Chapter 14

"It has everything to do with the company when its CEO is the face of that company." Malam Abubakar dropped a folder on the desk. "These are projections from our public relations department. If you don't resolve this in forty-eight hours, we could lose up to 30% of our client base."Chief Okoro opened the folder, his hands trembling. The numbers were terrifying, worse than any financial crisis he had faced."There's more," Malam Abubakar continued. "I received a call from the labor union. They are considering a strike in solidarity with Emeka. They say: if you treat a child like that, how do you treat your employees?""This is ridiculous! The world has gone mad!""No, Obinna. The world is reacting to an obvious injustice. You publicly humiliated a vulnerable child. You bet something you didn't want to lose, and now you refuse to keep your word. People aren't fools."Chief Okoro slumped into his chair, looking at the safe that was still open on his desk—those damned bearer bonds gleaming in the morning light."Do you know what the worst part is?" Malam Abubakar asked, his voice softening. "That child, with every reason in the world to hate you, isn't giving interviews, isn't speaking ill of you. He's just waiting for you to keep your word."Meanwhile, outside the small apartment of the Silva family, journalists were also camped out. But Adanna had flatly refused to let Emeka speak to them."This is not a circus," she had said firmly when a reporter knocked on the door. "My son is a child, not a spectacle."Adanna's phone also hadn't stopped ringing: calls from television programs wanting to interview Emeka, lawyers offering free representation, even Hollywood producers asking about story rights."I don't know what to do," Adanna confessed to Chike while Emeka slept in his small room. "All this is too much.""Let's keep things simple," Chike responded, stroking his wife's hand. "Obinna made a promise. Either he keeps it, or he doesn't. Everything else is noise."A different knock on the door startled him. It wasn't the aggressive knock of the journalists, but something softer, almost timid. Chike opened it and found Mr. Adebayo standing there with a folder under his arm."Professor?" Adanna approached, surprised. "What are you doing here?""I came to talk about Emeka's future." The teacher entered when invited. "I saw the videos. I saw what my student can do."

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