Novels by IGAFE Precious

Nadia was already moving before Eleanor finished the sentence, calling for the doctor with one hand while reaching for Eleanor's other and feeling the particular cold clarity of a moment she had been dreading for months arriving without warning on an otherwise ordinary morning. "Harlowe," she called, keeping her voice as steady as she could manage. "Go find your father. Tell him to come to the garden." Harlowe sensed something was wrong despite Nadia's careful composure. She abandoned her cartwheels immediately and ran toward the house. "I don't want her frightened," Eleanor said quietly, her breathing considerably more labored now than it had been only minutes earlier. "Please, when the moment comes, don't let her be frightened." "Don't talk like that," Nadia said, though her own voice betrayed the fear she was struggling to contain. "You're going to be fine. The doctor's coming." Eleanor's hand tightened around hers, weaker than Nadia had ever felt it. "I have had a ge

The following months brought a new rhythm to the estate, one built around Eleanor's continued presence and the quiet awareness that their time with her was no longer something they could take for granted. Nadia began joining Eleanor for tea every afternoon whenever possible, regardless of how busy the day had been, while Caiden adjusted his schedule to ensure dinner with Eleanor remained protected from work whenever he was home. Cullen arranged his visit for late February, bringing Mei, Grace, and baby Harlan from Singapore for what he described as "an extended stay." Everyone understood why. When they arrived, Eleanor held Grace and baby Harlan with a tenderness that made Nadia look away for a moment. "You've grown considerably," Eleanor told Grace. Grace grinned. "I can run fast now." "Is that so?" "Very fast." "Then I expect you to demonstrate." Grace immediately wriggled out of her mother's arms. "Watch me!" Eleanor laughed as Grace hurried into the garden. "I believe

They visited Eleanor the following morning, with Cullen joining through a video call from Singapore. Everyone gathered in her sitting room, each of them carrying the carefulness that came from not knowing exactly what they were about to hear. At first glance, Eleanor looked exactly as she always did. She sat upright in her favourite chair, her tea prepared precisely the way she preferred it, her expression composed. But Nadia noticed the smaller things. There was a slight tremor in Eleanor's hand when she lifted her cup, and she paused before answering questions that had never required much thought from her before. "You've all gathered rather dramatically," Eleanor said, looking around the room. "For what I assure you is simply an old woman having an ordinary morning." "Cullen said something felt different," Caiden replied carefully. "About your call with him." Eleanor's composure flickered. "I saw my doctor last week," she said. "I didn't mention it because I didn't yet

The weeks following Vivian's revelation passed with a kind of peace Nadia hadn't experienced in years. There were no calls from Martinez, no emails from regulatory authorities, and no unfamiliar names appearing in their inboxes to reshape their understanding of the past. Their mornings returned to the kitchen, Harlowe's homework occupied the usual place at the dining table, and Caiden was home for dinner every evening. For once, their lives were allowed to continue without constantly bracing for the next complication. "I don't know what to do with myself," Nadia admitted one evening in late January as she sat with Caiden in the library, a book resting open between them. "I keep waiting for my phone to buzz with something significant." Caiden smiled faintly. "Give it time. I think we've both forgotten what ordinary feels like." They spent the following month rediscovering exactly that. Their weekends became soccer games and lazy breakfasts rather than meetings and investigations

Gregory Marsh looked considerably older than his years when they finally met him. He was a thin man in his seventies, with deeply lined features and hands that trembled slightly as he settled into the chair across from them. His lawyer sat beside him, but remained largely silent throughout the meeting. "I want to say, before anything else," Gregory began, "that whatever I did decades ago, I've spent every year since regretting it." Caiden leaned forward. "Tell us about the person you mentioned. Whoever's still watching." Gregory lowered his gaze for a moment, his fingers tightening around the arm of the chair. "Her name is Vivian Cross," he said finally. "She worked as a bookkeeper for one of the shell entities Roland used to structure the licensing arrangement. I knew her slightly through Halloway." "What was her role?" Nadia asked. "She wasn't part of the scheme's architecture. She simply processed numbers she was told to process, for a salary she desperately needed at the t

The investigation into Katherine's background began quietly, with Martinez working through public records and professional history while Nadia and Caiden continued their normal interactions with her. It was more difficult than either of them had anticipated because Katherine's work still required regular collaboration with the family. They were finalizing biography promotional materials, discussing potential future projects, and handling the ordinary business that came with a professional relationship that had gradually developed genuine warmth alongside its practical purpose. During one call about upcoming promotional interviews, Nadia struggled to keep her voice completely natural. "I hate this," she admitted to Caiden afterward. "Pretending everything is normal while wondering whether I'm speaking with someone who might have been quietly connected to everything that destroyed your father's legacy." "I know," Caiden said. "But we need certainty before we act, one way or an