"He belongs with me," Temi insisted. "Nobody is asking to remove him," Tunde said. "But if a test was falsified, the adults can't simply agree to continue the falsehood forever." Temi looked at her cousin. "You don't understand what it means to have a child who still cries for his dead father." Tunde softened. "I don't. That's why I'm not going to tell you how to explain it to him. We need someone qualified to help you do that. But the truth is not an enemy you can lock outside the house until he's older."
Dapo entered as they were speaking. Folarin held up the laboratory record. "Is this authentic?" Dapo stared at it. For several seconds he said nothing. "Did you arrange for Tobi to receive a different result?" Folarin asked. Dapo sat heavily in a chair. "I did not alter a laboratory machine," he said. "I arranged for an alternative report to be delivered. I thought it would protect everyone." Temi made a sound Nkiru would later remember as more painful than shouting. "Dad," she whispered. "You told me he wasn't the father."
Dapo looked at his daughter. "You had just married Deji. He loved the boy. You were frightened. I couldn't let one question destroy three families." Tunde stood. "You chose instead to deceive all of them." Dapo turned on him. "You didn't have to make that choice. You don't know what families like ours lose when everything becomes public." Folarin's face darkened. "I know what we lose by covering wrongdoing. I've spent years pretending our mistakes were private when people outside this room bore their cost. This is where it stops."
Nkiru and Tobi were invited to a carefully structured discussion with Temi, Folarin, and independent advisers. Nkiru insisted that the meeting not include Kunle or Dapo until the necessary evidence was secured. Janet attended. A child psychologist explained that Korede should not be confronted with competing adult claims, sudden changes in surname, or promises of a new father. Any paternity testing would require appropriate consent and careful planning. If the result confirmed Tobi's connection, disclosure and contact could be introduced gradually, with attention to the boy's existing attachment to Deji and his family.
Tobi listened without interruption. When he finally spoke, his voice was almost inaudible. "I don't want to take anyone's place. I want to know whether he's my son and, if he is, whether there might eventually be room in his life for me." Temi looked at him as though seeing the person she'd once loved through the fear of losing her child. "I need you to promise you won't arrive at school or tell people he belongs to you." "I promise," Tobi said. "I won't approach him without your agreement and professional guidance." Nkiru watched, exhausted by how much damage had been required before these adults could begin speaking carefully.