She swallowed.
“So you became homeless.”
“Yes,” he said. “I disappeared to stay alive. I sold everything. I hid. I starved.”
He paused.
“That night I knocked on your door, I had not eaten in three days.”
Mama’s eyes filled with tears.
“I almost didn’t open the door,” she admitted softly. “I was tired too. Hungry too.”
Daniel smiled sadly.
“But you did.”
He looked at her with deep respect.
“That food kept me alive long enough to leave Lagos that same night.”
Her breath caught.
“You left that night?”
“Yes,” he said. “And two days later, someone who was looking for me was killed—mistaken for me.”
Mama’s body went cold.
“If I had stayed hungry that night,” he said quietly, “I would have been the one dead.”
Silence filled the vehicle.
Her hands trembled.
“God,” she whispered.
“I promised myself,” Daniel said, “that if I survived, I would return. Not only to say thank you, but to honor the woman who saw a human being when others saw dirt.”
Tears slipped down Mama’s face.
“But life did not change for me,” she said. “After that night, things only became harder.”
Daniel turned fully toward her.
“I know. I followed your story quietly.”
She stared at him.
“You watched me?”
“Yes,” he said. “I saw you struggle. I saw people laugh at your kindness.”
Her voice cracked.
“Then why did you wait so long?”
Daniel looked out the window.
“Because my enemies were still watching. I did not want to bring danger to you.”
The SUV slowed as they entered a guarded estate. High walls. Floodlights. Heavy gates.
“This is my temporary residence,” Daniel said. “You will be safe here.”
As the car stopped, he added, “But today’s attack means something has changed.”
She turned to him.
“What changed?”
Daniel’s face hardened.
“They know I found you.”
She stepped out of the vehicle slowly, her legs weak. The house before her was huge, warm with light, but her heart would not settle.
As she followed Daniel toward the entrance, one thought kept repeating in her head:
Feeding a stranger had brought her here.
But what would it cost her next?
They had barely reached the door when a guard hurried toward them.
“Sir,” he said breathlessly, “we just received a message.”
Daniel turned sharply.
“What message?”
The guard hesitated.
“They said if you do not hand over the woman, they will come for her themselves.”
Mama’s blood ran cold.
“Hand over me?” she whispered.
Daniel’s eyes did not leave the guard at first. He gave orders quickly.
“Increase security. No one enters or leaves without my approval.”
“Yes, sir.”
When the guard left, Mama held the back of a chair to steady herself.
“I didn’t ask for this,” she said. “I only gave food.”
Daniel turned to her.
“And that,” he said firmly, “is why this is not your fault.”
“But they want me.”
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