Chapters (109)
- Part One
- ONE
- One day earlier
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- PART TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- EIGHTY-FOUR
- EIGHTY-FIVE
- EIGHTY-SIX
- EIGHTY-SEVEN
- EIGHTY-EIGHT
- EIGHTY-NINE
- NINETY
- NINETY-ONE
- NINETY-TWO
- NINETY-THREE
- NINETY-FOUR
- NINETY-FIVE
- NINETY-SIX
- NINETY-SEVEN
- NINETY-EIGHT
- NINETY-NINE
- GLOSSARY
- Acknowledgments
- Continue reading
- Part One
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
Emma agreed. “And so, then he must have reported it to Ponsu, who sent his macho men after you to frighten you away. You said it was two tough guys, right? Have you ever met Ponsu’s bodyguard twins, Clifford and Clement?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“They match the description you gave me. If it’s them, Ponsu is definitely behind this.”
Bruno nodded, but barely, because even the smallest movement was painful. “And remember Nii took a selfie with us. I’m sure he showed it to Ponsu.”
Emma winced. “You’re right. I didn’t even think of that.”
“When I went to buy the food,” Bruno said, “I left my phone in the house. Can you get it for me? My house key is in my pocket here.”
She extracted the key. “Okay, I’ll go for it. Are you okay for now?”
“Yes, but I want to turn to the side a little bit.”
As Emma helped Bruno shift position, a nurse walked in and asked Emma what she was doing there. Didn’t she know visiting hours were not until this evening?
“I’m leaving now,” Emma said. “Bruno, I’ll be back.”
“Be careful,” he said.
As she left the ward, she felt the full weight of her outrage at what had been done to her stepbrother and her determination cemented. She would get to the bottom of this and whoever had perpetrated this violence upon Bruno would pay. Two people were on her mind right now. The first, Mr. Ponsu, she would avoid for now. The second, Nii Kwei, was the person she wanted speak to as soon as possible.
EIGHTY-THREE
EIGHTY-THREE
By the time Emma returned to the hospital, visiting hours were back on. She sat at Bruno’s bedside while he scrolled through his phone texts using his one good eye. Sana, who had been expecting to see him earlier today, had texted him twice asking where he was. Bruno tried Sana’s number, but received no reply, so he sent a short text message to call him as soon as possible.
Bruno and Emma chatted on and off. She was glad to see small glimpses of his impish humor returning, even here where it wasn’t easy to be cheerful. The ward, as in most Ghanaian hospitals, was an open one with little to no privacy, meaning everyone’s pain and suffering was on full display. Directly opposite Bruno’s bed was a woman with a chest tube who moaned with every agonizing breath she took. At another bed, a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses had gathered around a post-op patient to pray for his speedy healing. At intervals, they broke into religious song.
Emma turned her attention back to Bruno, noticing that some of his facial swelling was already receding. He had finally had a CT scan, which, apart from a broken nose, had shown a mild degree of brain contusion, but doctors expected him to do okay ultimately.