Chapter 1
Vera was born on the 22nd of October, 2003, in Lagos, Nigeria.
Her parents were from the eastern part of the country, but life had taken them far beyond that. Her father ran a business in China, and for a long time, things felt… normal. Stable. Safe.
She had a simple childhood. The kind people don’t question. The kind you assume will always stay the same.
Then her mother had two more children—Jessica and Prince. Vera became the big sister, the responsible one. The one who watched, who cared, who understood things a little deeper than she should have for her age.
Life was not perfect, but it was good. At least, that’s what she believed. Until the day she turned thirteen, It was a Sunday afternoon. They had just come back from church, laughter still hanging in the air. Vera was excited it was her birthday. Thirteen felt big. It felt like a step into something new, something important. She was on her way to the hairdresser’s shop, already imagining how beautiful she would look.
Then she heard a loud sound. She paused. It sounded like fireworks. Vera had never heard a gunshot before. To her, it made no sense.
“Christmas is not here yet… why are people already shooting fireworks?” she wondered quietly.
"Another sound followed.'' Louder, Closer.
Then a boy’s voice tore through the air
“RUN!!!”
Fear gripped her instantly.
She ran without thinking, straight into a small shop owned by Mama Okemute. Her heart was beating fast, her chest tight, confusion and fear mixing together.
Then it happened.
A sudden, violent crash, The sound was so loud it shook the entire estate.
People rushed outside. Voices. Panic. Chaos.
Vera stepped out slowly, her body trembling.
“Thank God… it’s not my parents,” she whispered to herself.
“They’re still in church. It can’t be them.”
She repeated it again, trying to convince herself.
Then she saw him.
Her uncle, Chukwudi.
And in his arms, her mother, Lifeless.
Everything stopped.
“Mummy!!!”
Vera screamed, running toward her.
Her mother’s body was weak, barely holding on. Blood stained her clothes. Her father was there too—bleeding, barely conscious.
The world around her became noise. People shouting. Feet running. Doors opening. Cars starting.
The entire estate had gathered. Her uncles and strangers rushed her parents into a car, heading to the nearest hospital.
Vera tried to follow. But they stopped her.
“Stay back!” She stood there, frozen.
She had just turned thirteen, Jessica was nine, Prince was five. And suddenly, nothing felt safe anymore.
Vera ran back into her room, her heart pounding like it would break through her chest. She dropped to her knees and began to pray.
“God, please… please save my parents.” Her voice shook, but her faith did not.
Then her eyes fell on something that made her stomach turn.
Blood.
Her father’s blood.
Stained on his shoe—something she must have picked up in the chaos.
She stared at it, her body trembling.
“God… please restore my dad. Please restore my mum.”
Vera loved God, And in that moment, she believed God loved her too.
Her parents survived.
They were restored.
But Vera didn’t know something then.
She didn’t know that the life she had known for thirteen years, The peace, The normalcy, The safety, Was already gone.
And that day was only the beginning of everything falling apart.
