—Is this maid trying to trap the prince?
Nneka’s hands shook. For 6 years she had lived inside the palace like a shadow, cleaning corridors where her reflection shone brighter than her future. She had no husband to defend her, no family powerful enough to protect her. Ifeoma’s father had disappeared before the child was born, leaving Nneka with shame, hunger and a baby who became her only reason to keep breathing.
Prince Chinedu raised his hand.
—Release her.
The guards hesitated.
Queen Amara snapped.
—Chinedu, don’t encourage this madness.
But the prince’s eyes remained on the child. He had seen Ifeoma before, sitting near the kitchen baskets with an old notebook, drawing suns, crowns and a man she called “the man of light.” Once, during a rainy afternoon near the royal library, she had shown him a drawing of his black car and told him she did not like it because it carried him away.
Now the same child was kneeling before him, trembling as if she had seen death waiting inside the vehicle.
Chinedu crouched in front of her.
—Look at me, Ifeoma. Why did you call me Papa?
Her lips quivered.
—I don’t know. My heart said it before my mouth could stop it.
The courtyard went colder.
Chinedu’s voice softened.
—And why do you think someone will hurt me?
Ifeoma pressed both hands to her chest.
—Because I saw it. The Unity Square. The flags. You standing on the stage. Men hiding behind the platform. Smoke everywhere. People screaming. And a red hibiscus flower on the ground.
“Daddy, Don’t Go!” The Maid’s Daughter Stops the Prince and Reveals a Terrible Plot
