Chapter 3 - The Expulsion and the EchoThe walk home that evening was longer than usual. The autumn wind bit through Kaima’s thin cardigan, but the cold inside her chest was far worse than the weather outside.
She had been fired on the spot. Blessing hadn't even waited for store management to arrive; she had fabricated an immediate disciplinary infraction report, claiming Kaima had insulted a VIP prospect and violated company code by fraternizing with "undesirable vagrants." To make matters worse, Blessing withheld Kaima’s wages for the past two weeks, claiming it covered "inventory discrepancies" that Kaima had never even touched.
When Kaima opened the door to her cramped, one-room apartment, her younger brother, Damilola, was sitting up in his makeshift bed, trying to stretch his stiff leg.
— Big sister, you’re home early! Damilola smiled, his face pale but hopeful. — Did you manage to get the advance for my clinic appointment tomorrow?
Kaima felt a suffocating lump rise in her throat. She forced a bright, reassuring smile onto her face, walking over to tuck the faded blanket around his shoulders.
— Not today, Damilola, she lied smoothly, swallowing her panic. — But don't worry. I’m shifting to a much better job. I have some interviews lined up tomorrow morning. Everything is going to be fine.
That night, while Damilola slept, Kaima sat at the small wooden table under the flickering yellow glow of a single overhead bulb. She counted her remaining cash: exactly four hundred naira and a handful of coins. Not enough for food for the week, let alone the clinic retainer due in forty-eight hours.
She thought about Mama Ebele. She wondered where the old woman lived, why she had wandered into a place like Aurelia & Co. in the first place, and what she had meant by her parting words.
Little did Kaima know, miles away across the city in a towering glass skyscraper overlooking the financial district, a very different kind of conversation was taking place.
The corporate headquarters of Aurelia Holdings occupied the top five floors of the city's tallest building. At the center of it all was Julian Aurelia—the brilliant, ruthless, self-made billionaire CEO who owned not only the luxury jewelry chain where Kaima had worked, but half the commercial real estate in the metropolis.
Julian sat behind a massive mahogany desk, his tailored suit jacket draped over his chair, staring intently at a high-definition tablet screen displaying the live security feed archives from the downtown branch.
Standing nervously before him was Mr. Henderson, the regional retail director, sweating profusely despite the room's crisp air conditioning.
— Mr. Aurelia, Henderson stammered, wringing his hands. — I assure you, branch management acted strictly according to protocol. The individual in question was unverified, dressed inappropriately, and—
— Protocol? Julian’s voice cut through the room like a razor blade. He didn't raise his voice, but the terrifying chill in his tone made Henderson flinch. — My mother walked into my flagship store, wearing clothes she wears when she works in her charity garden, and your manager threw her out like garbage?
— We... we didn't know it was Mrs. Aurelia senior! She didn't announce herself! Henderson pleaded.
Julian slowly stood up from his leather chair. His expression was a mask of cold, controlled fury. He pressed a button on his intercom.
— Get me legal, PR, and regional audit on line four immediately, Julian commanded. Then he looked back at Henderson. — And get me the employee termination file for a sales associate named Kaima Okoro.
Henderson blinked in confusion. — The Okoro girl? But sir, she’s the one who encouraged the vagrant—
— She is the only human being in that entire luxury barn who showed a shred of decency, Julian said, grabbing his car keys from the desk. — And as of right now, she is no longer an employee at Aurelia & Co.
Henderson swallowed hard. — Well, yes, Blessing fired her summarily this afternoon for insubordination.
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Julian stopped walking toward the private elevator. A dangerous, cold smile touched the corner of his mouth.
— Good. That makes what I'm about to do to Blessing, Henderson, and the rest of that toxic branch entirely legal.
