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The next morning, the business news across Nigeria exploded like fireworks.
"ZARIA BELLO-OKONKWO CLAIMS STAKE IN OKONKWO INDUSTRIES."
"SECRET HEIR SHAKES BILLIONAIRE EMPIRE."
"NEW POWER PLAYER? MEET THE WOMAN WHO OUTSMARTED THE BOARD."
Zaria's phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Reporters, NGOs, corporate analysts—everyone wanted a quote. Everyone wanted a story.
But she stayed silent.
Instead, she called a meeting.
Not just any meeting. An emergency board session at Okonkwo Industries headquarters.
The same building where she'd once waited in the lobby for Darius. The same place she'd once felt small.
Now she walked through the doors with her shoulders square, dressed in a fitted ash-grey suit that hugged her bump like a crown, not a burden. Her heels clicked sharply against the marble floor, echoing confidence.
The receptionist jumped to her feet.
"Good morning, ma—"
"I know where I'm going," Zaria said with a polite nod.
Inside the boardroom, twelve faces turned when she entered. Half of them skeptical. The other half shocked. Ayo sat at the head of the table, jaw tight, a bitter smile on his lips.
"Zaria," he said coolly. "You've caused quite the storm."
"I'm not here for a weather report," she replied. "I'm here for business."
Darius arrived minutes later, taking the seat beside her. He didn't speak—just offered his silent presence like a shield.
The chairman, a thin man with a tremor in his hand, leaned forward. "You've called this emergency session. State your intent."
Zaria rose, placing a folder on the table.
"My ten percent stake gives me the right to table a motion. And today, I am proposing a corporate audit—immediate, comprehensive, and externally managed. I want the past three years of board financial decisions reviewed."
Gasps. Protests. One man laughed outright.
"You don't understand how things work, girl."
Zaria turned to him. "I understand numbers. I understand truth. And I understand that millions of naira have vanished under 'development' without explanation."
Ayo narrowed his eyes. "What are you accusing me of?"
"I'm not accusing anyone. I'm asking for transparency."
"And if we vote against the audit?" another board member asked.
Zaria met their eyes. Calm. Steady.
"Then I take this public. Every discrepancy. Every suspicious contract. I'll let the shareholders decide if that's a company they want to invest in."
Silence.
She had them cornered.
Darius leaned forward for the first time. "I support her motion."
That was the final blow.
By the time the votes were counted, the audit had passed by a slim margin—7 to 5.
Zaria had made her move.
That evening, back at the penthouse, Darius poured her a glass of hibiscus juice and sat beside her on the couch.
"You were brilliant," he said.
She smiled faintly. "I wasn't trying to impress anyone."
"I know," he replied. "That's what made it even more powerful."
There was a pause.
Then he added, "This is going to get ugly. Ayo won't take it quietly."
"I'm not afraid of Ayo," she said. "I'm not afraid of any of them."
He reached out and placed a hand on her belly.
"You shouldn't have to carry this alone."
"I'm not," she whispered. "I'm carrying us all. Our child. Our legacy. My name."
Then, looking him in the eye: "But if you ever hide the truth from me again, Darius, not even love will protect you."
He nodded.
"Understood."