Ayoola_Assurance

Ezinne has known pain longer than she’s known peace. Raised in a home where love was scarce and survival was a daily battle, she learned early how to hide her scars—especially the ones no one could see.

A betrayal in her youth leaves her with a son and a shattered heart. Years later, trapped in a toxic marriage and haunted by memories that won’t fade, she finds herself at the edge of breaking… until an unexpected encounter lights something in her she thought was long dead: hope.

What follows is a journey through darkness and light, secrets and revelations, love and vengeance. Just when she begins to rebuild, ghosts from her past return—some seeking redemption, others with motives far more dangerous.

Her family holds truths that could change everything. A man she once trusted resurfaces with a claim that could tear her world apart. And through it all, Ezinne must decide who she is, what she’s willing to fight for, and what must be left behind.

This is not just a story of survival. It’s a story of awakening, of reclaiming power, and of a love so unshakable it defies even the deepest wounds.

Scars in the Mirror

Chapter 20: A Son to Steal

Somto stood at the edge of the compound in Nsukka, staring blankly at the fading sun. His mother's words still echoed in his mind like a haunting drumbeat.

"She came here, years ago. Crying. Said she was pregnant for you," Mama had said.

"You drove her away?" he asked, bitterness lacing his voice.

"I didn't believe her. Thought she wanted to trap you. But now… after all these years and all your trials…"

The accident had changed his life. Stripped him of more than mobility, it stripped him of his pride. The doctors were cold and clinical: irreversible damage, they said. No child. No legacy.

He'd tried everything, herbalists, spiritual houses, even IVF through shady clinics in Ghana. Nothing. Every path was a dead end.

"Find her," his mother had said, voice tight with guilt. "Do it quietly. But don't come back empty-handed."

Somto clenched his fists. He had power. Influence. Friends in low places. What was one woman and a boy against the desperation of a man with nothing left to lose?

He returned to Abuja under a cloud of silence. His associate, Darlington, a man who made problems disappear for the right price, was waiting in his living room.

"Do you want the quiet approach," Darlington asked, "or do you want fear?"

"Both," Somto replied, his voice like steel. "I want to find her. I want to find the boy. And I want them to feel me coming before I touch them."

Darlington smiled. "I'll find her. You just wait."

Back in their cozy apartment, Ezinne tucked Chibuikem into bed without knowing that danger was already in motion. That a man she barely remembered beyond pain was hunting for the child she had fought to raise in peace.

In the stillness of that night, a black SUV pulled up two blocks from their house. A man stepped out, scanned the building, made a note, and walked away.

Scars in the Mirror.