SHADOW OF THE PAST

09 Fire Outbreak

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Femi got his car tires fixed after checking out of the hotel with Zoe. He chattered a cab to take Zoe home while he went to fixed his car tires.

When he was done fixing the car tires, he went home straight. When he arrived home, he was very eager to see his wife, so he jumped out of his car in haste after parking it at the garage.

The housemaid gave him a warm welcome and he replied to her greetings by rushing to the stairs. He skipped two steps at a time, as he mounts the stairs eagerly.

When he got to the door to his wife's room, he stopped and thought of the right words to say and how to apologize to her for the way he'd reacted to the incident that landed her in the hospital.

He was still practicing the right and romantic words to say to his wife within him when the housemaid interrupted his thoughts.

"Madam left home very early and she didn't state where she was going." the housemaid interrupted his thought and he shook his head in disbelief. He opened the door to confirm if what the housemaid was saying was true or not.

To his greatest astonishment, his wife wasn't there. He sighed heavily and look disappointed as he closed the door back and went to his room.

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"The rain was so heavy last night. It was a refreshing rain. How is your friend doing?" Mrs. Esin said as Zoe came to her room to greet her.

"She's fine," she replied and Mrs. Esin could notice the sadness in her voice.

"Hope all is well?" she asked inquisitively and Zoe shook her head in response and left the room.

When Zoe was alone in her room, she thought of how she had displayed her stupidity in the presence of a married man. She regretted all her stupid acts last night. She thought of going over to his office to apologize to him properly.

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Femi kept on pacing up and down his room thinking about where his wife could have gone very early despite what his mother-in-law had told him about her health over the phone that she needed rest.

"Could it be..." he said thoughtfully as the thought of maybe his wife was acting strong like when they lost their daughter ran through his mind. "No..." he said shaking the thought off his head. He took his phone out of his trousers pocket and dialed his wife's mobile.

'The number you are trying to reach is currently switched off please try again later...' the answering machine said and he sighed heavily. He was really worried about his wife's absence in the house when she ought to be on bed rest.

A few minutes later, his phone rang in his hands. He thought the call was from his wife, but he was disappointed when he checked his phone's screen which displayed his secretary as the caller.

He sighed disappointedly before picking up the call, "Hello Ms. Sarah." he responded to the tiny voice of his Secretary over the phone.

"Sir, your attention is urgently needed at the company's lab. The scientists were having issues with the newly developed drug."

"Oh, that should be a very serious issue. I will be on my way now," he said and ended the call.

He rushed to the bathroom to have a quick shower before stepping out of the house in hurry.

He called the housemaid before driving out to tell his wife when she comes back home that he went to attend to a serious issue at the company's lab.

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Tomisin drove into the compound thirty minutes after Femi left home for the office.