The Joku family. One of the biggest names in Lagos. Joku James came from quite a decent family. When he was 27, he came upon sudden wealth that got people whispering and gossiping.
But the biggest rumor was that he had bought shares in the biggest oil and gas company in Nigeria, and it appreciated over time.
Then he spread his money across so many ventures all over Lagos.
One night, somewhere in one of the Jokus' mansions.
Joku James was seated in the dining room with his family. His wife, Ngozi, his first son, Junior and his youngest set of triplets— John, Jake and Jonah.
The chef had just finished serving dinner.
“Jonah passed me the chicken," Junior said.
Jonah passed the plate full of fried chicken to Jake, who was nearest to Junior. Jake took one before passing it.
“Mummy your son doesn't have respect,” Junior smacked Jake on his head.
"You are the one always spoiling him because he is your minion and still complaining,” Ngozi said.
Everyone laughed; it was a very happy family.
Suddenly, James stopped and dropped his fork and knife. He looked like he had just remembered something important he had forgotten.
"Where is my baby?” James asked.
"She is in her room with her friend Lily," Ngozi replied.
“Oh I didn't know Lily came over, aren't they joining us for dinner?" James asked
"No, they are probably studying their brains out or conducting nerdy experiments,” John the troublemaker said.
"And her studying is why she is my favorite,” James said, smiling with pride.
It was no secret. James' second child and only daughter, Jessica, was his favorite because she always agreed with him and was the smartest kid in the most expensive school in Lagos.
He had plans for her entire life of how he would send her abroad to the best school and how she would be the first woman astronaut to travel to Pluto. And she worked hard towards it like it was always her plan.
In the room, Jessica was folding some clothes and putting heels and jewelry into her bag.
“There is no way they are going to believe it's just books in your bags,” Lily laughed.
"Trust me, nobody doubts Daddy's perfect girl," Jessica said.
“Yeah, right," they both laughed
“Besides, if I get caught, which I wouldn't. I just need to pack all academic awards again like I did last year and get everyone's hearts back in my pocket,” Jessica said.
She zipped the bag, "Done, let's go,” she carried the bag and whispered “diamond" in excitement, and Elsa whispered back “dollar" also excited as she carried some books in her hand as they proceeded to the dining room.
“Mom and Dad, I am having an overnight study at Lily's," Jessica said as she dashed through the dining room with Lisa.
“Alright, my astronaut," James said
“Make sure you call me," Ngozi said
“You see, I told you, nerdy stuff," John said
It was a normal thing, and they all trusted Jessica, so no one questioned her. Besides, she was the “perfect child.”
Later that night, the triplets were already asleep, and Junior was in his music room.
Ngozi was doing her skin care routine seated in front of her mirror when James dressed up to go out.
“Honey, I am off to my urgent meeting," he said, kissing her on her head.
"Okay, you will be back by 3 am, as usual? Should I tell the chef what you would like when you return?”
“Yes, the usual, light pounded yams and egusi soup. Good night, dear,” he said as he left.
"Bye, hon,” Ngozi replied.
Outside the gate, his driver was waiting with a car for him. Not Damien, his usual driver or any of his cars in the house. It was Kelly, his special driver, who was trustworthy enough to carry him to his important meetings at night.
James entered the car, and his demeanor changed instantly. His face became serious if it were a matter of life and death. He nodded to Kelly, and Kelly nodded back before driving off into the night.
After a while on the road, they reached one of his mansions. A special one used only for his meetings. It was heavily guarded by hefty men in black.
He got out of the car and walked into the mansion. The mansion has an eerie vibe to it; everyone kept serious straight faces, showing no emotions. The place was silent. No one spoke—they only nodded.
He got to a room with another man standing in front.
He asked, “Is it ready?"
The man replied James “Yes, Father, from the Diamond Dollar Club this time," and gave way for James to enter the room.
The man stood at the door and waited for some minutes, then James came out. He had changed his clothes. He was now only tying a white wrapper around his waist. He had symbols drawn all over his body with white chalk and wielded a sheathed blade the length of his arm.
He proceeded to a room with a red door.
“I go alone," he whispered to the door before entering the room.
The room was painted black with no windows and about six candles illuminating the room from the four corners.
James lay on his back and chanted strange incantations for minutes. When he was done, he stood up,
“Bring them in," he shouted to the men standing outside the room as he unsheathed his knife.
Shortly, three girls were brought in by the guards. They were made to kneel before James; they had black clothes over their heads. Whimpering and crying, “Please, please let us go,"
The men left the room. James then said in an old tongue, “Now I shall leave alone and ye shall bear witness," as he slowly took off the bags from their heads.
He took off the last one, and he staggered back on seeing her. He cleaned his eyes and said in disbelief, “no it can't be, what are you doing here?”
“Daddy?" Jessica's voice trembled in a different kind of fear.
The other girls begged like a beast stood before them, but Jessica begged like she saw the devil before her.
The look his perfect child gave him broke him. He stood six steps back before sitting on the ground. He was at a crossroads—he had already started the ritual and he couldn't leave without completing it because the consequences would be tragic. But he couldn't spill his own blood—not Jessica.
He stood and cut the girls loose. He sent them out and instructed his boys to return the girls to where they had taken them. But he didn't cross the room's threshold.
He sat in the empty room alone, shedding tears. The laughter of a child rose from all corners of the room till the room echoed with laughter. He covered his ears as the candles started going off one by one till darkness ate him whole. He spent his last seconds on earth regretting his actions.
Jessica and her friends were found on the road where they were dumped. The boys had charmed them so they couldn't remember a single thing from the night when they woke up.
Days passed, and James was pronounced missing. Months passed, and there were no signs of him. After a year, all his business and fortune started to crumble to the ground.
His family lost everything, and Ngozi remained resilient and became a civil servant to sustain her family.
As for the black room with a red door, even after renovations, occupants told tales of hearing a man sobbing every night when there was no one there.
Image generated using OpenAI
