karunwi_ayobami

The Shadows Beneath My Name


At just 20 years old, Patience Adeyemi had her life neatly arranged—second-year university student, raised in a loving Christian home, and engaged to the man she believed was sent from heaven. But everything crumbles in one night.

On her birthday, Patience discovers the unthinkable: she’s adopted.

Before she can make sense of this revelation, an even deeper wound is uncovered—her fiancé, the man she trusted most, has been keeping secrets that cut through her like a knife.

Suddenly, the people she called family become strangers. The love 
she built her dreams on turns to dust. As heartbreak collides with academic pressure, peer influence, and a crisis of faith, Patience begins to lose her sense of identity and belonging.

But in the silence of her shattered world, she begins to hear another voice—the still, healing voice of God.

As long-buried truths come to light and pain gives way to purpose, Patience must decide: will she allow her brokenness to define her? Or will she embrace the deeper truth that her identity is not in bloodlines or broken promises—but in the One who never lies?

Shadows Beneath My Name is a stirring Christian fiction tale of betrayal, discovery, and the redemptive power of grace.

The shadows beneath my name

The hallway echoed softly as Patience and Chris tiptoed into Peace's room, trying not to draw attention. Carefully, they tucked the shiny wrapped gift under her pillow—a surprise sketchpad and watercolor kit Patience knew Peace had been dreaming about.

"She'll scream when she sees this," Chris whispered with a small grin.

Patience nodded, her smile tight. "Let's hope so."

The party had officially ended an hour ago, but the compound still pulsed with leftover energy. Children played hide and seek between the garden chairs while leftover cake and empty drink bottles dotted the tables. The fairy lights still glowed above the lawn, casting a gentle warmth on the quiet chaos of post-celebration.

Patience slipped away from the noise and found a secluded bench in the garden, a glass of chapman in her hand. She sipped slowly, watching the shadows flicker across the lawn. Laughter rang from the corner where Patrick and some cousins were throwing balloons at each other.

Yet, despite the glow and giggles, something tightened in her chest.

Her mind returned to that moment on the couch earlier in the evening—Chris's phone had lit up, the screen briefly revealing a message:

> "Why are you not picking your call? Am ..."

Am sick? Or Am pregnant? No that can't be Chris is a devoted child of God. Others may, but not us

She hadn't meant to snoop. The message popped up while it was just the two them in car and the phone was in her hands, But once she saw it, she couldn't un-see it.

Why hadn't he answered the call while he was right there with her?

Why did he quickly collected it from her and turn his phone face-down when he noticed the screen?

And then the explanation when she casually asked: "Oh, just a church classmate… nothing serious."

And now, thinking back to the whisper she overheard earlier from two unfamiliar women in the kitchen—"That's her… the girl they brought home as a baby…"—everything felt suddenly entangled.

And why did everyone seem to know something she didn't?

Her fingers curled tightly around the glass. Her gaze drifted to where Chris stood now, laughing with Uncle Deji again. The same laughter that felt too forced, too loud. His eyes never quite meeting hers.

Am I being paranoid? Or is something deeply wrong?

Her thoughts swirled until a sharp shriek pierced the air.

Patience bolted upright, her drink crashing to the floor.

She turned in time to see a small crowd forming near the hallway door. Patrick was kneeling, shaking his twin sister who had collapsed near the kitchen entrance. Her limbs limp, her face pale.

"Get water! Call someone!" Patrick shouted, his voice cracking.

Patience's heart thundered. She rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside them. Peace's eyes were fluttering but unfocused, her breathing shallow.

"Mummy!" she cried out. "Mummy, come quick!"

Their mother came running, eyes wide in panic. "What happened?!"

"I don't know—she just slumped," Patrick choked, "She said she was dizzy and the next thing—"

Chris appeared beside her, reaching out. "Patience, let's lift her—gently."

But Patience hesitated. A cold chill danced down her spine.

Peace's lips moved faintly. A whisper. Barely audible.

"Who, sweetheart?" she whispered. "Who?"

But Peace had already slipped back into unconsciousness.

The uneasy stirring