Chapter 18: The Danger of Change

I took my mother’s plans and account books for the branch schools, flipping through a few pages carefully.

Her handwriting was neat, the numbers precise, each page marked with small notes in the margins. “Mama, you don think about how, once you open branches, people go soon see through your real plan for the charity foundation?”

I bit my lip, anxiety creeping in. I felt a bit worried. “Apart from Mama Tawa, who else know who you really be?”

I lowered my voice, glancing around. “If word spreads, in people’s eyes, you’ll be accused of showing your face and secretly running a school. Not to talk of the council—even the Adeyemi family fit punish you. With all those heavy charges, what will you do?”

The council was not merciful to those who upset the balance. My mother was calm as ever. “So what?”

She set her jaw, eyes steady. Seeing her like that, I got even more worried. “If the authorities find out your plan, you fit die for it.”

My heart hammered as I spoke. My mother’s face didn’t change. “I know.”

She looked straight at me, her voice firm. “Then you…” I was almost begging.

I wanted her to say she would stop, that she would keep safe. “In this life, what I’m doing is also something punishable by death. But someone has to do it, or the country will suffer.”

She spoke with the quiet certainty of someone who has already weighed the cost. “And after hearing your stories, doesn’t it show it’s worth it?”

Her eyes gleamed with hope, a hope I could not deny.