"Then the DNA test," she said. Temi nodded. "My father arranged it. Dapo said we needed an answer quickly before the uncertainty damaged everyone." "Did you see the original laboratory report?" Temi stared. "My father showed me the copy Tobi received." "That's not what I asked." Temi swallowed. "No." Nkiru unfolded her notes. "The report lacks Tobi's chain-of-custody signature, and the collection address belongs to your father's office. Why?" Temi looked frightened. "I thought his office arranged transport. I didn't examine it like you are. I had a baby and a marriage and no idea what to do."
Nkiru was quiet for a moment. She believed Temi's fear was real. She also understood that Temi had used her fear to justify reaching into Nkiru's marriage and hiding the consequences. "Where is Korede now?" she asked. "With me. He's in school. He loves football and astronomy. He asks about Deji almost every week." Temi's eyes filled with tears. "Deji was his father in every way that mattered to a little boy. He was there when Korede was born. He fed him. He taught him to ride a bicycle. He died holding a photograph of him."
Nkiru leaned forward. "No one is trying to erase Deji." Temi shook her head. "That's what everybody says before they begin talking about blood and rights. Korede isn't a contract to be transferred." "I agree. He's a child, not evidence. But one day he'll be grown, and he'll ask what the adults around him knew. Your answer can't be that everyone knew except him." Temi looked away. The words frightened her because she knew they were true.
At last Temi said, "There is something else. Before the test, my father told me he already believed Tobi might be Korede's father. I don't know why he was so certain. He spoke as though he had the dates from somewhere." Nkiru felt a new unease. "Did he tell you why?" "No. He said he would handle it." Nkiru stood. "That's the phrase everyone in this family uses before another person's life is decided behind a closed door. It's time someone stopped handling things and started telling the truth."
Dapo agreed to see her only after Folarin pressed him. They met in a formal sitting room beneath portraits of generations of Akinwale ancestors. He was a handsome man in his sixties, still charming enough to make harsh choices sound like unfortunate necessities. "I protected my family," he said within minutes. Nkiru looked at him. "Everybody uses that sentence after harming somebody else's family." He explained that Temi had just married into a respected household, Deji's relatives were prominent, and the child could have become the center of an ugly dispute.
"There was also my husband," Nkiru said. Dapo waved a hand. "Tobi had moved on." "Apparently not far enough for all of you to stop controlling his life." Dapo gave her a hard look. "The test said he wasn't the father." Nkiru placed the document on the table. "Did you alter this result?" He met her gaze. "No." She tilted her head. "That's a very specific answer. Did you arrange for a false result to be given to him?" His silence stretched. "I won't discuss confidential medical records without proper advice," he said. Nkiru folded the document. "Then I'll find the proper way to ask."