Chapter One

The downfall of a queen is fatal one.

Munawarrah

She didn't care if it was raining cats and dogs, those bastards were going to have to step out of the comfort of their homes and answer her when she calls.

"Call Abass and tell them to meet me at my office in ten minutes." She told Khairatu, her personal assistant, the girl looked flabbergasted as Muna barged into her flat which was at a far end of the compound where Muna's mansion was located.

She quickly stood up and shut her laptop with a slam but, Muna had caught the face of a handsome young man she had been video chatting with but that was the least of her problems. If those stupid scientists at Aaima pharmaceuticals thought they could escape her wrath after disappointing her, then they were in for a huge surprise.

"But ma'am, it's past 10pm." Khairatu said, she was in her night gown already.

"If it's not too late for you to be chatting with your boyfriend, then it's not too late for me to make money. Call Abass right now!"

The authoritative tone she had used made Khairatu flinch. She quickly grabbed her phone from the center table

.

"Wha... What should I tell him?"

"That he and his fellow stupid scientists should meet me at my office in ten minutes."

With that she walked out of the flat making sure to slam the door as loudly as she could, she was angry and an angry Munawarrah was bad.

•••• •••• •••• ••••

"Could you please tell me why in Allah's name you brought us out of our homes by this time?" Abass, the head scientists asked, after few minutes of silence. She stared at the faces of the major scientists of Aaima pharmaceuticals, they were six of them.

"Miss Munawarrah, we agreed on a meeting tomorrow morning..." Jibril started but she cut him off.

"Shut up!" She screamed at him and the man immediately kept shut. She kept her face neutral as she stared at them, the men were uncomfortable under her scrutinized gaze. It was completely ironical that a woman could make them this vulnerably but, she wasn't just a mere women she was the definition of a cold hearted businesswoman.

The door opened and the vice president Aliyu Umar walked in, he was a young and ambitious man and could be considered as one of the most eligible bachelor in the northern part of the country.

"Assalamu alaykum- peace be unto you." He greeted and the rest replied except Muna who kept her gaze trained on the scientists.

"Hope all is well? I received Khairatu's call." He said sitting next to her.

"When did you say the antibiotic will be ready?" She asked them and the pure horror on their faces couldn't be masked, even Khairatu who sat at the far corner of the room couldn't help but feel pity for the men.

Karim opened his mouth to talk but Idris beat him to it,

"Is that what you brought us out of our homes after ten in the night to ask?" He blurted out his question, his face red with anger.

"When did you say the antibiotic will be ready?" She asked in a dangerously calm voice.

Abass swallowed before answering, "we're trying our best ma'am, but please give us two more weeks." He said and that was when she flared up.

"Two weeks you said? Two weeks? She let out a sarcastic laugh before pacing about, "six brilliant scientists, I pay you guys a fortune, I am responsible for your wives and children health fees, I give you the best but what do I get? Failure!"

"Muna what happened?" Aliyu asked.

"I waste my money on all six of you just to produce an antibiotic that'll cure the viral infection that has got the nation under it's clutches but one man, one single man, Abdul-Dayyan beat all of you to it."

"They just called me, Eshmin pharmaceuticals have just submitted the cure that was sold to them by Abdul-Dayyan, yet again they've beaten us. The federal government paid ten billion naira for this antivirus, I had my eyes on it, I provided you with the best resources, all I asked was to be provided with an antivirus but yet again, you failed me."

"I'm so sorry about that Muna." Aliyu said softly as he walked over to where she stood, but she held up a hand stopping him. He watched her as she raised her veil to cover up her hair. She looked so beautiful standing there, anger emitting from her presence.

"Abdul-Dayyan is simply spectacular." Susan, another of the scientists praised.

She let out a humorless laugh, "of course he is, one man is better than six great scientists put together."

"Ma'am you have a call." Khairatu said apprehensive to hand over the phone.

"I'm busy!" She snapped.

"It's... It's Sir Abdul-Dayyan." She said with a little bit of stutter.

Muna bawled her fit tightly and her face contorted angrily, she grabbed the phone and placed the phone to her ear after letting a finger slide to the 'answer' option.

"What?"

"Assalamu alaykum Munawarrah." She heard his slick voice from the other end and her anger increased, the pride in his voice was fathomable.

"What do you want?"

"Why? Aren't you happy to hear from me?"

"To be honest, I'd appreciate it if you just dropped dead."

"Harsh! That's why I fell for you love. So what now? You won't give me the opportunity to gloat huh? Well that's just not fair."

She gritted her teeth, "you might think you've won but I know I've got the best scientists under my canopy and..."

"You mean the ones who couldn't produce a simple antibiotic that just one man did?" His laughter was the last thing she heard before she flung her phone to the wall opposite her.

"This is the last time I'd let you embarrass me like this, mark my words." With that she matched out of the office with Khairatu hot on her heels, they got to the mansion around 12am.

Munawarrah couldn't sleep, her thoughts were on a lot of things. She wished she could kill Abdul-Dayyan Mohammad, the thorn on her path. The man was the best scientist in Africa and unfortunately, her ex husband.

She recalled how it was being married to him, it had all been a business deal of course, she couldn't just up and one day fall in love and decide to get married. Never!

Her mother Aaima had made that stupid mistake when she was in the university, she had fallen deeply in love with an Egyptian who was in his final year. Things had been great between them till he graduated, he went away and promised to call her, that had been the last she heard of the man who had promised her heaven and earth and had whispered the most loving of words to her ear while they made love during the night.

Few months after his disappearance, she had found out she was pregnant, her family couldn't take it they insulted and insulted her as if their words could get rid of the child. They suggested she did but she vehemently refused, this was a prove of what she and Osman Abdel-Jabar had shared and no matter what she loved the man and felt the same for their child.

Her mother's family were fulani from Adamawa state, and considered themselves a perfect Muslims, Aaima was a hafiza and that made her coming home with a pregnancy much more disgracing.

She kept the child, Munawarrah might have been a child but while growing up she heard the insults that were subtly and most times openly thrown at her mother, and when Aaima died when Munawarrah was ten, they had gotten rid of her in a mosque, she had nowhere to go so she took to the streets.

It had been tough for Muna, the lonely days and cold nights. A young pretty girl like her on the streets had been bad, her first rape episode was the most traumatizing but soon enough she had gotten used to it, sometimes sleeping with the leader of a particular area just so she could get a spot to lay her head. It had been horrible.

At fifteen, she upgraded to men who gave her money like shop owners, meat sellers and even shoe cobblers. That was when she decided to go back to secondary school, she went back and resumed her second year in the junior class. She slept with men for her school fees all through till her graduation from secondary school at the age of nineteen.

She went to work as a housekeeper for a lecturer at the Kaduna State university, Mr David Adebode. His wife and kids were abroad so he lived alone, while she came for housecleaning she ceased the opportunity to go through his books, at first they were too hard for her to comprehend but considering she had been a science student at her secondary school, she quickly grasped it and everyday after cleaning she sat down and read the chemistry and biology text books

One Saturday, he had called for her duties and when she hurried over, it had been to clean his lab which was always locked, she was fascinated by the place, it was the feeling one had after watching a movie, then seeing an actor from it live. Every single chemicals she had read about and seen in the books were right in front of her with different apparatus in place.

He told her one day while she was mopping the floor about how he felt he wasn't accomplished and before she could stop herself,

"But why sir? You're a lecturer with a great lab, from what I see you're not lacking financially"

He gave her a sad smile, "of course I am all what you've said, but you see I dream of starting up a company myself"

"What kind of company sir?" She blurted out

"A pharmaceutical company" He stated with a smile.

"That is brilliant sir, when do you want to start? I'd help you the best way I can"

He gave her a wry smile and nodded his head, in two years he had started a small pharmaceutical company. Munawarrah was a big help to him and he had two scientists assisting him until his death three years after he started, leaving the company in Munawarrah's name.

"I will not accept this, my husband left his company, the one most important legacy he had not to me, not to any of the kids but to his housekeeper." Mrs Adebode ranted after his will was read by his lawyer few days after his death. Munawarrah sat quietly not saying anything.

"Look at her cheap slut, you were having an affair with my husband before his death and now, you think I will let you get away with this." She pointed a finger at Muna's way but the girl kept her face stoic.

"Mom, from what I heard dad started it with her, neither I nor my sister will be interested in his company and you know nothing about it either so just..."

She cut her son with a slap, "I didn't raise you to be this foolish and I, will fight till my last breath to gain back my husband's company. Meet me in court young lady."

Three weeks later, Mrs Sarah Adebode was on her way from work when she was involved in an accident where her car was hit by a drunk truck driver, she died at the spot.

Munawarrah changed the name of the company in memory of her mother and worked her way to the top, rather slept her way to the top till her company was one of the leading in the world. With Aaima pharmaceuticals progression, she started up Aaima construction company.