Entangled to the masked men

A new beginning 

Maybe she was making a grave mistake by choosing the same school her sister got killed in.

But she was prepared for this. She had two years to plan everything, and she wasn’t going to let her mother’s teary eyes or her father’s raised eyebrows stop her.

She had made her decision, and not even God himself could stop her.

She was going to LASU.

Determined to find the men who dared to mess with an Adebayo.

“Dara,” her mother called softly, tears clinging to her eyes.

“Mummy, I’ll be fine na,” Dara tried to reassure her, but she didn’t believe herself either.

The last thing Dami said before totally disappearing was “The masked men.”

After that, her body was found in the bush, a black mask lying beside it.

If the Masked Men could kill someone as sweet as Dami, who knew what they would do when they discovered that Dami had a sister?

“Going to the same school your sister was killed in is pure foolishness.” Her father’s raspy voice jolted her out of her thoughts.

“Your father is right. You can just go to Caleb University,” her mother suggested, cleaning the tears that stayed on her cheeks.

Dara knew all this was coming from a place of care.

Since they lost Dami, her parents had been extra careful with her.

Bodyguards were scattered in every corner of the house, including her bedroom, which always made her uncomfortable.

Her parents were right to be worried, and they would be even more worried if they found out she was going to LASU to avenge her sister.

“No, Mummy. I have made up my mind.” She placed a hand on her mum’s cheek and smiled. “I’ll be fine, trust me.”

“If I lose you too, I would never be able to forgive myself.” Her mother’s voice broke in tears as she collapsed on Dara’s shoulder.

Dara patted her mother’s back, her eyes now fixed on her dad, who didn’t look very pleased with her.

“You won’t lose me, I promise.” Dara whispered, disengaging from the hug and walking to her father, who stood there watching everything unfold.

Dara wasn’t close to her father or her mother. She always locked herself up in her room. She enjoyed being alone, except when Dami was around.

Dami always invaded her privacy, giving her gist and gossip about her boyfriend and his friends.

She always forced Dara out with her and involved her in all the events she had to attend.

Dami wasn’t just her sister, but she was also her best friend.

“I can’t change your mind, but you’ve to promise me to be careful.” Her father spoke, spreading his hands for a hug, and she immediately took it.

“And don’t forget the home you came from,” her mother chimed in.

“Yes, Mum. I’m an Adebayo, and Adebayos never come last.” Dara giggled, rolling her eyes as she hugged her mother one more time before putting her luggage into the car.

She waved her parents goodbye and settled into the car.

This was a new journey dedicated to Dami, and she wasn’t going to fail her.

Her first mission was finding out who YUSUF LAWAL was.

Dami always told her how handsome and sexy he was. Dami described him like a demigod.

She never mentioned any flaws. She always talked about how perfect he was, but if he was so perfect, why didn’t he attend Dami’s funeral?

If he loved her so much, why couldn’t he protect Dami from whatever was after her?

Dara wandered, opening her laptop.

She had tried several times to look up Yusuf on TikTok, but she always found nothing.

Just names with blank profiles.

Dami never showed her a picture of him either. All she knew was that he attended LASU, and she had to find him at all costs.

This was going to be harder than she thought.

She closed her laptop and looked out the window.

The moving cars and new houses only made a lump form in her throat.

She was going to a totally new place with no familiar faces.

Dara was terrible at making friends. She never knew the right things to say, even back in secondary school. Everybody knew her as a dumb, proud rich kid.

Dami was her only friend, and she was gone.

A tear slipped out of her eyes, and she immediately wiped it off.

She reminded herself that she wasn’t going to cry anymore.

Crying wouldn’t solve her problems, but watching her sister’s killer get killed would fix everything.

It wouldn’t bring her sister back, but it would leave her with an unexplainable satisfaction.

…

Six hours later, the car halted in front of a huge gate, “Lagos State University” boldly written on it. Security men stopped to check the car. When they found nothing harmful or dangerous, they asked Dara for her ID and let them in with a smile after seeing it.

The car drove through the campus, students scattered on every corner.

Some chatted, some pressed their phones, and some walked around with their eyes glued to their faces.

So many faces.

Dara’s eyes landed on a huge tree and a large pile of grass, which was also occupied with another set of people.

Today was Saturday. Dara thought the school would be empty, but she was obviously wrong.

The car finally stopped in front of a huge three-story building.

The white paint had faded, making the building look dull and abandoned. All the windows were either broken or hanging open.

Dara’s eyes wandered around the building before landing on the roof. It had a huge hole in it, and through the opening, she could see a few birds flying in and out.

It’s only for my first semester.

She reminded herself, carrying all the luggage from the car.

Mr. Sunday, the driver, helped her carry them to the front of her hostel and left with a smile.

The door opened, revealing a tall, brown-skinned lady with shiny skin.

In all her 20 years of existence, she had never seen skin so spotless and smooth except on TikTok.

“You must be Dara?” the lady asked, her face welcoming with a warm smile.

“Yes.” Dara nodded, and the lady immediately pulled her into a huge hug.

“You are so pretty.” She touched Dara’s long hair and went straight to her brows. “Are you a half-caste?”

“No, my mother just has really good genes, I guess.”

“You’re not wrong.” The lady helped her carry her luggage into the room and dragged her in.

“Welcome.”

Dara’s eyes went from the slow-rolling fan on the ceiling to the torn mosquito nets covering the bed.

The room was quite smaller than she expected. It had two small beds, a small bathroom, and that was it.

“I hate it too, but I’m not rich enough to rent a house off campus,” the lady said, her eyes glued to Dara’s hair.

She couldn’t help but admire how long and full it was.

“It’s so small.”

The only reason Dara wanted to live in the hostel was because Dami lived here too, but seeing how small it was, she was starting to rethink her decisions.

“I know, but we have to manage it,” the lady encouraged, walking to her side of the bed and bringing out a small mirror and lip gloss from one of her bags. She carefully applied her lip gloss while Dara stood there, still surprised by the space she would have to stay in for a few months.

She finally settled on the bed and started unboxing her boxes.

“I’ll be back before the hostel gate closes.” The lady reached for the door, but Dara’s voice stopped her from opening it.

“Can I come with you?”

The lady hesitated for a bit before nodding with a smile.

“And my name is Aisha Lawal.”

LAWAL?