She Sold My Father’s Pendant / Chapter 1: The Price of Rescue
She Sold My Father’s Pendant

She Sold My Father’s Pendant

Author: Lauren Ray

Chapter 1: The Price of Rescue

Next →

Freezing rain dey fall, the kind wey dey bite skin like mosquito. My whole body dey shiver as I hear say one small pikin don fall enter narrow mountain cave, my heart cut like blade. The mountain dey far, but na me carry search and rescue dog, Doudou, waka go save am. When we reach the river wey dey divide the land, one village woman wey dey paddle boat just block us, her eye sharp, mouth like pepper, dey ask for one kain mad fee.

The rain wey dey fall na the kind wey get teeth—e cold reach bone. As I dey move, my trouser and shoe don soak finish, but I no even fit complain. Na Naija weather be this; sometimes, harmattan go chill you, next thing, rain go start as if e wan wash sins comot from earth. For inside all the wahala, I dey reason say, e fit be say the gods of this land dey vex, or e just be one of those days wey misfortune dey waka for road.

The boat fare na five hundred naira—cash only, she no gree for bank transfer. "You carry dog come? Animal dey pay double," she add, her voice sharp.

Her eye sharp like razor, and the wrapper wey she tie no gree stay one place as she dey shift for her small wooden bench. Her voice loud like market bell, make sure say everybody for riverbank dey hear my shame. Some people even dey look our side dey whisper. For this kind place, story go spread quick—dem go soon dey say I dey use search and rescue hustle people for boat fare.

I no get that kind cash, I beg her make she allow me cross first, say I go pay her later. She clap hand for air, hiss say, "You dey run like say na your own blood dey for cave. Abeg, no use my boat do charity. If you no get money, swim cross by yourself."

She hiss finish, spit for ground one kain. For her eye, I just be another wahala. You know as e dey—some people for village, dem no send your emergency if money no dey their hand. Na so life be sometimes for Naija, everybody dey hustle their own. As she finish, she adjust her scarf, as if say my matter dey tire her.

After she block me tire, by the time I finally reach the cave, the pikin don already stop to breathe. Na that time the pikin papa papa run come the mountain, pat the village woman for shoulder: "Mama Ifeoma, you know say na our Ebuka fall for the cave..."

E pain me. As the news reach the papa, na so crowd begin gather; some dey blame the rain, some dey blame the cave, but plenty eyes dey look the woman with small anger. Mama Ifeoma face change, she no fit talk, she just stand dey look ground, wrapper still dey her hand. People dey shake head, one old man for back even mutter, "Kai, Chineke, wetin our eyes never see for this land? Make rain no carry another child again o."

Next →

You may also like

Sold by My Dead Father’s Spirit
Sold by My Dead Father’s Spirit
4.8
After burying my papa, he sits up from the grave, hungry for food and trouble. Instead of peace, his wild spirit drags me from village to town, then sells me to a stranger—just like he sold my sister. Now, I must serve a harsh old teacher, hiding my dream to learn, while the truth about my real papa haunts me like midnight masquerade.
I Inherited My Papa’s Secret Enemies
I Inherited My Papa’s Secret Enemies
4.9
After his herbalist father dies, a grieving son faces a desperate crowd demanding a miracle cancer cure—forcing him to choose between risking his family’s safety and betraying his father’s legacy. With police, neighbours, and over a hundred angry patients closing in, he must survive the pressure before hope and chaos tear his world apart.
My Daughter Used Me For Ticket Money
My Daughter Used Me For Ticket Money
5.0
After years of sacrificing everything for her entitled daughter’s wild obsession with a pop artist, a single mother gets a rare second chance at life—and this time, she’s done being used. With her heart on the line and her freedom at stake, she decides to let her daughter face the real consequences of her choices, no matter how messy the fallout.
My Father Died a Thief, But I Hold the Evidence
My Father Died a Thief, But I Hold the Evidence
4.7
Ifunanya’s father died in a firework explosion, shamed as a thief and leaving her family cursed by gossip and poverty. Now, years later, she storms a lawyer’s office, desperate to reveal a secret that could rewrite everything—even as the world believes her father’s guilt is sealed. In a city where evidence is currency and reputation is life, can the truth save a dead man—or will it bury Ifunanya too?
Bought the Chief’s Son as My Slave
Bought the Chief’s Son as My Slave
4.8
As the stubborn daughter of a pig butcher, I bought a broken, proud man from the slave market—only to discover he’s the missing heir to Palm Grove’s richest family. Now, every night, I fight for control in my own home, while jealous rivals plot my ruin and WhatsApp gossips call for my disgrace. If I lose this battle, I’ll be dragged through the mud as the wicked woman who dared chain the chief’s son—but if I win, even the gods will fear my name.
Sold My Daughter, Now They Want Blood
Sold My Daughter, Now They Want Blood
4.8
After his daughter is found dead in the river before her university exam, Chijioke buries her quickly, refusing autopsy, and collects hush money from the rich bullies’ parents. Now the whole town spits on his name, his ex-wife curses him, and the powerful families want revenge when their own daughters vanish. Trapped between shame, suspicion, and violence, Chijioke must survive in a world where justice is for sale and grief never dies.
My Sister Is the Abalone Queen
My Sister Is the Abalone Queen
4.8
Every man in town craves my father's abalone, a dish so rare only the powerful get a taste—while my sister sweats and suffers in secret, locked away on abalone days. When my girlfriend suddenly demands marriage after seeing our family fortune, I realize too late: the abalone's true source is a secret that could destroy us all. If I marry, I must face the price my sister pays—will I survive the truth, or become the next sacrifice?
Sold to My Fiancé After My Father’s Betrayal
Sold to My Fiancé After My Father’s Betrayal
4.8
Amarachi’s world shatters when her father is branded a traitor and her own fiancé, Tunde, seizes everything—her home, her dignity, even her future. Forced to beg the man she once loved for mercy, Amarachi faces the unthinkable: to save her sisters, she must become one of Tunde’s wives in the dreaded Women’s Quarters. But inside the prison’s darkness, a chained general’s laughter sparks a dangerous new hope—can Amarachi reclaim her destiny, or will she be sold like cattle in a land where pride is cheaper than life?
Father's Guilt, Second Chance Love
Father's Guilt, Second Chance Love
4.9
Haunted by the loss of his only son, Dike’s life crumbles under guilt and regret. When a mysterious computer game offers him the chance to rewrite the past, he must risk everything—including his sanity—to save his child and heal his broken family. Will redemption set him free, or destroy him for good?
I Owe My Enemy’s Son Love
I Owe My Enemy’s Son Love
4.9
Funto’s heart is heavy with secrets, guilt, and betrayal—her closest childhood friend Jide now hates her, and her family’s debts have trapped her in endless sacrifice. When the empathy doll that holds her last hope lands with Jide, she must face old wounds, neighborhood gossip, and her own father’s dangerous threats. Will Funto find freedom or lose everything, including herself, to the pain of her past?
He Gambled My Father’s Pride
He Gambled My Father’s Pride
4.8
Tunde’s father loses eight million naira and his dignity to their arrogant big cousin at a family gathering, shaming the whole lineage before aunties, uncles, and even the neighbours. When the cousin demands Tunde’s girlfriend as collateral for one night, the family’s secrets and old betrayals explode, pushing Tunde to risk his life, love, and even his organs for a final, all-or-nothing gamble. In a compound where pride is more precious than jollof rice, will Tunde restore his father’s honour—or lose everything to blood and shame?
Rejected by My Rich Father at Four
Rejected by My Rich Father at Four
4.8
Ijeoma can see mysterious messages about her own life—but no one believes her when she warns that her hardworking mother is dying. Desperate, she finds the cold billionaire who is secretly her father and begs him to save them, but he rejects her as a liar. With her mother hiding the truth and her powerful father denying her, will Ijeoma be forced into the streets while her real family fights over deadly secrets?