a norm in a corrupt nation like Nigeria, though there are well-respected and powerful police heads and personnel scattered across the states of the federation doing their work with the art of excellence in touch. But there are still some bad eggs in the system, like this very one, DPO Barnabas.

Then, the miracle.

The house felt empty.

Titi had moved on autopilot since that time, her mind clouded by loss.

Then one evening, just as the sun dipped below the horizon, there was another knock at the door.

She hesitated.

The last time she had opened it, her world had been shattered.

But this time

When she opened the door, the nurse stood there.

And in her arms...

Lucy.

Titi's breath caught. The child was alive. Warm. Whole.

"She's yours now," the nurse said, her voice unreadable.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she reached out, taking the baby into her arms.

Titi swallowed. "Who... who are you?"

"Just someone who was in the right place at the right time."

Replied the woman, she smiled beautifully, but there was something distant in her eyes.

She spent some minutes narrating to her what happened and why she stepped in to help the baby.

Titi became scared seeing how the baby was hunted, and all she went through to save the baby.

A spy, though a nurse working at the hospital. Thank God for her bravery; the baby would have been gone by now.

After that conversation, with a strict warning to Titi, seeing that some folks from the underworld were also planning to come for the little girl as a means of getting back at the young man, Robinson, for all his gang had done to them, she handed Titi a complimentary card.

Miss Carroline is a member of the Secret Anti-Corruption squadron, a group known for handling the most difficult of all criminal cases in the country. They are allowed to pick regular jobs in their area of specialisation just so they can remain ghosted in the eyes of the bad guys. That was why she was found at the right place at the right time and was able to provide the necessary help with her expertise and bravery. But for 'God-sent' like her, they would have lost Lucy in the Federal Medical Centre.

It was also from her intelligence gathering that Titi found out that the number that called her to inform her of the disappearance of the baby was paid off for the job, and even the police divisional head who led the investigation was also bribed to cover the sin of this treacherous demon in human form.

Thank God, it's all a story now, the baby is alive, and all the major threats have been arrested.

Titi called her friend, Ajayi, who owns an orphanage home. A sub! rain of tears. And a sub again! She is alive, whole and hearty. Wasn't kidnapped again, but...she couldn't complete the sentence due to the heaviness of her heart.

After the discussion, Ajayi arrived in person and drove Titi and the baby to the facility for documentation and proper care. Titi is also allowed to come home with the baby at times. She took a leave from her workplace just so she could give the baby proper attention.

Two Years Later,

Lucy had grown.

She had learned to walk, to talk, to laugh. She filled Titi's small apartment in the northern part of the city with warmth, the kind that softened even the hardest corners of life.

Titi worked tirelessly, climbing the ranks as an assistant manager at a media firm. She built a life, not just for herself, but for Lucy.

But fate was never done playing its cruel game.

Because now, after all these years, someone has found them.

And this time, they weren't just knocking.

They were coming for them.