—Please don’t send me away. Madam said the kitchen is only for family after 6:00. I know. I was just hungry. I will wash the plate. Nobody will know.
Kelechi stared at her wrists, too thin for a woman who cleaned 3 floors every day. For a moment, he did not see his marble counters or imported oven. He saw himself at 11 years old in Enugu, hiding behind his mother’s coal stove, eating the last piece of garri because there had been no dinner left. He had spent 25 years building money around that memory, only to forget hunger could still be sitting on his own kitchen floor.
—Nneka, stand up slowly. You are not in trouble.
She looked at him as if kindness itself could be a trap.
—Sit at the island. Finish your food.
—Sir, please…
—Sit.
She obeyed, but her hands trembled so badly the spoon clicked against the plate. Kelechi heated fresh rice and egusi soup from the pot Folake had ordered the cook to prepare earlier. Then he filled 3 takeaway bowls.
—For your children.
Nneka’s face changed.
—You have children?
She lowered her eyes.
—3 girls, sir. Ada is 8, Chiamaka is 5, and little Zina is 3.
—Where are they now?
—At home, sir.
—With who?
A silence entered the kitchen.
—Ada watches them.
Kelechi’s jaw tightened. An 8-year-old girl watching 2 younger children at night while their mother cleaned his mansion. He asked nothing more then, but the truth had already begun pulling at him. When Nneka left with the food, she held the bag to her chest like something sacred. The next morning, Kelechi confronted Folake at the breakfast table.
—Why is Nneka not allowed to eat after 6:00?
Folake lowered her coffee cup.
—Because servants must have rules. Without rules, things disappear.
—She was eating cold food behind the freezer.
—Because she broke my rule.
—No. Because she was hungry in our house.
Folake’s expression hardened.
—Do not embarrass me in my own kitchen because of a maid.
At that exact moment, Nneka walked in carrying a tray. Folake turned to her with a smile colder than harmattan wind.
—Since you enjoy hiding in corners, maybe we should discuss what else you have been hiding.
Kelechi looked at Nneka. Her face had gone pale.
—Madam, please…
Folake reached into her handbag and placed a folded paper on the table.
—This morning, I called the agency that sent you. They told me something interesting.
Kelechi stood still.
—What agency?
Nneka’s lips parted, but no sound came out. Folake smiled.
—Ask your precious maid why her real salary never reaches her hands.
Part 2
Kelechi took the paper before Folake could pull it back. It was a payment receipt from Golden Home Domestic Services, an agency run by Folake’s cousin in Lekki. His company account had been charged every month for Nneka’s full salary, transport allowance, feeding allowance, and health support. Yet Nneka had been receiving less than half. Folake did not look ashamed. She looked annoyed that the paper had been touched. —It is not your concern, Kelechi. I manage the house. —With stolen wages? he asked. Folake’s eyes flashed. —Do not use that word. Nneka stood beside the tray as if the floor had turned to water. —Sir, I did not know the amount. Madam said agency fees were deducted. I believed her. —And Sophie… no, your Ada. Is she in school? Nneka’s breath caught. —Not now, sir. Fees were due 2 months ago. Kelechi turned to Folake. —You knew she had 3 children? Folake lifted her chin. —Everyone has problems. If we start carrying every poor woman’s life on our head, where does it end? The words were quiet, but they landed like a slap. That afternoon, Kelechi drove alone to Ajegunle, following the address Nneka reluctantly gave him. He did not enter the room. He stopped at the staircase of a peeling building and saw enough. Ada was outside, holding Zina on one hip while Chiamaka washed a plastic cup in a basin. When Nneka arrived, all 3 girls ran to her like the world had been returned to them. Kelechi watched the way the oldest child stopped smiling first, checked her mother’s face, and only relaxed when Nneka nodded. That look broke him more than the kitchen floor had. The next day, he paid Ada’s school fees, arranged a clinic visit for all 4 of them, doubled Nneka’s salary, and told her she would work only in his house, Monday to Friday, with proper meals and a driver taking her home by 6:00. Nneka cried without sound. Folake waited 1 week before striking back. On a Thursday evening, while Kelechi was stuck in traffic on Third Mainland Bridge, she entered the kitchen and saw Nneka packing leftover moi moi and stew into containers. —Drop that food. Nneka froze. —Madam, sir said I can take leftovers home. —My husband has lost his senses over you. I have not. Drop it. Nneka placed the containers down. Folake stepped closer. —You think because he followed you to your slum, you are now family? You think pity is promotion? By morning, your name will be back at the agency, and I will make sure no decent house in Lagos hires you again. At that moment, Daniel, Kelechi’s 10-year-old son, appeared at the doorway. He had heard everything. —Mummy, why are you talking to her like that? Folake spun around. —Go upstairs. —No. Daddy said Aunty Nneka helps this house. Folake slapped the table so hard the containers shook. —I said go upstairs! Nneka moved instinctively between Folake and the boy. Folake’s face twisted. —So now you are protecting my child from me? When Kelechi walked in 5 minutes later, Folake was already calling the security guard. —Escort this woman out. Kelechi’s voice cut through the room. —Nobody will touch her. Then Daniel stepped forward, holding Folake’s phone in his hand. —Daddy, I recorded everything. And there is something else in Mummy’s messages.
Part 3
